You know what's the scariest part about bike commuting? It's not getting hit by a Double Decker because we don't have those here. Well, a mid-size sedan can be just as bad, but most of the time it can be avoided by being super careful, using your common sense, and giving up your cyclist pride and walking/biking slowly on the sidewalk. After a long day of hard work or multiple 3-hours lectures, you get off the train, getting ready to unlock your bike, and planning to relax and have a little fun biking home. Then, guess what happen next? I am pretty sure I parked my bike right at this spot (locked), or I am positive that I didn't take the rear wheel this morning, and of course, I didn't left it in the cube. Initial frustration quickly turns into worries, which is quickly followed by we have to face the reality that we will never get a chance to see that missing item ever again. The stolen bike or component is gone... forever, period.
I couldn't tell you how many times it had happened to me. That's why I get extremely paranoid while my vintage Fuji Del Rey is locked outside the a sandwich place when my friend and I are having lunch there. Not kidding, I have a bad habit of taking a quick glance outside once every minute. My friend kept telling me to calm down and the bicycle doesn't cost that much, which is true. I got the Del Rey for free from another friend and it does looks somewhat crappy, but it is exactly designed for this type of environment; you don't want a Cervelo as your commuter here. Even if it's a Walmart Mongoose, I still thank God that it's still here with me.
My sister has been commuting with my Fuji Del Rey for about a year. She actually enjoys the car-free life. Anyways, one of the recent incidents happened to her a month ago is when she locked the front wheel and the frame to the rack but didn't lock the rear. As a result, after she came back from work, the rear wheel was gone (in less than 24 hours). This is actually the second time this has happened to her. Few years ago, she parked her Magna in the same station and locked her frame only with a wire-lock. As a result, both wheels are gone. Come on, the Magna bike as a whole only cost $60 plus tax, and the wheels don't even have quick-release. Lesson learned, if you want keep something, lock them.
At first, I wanted rebuild the rear wheel because I was planning to learn how to build a wheel, but I really don't have time at this time of the year. I have the tube, tires, hubs (f+r), new 27"/iso-630 rims here, and the screw-on gears; all I need is the spokes. So, I brought the parts to Missing Link in Berkeley and figure it would be cheaper to have them build a wheel for me, instead of buying a new wheel. Wrong! The labor cost for building a wheel is $75, which is the same almost everywhere in the Bay Area. Stainless steel spokes is $0.75 per spoke. I need 36 spokes for the rear, which the total cost is $27. Labor, parts, and tax is a little over $100 plus the money I already spent on getting the hubs, rims, and freewheel. Missing Link does have a new rear wheel with a quandro hub for $60, which I think makes more sense, so I decided to get the new rear wheel instead.
Installing the wheel took hours because I tried putting a Shimano Megarange 7-speed freewheel to replace the Suntour 6-speed. The rear wheel didn't turn at all. So I brought my bike to Pioneer Bicycles in Oakland. Highly recommended. I really liked this place. This place is filled with bikes waiting to be repaired. I believed the guy I talked to is the owner; he's able to figure out immediately that the Megarange 7 is too wide, and it needs to be replaced with a Shimano (or Suntour) 6-speed. Well, it could be a simple problem, but he was able to get my Fuji back to life in less than 10 minutes. The cost is very reasonable too. Although it might sound like another Yelp review, but really, I couldn't be happier.
So, change the front tire from Conti Ultra Sports to Schwalbe Marathons match the rear, and now the Fuji Del Rey is ready to go. I gotta say the whole bike theft experience is wasting my time and money.
