Whaat's a bike?

Hello Fellow Urban Riderzzz

My name is Adam Sklar, and I am today's guest blogger on Urban Riderzz. This blog isn't going to be about a trip, but instead about a bike, as those are my specialty these days.

The bike I want to talk about today is the bike I ride every single day. It goes by many names; The Nine Pound Hammer, Rust bike, #2, stupid fixie... But whatever it's called we've gone a lot of places together and after the thousands of miles I have ridden on it, I've taken some time recently to think about where it has been.

If you don't know, I build bike frames. This frame was my second attempt, and my first go at a mountain bike. I had about one goal going in: Not to make an unrideable piece of junk. Well after many late nights in the garage one summer, by miraculous luck, I came out with something rideable! Not only rideable, but it was fun! It was crazy, the best bike ever! I rode it every day at work when I was coaching mountain biking - that was 5 hours a day in the saddle, all summer long for two summers. It went on tons of big rides in the mountains. We travelled to Fruita and Moab, all over Colorado, Montana. Many trails, lots of miles, and lots of fun days.

There comes a point in every bike's life though, where its intended purpose runs out. I have a pile of old frames next to my garage that were at one point the pinnacle of bicyle technology. The Bianchi who served as a coaster-braked-commuter until it's fork was bent when the front wheel popped off mid-wheelie, or the Scott Sawtooth welded atop an old cruiser bike after it's rear triangle made friends with a car. As time went on, the inadequacies of the Hammer became more apparent. it was always a little "off", and I wanted a new trail bike to replace it. So yes, just like those other frames, the nine pound hammer was destined for townie trails, trips to the hardware store and being left in the bike rack at school until one day too it would meet its end. One afternoon, the suspension fork was spontaneously switched for a rigid one that was found in a dumpster, an experimental bar-stem combo graced the steer tube. A fixed-gear cog was JB Welded onto an old hub, and some holey tires were scavanged from the recycling pile. It was the townie I've always dreamed of and it was ready to crush some gnar.

Not much has changed since then. The unpainted frame has gathered more rust, but that only makes locking up even more unneccesary. Rust bike is my urban sled, the one I take out to enjoy some brews on a townie trail, or hop on for a quick trip to the store. It is a good bike.

So anyway, my point is: even if your bike turns a little better to the left than the right, or I dunno, has any funny problem really, it can still be a great bike. If  you've got a great bike it can survive many different lives, and if you like to ride, you'll do great things for all the miles to come.

Thanks for having me Riderzzzzzzz,
Adam