One man’s love for his bicycle
I’ve had this bike for about four and a half years now after Neil swapped it for an old Mac laptop. It’s an On-One Pompino with a carbon fork and a hole in the seat tube (which I added). I’ve hardly spent a penny on it since I got hold of it really. It had some new wheels which were fairly cheap and I’ve just replaced the drivetrain for the first time. Each winter I go through a set of brake pads at about £8 per pair. A new set of tyres (Bontrager Racelite Hardcase 23mm) are needed now but they’ve lasted a few thousand miles too. Mudguards are going back on for the winter which should keep the crap out of my eyes.
I use it everyday to ride to work and it’s an absolute joy to ride. The fact that it cost’s me hardly anything helps with this. If I didn’t have this I’d be spending a fortune on bus fares getting to work. It’s no beauty as you can see but hey this is all about function. Some people call these bikes ‘beaters’ but I can’t bring myself to put it down like that. I was thinking about getting it refurbished and resprayed at some point but I think it would lose it’s charm. So in essence, I love this bike. It gets me around London quickly, costs me nothing and keeps me fit. I love it.
Long live the bicycle!
