The Smell of a Bicycle Shop

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i coveted the rally chopper s five speed shifter in the top tube. My parents said it was too expensive. Mine was a shwin nray with a banana seat. I associate that smell with repairs that i need done on my bike, like literally getting a new inner tubed. The thing i've just never, i'm so the opposite of a gear head, so i tend to duck into those shops when i need the most basic sort of work done.

Jody Rosen is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and a bike nut who has just published a rousing (and sometimes arousing) book called “Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.” Today, he takes us on a rollicking ride through the two-wheeled revolution, revealing the surprising ways bicycles have shaped the world in which we live.

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