What did it for you? why did you get hooked on bikes and hooked on this web site?

[Bike from the Dead]

Well given my poor eyesight preventing me from driving it started with 'lack of options' for mobility and while that sorta forced the matter? There is a certain amount of relaxation just hopping on and Going. Doesn't matter where. Problems? That's for later. Just. Go.

i've been on a few other sites and subreddits and all of the mare very VERY snobbish. 'Oh that's dumpster bait. get rid of that bike shaped object and buy a REAL bike don't bother us. Wait why are you acting offended we're HELPING you.' and on and on.

Here... doesn't have that vibe.

As a fellow reddit lurker, and even a C.A.B.E. user, yeah, this site doesn't come with the snobby attitude that seems to be everywhere else. The community here is very non-toxic, welcoming, super-friendly, and helpful. Doesn't matter if you're into old bikes, new bikes, shiny bikes, rusty bikes, or whatever; everyone's invited!

 

[Singleton]

As one of the frequent signatures I see here puts it 'It doesn't matter WHAT you ride. It is THAT you ride.'

And honestly? It feels nice to get out, even if it is mostly puttering around because I have no way to access the local trail systems on my own (seriously the trails bikeworthiness does me no good when the trial is essentialy a closed loop that goes nowhere.)

 

[Bike from the Dead]

As one of the frequent signatures I see here puts it 'It doesn't matter WHAT you ride. It is THAT you ride.'

And honestly? It feels nice to get out, even if it is mostly puttering around because I have no way to access the local trail systems on my own (seriously the trails bikeworthiness does me no good when the trial is essentialy a closed loop that goes nowhere.)

EXACTLY!

I mostly just ride around my neighborhood, but now that I have a bike rack on my car, I can take my bikes wherever I want. Well, I say that, but there aren't too many bike trails within 30 driving minutes where I can comfortably ride my bikes. Still, it feels good to get outside, ride my bikes around the neighborhood or wherever, and get some fresh air.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

There is a certain amount of relaxation just hopping on and Going. Doesn't matter where. Problems? That's for later. Just. Go.

Bike therapy! It's doing so much more than just working out the legs

 

[nevin]

... for me, it was when i got my 1st "real" bike (20"). i was in middle school, and school was close enough i could bike to school. i was hooked immediately. the bike was a used red & yellow schwinn stingray II (square slick & all) we got at a local bike shop. From then on i was always playing with bikes up until i got married & had a kid. took a ...roughly 20 year sabbatical... started to get back into it the last couple years & recently found this wonderful site. (now... i'm 44)

 

[Old guy]

It was a combination of things for me. I always thought old bikes were cool, but I never really had the money to buy and fix up a vintage bicycle until recently. Plus, I never really rode my old Mongoose mountain bike ever since I turned about 13 or so years old. My interest in vintage bikes and this website all really started just over 3 years ago when I won this 1950 Schwinn DX at an auction for $65.
View attachment 174069
I chose to get this bike for a few reasons:
1. I was seriously trying to lose weight and get back in shape, and riding bikes sounded like a fun way to do that.
2. I wanted to learn how to work with hand tools and take something apart and put it back together, hopefully better than before. I own a 1964 Mercury Comet that I sadly know little about working on, and being a classic car owner, that always bugged me. Working on a car is hard, but a bicycle is very simple and easy to figure out. You don't even need a ton of fancy specialized tools to get the job done either. Wrenches, screwdrivers and some pliers are usually all you need to fix an old bike.
3. I have some bad old habits I tend to fall on when my mental health is in decline, so I use bicycles as one of many positive escapes to help me out of my mental funks. It allows me to focus all my brain power on making a worn out old bike into something amazing. When I'm mocking up parts on a frame, or shooting photos of a bike, or sketching ideas for how I'll build or modify a bike, it usually helps me take my mind off the things that bring me down, and allows me to relax. In fact, last year's RRBBO was probably the biggest thing that helped me get through 2020.

As for how I got hooked on this site, I found this site when I was researching this bike shortly after I got it. I don't exactly remember how I found the site, but I think I was looking for pictures of bare metal bikes, and I stumbled across a thread full of them here. I'm glad I joined this site, as the community is really chill here, and it's a great resource to learn more about bikes. Plus, it's just cool to see what everyone else is building and how they build it.

I really enjoyed reading your post. You’re so Right when it comes to a persons mental health it’s best to get yourself involved in a project. I’ve always believed that, and I put it into practice all the time. I’ve completed about four bike builds in my lifetime. I tried to start my fifth bike build but landed in the hospital because of my heart. I haven’t given up on it, it’s winter now and I don’t have a garage to work in so I’ll wait until the spring to complete my Recumbent bike build. Keep up living life the way you’re doing it and everything else will go smoothly. Regards #DataDiggerDon

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I really enjoyed reading your post. You’re so Right when it comes to a persons mental health it’s best to get yourself involved in a project. I’ve always believed that, and I put it into practice all the time. I’ve completed about four bike builds in my lifetime. I tried to start my fifth bike build but landed in the hospital because of my heart. I haven’t given up on it, it’s winter now and I don’t have a garage to work in so I’ll wait until the spring to complete my Recumbent bike build. Keep up living life the way you’re doing it and everything else will go smoothly. Regards #DataDiggerDon

Thank you! I hope you're feeling better, and that you'll get to finish that recumbent bike soon too.

 

[Old guy]

Thank you! I hope you're feeling better, and that you'll get to finish that recumbent bike soon too.

Thanks yes I’m feeling much better. Just have to work smarter and slower. lol I can’t wait to finish this Recumbent bike. I’ll probably post pictures around mid May 2022 Take care.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Thanks yes I’m feeling much better. Just have to work smarter and slower. lol I can’t wait to finish this Recumbent bike. I’ll probably post pictures around mid May 2022 Take care.

Glad to hear you're feeling better! I'll have to keep an eye out for that bike then!

 

[Old guy]

Glad to hear you're feeling better! I'll have to keep an eye out for that bike then!

Thanks You bet talk to you then. PS. Have a wonderful Christmas and new year.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Thanks You bet talk to you then. PS. Have a wonderful Christmas and new year.

Thank you! You have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year too!

 

[truckerjosh]

Been riding since I could pedal so 77 to 78. Did it a lot.in Indiana until the snow came. Moved to AZ and road year round. Jumping washes and tumble weeds. Served a mission for 2 years biking in wet Washington State and fell in love with forests and mud. Joined uncle Sam and went riding in the UK with friends and he sent me to Vegas to dry out.
Got my cdl and was working close to home so I got a bike from my thrift store: Nishiki Alien for $30 and put street tires on it. Came upon a 69 Schwinn Typhoon and fell in love with vintage steel.
Lady in a suv thought I needed a new bike and life decided to remove me from said Typhoon at 35 mph. I was so impressed with the frame, saved my life, and have been looking locally for all the old bikes I can sneak into my house without letting the wife see them.

 

[Singleton]

Lady in a suv thought I needed a new bike and life decided to remove me from said Typhoon at 35 mph.

I am glad that you survived the experience. I am upset that you had to go through it.

 

[Slow-Rider]

Bump

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That went down in the 90s too. Glad to be a part of the last neglected generation. Used to have a snowboard line off the roof of my shed. Dad was mad because I might harm the shed

 

[truckerjosh]

I am glad that you survived the experience. I am upset that you had to go through it.

All good...just miss my bike but now I'm debt free so it's a win win.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Lady in a suv thought I needed a new bike and life decided to remove me from said Typhoon at 35 mph.

The worst. This bike was killed by a hit and run driver in 2007.

I like the Panasonic Schwinn frames so much, I've had a few since because they ride so well.

 

[threeforks]

I still remember the day, Christmas day. 1960. 11 years old. we lived in one of those apartments
with 2 up and 2 down, this side, and the same across the driveway. I was up on the upper,
the kids across the drive and downstairs got new bikes for Christmas. English 3-speeds.
New spokes. The sun was glittering off the spokes as they rode by.
I still love that sun glitter on new or stainless spokes.

As far as RRB, there's no contest. All are welcome, and anything goes as far as what kind of bike.
Great ideas, great builds, good time old stuff to oh my, that's intense.
Real people behind the posts.

 

[cruisinandrollin]

With no supervision, I rode an old 1960s AMF 16 inch with solid tires down the hill on our street in Tacoma, WA. The ride down the hill required 99% of my attention on balancing the zooming hulk of steel as it accelerated down the hill and into a car that tried to stop in time but I just plowed into the driverside fender and bounced onto the ground road rashed yet celebrating a maiden voyage the summer before first grade.
An Orange and significantly used Schwinn Stingray 20" bike with tall handlebars and a Goodyear cheater slick on the back followed soon after. This bike had a Denim look banana seat with sissy bar. One day the coaster brake cantilever bolt fell off and the armature wrapped around until the hub locked up, took it apart but couldn't put it back together, that was third grade.
I later turned 10 and I got a new 26" Murray 10 speed with drop bars that while I was still growing, was still too big for me so that disappeared soon after and we moved across country. I was given an old beater that looked like a Stingray but had no visible brand name and was put together with parts from a slew of bikes. That bike only taught me to get a new bike because the junker was just that. So at 13 I was gifted a Blue Max 20" made by BMX Products(makers of Mongoose) and that became my first build and also daily newspaper delivery.
So builds have been interesting to me since then and I have bought a few new bikes over the years that got modded, one I built into an E-bike about 10 years ago. Bike forums have always interested me and I heard of RRB in a couple other forums and recently wanted to find a forum for my rat bike. I landed here and thanks to supporters to this site for making this free to anyone with a RRB because it ain't about what you spent, it's what you built that counts here.

 

[Pedalpat]

Bikes are cool this site is cool.