Video: Seth // Edit: Rich // Words: Daniel
When you’re out looking for a new to you but ‘used’ bike, the absolute last place I would recommend getting one from is a bike park. It’s not all that different than getting a used set of rental skis with damaged edges, base repairs, and epoxy on the top sheath. Buying a used mountain bike from a rental department is rarely a good idea, and it’s an even worse one when it comes from the bicycle parts graveyard where bikes that are damaged enough that they are only useful for parts to repair other bikes live. However, the bicycle graveyard is the perfect location to find something for an episode of Flip Bike.
I don’t remember exactly how the conversations went, but Seth told me he wanted to do an eBike flip, and we both knew it may be a bit challenging to find those. I called up my friend Callie over at Ride Kanuga and asked her if they had anything sitting around we could purchase from them at a reasonable price. She quickly offered up something from their eBike graveyard, where rental bikes that were often beyond economical repair hung out until their parts could be used to keep another bike going. Unsurprisingly, rental bikes get ridden hard in all kinds of conditions and far more often than most anyone’s personal bike. The phrase, “Don’t be gentle, it’s a rental,” takes on a whole new meaning when it’s someone armored up at a bike park full of rocks, roots, jumps, and drops. These bikes had been hammered! But it was exactly what we needed.
Seth was able to find two bikes that, with a lot of work and some additional parts from the parts bin, could be made whole. And that’s exactly what was needed. Where we live is a bit different than some areas, and eBikes aren’t allowed on many of the multi-use trails on state and federal lands. Fortunately, right down the road, Ride Kanuga is on private land, and eBikes are not only welcomed; they’re a great way to enjoy the trails. However, it’s hard for a lot of people to justify having two expensive bikes, and even if it is justified, many people I know have put off getting an eBike since it is, of course, secondary.
