Bicycles in Town is Dead, Long Live Ypsilanti Cycle

This past Saturday I biked to downtown A2 on an errand. I took Packard out but decided to take Washtenaw back since I like to do loops. My pedal crank had been wobbling for a couple of weeks but since it had yet to fail me I figured it would hold out.

Unfortunately, it did not. I made it as far as Arborland before the pedals became so loose that they wouldn’t even spin. I broke down almost exactly in front of the bicycle shop next to All Creatures Animal Clinic. “How fortunate!” thought I.

Last time I took my bike in to Ypsilanti Cycle, Paul had noticed the loose crank but told me it was nothing to worry about. It would give eventually but was a simple fix. So when I wheeled my bike into the Arborland store I figured that I would just enjoy the air conditioning for a few minutes while they made the necessary repairs.

The guy there looked at my bike for about two minutes before he told me that it would probably cost more than I had paid for the bike in the first place. I wasn’t offended because this was probably true (I bought it for $50 off a friend five years ago) but I was a bit surprised by his attitude. I got the felling that he thought it was both a waste of time and money to even consider fixing it.

I asked him to take a look at it anyway. He wandered off, wandered back, and told me they didn’t have the part in stock. I thought about asking him to see if he could possibly order the part but decided against it. The guy didn’t seem that interested in my business.

It’s four miles from Arborland to downtown Ypsi, but it was a nice day so I didn’t mind the walk. I wanted to stop at the credit union anyway.

I’ve been going to the Michigan Avenue bicycle shop for as long as I’ve lived in Ypsi, from the original Bicycles in Town, through the new Bicycles in Town, to the latest incarnation as Ypsi Cycle. Usually I've dealt with Paul, who greeted me by name. It had been several months since I’d last been in but he remembered the crank problem. It was late in the day by then and they are closed on Sundays but he told me they would have it ready by Monday.

I just picked it up. In addition to replacing the entire crank mechanism---it turns out that the threads were entirely worn away---they put on new pedals. The total cost, including labor? 15 bucks.

Riding away, I realized that they had also polished the rust off my bell.