My bicycle barely survived till I reached the guesthouse in Tehran. Actually I often had to leave my bike and push it in the last some kilometers. The front hub rattled so badly, and it was too shaky to ride.
I looked for a bicycle shop yesterday. There were some other things to do as well, like extending my visa, but that was the first priority.
After wondering around the city for a couple of hours, I found the shop which I had found on net. They didn't speak English well. The shop looked small and shabby. But they were excellent mechanics. They fixed or changed everything my bike needed; parts for the front hub, a bottom blanket which they found also shaky, brake shoes, and a chain. They didn't have some of them in the shop and had to order, but everything was done in two days. All for less than $90. Not bad at all. The ride has become so smooth after a long time.
Later on, they helped me looking for a small nut I needed, by taking me to some hardware shops nearby, or a saddle cover by taking me to the bicycle market in a distance on a motorbike. No charge for those. Again Iranians were so kind. I shouldn't get used to that.
Mr.R.Karimi's bike shop: 260 Shahid Changizi Street, Bastan Jonoubi Street, Jomhoori Islami Avenue, Tehran. / Tel.(+98)932-9280813
30 Dec 2008, Tehran, Iran
