So, I Went to a Bike Shop

Don’t worry, I haven’t bought anything… yet.

But, I’m serious about biking more again, so I probably will. Here’s a little history. Roughly 15 years ago, I found a Schwinn bike sitting on a neighbor’s curb, ready to be picked up for trash collection the next day. I remember this guy trying to sell the thing at a yard sale just a few days prior, so he must have really wanted to get rid of it. I asked him if I could just have it, and he let me take it home.

I took it to a bike shop, where they put about $200 worth of upgrades and upkeep into it, and I started riding it. This bike is strictly a road bike, with the dropped-down handlebars and all. But, it served me well, especially once I moved across town and didn’t have a car to get to work in. For a while, I had two jobs within a quarter mile of each other, so there were times I was commuting 5 miles each way twice a day. I was probably in the best shape of my life at that point.

What I grew to love was not only the freedom of being able to get around basically whenever. But, there was something in being able to move at the pace I was going at. I noticed things I wouldn’t normally notice in a car, since life slowed down a bit. I’m a fairly casual being anyway, so this worked for me. You can also go places on a bike that a car won’t let you. The little side trails removed from the busy streets felt like a private expressway for bikes with no fear of getting sideswiped by an automobile. I’ll also never forget the feeling of riding those trails at night during the summer, and the effect of cruising past all the fireflies.

I think I’m trying to get some of that feeling back. I grew up playing sports, both organized and unorganized. I enjoy feeling athletic. There’s life in that. I walk most days now, but I’m finding I want to expand things a bit more. Simple tasks like going to the grocery store to pick up $20 worth of stuff would be more enjoyable on a bike over carrying all that home a mile by foot.

But, I also want to get more into “alternative cycling”, so doing some light trail riding and different group events like coffee outside and night rides. I may get into custom components and whatnot as well. Given everything I want to do, the style of bike I have now wouldn’t suit me. I’d want something I can sit more upright on, as it would give me better visibility and be more comfortable. I also want something I could mount racks on.

That leads me to the bike shop. I went in with an open mind, knowing there was a chance it might not be worth trying to upgrade what I currently have, nor would I probably want to. What I wanted to see was if it was worth doing things like swapping out the handlebars on a bike like I already own. Given the geometry of my current bike, it wouldn’t quite work, but even if it did, I’d have to swap out much more than just the handlebars and stem, as many of the other components like the area shifters, detailers, and brake levers would also have to be changed out to accommodate the different handlebar style.

This then begs the question of whether it would be cheaper to do all of that work (which may or may not be worth it) or to just get something new. I’m leaning towards something new as I can get in at around $500. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but I do get a bonus in about a month and I’ll have an “extra check” coming in May that would offset any costs if I did this now. With the weather getting warmer outside, I’m getting eager to get out a little more and explore again.

A few more notes from my trip: first, I’m appreciative of the honesty from the guy I talked to. He explained why it’s probably not worth manipulating my current bike and explained why a hybrid is a better choice for me, which already aligned with what I felt like I wanted anyway. I’m also learning when it comes to bikes in a bike shop, you have to look at the make and models the same as you would with cars. It’ll matter with parts and repairs in some cases. Lastly, it could be really easy to go down the rabbit hole of parts and components. Part of me could really geek out with this kind of stuff, so I’ll have to be careful and show some restraint.

In the meantime, I’m weighing my options and going to continue to look around. But, at least now I have a ballpark figure of what I’ll be getting into at an entry level again. By summer I should have some of this figured out. We’ll see if I’m actually commuting again or not, but at least some recreational and practical things could be happening on two wheels again.