Went to get my bike, and.. I have a flat tire.
I’ve been riding bikes my whole life, and I’ve had to pump the tires after a winter or whatever, but never a truly, truly flat tire. It was extra disappointing since I wanted to ride to Film Buff to get some amazing ice cream.
So I have this new bike I got just a couple months ago, it’s super light, awesome 80s teal colour, and finally the right size for me (deemed necessary after a particularly bad wipe-out last Sept on my old heavy huge bike which left me with glass in my knee, huge cuts, bruises and damaged pride). We’ve started to get to know each other better over the past few rides, and it’s been really awesome. This bike is so light, it barely takes any effort to fly down the street.
I must have run over something on our last outing, so.. Dear Bike, I’m sorry.
So I gotta fix up my awesome bike for it to continue in its awesomeness. I’ve never changed a tire, and yes I’m going to pay for someone else to fix it. I started to call around and decided that I should make this a blog to save anyone else from calling around should they stumble upon this.
Keep in mind these prices are just what I found today (July 2, 2009) and could change at any moment’s notice, but these are the places I called (that picked up) in order of cheapest to most $:
MEC: tube replacement: $3+ (depending on brand), install: $5, total: $8+
Set Me Free: tube replacement: $5, install: $9, total: $14
West Side Cycle: tube replacement: $5+, install: $10, total: $15+
Cycle Shoppe: tube replacement: $6, install: $12, total: $18
Bikes on Wheels: tube replacement: $?, install: $?, total: $20
MEC, you’re awesome. You never let me down, and you get the honour of fixing my bike!
