During the last Beastie Boys show in the Detroit area, Mike D rode around the stage on a pimped-out, low-riding bicycle (complete with banana seat and super-high handlebars), as one of his cohorts rhymed, "I ride around town on my low-rider bicycle." But to see a display of absolute style on two wheels, one need not look to suburbia's biggest hip-hop heroes. Rather than turning to MTV, just simply go to the Diag and check out the scene in our town.
Although the University (or any college campus) may seem like a Mecca for very expensive, very high-tech, mountain-terrain bicycles, there is an underlying population of students who have style, and express it through their choice of transportation modules.
Dug Song, an RC senior, may just be the guru of this idea. He rides an old Rally beach cruiser that he pieced together himself. "I like to build old bikes because new bikes suck!" Song claimed. His beach cruiser has thick tires, all black rims, a gray frame, and a rusted out platform (which he takes pride in). Plus, if his old bike gets trashed, he said, "it will be no big deal." But, he added to this by noting that some decked out low-riders can be quite costly.
Song believes that it can be easy and inexpensive to create restore old bikes. He gets most of the parts from around campus. The city of Ann Arbor marks bikes that have been locked up for a year or more with yellow tags. These tags designate that the bikes will be taken to the dump. Song skillfully intercepts the bikes before the city has a chance to pick them up. He said that bike frames are the hardest parts to obtain. For these, he looks to the Kiwanis sale, where he said, "It's fun to haggle with the old guys."
Another RC senior, Carol Lewis, who rides one of Song's creations, a "really old Schwinn" with a basket on the handlebars, said, "It runs, it's cheap and it won't get stolen." Lewis doesn't necessarily care about the style aspect of her ride. She believes that her Schwinn is perfectly suitable for the streets (seeing as there are no mountains in the downtown area), and in the sea of bikes parked outside Angell Hall, it's easy to find.
Street riders Chris Lowell and John Lukasik, who are riding around Ann Arbor to train for BMX races, share in this theory, but add to it by wearing the appropriate garb. They wear baggy clothes and specialized gloves. "I wear what I feel is right for the sport and for the style," Lukasik said. Lowell also doesn't dismiss the style and states that it, "comes from skateboarding."
Both of these riders have also assembled and modified their street machines. Lowell rides an Auburn that he obtained from a friend, while Lukasik said, "The frame? I'm not sure." These two suggest going to Town and Country in Saline for repairs and parts.
Whether the Beastie Boys are your idols, or you're rather fed up with the mundane bikes on campus, old-school bikes might just be the answer. The Kiwanis sale on Saturdays is a good place to start, as is Campus Bike and Toy, on Williams. The Zen Buddhist Temple on Packard also will be running bike sales sporadically throughout the year (plus, buying from them will give you good karma). As far as the baggy clothing goes, Mojo, Urban Outfitters or Value Village can hook you up. But, when performance matters, as in street riding, a good pair of gloves should be obtained from a bicycle shop.
Old-school bikes. They're fashionable, they're fresh, and they can be lots of fun. So hop on a banana seat, and ride to your heart's content. Just pray that they don't build a mountain somewhere on State Street.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Unidentified skateboarders ride the ledge near the School of Dentistry.