Nermal, my Giant Cypress hybrid bike is no more. This is the bike that got me riding as an adult. This is the $225 bike that I spent well over $1000 on in upgrades, accessories, and mistakes along the way.
I recently replaced the cassette and chain only to discover that the chainrings were worn bad enough to cause skipping. I was going to replace those, but then the bottom bracket (which I’d had problems with before) started coming loose. A close inspection revealed the bottom bracket shell (part of the frame) was cracked.
Sure, enough money could have fixed it. However, Nemal had served his purpose. I had moved on to better bikes and didn’t need to fix Nermal.
Luckily Nermal was a “parts donor”. When I bought Nermal, I also bought his twin for my daughter. My daughter named that bike Neeko. I’ve moved the wheels that Tom built for Nermal over to Neeko. I moved the chain and upgraded derailleur purchased from Bluegrass Bicycle.
Neeko now looks much like Nermal did in an earlier iteration. Before I bought a Brooks saddle or switched to flat bars. So the spirit lives on. 🙂