money can’t buy happiness

By Mickey Buendia

In the bike shop we see a lot of new parts and pieces that were not around a few years ago. We also see a lot of parts that cannot be serviced or replaced. Bike companies call it advancements in bicycle technology. I call it planned obsolescence. (Buckle up, you’re in for some serious jargon.) Shifter pull ratios, wheel spacing, wheel sizes, pressfit bearings, suspension technology, electronic shifting; all these things are in wild flux and have been for the better part of a decade.

If you have a suspension fork from 2016, better just throw it away. No distributors carry parts for that anymore. I learned this lesson the hard way. There was a 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson C from the warehouse for $450. A Crazy Deal. Originally sold for $3200. It needed work, which I could do, and suspension service, which I couldn’t. I brought the fork and rear suspension into another shop and was told my components were too old and couldn’t be serviced. It’s not the shop’s fault, they can’t find parts for it through their distributors. I could buy a rebuild kit on eBay, but there’s a 50% chance of success if I were to do that work. Imagine that- yesterday’s top of the line is today’s top of the trash heap.

Have an Octolink crankset? Good luck finding a bottom bracket that works with it. 142mm thru axle? What is this, the time of Charlemagne? Contemporize! Everyone is riding 148mm now. All of this amounts to having to spend more just to continue feeding the landfill. As long as The 1%™ keeps buying up the newest tech, the train of “progress” will keep on rolling. And as bikes change, so do the cultures and settings around them. Mountain bikes get squishier, trails get steeper and rockier. Road bikes get lighter, pelotons get faster. It’s a gain for performance, but a loss to the culture as it creates yet another barrier (look up sexism, racism, gentrification and/or ableism in cycling and you’ll get a plethora of results) to riding. 

What if you can’t afford to upgrade? Or what if you spent all year saving up to get your modern dream bike only to learn that it can’t be serviced 5 years later because all those hi-tech components are no longer being manufactured and we’ve moved on to the next trends. The bike industry doesn’t care about that. The bike industry doesn’t care about you. Sustainability doesn’t lead to profits. If you can’t keep up with the trends, you can’t ride.

If you can’t read my tone, I’m not particularly stoked about this. I don’t care about weight savings or low shift intervals. I love bikes because they are fun. Give me anything with 2 wheels, a plank of wood, and a cinderblock and I’m having a blast. 

I ride a ‘90 Trek Singletrack, which is about as rare as a Herb Alpert record at a thrift store. That is to say, not rare at all. In fact, there is a ‘91 Trek Singletrack in the Bike Works warehouse right now for $80. You can pick up as-is bikes like this on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, from 1-4pm, through the summer. Further details on my bike and your potential bike below.

Meet my beloved “Ungoliant”. The one bike to rule them all. With enough power to drain the light from the trees of Valinor and still make it over the mountains of Ered Gorgoroth (IYKYK):

Here’s the singletrack that is currently for sale in the warehouse.

Here’s how you can make this bike cool like Ungoliant:

First, you gotta strip the bike down and sand all the paint off. This takes longer than you imagine so be patient or get it sand blasted at a powdercoat place around town. Usually around $100. I wish I knew that before I dedicated hours to removing the factory paint by hand. Second, paint it. I just used whatever from the hardware store. The internet has mad videos for cool painting techniques. Third, you gotta figure out what you want the bike to do. If you’re like me, you’ll want it to do everything from jumplines at Cheasty to tours around the San Juans. That means grippy fat tires, racks, and versatile handlebars. I also need my skateboard, so I’ll order a Fairdale skate rack through the shop. Everything else is kinda preferential, so I’ll leave it be for now. Then, assemble the bike. Take a bike maintenance 101 class if needed. Finally, ride the bike.

$80 – Bike (as-is)

$85 – Handlebars (new VO Klunker)

$36 – Tires (used – folding)

$20 Tubes (new)

$18 – Rear Rack (used)

$58 – Skate Rack (new Fairdale Skate Rack)

$60 – Front Rack (new Soma Lucas)

$18 – Basket (used)

$18 – Lowrider rack (used)

$28 – Spray Paint (4 cans)

So there you have it. For around $420 the world opens up and you have a forever bike that is obsolescence resistant. Replace the consumables as needed, and if you need new brakes in the future, find them in the parts bin at Bike Works. Trails, roads, islands, gravel, cheap transportation, cool factor, all within reach. And that’s with my Gucci accessories. If you wanna keep it simple and affordable, we offer all kinds of used parts at great deals. But don’t take my word for it. Come on down to Bike Works and see for yourself!

Does modern bike technology make riding more fun? Maybe marginally, but not enough for me to trade in the 90s mountain bike. I may not be the fastest on the road, or shredding the gnarliest trails on the mountain, but I’ve always believed that the best rider is the one having the most fun. And money can’t buy happiness.