The Beginnings ....

For 30 September 2006

It started last fall. Actually, it started before I was born. Dumpster-diving, junkyard-scrounging, auction-sniping … it’s all in my genes … on both sides. My father has decided to prohibit trailer hitches on his car. Me, I’ve prohibited myself from owning bolt cutters, but that gene comes more from my mother’s side.

Anyway, last fall I had looked so very forward to attending the Police Bike Auction. Birthdays? Thanksgiving? End of exams? Not on my calendar. But the Police Bike Auction … YOU BET! But alas, I had to tour the brownfields of the city and visit the water treatment plant for a class I was taking at the time and COULD NOT ATTEND! I was devastated. So, I had to wait until the spring for the next one. I hate being patient. So I waited oh those many months, only to discover that I had an exam that day, April 12. Again, I was devastated.

So when this past Saturday, September 30, 2006 arrived, I was beside myself. I went to 401 Auto where the auction was to take place the Friday afternoon before and they let me take a look. The bikes were all piled up and the light wasn’t great, but I was able to pick out a handful I was interested in. Most were newer lower-end department store bikes, or older lower-end road bikes, neither of which I was especially interested in.

The next day, I borrowed a friend’s car, filled my backpack with wrenches, attached a tape measure to my belt and off I went.

I arrived about 30 minutes before the auction was to start. Now with better lighting, I took a better look around, tape measure in hand. The Cannondale MTB I had seen turned out to be a low-end model. The auctioneer would later claim that it had been $3000 new. It went for the most of all the bikes at somewhere around $450. The Gary Fisher in stunning yellow I had picked out, likewise was a lower-end model. The Specialized Stump Jumper I was most looking forward to bidding on was claimed by its former owner part way through, so it never made it to the auction block.

The bike I walked away with was an ugly pile. I had never even heard of the makers name, Muddy Fox, applied in a simple and cheap-looking font to the downtube, now hard to make out through the heavily chipped paintjob. Someone had attached a couple bullet-hole stickers to the frame and removing them further peeled the paint off. It was missing its seat post (and seat), the brake pads were worn almost to the metal, and the alloy pedals were smashed and jingly. The cables for the rear brake floated loose, making it look broken instead of just disconnected, and the rear derailleur cable was detached and wound around the seat stay.

An ugly pile it may have been, but one with a complete XT/XTR group, Ritchey stem and headset, and a Rock Shox fork!

I was lucky. Only one other person knew what it was – knew it wasn’t just a pile – and he was a nice guy who already had picked up a ton of old bikes. I had seen him before, working at the local bike shop I frequent. I took it for $75. People were looking at me as if they were thinking, “Why would they pay that much for THAT pile of crap! It needs SO much work!”

That's what they thought.

I was pleased. I pranced to my bike pile (I ended up taking 6 home that day), grinning from ear to ear. When the gavel came down, I thought I would just strip it for parts, but as the morning went on, I measured it, stood over it … it grew on me. I thought, “Well, if I find a better frame, I can always just transfer the parts over.”

It took two trips go get all the bikes from the 401 Auction place. I picked up four for the Yellow Bike Action Centre. I think they cost $9.00 total. The other two came home with me, one being the “diamond in the rough with XT gear” and the other being a Bianchi “Hi-Mn” womens/mixte frame with 700C wheels and Sugino GT cranks. It’s really quite a decent bike, and doesn’t need much to make it road worthy. The tubes need patching and the rear brake line needs to be replaced, but that seems to be about it. It does have two somewhat major problems, however: The seat post is stuck and the cranks (the part I bought the bike for) won’t come off the spindle.

That afternoon, I took to the internet to try to find out more about the bike. The only useful link I found was a review by Togoparts, which appears to be some kind of bike community site. (http://www.togoparts.com/articles/article.php?artid=9&pageid=1).

A Muddy Fox Rockwood 5040 it would appear to be. I like both rocks and wood, but what is the significance of the “5040”? 5440 I would understand, but “5040”? Is that the blend of the aluminium?

No matter. I have a bike, and it needs fixing. I take some “before” pictures, then replace the smashed old pedals with a pair of new black platform pedals I bought earlier in the year from Mountain Equipment Co-op. I found the holes in the front tube and patched ‘em. I then turn my attention to the others bikes in my small living room, and after fighting with them for a couple hours, decide to take the ‘wood for a little cruz. The rear wheel is some old hunk of iron (not original to the bike) and in the wrong spacing for the frame (130 mm NOT 135 mm). I put on an alloy wheel with a quick release (QR) skewer that fits a little bit better, but is very much out of true (wobbly from side to side). I do up the front brake noodle so that I have at least some braking capability and take a spin around the block. She’s light and seems comfortable. I realize how much riding my fixed gear road bike has helped my balance. “Freeride?” I start to think (despite the obvious cross country (XC) geometry) …