My Bicycle

I think many old objects are fascinating from a design perspective. They have evolved tremendously over time, and expectations used to be very different. Things had to withstand wear and tear. It wasn’t expected that you would replace an item every few years — products were designed to be repairable.

This is just a bit of background for the following story.

I had always wanted an old retro Rennrad (road bike) and to completely fix it myself. Partly because I genuinely enjoy repairing things, and partly because my current bike is very heavy and quite slow.

Around that time, the student housing janitors put warning tags on abandoned bicycles around the apartment buildings. Old bikes that had not been used for years were collected and essentially declared trash. One of those bikes became mine.

I liked that it was a road bike, and the frame size fit me. At first, I tried to talk myself out of it — I thought there was no way it would still be repairable. You couldn’t ride it. The pedals wouldn’t move, and everything looked misaligned.

Still, I asked the janitors whether I could take it. They agreed — and I decided to give it a try.

The tires, surprisingly, were still usable, although the rubber was old and slightly cracked.

I watched a few videos about derailleur systems because I assumed that would be the main issue (spoiler: it wasn’t).

The next day, I went to URRMEL — a student bike workshop where you can use tools for free and get help from experienced volunteers. With their support, I — as a medical student might say — “relocated” the chain, thoroughly cleaned the bike, and replaced all brake cables and gear cables.

After that, the bike was actually rideable.

And it was great.

I was suddenly much faster — which is convenient because I tend to be very “precisely punctual.” My friends call it the Negin allowance: anything within +3 minutes counts as on time.

It’s just really fun to ride.

New Handlebar Tape

After a few months, I bought new handlebar tape and wrapped it myself. It looked great. I might eventually get a new saddle to better match the color.

There is still quite a bit of rust on the frame, but properly restoring it (sanding and repainting) would be a significant financial investment — and probably not worth it for a bike that is likely over 50 years old.

The Accident

At the beginning of 2026, I managed to fall. It wasn’t a dramatic crash — I was riding very slowly because the ground was frozen. But it was enough to snap off my pedal directly at the axle.

I was very sad and initially thought it wouldn’t be fixable.

That same week, I also fell while jogging and slightly cracked my phone screen. Funny enough, I was sadder about the bicycle.

It was exam season, and at first I thought there was no way I would find replacement parts for such an old bike. But after thinking about it for a while, I decided to try.

So I went back to URRMEL.

Fixing It (Again)

They said it should be repairable if we could open the crank where the axle sits — which fortunately worked. We then searched for a replacement axle with the correct measurements.

We couldn’t find one in the workshop, but one of the volunteers still had an old one at home that he no longer needed. Nowadays, most bikes use sealed cartridge bearings that are smoother and enclosed, but this older system with loose ball bearings was still fixable.

So I came back and repaired it.

While fixing it, I actually dislocated my thumb. It relocated itself immediately but swelled considerably over the next day and hurt quite a bit. Two to three weeks later, I could still feel it, although my grip strength was about 95% back.

Thumbs are quite useful.

Now

Now that I am abroad, I really miss my bicycle. But I made sure it is stored safely until I return.

If you ever want to give a bicycle enthusiast a good gift: one of the best presents we received from our parents was a portable air pump. It works perfectly, is not too expensive, and incredibly convenient.

After one day when I tried four different public air stations in Heidelberg — none of which worked (one even released the remaining air from my tire) — I realized how valuable it is to have your own reliable pump.

I hope nothing else breaks and that I can enjoy this bicycle for many more years — maybe even decades.

I would also love to go on a proper bike tour one day. I’ve watched videos of people bikepacking, and it looks like a very freeing and worthwhile experience.

Hopefully, at some point, I’ll find the time to actually do it.