05/05/2026
Take Me Home Tuesday, or any day! Here's a list of items here at Bath Cycle that are always free:
Air. Air is free. Once a week at least, someone asks how much it would cost to pump up their tires. What is this, some kind of draconian capitalist dystopia? Airing up your tires is the least we can do. We won't even accept a tip for something like that.
Zip ties. You might think we were born in the Great Depression with the amount of crap we save. Every bike we assemble generates another dozen or so zip ties. We're always careful to snip the male end so as to preserve the length (ha!) and maximize reusability. Zip ties are sacrificial and incredibly useful. Never buy them again, just get them here. Take one, take ten, take a handful. You'll be doing us a favor.
Valve caps. Although they don't really do anything, it's the first thing you notice if they're missing, and go missing they often do. Although we don't charge for these, please don't be greedy. They may only cost a fraction of a cent, but the time we spend scrounging them up off the floor of the pit is considerable. Last year after hearing they were free, someone grabbed two fistfuls and split. Still a little butthurt about that.
Presta nuts. Yes, these are free too.
Bike boxes. This is the free thing we're extra proud of offering. We've heard many tales of other shops charging for bike boxes, sometimes at borderline gouging prices. We build and sell enough bikes that there's a nearly endless supply of them. Keep in mind that sometimes they stack up so much that we have to recycle them, so if you show up after a purge, the pickings may be slim.
Tubes. Not good tubes, of course. We sell those (at probably the best prices around, we might add). But on the dead ones, we cut out the valve and roll them up for reuse. They have a million uses and are extremely handy to have around. Come grab some; you'll be glad you did.
Crimps. Even though we buy these, it would be cruel and unusual to charge for them. Take two: one to use, one to lose.
Pallets. Burn 'em, stack wood on 'em, make a li'l house. Every employee already has a lifetime supply of these. You're welcome to them. Bring your own help to load 'em.
