On Tuesday night, I was about to cycle home from uni on my cruiser, Grace, when, on the first pedal stroke, the chain came apart. Not only that, but when I inspected her drivetrain trying to figure out what had happened, I noticed that the chainring was very, very bent: Added to a back wheel that was already again in need of replacement anyway (broken spoke, out of true), I knew that the repair bill would exceed the cost of the bike. What to do?

So the time seemed right to give this bike a well-earned rest, and on Thursday, I plonked down $199 for a near-twin: I spent Saturday afternoon transferring components and accessories from old to new, until I had my beloved cruiser down to little more than frame and forks: I put aside the brand-new Reid components, so that when Grace’s rebuild is complete, I can swap these back and hopefully sell or donate the bike I just bought as a complete and new-looking unit.

A few friends and family members have asked me why I didn’t just buy a “better” bike instead of this stand-in and the planned extensive upgrades.

Two reasons. First, I’m very sentimental, and I feel a deep sense of attachment to this bike (my first bike, the bike that took me to the Gold Coast on one of the biggest and most fun adventures of my life). Second, the aesthetics of a bike are crucial to any notion of “better” to me, and I’m yet to find any readily-available cruiser whose looks I prefer, or any hybrid I like the looks of at all.

Next steps will be to complete Grace’s disassembly, buy the rack and fenders I want to upgrade to, and start looking at powdercoating options.
[null, {"document_url": "http://forwendings.blogspot.com/2016/03/bicycle-renovations.html", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IvAqeulUEno/Vu3ZeGuBHZI/AAAAAAAAAuA/qZFeK_IL8KQFDMhlGl16HKEQZsP9jPCWw/s320/IMG_0410.JPG", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IvAqeulUEno/Vu3ZeGuBHZI/AAAAAAAAAuA/qZFeK_IL8KQFDMhlGl16HKEQZsP9jPCWw/s320/IMG_0410.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 240}, null, {"document_url": "http://forwendings.blogspot.com/2016/03/bicycle-renovations.html", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gF5L2Of-Pc/Vu3Z145yFnI/AAAAAAAAAuE/KS3GrxALiZ0aQSAsxo6b1NwIILk78JuSQ/s320/IMG_0418a.JPG", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gF5L2Of-Pc/Vu3Z145yFnI/AAAAAAAAAuE/KS3GrxALiZ0aQSAsxo6b1NwIILk78JuSQ/s320/IMG_0418a.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG a", "rendered_width": 280, "rendered_height": 320}, {"document_url": "http://forwendings.blogspot.com/2016/03/bicycle-renovations.html", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-30ag0bavlac/Vu3Z5E2tOgI/AAAAAAAAAuI/bHuId4ux6WcW17grobNC85D8nwy5T6nDQ/s320/IMG_0422.JPG", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-30ag0bavlac/Vu3Z5E2tOgI/AAAAAAAAAuI/bHuId4ux6WcW17grobNC85D8nwy5T6nDQ/s320/IMG_0422.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 240}, null, {"document_url": "http://forwendings.blogspot.com/2016/03/bicycle-renovations.html", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOCcf1WsFpQ/Vu3aEyxnAPI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/6OK0aRkZgp8Ncd_3qPzRBR3t9RsIryKtA/s320/IMG_0435.JPG", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOCcf1WsFpQ/Vu3aEyxnAPI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/6OK0aRkZgp8Ncd_3qPzRBR3t9RsIryKtA/s320/IMG_0435.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 240}, null, null, {"document_url": "http://forwendings.blogspot.com/2016/03/bicycle-renovations.html", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXT5mJVbtKc/VzzDAPG_ivI/AAAAAAAAA3M/biINwMiCsa0_ajmrEYW8FD5KDzQ1bALhwCK4B/s80/13151995_1708417999424219_6447541912555302016_n.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXT5mJVbtKc/VzzDAPG_ivI/AAAAAAAAA3M/biINwMiCsa0_ajmrEYW8FD5KDzQ1bALhwCK4B/s80/13151995_1708417999424219_6447541912555302016_n.jpg", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 80, "rendered_height": 80}, null, null]