About half a year ago, I went to work, like every other day, with my nice old bike. However, just when I arrived at work, my outer tire exploded. Okay, maybe that’s a little exagerated, but it did tear.
Now, little did I know it would take me 6 months to get it repaired. If it were just the tire, I would have replaced it myself (although, the current one was already wrong size, so it would be a guessing game to buy the right one), but there was a lot more to it:
- lights did’t work. also a simple thing, unless your parts are like a century old.
- the front break handle was broken, plus also the pull string (I don’t have a regular rear break, but torpedo)
Since my employer offers a cheap bike repair service through VELO (subsidized service for students using used parts), I thought I’d give it a try and while they’re at it, why not throw in replacing my rear reflector and fix my flat tire.
However, there was one huge caveat: the bike had to be handed in before 9.30 am! which can be quite a challenge for me 😉 (and also filling in the same papers in 3-fold(?!)) The alternative is to let it stand quasi unguarded and not locked for a night.. but since getting up early isn’t so difficult, why risk 😉
Unfortunately, it took me longer than expected. After all, I do own a car, so I went to work by car. 🙂 (which is a shame if you know the distance ;))
But this week, slightly helped by a light lumbago, I managed to achieve my goal! 🙂
Everything repaired! New tire, new front light, new rear light with incorporated reflector (is that legal nowadays?) and fixed wiring, new break. 🙂 Too bad, it seems not many used parts were used, total price: 42 EUR. I could almost buy a new used bike 😉 but I wouldn’t do that since I’m too attached to my current one. 😉 Still, I think you cannot have it fixed anywhere for that price.
So this evening, I proudly biked home, in the rain 🙂 It really felt good to ride a bike again 😉