Introducing The Park City Bicycle Recyclers
Most Americans would consider bicycling an environmentally friendly activity. And I would agree that going for a bike ride has much less of an impact on earth than taking the old gas guzzler for a drive. But what about the footprint that cycling as an industry leaves on our globe?
Cycling is the most efficient form of transportation, but over 100 million bicycles are produced in the world annually. That is a lot of production and then consider all of the tubes, tires, and accessories that go along with that. Where will these bicycles be in 15 years? Even if half of those bicycles are still being utilized, 50 million bikes is a gigantic pile of scrap bikes. So what can we do with ridable but dated bikes that would otherwise end up abandoned, scrapped, or forgotten about?
Park City is not your hit the boardwalk beach cruiser kind of town. If a bike only has one gear it had better be an easy one. Main Street in Park City is a consistently nagging hill that I live way at the top of. The whole thing is only about a half mile and it’s only a 5% or 6 % grade, but it will leave most short of breathe and looking for easier gears. The ride home from the bar or a gorging at a local restaurant is an especially tough endeavor and you can count on the Main Street trolley to be going the wrong way.
In 2003 an early 90s Mongoose mountain bike was left in the garage of 28 Prospect Ave, my new residence. This bike was destined to spend the rest of it’s existence under the back deck. The Mongoose was not that sweet, even when it was a new bike, and now it was antiquated, rusty, and lacking in all cool factors. The misfortune of a friend turned out to be the saving grace for the old bike. The need for affordable(free) transportation and low impact excercise made the Mongoose an easy choice.
The bike needed some love before it could be ridden. Lube, cable, and housing would bring the bike back to functional status, but it seriously lacked in style. The solutions were considered and then applied to the ugly bicycle. Ape hanger handlebars were installed giving the rider a relaxed and upright position. The 26″ mountain bike wheel was taken off the front and a 20″ BMX wheel was substituted. Since the front brakes were useless with this new front wheel the brake bosses were ground off of the fork to give a cleaner, sleeker look. A Mexican flag color scheme was sprayed on the frame and fork to cover the scrapes and scars accumulated over the years. Since small details can bring the level of the bigger picture up, a “Little Homie” was zip tied to the head tube and the Sexy Mexi was born.
This makeover was a fresh breathe of life for the bicycle. The Sexy Mexi could be seen all over town, at all of the hippest hangout spots. The bike was the perfect townie. It had a distinct creative style, a full range of gears, and a price tag that allowed it to be left unlocked in front of most establishments around town.
When, Sophia, the owner of the “Mongoose” approached us about the bicycle she had left behind years earlier, I was shocked. The Sexy Mexi was reluctantly turned over, but it didn’t care. Sophia quickly gained a deep appreciation for her resurrected ride and she could be seen pedaling it about town, it even made the trip to Burning Man with her. The bike became a beacon for locating Sophia and friends.
A new problem faced 28 Prospect, we no longer had a townie. Kris Gray and I started building our new town cruisers immediately. We learned from our experience with the Sexy Mexi and allowed friendly competition to inspire our new designs. Soon we were riding around town on some new recycled bicycles. Our new generation of townies were even cooler, more functional, and more stylie. Within no time people were approaching Kris and I about getting their own recycled bikes.
So it began. The Park City Bicycle Recyclers was born to meet the need for affordable geared townies in our community. The bonus for us is the ability to use bicycles and bicycle parts that would otherwise end up wasted in a landfill. As we continue, we learn new ways to reuse different parts which makes for a constant evolution of our recycled bicycles. Our bicycles are consistently unique giving them an artistic quality appreciated by our clients.
The Park City Bicycle Recyclers offers an alternative to the overpriced townies you find at the bike shop. Besides that, we are able to cut down on the waste from our supposedly green sport, even if just a drop in the very large bucket. Remember, Earth day every day!
Keep an eye out for the website and other PCBR happenings.
