Saturday 14 April 2012

Ali-The Bike

I like to bike.  Growing up in the country (more cows than people!), we used to bike a lot. I remember one time one of my very best friends and I (check out her blog: Beautifully Contained, it's great!) road our bikes around the 50 mile garage sale! Our thrifty habits started early. :) 

As I've moved around a lot, I haven't always had a bike, but every time I see someone riding, I fall in love again.  It doesn't help that the Mister used to be (and is starting to be again) an avid city bike rider.  He zipped and ducked on the mean streets of London! The thought of sharing a bike lane with those Double-Decker buses scares the crap out of me...! Eep!

Anyway...so when we were in Vancouver, BC, I bought a sweet Apollo bike from craigslist for $25! It had one owner and was clean! It road like a dream.  Here she is in Vancouver:


Le sigh, I loved her so.  She was a great beating around bike, but super heavy.  So when we left Van, I gave her to a friend.

Since moving to Toronto, I've been itching for a bike.  It's so much easier to get around a city!! Plus transit is incredibly expensive ($3 each way!!!) So I had been keeping my eye open.  I'm all about recycling and finding gems that just need a little bit of TLC.

That's when I found this sweet ride on Craigslist. He's an Executive 3 speed and was made in Austria.  The guy selling it originally wanted $115 for it!! So I took it for a spin and it was a little too tall, so I asked the guy to lower the seat post.  He spent almost an hour trying to get it lowered, but the seat-post wouldn't budge.  After a bit of haggling and explaining to him that I couldn't even ride the bike in the current state (not comfortably anyway ha!) I got him down to $50!! Woop! He gave me a seat too!


So, I started the the search for a seat-post.  Seat-posts are measured in mm...this guy needed a 20mm, which is super small because he is so old.  I searched and called all over the bike stores in Toronto and then ended up finding one at The Bike Joint! They were so helpful and super funny, not to mention the new seat-post (installed and adjusted) was only $5! The fellow also adjusted my handle bars so they were safe!  I've added my bright yellow bell (from the Mister).  I know he'll need some work over the years, but you can never beat a good solid frame and clean gears.

Anyway...I love him and think I might call him Ali (because he's green  and tough like a gator! hehe!)



Do you have any great craiglist finds? Let me know!

2 comments:

  1. This is awesome! And I need your haggling skills...I can't believe that you talked him down from $115 to $50 ;) you go girl!

    The best deal I've ever had on CL were the three dome-shaped vintage light fixtures I got from a guy for $10. They are so solid and pretty...I spray painted the black worn metal a nickel color, and washed the glass inserts...now two are in our hallway, and the third is in our living room!

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  2. oh! I love those light fixtures! Craigslist is pretty amazing!!!

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