About me
Analog bikes for a digital world
I love simplicity
And that’s what a Klunker is. Yeah, I have a Bosch-powered cargo e-bike. Yup, I love my buddy’s carbon-fibre road bike with its $2,000 pedals. And, totally, bombing down a trail on a full-suspension mountain bike kicks ass.
But what happened to cycling as a whole? We all started riding BMXs and banana-seat cruisers. Launching them off ramps. Crashing on steep hills and coming home with bloody knees and palms. We knew where our friends were from the bikes piled on a lawn.
(Now, I’m afraid to let my bike out of my sight!)
So let’s take it back, Klunkers. Take it back to the Old School. When all you needed was some knobbies, some chromoly, two pedals, one gear and not much else. When cycling was simple. When life was simple. When the only thing that mattered was fun.
Welcome to Klunkers.ca. I hope I can build something you’ll enjoy.
Blog
I have big plans. The only thing I’m short on is time. But when I my plans match my time—I’m going to build the best resource for Klunker bikes on the Internet. Which won’t be that hard actually because there’s like nothing right now.
Klunkers.ca
My Story
Ironically, it all started with an e-bike. A cargo e-bike. I wanted some more fun in my life, and the only way it was going to happen was if I took my kids too. Sure, my cargo bike is like riding a minivan—but there was something else there. The Bosch motor was fun. It reminded me of when I rode bikes as a kid and it was the ultimate freedom. When hills didn’t matter and every time I rode, it felt like I was flying.
But it’s a bit of a delusion. The bike cost more than $6,000; is a beast of burden at times; and frankly, I hate to lock it up out of sight because it cost as much as a decent used car. Plus, as the kids get heavier the Bosch needs to work more. And rather than long rides with babies in tow, we’re stopping at every playground. Like a minivan.
I realized what I really needed was the functional antitheses of a cargo e-bike. A rejection of the only cycling future I was headed for—a peloton obsessed MAMIL (Middle Aged Man in Lycra). Nor did I feel that a $7K downhill mountain bike was the right fit either. A commuter bike? I work from home!
What was left?
Enter the Klunker. The hooligan bike. The pub cruiser. The skate bowl glider. The bike you can kick around and it’ll kick back. Launch a curb. Learn to wheelie again. Be an idiot. Feel like you’re flying.
Live the Klunker life.
But who am I? Sorry, not ready for that yet.
For now, just call me Klunky D.