2 Wheels Maybe

So, let's talk turn-key klunker again. After spending a year riding and upgrading a (pseudo) klunker, it's become my favorite type of bike. The old HuffKlunk morphed into my favorite mountain-BMX-short-distance commuter, and it's the easiest bike for a grab-and-go ride. Surprisingly, it's also one of the lightest and most comfortable bikes I've owned. So, now I keep an eye out for klunker news and...guess what - a new one popped up this week - the Schwinn Rumbler. And it's down in my almost-willing-to-spend-that-on-a-bike price range. Schwinn Rumbler (at City Grounds) The few specs I found Schwinn Rumbler (Blue) While the thing is gorgeous, I have one concern - it looks pretty small. (My legs like bigger bikes.) I can only find it on the City Grounds site and on eBay (where it costs a lot more). There are no photos of it next to anything for reference. It's not even listed on the Schwinn website. But I love the look and the BMX components and retro straight-...

Yep, my most recent distractions have been variations on the klunker. I've always been fond of upcycled vehicles, the ones where you take something old and uncared-for and turn it into something useful and enjoyed. Cafe racers, resto-mods, rat rods, lowriders, bobbers, all of them have caught my eye over the years. And the klunker fits right in. About forty years ago, some people in California started using old balloon-tired cruiser bicycles and modifying them to become the prototype for the modern mountain bike. If you do an image search for a klunker, you get something that looks like this: That's a whole lot of DIY retro-coolness! But wait.... Yep, at least eight of those are not DIY - they are new! Sure enough, for those of you with klunker lust who'd rather ride than wrench, there are options out there, and some are relatively affordable. The Retrospec Sully For a little over $300 you can have a well equipped klunker with retro looks and qu...