SCA @ UVa

My freebie (thanks Kymber) bike had a rear flat. After a very messy attempt to use a can of Fix-A-Flat on it ("Warning: Do not attempt to use on bicycle tires." said the can.) I took it by Blue Wheel Bikes to get repaired. Quoted cost over the phone: $9.50. Standing there as the owner(?) fixed something else, I asked if there was any way to fix my bike's broken shifter for less than the value of the bike. Since the value of the bike was apparently about $10, the answer was no. Still, planning to get it repaired, I look around at the bikes.

"Do you ever deal in anything used?" I ask innocently.
"We do take trade ins, and it happens I have something now that would fit you."
"Funny you should mention it, because I don't even know what size bike I should be looking for."
See, I thought maybe I needed a 17 or 18 inch frame. Nope. The owner rolled out a 21" frame mountain bike. Biggest I've ever seen.  So after a test drive, I'm now the owner of the best bike I've ever had and the only bike that has fit me since I was 13 or so. I actually have to put extend my toe out to touch the ground from the seat. I'm not hunched up between the seat and the handlebar.

Blue wheel even swapped my old, still new-ish front tire for the older, worn down to nubs front tire on the new bike. With the fenders and the new lock, it only exceeded my vague budget by a bit and less than forty times the $9.50 flat repair quote.

Plus I got the silly looking fenders added, so I can finally ride my bike to work in the rain without getting mud splashed.
As I was gathering up my stuff to go, the owner said "Most profitable flat repair I've done all day!"  I don't know anything about bike brands, but for those who care it is an "entry level" brand and model, a 21" Gary Fisher Genesis Mountain bike, two years old.  And green! Not exactly heraldic green though. The oddest thing is that as big as this bike is, there's not room inside the frame to attach the lock mounting bracket. The tubes on the aluminum frame are too big for the bracket, at least anywhere that the lock will fit.
 
So now I just need to get it registered with the Charlottesville police (in case it gets stolen) and dig up some Apple stickers to completely nerd-ify it. Already added my last Tom Bihn sticker to the rear fender.  It occurs to me that this bike may be a bit theft resistant, just because many thieves won't be able to ride it. Their feet won't reach!

Technorati Tags: Around Grounds, UVa