My bike, for the most part, is stock. The only attachments are a rear-light (which came with an industrial rubber-band to loop around my seat-post), my rear rackpak (which uses build in velcro to stay on) and my headlamp (whose handle-bar grip doesn’t fit). Everything else is as it came, no modifications. After all, it works. The headlamp, though, doesn’t fit right. The way it works is called a QuickCam bracket mount – Basically you spin a screw on the bottom (that has a handle/nob) and then snap the handle up and lock it into place. My problem is that when it’s tight enough, my nob isn’t in a lockable position. My solution? A velcro cord-tie from my office network guys. It works!
At home we use a lot of odd things for decoration (that decoration over there is a sarong, this room divider is curtain, these picture frames are poster holders) and many things from thrift stores since, well, there’s no point in spending a lot for the generic stuff. When I go looking for bike ‘gear’ I hit them up as well. Except for two things, locks and helmets. Those I always get new from a reputable place.
This Sunday, I went to the REI garage sale (where stuff is 20%-80% off because it’s been returned), partly to look for a tent (fail) and partly to see what sort of things people returned and in what state. There were a lot of bike gear around, but the interesting thing were the bikes they were selling for parts, and the indoor ‘trainers’ for $99. Trainers are used to ride your bike indoors, instead of getting an Exercycle. They usually go for $300 to $1000 from REI (high quality) so $99 is actually a great deal. The catch is my bike’s tires are 16″ and they don’t fit right on those, so I’d need an adapter of some sort. Kinetic has one for $30, but I don’t know if it’d work on all models.
Finally, there’s a damn fine website called Ride the City, which can map out bicycle safe routes through Chicago, and probably other cities as well. Rock on!