Well built bikes keep on
I guess when it comes down to it even relatively "cheap" bikes ($300) will last for many years if cared for, but there is something about a really well made bike that makes you want to keep riding it. Such is the case with my favorite bike.
In August of 1994 my girlfriend and I were on the way back from a day out when a pretty serious storm bore down on us. We heard the air raid sirens from the town we were passing through which this meant tornados were a possibility. We pulled off the highway and into a gas station to wait for it to blow over (maybe not the safest choice, looking back). To pass the time we read classified books. I found a brand new Breezer Thunder for a very good price and decided that I'd give the guy a call the next day.
It turns out he really loved the bike (for the short time he had it--the tires still had the nubs sticking out of them), but needed money to pay for college. I promised I'd take good care of it for him.
The Breezer's early life was touring around trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I wasn't so much into the "summer job" thing so most of my summer days were riding.
It then hit the local race scene with a components upgrade (XP and Ritchey with some nice hand-made Avid brakes and American Classic cranks). At the time we won our first intermediate race at Buck Hill it was one of the last bikes on the course without suspension, even though it was probably 3lbs lighter than most bikes at the start line.
Aaron, making another one of his grimace-faces for his blog. Note to self: post some more civilized looking pictures
We then moved to New York where we navigated potholes, curbs and cobblestone.
Coney Island
We raced one last race in northern NJ before it was parked for a big box (gasp) road racing bike.
Years passed and I was summoned for jury duty, which had me commuting to city hall in the heart of rush hour. The trains are so packed here that you often have to wait for them to pass because there is no room to get inside. I decided on that first train ride into downtown that I was going to use my jury duty money to buy that kryptonite chain lock that I've had on my list forever and bike in the next day I was called. After getting the lock a few days passed until the coldest day in NYC in years was upon us, 22 below with windchill. This was the day I was called back.
Since moving to this city I have become a man of conviction so I wasn't about to have this get me down, or alter my plans at all, really. I put on my outfit for the day plus an extra few layers (my leather jacket to stop the wind and my pair of old snowboarding gloves for a second layer over my fingers). Aside from pink cheeks and chilled legs this turned out to be a great reminder of how liberating cycling is. I had no issues with traffic or timing and from that day on I started using my bike for little errands that were just out of reach of walking (and that I didn't think I'd have time to run during the day).
So now that I'm hooked again I decided to feed the Breezer some new parts to help with it's new urban life: fenders, panniers, Ritchey Tom Slick tires, Nitto "all rounder" handlebars, and new shift/brake cables.
The classic Breezer paint job lends itself well to the nitto handlebars and panniers. Little do most people know but even after all the gear was added this 1994 bike tips the scales at 25 lbs -- lighter than many mountain bikes sold today.
The Breezer has always been a dream to ride and I was saddened when Joe decided to discontinue his line of high performance bikes in the early 2000s. From a business perspective it makes sense, with all the consolidation happening around him there was no way a small outfit like his would have the money to throw into carbon fiber like the Treks and Specialized of the world. The day of the hand-made bike came and went and his current focus is on advocating for bike commuters in California.
Interesting, though, that one of his old high-end racing bikes now rides side-by-side with his commuter line of bikes over a decade later.