I bought this taxicab yellow steel rigid baby back in 1991 for about 350 bucks. I have beaten it up, and jumped it off of whatever I thought I could survive with it, and haven’t given it a good thorough washing in about 10 years. Oh, I’ve occasionally wiped it down a bit or brushed dried mud off of it but that’s about all. The cables are frayed, the braze ons are rusting out, the bar extenders are bent from numerous crashes. The only new additions were the fresh tires to replace the dry-rotted ones, a nicer saddle with a center cutout, and numerous stickers that makes it look like a 12 year old uses it for his daily 7 Eleven Slurpee runs.
It’s a pretty heavy bike, I’m not really sure how much as I never weighed it. I don’t really care. It’s utilitarian bike and overall nothing special. It’s got a rack on the back I use from time to time or I can throw a kid on the back and ride in that old school style so their feet, jacket, pant legs or laces are dangling freely as if they are taunting the jaws of a gator before it pulls them into a vortex of spinning metal and rubber.
A few years ago I was on a mission to break it. I figured that would be the only way I could justify another purchase. It took everything I had to give it and barring a few scrapes it’s still intact. The rear cassette is rotates and wobbles off center like a Hanukkah dradle. It’s never really fit me just right but I hate to part with it especially since I would not get more than a few bucks for it. It’s worth that in sentimental value alone. Plus, it was the bike I rode for the first month and a half of my “new journey”. But no matter what I’ve dished out it’s never let me down. Respect.
HEAVY EDDY RIDES 