An Assortment

Bicycle seats. Who knew there were so many different kinds?

In essence, that is what I discovered today at the coop. The rare antique seats with rusty springs and leather covers became valued gems, while light, but slightly torn racing seats were scavenged off the sorted piles. There are some major differences however to note: older bikes have a much smaller diameter seat post (due to the lighter weight of people at the time, I proposed), and many of them had leather covers with massive, heavy, metal plates providing the base for the cushion. They didn’t look comfortable by any means, but they were quite valued by the coop. In addition, we collected an assortment of seats intended to support a bikes for Africa program. As you would expect, these were lower-caliper seats – not quite as expensive, and quite a bit more worn than the others.

If there is one important lesson I have learned, it is that I’ve underestimated the public perception of duck tape’s usefulness. By-and-large, duck tape is the preferred fix-it solution by non-mechanic folks. I’ve seen it on seat covers, handlebars, front forks…even tires! Sadly, duck tape is not a worthy solution to most problems. Although, for a quick fix on the road, it will work!

In addition to sorting seats, I also got a chance at voicing my opinions over a launch between Jim (the director) and Al (A Coop mechanic). It was good to hear similar viewpoints were shared, and my own were not unlike theirs. It’s nice that the regulation of the place is relatively open to suggestions and always willing to adapt. I like how free it’s framework is – only now, I hope I can help solidify it!

Seeing as there’s only 16 more days until the coop’s grand opening, there’s a lot to do before we’re ready for that day! That means I’ll have more work to do, but also more motivation to do it. Although, I can’t wait!