Found a shoestring repair on a cargo bike in Amsterdam that made me laugh

I was walking through Amsterdam last month and saw this beat up cargo bike locked to a railing. The chain had snapped and someone had fixed it with a twisted up shoestring and a zip tie. It held together for like 15 miles easy from what the owner told me. Made me wonder how many bikes out there are rolling on hack jobs like that. Has anyone else seen a repair that was sketchy but somehow worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

shah.olivia29d ago

Saw a tape-wrapped brake cable in Berlin years ago, changed my mind on what counts as a real fix.

sandralee29d ago

Tape-wrapped brake cable in Berlin, @shah.olivia? That's not a fix, that's a SCREAM for help wrapped in denial. I once saw a guy in Brooklyn fix a washer with duct tape and a belt, and he swore it was "good as new" for two more years. Tape and wire hangers are the official tools of people who read the manual but skipped the "how to fail safely" chapter. Honestly, if that's a "real fix," then my dog's chain-link leash is a permanent tattoo.