Day 7:: Swamp Thing

So, I went over to Recycled Cycles here in Fort Collins and I was going to spend $65 on a new fixed rear wheel. I found that I would need to replace the entire hub on the old wheel from the $5 garage sale bike so I figured I may as well purchase a new one that is more safe to ride. I'm so glad I met the guy I did. 

I walked into the bike shop and met one of their bike mechanics straight away. I explained to him the project I was working on and that I needed a new rear wheel. He looked at me like the lightbulb had just come on and said, "I have just the thing for you." We walked over to another set of wheels hanging over the used bike area and he showed me a few fixed wheel sets that were used. He said, "how about this one - I call it swamp thing!"

As you can see in the picture, "swamp thing" looks like it had literally been pulled from a swamp. However, I saw it's potential - the wheel was fairly true and the spokes just a little loose with some corrosion that could be removed later with some Simple Green.

The best part of this whole encounter was that instead of paying $65 dollars for a new rear wheel, I got this used one for $8 bucks. Sweet! Now I still have money for other unexpected refurbishing.

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