Being the Neighborhood "Bike Guy"

In my neighborhood, I am the “bike guy”. My car is the only one that has a bike rack on top of it. I’m the one who wears the “funny clothes” when he rides, and considers a 15-20 mile ride something to do if I only have an hour to spare.


Being the “bike guy” also means that I am the one who gets asked the questions like “I want to get my (husband/wife/child) a good bike, what do you think of brand x?” Not that I mind. I actually enjoy getting questions like that. It means people are thinking about their bicycle purchases, and steering away from the Wal-Mart BSO’s.

Another question I get a lot is “Can you (fix/install/repair/look at) ______ for me?”

I need to clarify, I am not complaining, in fact just the opposite. I love to work on bikes, whether it is my own, or someone else’s.

I have a couple of neighbors who have recently discovered – or re-discovered in one case – the joy of road cycling. They have both found “new” bikes on Craigslist, or one of the other online classified forums and asked me to take a look at them, to make sure everything was adjusted and in good working order.

One of the bikes came with some Look Keo Classic pedals, and my friend wanted me to swap out the pedals for some Shimano SPD pedals that he already had. I asked him what he was going to do with the Keo’s. “do you want them?” he asked. (I currently have some old Shimano “Look compatible” pedals on my bike, and have wanted to upgrade to a pair of Keo pedals)…

My other friend – the one I go riding with almost every weekend – has discovered the joy that is Nashbar. He is coming over almost every week with a new part he purchased, asking me if I could swap it out. After I have traded the parts, he asks me if I would like the old part – as thanks for helping him out. One week, I traded his tires (still in good condition) for some new rubber (hello, tires for the fixed gear!). Another time, He purchased a new wheelset (hello, training wheels!).

Yeah, it’s not bad being the “bike guy”.