Fall is a season of transformations. The leaves turn as nature gets ready for winter. On Halloween, kids become superheroes for a night, and porches become haunted houses.
At Upcycle Bikes, transformation is what we do every day. A bike that sat in a garage for years arrives at our shop with flat tires and a rusty chain, and our mechanics and volunteers take it apart, replace what's worn, and send it back out as a reliable ride for someone who needs it.
That transformation doesn't stop with the bike. For the rider who receives it, that bike can change things, maybe in a small way, but in a way that gives them a new tool to ease their journey toward positive change.
Stock downtube-style shifters
One of my favorite stories this year changed how we transform drop-bar road bikes into something more ergonomic and practical for riders to commute on. We got lucky this summer when Nolan Houghteling found us. Nolan is a mechanical engineer who lives right next door to our shop and runs his own 3D printing company, NH3DP.
He reached out through our website, curious about what we do, and stopped by to see the shop. While he was here, we told him about a problem we'd noticed: the parts we buy to do these conversions have become more expensive and scarce. Because they're imported and designed for a style of shifter that has fallen out of fashion, it was looking like we would no longer have an economical way to keep transforming these bikes.
NH3DP housing stop installed on a conversion
Nolan got to work designing a custom part to solve this. After a few iterations, we had a solution that worked!
Now we’re using a part that’s affordable and made right here in Grand Rapids, and his simpler design has fewer failure points! That means more bikes back on the road, and they happen to be some of the most effortlessly quick bikes we send out, thanks to their sport-inspired heritage.
We're one big community, and that's what makes Upcycle Bikes great. Thank you, Nolan and NH3DP! Learn more about Nolan's work at nh3dp.com.
-Matt Jaglowski
Want to be part of the next transformation? Drop off a bike, volunteer, or donate.
Old bike. New life.