Calling Nashbar was like phoning the Bermuda Triangle – my order vanished without a trace, again. Second time’s the charm for lost packages, right? Not in Nashbarland. So, I decided to channel my inner bike whisperer and embark on a shop tour, the kind that leaves your legs quivering and wallet trembling.
Big Sky Bikes was first. $200 for an XT wheel? Nah, I could practically hear my bank account sobbing. “Nope, gotta piecemeal this bad boy together,” I muttered, channeling my inner McGyver. Sportsman’s Surplus was next, but their wheels were as dusty as a forgotten attic.
By the time I reached Bicycle Hanger, my new Frankenstein-bike was practically a done deal. But then, like a beacon of hope in a sea of spokes, Open Road emerged. There, nestled in a corner, sat a beauty: an old Rolof hub laced to a brand new rim. This wasn’t just any wheel, it was a unicorn – rare, majestic, and probably priced like a small dragon.
I braced myself for the inevitable $300 price tag, but the owner, a wiry dude with a handlebar mustache, just chuckled. “Hmm, this ol’ fella needs a good home,” he mused, clearly itching to get rid of it. After a quick chat (and maybe a sob story about my missing Nashbar order), he hit me with a price that made my jaw drop: seventy bucks.
Seventy. Dollars. I swear, I saw angels singing and unicorns frolicking in the background. Before you could say “spoke wrench,” that wheel was mine. Sold!
This bike may be a Frankensteinian patchwork of parts, but thanks to a stroke of luck (and maybe a touch of desperation), it’s got a heart (or should I say, hub?) of gold. And who knows, maybe this adventure will be the first chapter in a beautiful, albeit slightly wobbly, cycling journey.
Boneshakerbike 
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