Out with the old!

I am selling this bicycle.

I bought this whip about three years ago because I wanted an old bike to ride to the supermarket or use for small errands. In the beginning it was great because it didn't cost me much money and if anything happened to it I wouldn't be at a huge loss. It was a beater bike. However, I slowly started making some innocent upgrades that ended up changing it from a beater to a somewhat nice bike.

First it was the tires because the original tires were awful. The traction, well there was no traction and they seemed to have a magnetic attraction to glass shards. So after a few flats I decided to upgrade from 27" wheels to 700c wheels and I wrapped them up with nicer, newer tires that didn't get punctured as easily.

Then I realized with smoother hubs and better tires I was going much faster so I changed out the brakes from the cheap Dia-Comp duds to a nice set of Tektro dual pivots. While I was at it I also replaced the brake levers... and the cables... and the handlebars.

By the time I was done, I'd doubled what I paid for the bike with bits of kit here and there. The bike was no longer a beater. I'd become too invested and I hardly rode the bike for errands anymore and it just sat.  So I decided I'd sell it, because it's too nice. That sounds weird to say but it makes perfect sense at the same time.

The moral of the story is: a beater is a beater. If you change that, at least make sure that you have the old parts handy so that you can re-install them. That way you can sell the bike cheap and keep the good components on hand for another project.  I didn't do that, so I'm trying to get $325 for it now. Hopefully I can get rid of it...