Had a guy bring in a 'broken' bike from the 80s that was just... backwards

This older gentleman, named Frank, rolled his vintage Peugeot into my shop in Tacoma last month, saying the gears were all messed up. I spent twenty minutes checking the derailleur before I realized the whole rear wheel was mounted the wrong way around in the dropouts... the freewheel was on the left side. He'd taken it apart to clean it and just put it back together however it fit. Ever see something that simple throw you off for that long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sean14d ago

Man, that's a classic. You're deep in the weeds checking limit screws and cable tension, and the whole universe of the bike is flipped. It's like someone complaining their TV remote is broken because they're pointing it at their own forehead. That moment you finally see it is equal parts relief and pure annoyance at yourself.

andrewwhite14d ago

Nah, that forehead moment is just pure comedy. The self-annoyance never even shows up.