Sorry, nope, not that kind of spoiler. Here, I'm talking about bicycle accessories that I once thought were dorky, but now that I've given them a chance, I find them eminently functional and kinda hard to live without. In other words, they've spoiled me.
Exhibit A: The front basket. Dorky, right? I mean, what are you, a paperboy? A Frenchman delivering baguettes? The one shown was purchased for Dear Spouse's now-departed single bike (what can I say? she likes riding the tandem despite having to look at me the whole time) and languished in the garage until I brought home the Klunker Project. I slapped it on there on a lark, and whaddya know? It's downright nice. Who needs a fancy commuting backpack (and a sweaty back) when you can just throw your lock and lunch in a basket? Picking up some groceries? Basket. Garage sale? Basket. Six-pack of malted adult beverage? Basket. Stray puppy? Basket.
Exhibit B: The kickstand. Epitome of dork-ness. How many times did I have to stifle my bike-shop-snob sneer when a customer asked, "Can you put a kickstand on my new bike?" Sure, I put one on our tandem because it's not always easy to find someplace to lean that two-wheeled stretch limo. But a stand never graced my single bikes... until the Klunker Project arrived. For an errand/townie bike, self-leaning is a pretty nice feature. Consider this a retroactive apology to every customer I silently judged back in the day.
I'm getting a three-fer in this photo:
- Singlespeed drivetrain: So little to go wrong.
- Flat pedals: Who needs special shoes? Just pedal!
- Chainguard: My pant leg shall never know the touch of grease again.
