[junkman71]

hi all..... I am from saint helens oregon.... been riding bikes since my teens( I am 44) started out on dept store 10 speeds, then moved on to mountain bikes for several years and had many bikes.... diamond back, cannondale, haro, raleigh, along with a few other bikes.... stopped riding for about 10 years due to work, family , relationships etc......got back into bikes about 3 years ago... picked up a walmart special genesis V2100....rode it around some till october 2012, when I had a really bad gran mal seizure and nearly died... I had a few seizures through the years but they always came up with issues with sleep apnea etc etc.....after this last one I was finally told I have had epilepsy my whole life... I was laid up for about 6-8 months before I could get back on a bike........ decided I hated the walmart bike and was hitting garage sales for bikes to fix and sell for some cash due to long term unemployment... picked up a 97 specialized rockhopper for $5 in rough shape.... I kept one of my fix and sell bikes to ride while I worked on the rockhopper( still working on it) this year I posted ads on craigslist and local facebook pages offering to haul off junk bikes for free, this year I picked up around 40 bikes... I kept 2... 1 is a 91 trek 800 ladies bike I turned into a commuter bike and a 72 schwinn varsity I turned into a single speed city bike......started working again a few months ago after almost 5 years of not having steady employment( just a few temp jobs) needless to say I have been bitten by the bike bug again

 

[Kevin]

Bien hecho Santa Helena.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Welcome!

 

[maddog17]

hi dee ho

 

[Serial Midget]

Sheldonbrown.com

 

[junkman71]

yes I know sheldon brown's page well........ did lots of research before doing my single speed conversions......lots of good info on the web if you know where to look...

 

[junkman71]

my schwinn varsity was the easiest to convert..... the 2 others I had to use the rear deraileur as a chain tensioner..... I try to keep my cycling as low cost as I can, dont have much disposable income right now..... started with free bikes and put them together with parts from other free bikes whenever I could.....things like tires, grips lights and cables were my biggest expense ...... also searched thrift stores and yard sales for items too