Bicycle hoarding really can be for the greater good...

[badgercat]

A college classmate recently moved to the city where DBF and I live. She and her husband are a one-car couple, and unfortunately, her bicycle was stolen today. Since I got my Jamis, I made my Trek my daily commuter, and my mixte has been sitting in the living room looking pitiful. So, I mentioned that I had an extra bike sitting around--and would she like to borrow it to get around until she can replace her bike? Why yes, she would! I had been thinking about selling the mixte, but I think I like this "having a lovely-but-wasn't-a-huge-investment bike around to lend out" thing much better. I just hope she won't feel put off when I suggest she use a u-lock anytime she's not riding it. :o (we do have one she can borrow).

Has anyone else been able to use a personal bicycle collection to help someone out in a pinch? I'd love to hear other stories. :D

[inkspot]

A student in my lab decided to stark commuting by bike to save money. She tried to find a bike on the local message boards, but nothing came up that she could afford. Because I, too, hoard bicycles :o I was able to lend her my Trek Navigator for a few months. She enjoyed it so much that her extended family all got together and bought her one for her birthday.

I'm all for bike hoarding - you never know when one of your bikes might need major repairs or when a friend might want to try cycling for the first time. I would be lost without a backup!

[Cataboo]

I was building up Scar to be my commuter/beater when my Mom expressed an interest in having a bike - she rode him to work for abut 2 weeks before deciding she wanted to keep him.

More recently, my BF's cousin something removed has moved in with him for this semester to go to university. He doesn't have a car and R's house is really not all that close to the city and a few miles from a metro station - so when we asked what the cousin's plans were to get to the metro or school, he said he was going to ride his bike. Dave's a sweet kid, 19, super enthusiastic, but he is like 6'4 with size 14 feet. He's a big guy. So we went to another cousin's house to pick up Dave's bike and he carries a walmart huffy up out of the basement. R said "no, that's Sara's (the 7 year old daughter of the cousin's house we were at) bike, go get yours" Dave started insisting "THIS IS MY BIKE"

I looked at him, and said "Dude, that bike's too small for me and I'm 5'1"

At which point, Dave started getting insulted, 'cause apparently he'd saved his money from his first job in high school & paid $70 for the huffy.

R & I were just staring in disbelief and cracking up. Repeatedly. Poor Dave really should find a nicer cousin to live with.

But we got it home, I told R to go fix it - because it was pretty obvious that hte front wheel was banana shaped. Apparently both wheels were badly out of true, so Dave had just loosened the brakes so they wouldn't rub - which also meant, they didn't work... He just stuck his feet on the ground to stop. So he eventually got the wheels trued, but it didn't change the fact that the gears really didn't work, the rear hub was shot, and.... It was like a 14" huffy that a 6'4 guy was riding.

Dave proudly locked his huffy to the lamppost out front - R's brother stopped by for a visit and said "Why are you locking that **** up? Noone's going to steal that bike" Which put Dave into a huff on why we were all down on his huffy. I'd given him my bike helmet with a suggestion he use it and he really did ride that huffy for miles. He had an accident a few days later skinning both his knees.

I had an old steel giant that I'd rescued when I saw a free to a good home sign on it, very large frame - so probably a 6' + person. I'd rescued it for my brother in law, who saw a pic of it and said "I'm not riding a peewee herman bike" and I just stashed it waiting for a better home because it was a nice steel frame with fat 700c tires. I brought it over to R's, replaced the cables, greased things up a bit, and had R tune it...

We stuck the seat about half way up, and made Dave ride it. He got upset when we still wanted to jack the seat up, wanting to know why he had to be so far off the ground. He did admit that it rode a bit better than the huffy, and I stashed the huffy in the garage...

A few nights ago, DAve wanted to go to 7-11 at night, didn't want a ride, and after the ribbing about what he needed at 7-11 in the middle of the night that he didn't want us to give us a ride for, he rode the giant away... He came back like 20 mins later with a flat...

The sidewall of the tire was ripped out, the front wheel was all warped - and R set to truing it and I ordered a new 700x35 tire because we didn't have any large tires spare. And we told Dave to ride the huffy for a couple days.

That tire comes in today, but Sunday night Dave was sitting there saying "Man, I didn't realize how bad that huffy was till I started riding the other bike. I saw my reflection in a window and I look ridiculous on it, I'm like 3 times as big as it, and I'm on it all hunched over and just panting trying to make it move. How did I ride that???" R & I were laughing so hard, we were in tears.


Our spare road bike is on loaner to R's friend at work who was going to do a triathalon or something, but he's had the bike since february. So it needs to come back, and I think it'll get loaned to my brother who wants a road bike. It's sort of borderline too big for me, but borderline too small for R - but we got it for a good price, so it just stays around for a just in case bike.

[Roadtrip]

Wow Cataboo, that story had me in stitches. I used to have a friend who would somehow FIND stray cats and couldn't help herself. She'd take them home and feed them and find good homes for them. It's amazing she didn't turn into some kind of cat horder or something, but she managed to find them all homes.

Good job on the good bike karma your passing around!!

Shannon

[pinkychique]

I was dating a guy a number of years ago who's dad hoarded bikes. Now I'm just as much of a hoarder, and he was talking about getting rid of his Specialized Allez Epic just like this :
http://scotland.inetgiant.co.uk/Edinburgh/AdDetails/Specialized-Allez-Epic-Carbon-Fibre-Road-Bike-St-Andrews-300/3147667

I said I would take it, then never really had the need or reason to set it up, so it sat in the garage for a couple years. After a year of no longer dating the guy, my best friend was needing another bike because she mucked hers up in a crash and couldn't afford a new one. I polished it up, put new cables, chain and the derailleur that it needed on it and gave it to her. The components are such that it would probably retail for $1200 if I wanted to sell it, but now my best friend has a sweet bike that rides very smooth :D

Hoarding does come in handy!

[azfiddle]

My husband was the recipient of a "good karma" bike. About 6 or 7 years ago, he wanted to start bike commuting to work. At the time, I didn't actually take him too seriously, and didn't think he would stick to it. (What did I know? He proved me very wrong, and look at me now) We didn't have too much extra money to spend on a bike, but a friend mentioned that her father had passed away and had left 6 bikes. One was an older Miyata touring bike. She just gave him the bike. He rode it for over two years- thousands of miles, before acquiring other bikes he wanted to use for commuting.

It was such a generous gift, and made a huge difference in his life. We recently passed the bike on to another friend, and just asked that she return it if/when she stops using it or decides to replace it.

[Tri Girl]

I gave away one of my commuter bikes at one time to a friend who gave it to a client of hers (she's a counselor). This girl is in high school and needs transportation to get to school and her job. Her family life is horrible and her mom drinks so she cannot depend on her to take her to work and school. She started working at 15 so she could save money to buy lunch at school, clothes from the thrift store, and save some money for college one day. 2 years later and she still rides that bike to school and work every day. Makes me feel good that I'm a bike hoarder! Whenever my DH moans at my bike acquisitions, I remind him that we need to share our blessings.

and I was loaned a bike once. I wanted to try out a tri bike and a friend of mine lent me her nice TT bike for 4 months while I decided if I liked it. I did and bought one.

Give and receive.

[warneral]

love these stories :)

I can't even bear to sel off my trek 800 MTB from 14 years ago. I told DH that we could give it to ds when he gets big enough. It's still a good bike and wouldn't sell for much at all!

[chicagogal]

I only have 2 bikes because I sell bikes to buy bike stuff . . .

However, friend commutes to work by bike, but had her bike stolen. She had no idea how she was going to get to work, until I offered to lend her my "winter bike". She was very grateful and road it for several months until eventually buying herself a bike and giving mine back just in time for winter!

[Cataboo]

love these stories :)

I can't even bear to sel off my trek 800 MTB from 14 years ago. I told DH that we could give it to ds when he gets big enough. It's still a good bike and wouldn't sell for much at all!

The bike I gave to my Mom was a trek 800. I've been keeping an eye on craigslist for another one for myself, but haven't found one yet for the right price.

[arielmoon]

I am on the receiving end of the equation and I am very grateful! My attorney is a mountain bike racer and he insisted that I borrow his "old" bike so that I could find out what the big deal was. I have had to wait to get more healed from my accident but I will be out on the trails more this fall and winter.

Yay for people like you!!!

[Cataboo]

So in the further adventures of Dave - he rode the bike like 10 miles to go see a girl he had a date with. He got there, she told him she was too busy or something, he rode back home - hit a gulley and crashed, ripping up his hands (I told him to wear his gloves)

A few days later, he came home and had somehow bent the chainrings on the crankset. R hammered them back flat.

This morning, he rode one of the commuter buses into the city with it, got off the bus, and the bus took off before he could get the bike off.

So, in 2 months or so - 2 crashes, 1 ripped tire & warped wheel, 1 set of bent chainrings (????), and a missing bike.

[Melalvai]

My daughter's bike that is too small for her, and my husband's bike that he has not ridden in over a year :( came in really handy when our nieces & nephews were up visiting one day and I took them all to the park. The older 2 stayed home by themselves and I distributed the younger ones on all the different bikes plus one in a trailer and we had exactly enough and more or less the right sizes. We still have those 2 bikes "just in case"!

[colorisnt]

I wish I could show my mother these stories. My father and I are bike hoarders and this summer, we took in a bunch of "orphans" to fix up. Our garage was bike-laden to the brim.

Mom said, "Get those bikes out of there!", so we tried to sell a couple. Couldn't. So, we ended up giving them to the organization that I was working for this summer that has a family involvement dept. A lot of kids got some great bikes. One got the nicest one and is now commuting to and from school (which is a big deal because he lives in a really low income area and his parents don't have a car). It means that he now has independence and can ride. Last I heard, he is loving the bike.

[Cataboo]

In the further misadventures of Dave, he's had a few more crashes and started riding the huffy again - when we asked why he said the front wheel needed to be trued. He apparently demanded $40 and got it from some car that cut him off and forced him into a ditch.

The front wheel, is a little bit beyond truing and I think shall become wall art on my shed:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs746.ash1/163796_499691026864_624946864_6092702_3200827_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs737.ash1/163082_499691046864_624946864_6092703_7622408_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs780.ash1/167026_499691076864_624946864_6092704_7715828_n.jpg


While I do have a spare front wheel, I'm inclined not to put it on that bike because anyone that can do what he's done doesn't deserve to ride anything more than a huffy. Especially if he can't pick up the other part of the brakes after a crash.

[badgercat]

Oh. Wow. :eek:

For what it's worth, my friend still has my Raleigh, and has made no mention of trying to replace her stolen bike. It's not like I was riding it regularly, and honestly the extra space in the living room is nice... but since it has been over 3 months now and it was just supposed to be a temporary arrangement, it would be reassuring to get some kind of "can't afford to replace my bike yet, thanks again for your help" acknowledgment or something just so I know my lovely mixte hasn't gotten jacked too. Ohh well. :o

[woohoo]

In 2004 our Scout group went to Germany for 2 weeks, about 45 of us. For months and months before the German Scouts we were visiting had hoarded bikes, scouring local ads and freemarkets, and fixing them up. When we arrived they had made sure that every one of us could borrow a bike and a lock (we brought our own helmets!) The bike collection was eclectic at best: some had brakes that were big rubber pads which pressed onto the running surface of the tyres, many were pedal backwards to stop, and many were bodged together with incredible skill. Almost all were older than me! We absolutely loved it though, and for 2 weeks were able to zip around en masse in the sun, able to explore loads of places we'd never have been able to get to without bikes. It was absolutely phenomenal, and I'll always have a great appreciation for the benefits of bike hoarding!

L :D

P.S. Mine was a mixte which was down to one functional gear and which rode over on the rim every time I leaned over too far, but continued straight on whenever you turned the handlebars! By the end of the trip I could ride it on grass or gravel with confidence though; bikelove at its best!

[Geonz]

I was able to get several members of a family visiting from Europe on bikes from my fleet. I think it's one way to spread the infection :)

[Cataboo]

woohoo, that's awesome.


The person who has our "loaner" road bike has had it for almost a year now, without mentioning it.

[JennK13]

I've had my girlfriend's mtb since the summer. I borrowed it for a race I did in August. She doesn't ride it and said I could "keep" it for now :) It's a custom made Norco that she rode maybe a half dozen times (it's like 15 years old!) The shifter needed to be rebuilt, so I had that done, and it's going to need new tires as they're pretty dry. I appreciate using it and not having to buy another bike (i already have 3 and DH has 2); she won't sell it because she'll never get what she paid for it and is just happy someone is using it and that she still has it around should she ever want to ride it again. The fact I work at a bike shop and take really good care of my stuff helps :p
We also loaned a couple of our bikes to DH's boss's son and girlfriend when they came to visit....and the circle continues......

[smilingcat]

Not to be mean to Dave or to Cataboo. Poor Dave seems accident prone.

Please let us know when he gets a drivers license to drive a motorized vehicle and where he may be driving. Occasional bike accidents, I can sympathize deeply; but Dave is extremely unlucky, not maintaining situational awareness...

And my wholehearted sympathy to Cataboo for having to endure Dave's continued misadventure.

Please tell Dave that you can't win against a car, never drive beyond your headlights, do wear a pair of gloves and foremost WEAR A HELMET!! if he does not.

Wish you the best,

smilingcat

[Cataboo]

Poor Dave has a driver's license, but no car. Oddly enough, I've never offered to let him borrow one or any of the good bikes.

I will probably give him the spare front wheel, but will make him suffer riding his old huffy for a bit in the hopes that he stops crashing the other bike.

He's been wearing one of my helmets since August now. The 2nd or 3rd wreck taught him to wear gloves (despite me telling him).

And I've told him to stop riding with his headphones in, all in black, and without lights. I'm surprised he's not dead yet.

[Biciclista]

we have loaned out bikes a few times already to young engineers in my office who want to participate to the bike to work month challenge. The same has been done for other people, both visiting us and including an intern at my office who wanted a bike for the summer.