Got my whole family on bikes for €101…
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Got my whole family on bikes for €101
https://preview.redd.it/3iamdn0g6coh1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb77596058050363a601158328a19a00a30ac3f5
Money is pretty tight for us right now, and my 8-year-old really wanted a bike. After about a month of checking local listings, I found someone giving away a children's bike. It was rusty and needed two new inner tubes, but the brakes worked, so €8 in tubes and some cleaning later, he had a working bike. I also bought an €8 pump.
The problem was that he quickly became too fast for me to follow on foot, so I started looking for a cheap bike for myself. Then I found someone selling two rusty bikes for €80 together. Having successfully repaired exactly one bike in my life, I was obviously a bicycle mechanic now, so I bought both — one for me and one for my wife.
I cleaned them up, attacked the rusty chains with WD-40, and we finally went for our first family rides. On the second day, I decided that if a hill isn't 90 degrees, it isn't really a hill, stood on the pedals... and snapped my chain.
I briefly wondered whether my €40 bike had survived for exactly two days. Turns out a new chain was €5 and surprisingly easy to replace myself.
Three weeks later, all three bikes are still going strong and we ride together almost every day.
Total: **€80 for two bikes + €8 tubes + €5 chain + €8 pump = €101.**
I've also learned that WD-40 isn't actually chain lube.
For someone who's spent his whole career behind a computer, I'm pretty proud that €101 and a little DIY got the whole family cycling.
#finance
source
https://preview.redd.it/3iamdn0g6coh1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb77596058050363a601158328a19a00a30ac3f5
Money is pretty tight for us right now, and my 8-year-old really wanted a bike. After about a month of checking local listings, I found someone giving away a children's bike. It was rusty and needed two new inner tubes, but the brakes worked, so €8 in tubes and some cleaning later, he had a working bike. I also bought an €8 pump.
The problem was that he quickly became too fast for me to follow on foot, so I started looking for a cheap bike for myself. Then I found someone selling two rusty bikes for €80 together. Having successfully repaired exactly one bike in my life, I was obviously a bicycle mechanic now, so I bought both — one for me and one for my wife.
I cleaned them up, attacked the rusty chains with WD-40, and we finally went for our first family rides. On the second day, I decided that if a hill isn't 90 degrees, it isn't really a hill, stood on the pedals... and snapped my chain.
I briefly wondered whether my €40 bike had survived for exactly two days. Turns out a new chain was €5 and surprisingly easy to replace myself.
Three weeks later, all three bikes are still going strong and we ride together almost every day.
Total: **€80 for two bikes + €8 tubes + €5 chain + €8 pump = €101.**
I've also learned that WD-40 isn't actually chain lube.
For someone who's spent his whole career behind a computer, I'm pretty proud that €101 and a little DIY got the whole family cycling.
#finance
source
| 1,000 mlx | |
| 2 | |
| 0 |