Keith Murray

Review of City Bike Tampa

A very positive review:

A very positive review:

A little more wordy than usual because I bring in some historical perspective from 1961, ha ha. But very happy with this shop today.
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Took my "Giant" 10-speed road comfort bicycle in for periodic service today. They said I didn't need a full tune-up, but repaired the front brake, cleaned up all the moving parts, replaced the drive train, checked the tires, had it done in a few hours, and said it should ride like a brand new bike. Everything came to $68.25, which I considered a very fair price, and was frankly a little less than I had planned when I thought I needed a more formal tuneup.

And I found the bike shop people friendly, helpful, quite timely, and competent.

But that price brought to mind another bicycle transaction. Christmas, 1961, I really, really, really wanted my first ten-speed and my dad said that $69 for a Schwinn Varsity was a little pricey (I had already pared my request from a Schwinn Continental, which was $10 more.) (The Schwinn name was a little more prestigious back then than now.)

So Dad really, really discouraged me from expecting it under the Christmas tree -- and, of course, the morning of December 25, there it was. #BestChristmasEver

My point, though, is that 10-speed cost $69 -- the whole bicycle! And now that's roughly the price for a few hours maintenance. Things have changed since 1961