|
|
|
Written by Paul Raymore
|
|
Monday, 24 July 2006 |
|
|
|
|
 Take one look inside the shed behind Kevin Wegener’s house and you’ll understand how true the old saying “One man’s garbage is another man’s gold” really is.
Inside that shed you’ll find Wegener’s workshop in which he restores rescued cruiser-style bicycles to all of their old glory, and then some.
In all, Wegener has nine finished projects in his shed, an inventory that doesn’t include the three bikes he’s built for friends or the other various “parts” bicycles that decorate his back yard.
His favorite at the moment is a pink 1968 Columbia Twosome tandem nicknamed “Cotton Candy” which he says he likes, “Just for the whole bike itself: the chrome, the white-wall tires, being able to ride with somebody, preferably a female, on the back... It just promotes fun. You can’t help but smile.”
Wegener’s eye for diamonds in the rough (often with rusting frames and flat tires) has made him a regular of the garage and estate sales he sees in the area, as well as a frequent customer of Internet sites dealing in old bike frames and parts (Craigslist and eBay are two favorites).
Part of the fun of restoring old cruisers, for Wegener at least, is the process of searching out old frames with potential.
 “Yesterday this guy said, ‘I drove by this garage sale and they had all these bikes out there.’ And I was like: Damn, how come I didn’t drive past that garage sale. So now sometimes I’ll drive past a sign and think I don’t have time to stop, but then I start thinking: What if I don’t stop and somebody says, “Did you go to that garage sale where they had that bike...’”
“Now I go past a garage sale and just glimpse if I see a bike, even if it’s a kids bike or something I could get one part off of for down the road. Other than the tandem, none of them have really been bought; they’ve all been given to me for free.”
The other half of the fun, according to Wegener, is the allure of the classic cruisers to the folks he meets while riding them.
“[Riding an old bike is] a real conversation starter. Most people look at it and say ‘Where’d you get that bike?’ or ‘I remember having one of those as a kid.’ It’s more or less the older people who see them and can remember having that bike when they were a kid.”
A regular at the Commons Beach Sunday summer concerts and other music events in the area, Wegener often surprises friends by riding a different old bike to every show.
 And while Wegener is passionate about his hobby, he’s not a perfectionist when it comes to his projects, preferring instead to allow some of the imperfections of age — be they scratches in the paint or slightly wobbly wheels — to survive the restoration process and remain in the finished product.
Restoring old cruisers is currently just a hobby for Wegener, who owns his own painting and finishing business, Wegener Custom Finishes. And while he doesn’t think he’ll ever turn his hobby into a job, he has enjoyed building bikes for appreciative friends.
“I don’t want to make it a full-time job because, if you add that aspect to it I think it would totally take away from it. But, to come home and hang out in the shed and play with bikes has been fun.”
Typically a restoration project takes about a week to two weeks from start to finish, during which time Wegener allows the frame itself to influence what the finished project will become.
“The bike kind of dictates where you’re going to go with it,” he said.
Asked if there were any particular bikes he’s keeping an eye out for, Wegener answered: “There are a couple of rare Schwinns that I would like to find — certain years that they only made a limited number. I have a huge book inside that has got the whole history [of the brand]. And there’s one called the Schwinn Hornet, and the whole look of the bike is pretty sweet... But just owning a tandem is something I always wanted. Maybe I’ll get some more ideas at next Saturday’s event [the Tour de Fat], but I’d really just love to build some fun bikes: Maybe a big triple-decker tall bike, or a hinged bike or something.”
So if you see Wegener at the Tour de Fat this Saturday riding Cotton Candy — his classic Columbia Twosome tandem with personalized license plates — say hello. Especially if you have recently cleaned out your garage and need to get rid of an old cruiser bike or two.
Check it out:
Click here to read our preview of the Tour de Fat's Truckee stop, happening Saturday, July 29.
Click here to see photos from the Tahoma Cruiser Rally which went down on Saturday, July 22.
Photos by Paul Raymore/Tahoe World
Top to bottom: Kevin Wegener poses with some of the restored cruiser bikes he has fixed up over the years. Wondering where he'll find the space in his workshop for his next project. Retro cruisers hang out in Wegener's yard outside his shop.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 24 July 2006 )
|
