The Repurposed Bicycle

I don’t know exactly when the word “repurposed” came into the English language.  The first time I encountered it, I understood it at once.  I’ve been doing that with stuff, particularly bicycles, almost all my life.

My first real bicycle, beloved Schwinn of memory, was a sort of Pee Wee Herman special.  It had a big gas tank kind of affair that housed batteries and a horn.  It had a headlight, a bell, fenders, a tail light, a chainguard, and a large basket.  That basket was the first thing to go.  Later, I removed almost everything except the basic bicycle, and used it to invent mountain biking.  Still later I remounted the basket, added a pair of pannier baskets, and entered the world of commerce, throwing newspapers.

One of my treasures is a necklace that my daughter made.  She took the jockey pulley out of worn out antique Campagnolo derailler, used hemp to macramé it to a leather thong, and made it into a necklace.  She wore that thing for several years.  Now it’s mine, and more precious than gold.

Regular readers will be aware of some of my other projects.  There have been numerous fixed gear conversions…

Last year's contest Grand Prize

And of course my FrankenFixed…

The FrankenFixed

These are bikes that started out as one thing, and ended up as something quite different.

I’m currently engaged in another kind of repurposing of a bicycle.  This time I’m starting with a brand new bike, and converting into something the manufacturers never envisioned.  I’m working toward a vision of mine, aiming at fulfilling a purpose and solving a specific problem.  In other words, I’m having fun.

The Problem:  I need/want a more commuter specific bicycle.  Specific to my kind of commuting.  I want to stop beating up my road bike.  It won’t carry fenders.  Currently, if I’m commuting I have two choices for carrying stuff.  One, ride the tourist (heavy!), or two, pack all my stuff on my back.  Here are the criteria:

• Handle a ride of between 11 and 25 miles one way, over varied terrain, and road surfaces (including dirt)
• Be reasonably light
• Capable of mounting a rear rack and panniers
• Capable of mounting fenders
• Comfortable road bike feel
• Fairly simple and economical to maintain.
• Reasonably inexpensive

This just may be the stuff of many future “Friday Follies”!