Hey! I’m new to this sub, I guess I’m looking for any shared commiseration? I just reassembled my bike for the spring and it’s just not what I want it to be.

Over the years in the city, I’ve had seats stolen, wheels stolen, gears stolen (!?), it’s been banged up. The wheels are not aligned whatsoever. today, one of the brake levers snapped when I was trying to bend it back in place. The one fancy part of the bike - the automatic 2-speed gearhub - was stolen in 2018, but was discontinued in 2017. They are impossible to find anywhere on the internet, with one exception being a used one at a shop down the street… I’m half-convinced it’s the one stolen off my bike. It’s $270.

My bike is near-unrecognizable from when I first purchased it, is clunky and un-fun to ride, overall kinda a bummer. I’ve always done the bare minimum to make it rideable every time there’s been an issue, and now it is a whole mess of ‘meh’.

(Ps It always comes into my home at night. These are all daytime offences. It’s unreal. So advice to bring it in is not all that helpful. It’s a mid-range commuter bike. It’s only out of the house when I am)

—- ok so solutions?

If I put a few hundred dollars into it, which I can afford for the first time really, I could buy back that original gear hub and fix the brakes, maybe even get it fitted with drop bars (so impractical for city biking but I love ‘em). But at that point, I’d be spending more than what the bike even cost to begin with.

I don’t know if I should bother. But I don’t want a new bike, but I’m not happy with this one anymore?! I could put work in, but it’s pricey and I’d need a good amount of help. Ugh, I don’t know what I should do, really. Thanks for listening, lol

I’m mostly just grumpy that thieves gradually ruined one of my favourite things. It really adds insult to injury.