"Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere consumers—those people ride a bike." —Wolfgang Sachs
Have you noticed how the things we buy seem to be getting harder to repair lately? Whether we are talking about washing machines or phones it seems as though we are being led to replace the things we use day to day rather than fix them and keep them going. Surely the things we own... Continue Reading →
The bike may be one of the greenest, most efficient forms of transport out there but creating one from scratch still requires a considerable amount of energy.
However, unlike a car a good bike may have decades of life ahead of it, only needing a periodic change of a few wearable items that are inexpensive and often easy to replace.
I’ve been riding around for two years on a battered old bike that I cobbled together from various parts. It started as an ambitious project, but once I had the bike in a rideable condition I lost the motivation to do more. As time went on the components – which weren’t new anyway – began to wear out, leaving me with no choice but to either get rid of the bike or to strip it down and finish what I started.
One of the reasons many of us will cite when asked why we cycle is sustainability. However, to be truly sustainable, we need to be re-using what we have.
One of the great things about the humble bicycle is that, unlike a car, repairs can often be made at home with a handful of allen keys and usually for very little money.
Cardiff By Bike 