Plaidophile

So I took my bike to Performance Bike at lunchtime today. The mechanic (who was busy and didn't bother to look) said the brakes were probably stuck, I told him I checked that already and tuned the brakes and it's definitely not the problem. So he took a closer look and said that the hub was probably just over-tightened, and that fixing the tightness would cost $25, but given the age and the condition I bought it in he figured the hub could do with a rebuild, which would cost $30ish. So I said to go ahead and rebuild it.

When I picked it up today, he said that yeah, the bearings were totally shot and the lube was dried out and it was gunked up, so a rebuild was very necessary. Then I spun the wheel and it was absolutely soft and smooth. So I paid my $31.96 and had the best ride home ever. It's not quite as smooth as the Mongoose (since it doesn't have a front suspension), but actually not having a suspension made starting up a lot easier, especially going up hills.

Plus, I got a lot of comments about the Down Low Glow tonight. For about a mile and a half I was riding alongside someone who wanted to know everything about it and we had a good chat about that and also bike safety etiquette. And then someone on a scooter came up beside me at a light and was all, "Whoa, nice light!" And then when I got to my apartment yet another person asked me a bunch of questions ("Where did you get it? Is it battery powered? Does it come in other colors?").

So, hey, Rock The Bike, I'm getting the word out!