The nameless (city bike)

Well, admittedly, the bike wasn't quite so nameless. It was called the “McKennzie Travel 500 aluminum trekking bike”.

It was actually an inconspicuous bike which, together with its sister (also a McKennzie Travel 500), was a faithful everyday companion for the best wife in the world and me for many years.

And that's why it certainly deserves its own page here, as these were the bikes we took on our first tours together.

So, here is the story of the “nameless one”.

What politics has to do with buying a bike

It was 2010 and it was a Vienna!

For the first time in history, the previously ruling Social Democratic Party had to form a coalition government, as its share of the vote had slowly eroded over the decades (or, from a less geological and more biological point of view, the electoral body was no longer as active in life). In any case, a red/green coalition government was formed in Vienna at the time. And the Greens' main campaign issue at the time was the demand for a, what they called "365-euro ticket".

The 365-euro ticket was to be valid as an annual ticket for all public transport in Vienna. So just 1 euro per day!

That was a real announcement at the time, and of course the prerequisite for the formation of this coalition government.

(Since then, this ticket has been an international hit. It is now available throughout Austria under the name "Klimaticket" and has been a real success. Constantly increasing numbers of public transport users in Austria speak for themselves).

Well, this ticket was then introduced in 2012 and that led to us (the best wife in the world and me, that is) finally selling our car. Actually, there wasn't much to think about.

Hooray, the car was finally gone!

...and so was my bike (a KTM)...

... stolen again. 

So in March 2013, we went bike shopping (on public transport, of course).

And where do you buy a simple bike that is intended for urban use, won't be stolen (so no expensive brand, please) and should also be reasonably priced?

I don't know how others do it, but we went to METRO here (I still had a card at the time) and found the McKennzies left over from last year in the warehouse sale.

We bought them for 287.04 euros each (including 20% VAT), assembled them in the yard and cycled home as proud as Count and Countess Coal from the power station.

The essentials about The Nameless

So: purchase price under 300 euros. For that we got:

• McKennzie Travel 500 aluminum trekking bike, a quite shapely frame (on the men's bike), but unfortunately only frame height 500 mm.
• Shimano Acera 24-speed rear derailleur
• Shimano Tourney Revo Shifter as gearshift (funnily enough with the SRAM Shifter operating instructions included)
• Aluminum V-brakes (also Shimano)
• 28 inch standard tires
• Suspension fork and suspension seat post
• Shimano hub dynamo and simple LED headlights
• Butterfly handlebars
  Live weight (without rider) approx. 18 kg.
• And “MADE IN GERMANY” proudly printed on the operating instructions

A brief explanation:
McKennzie is a trade mark under which the former Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke (MIFA, Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt) assembled bicycles for various retail chains. It's really interesting to read the Wikipedia article on MIFA and find out more about this traditional company, which is over 100 years old. Click here for the Wikipedia article (in German).

On the right you can see the same bike under the Prophete brand (The image comes from the browser image search. It refers to an EBay page that no longer exists...)

The important thing for us at this point was:
Any self-respecting bike thief of course knows that these tend to be the cheap bikes and of course keeps his hands off them. At least that was the hope.
And it worked!

Neither bike has ever been stolen. My men's bike died of natural causes (see below) and the now elderly lady is still in use as a spare bike for our visitors!

The men's bike was much more heavily used for various reasons (hence the earlier death), but has received a few new components in the course of its lifetime. The strategy was to install something of higher quality whenever a cheap original component broke.
This started with the rims, then moved on to the saddle and pannier rack, lights, brakes and even the complete rear derailleur.

And of course the bad guys with the long fingers didn't see that and so my McKennzie always remained mine! Until death...

Stages of a long life

In the course of its 10-year life, the bike has been through a lot

• Parked outside all year round. At home in the backyard, in front of the office, etc.
• Daily journeys to work, sports, meetings with friends, etc. All year round.
• Constantly on the underground or train. Sometimes hanging by the front wheel from the ceiling hook, sometimes comfortably in a modern low-floor railcar. Sometimes simply rolled in, often laboriously dragged up and down stairs...
• Several longer bike tours with luggage and equipment. Payload approx. 30 KG (see the following reports)
• Weight in general: According to the operating instructions, the bike was approved for 120 kg, I myself weigh approx. 105 kg, the bike also weighs 18 kg. So we were always travelling illegally!
• Right at the beginning, the seat post and handlebar stem were massively increased (new components) so that I could sit on the small frame at all. That was certainly one of the causes of my death (see below)
• I pulled my beer trailer with this bike (story will also come later)

In the winter of 2022/23, Mr and Mrs McKennzie got a complete renovation: 

• New brakes (complete brake system incl. brake cables, levers, etc.)
• New gearstick (a completely new gearstick system in each case. From the shifter on the handlebars to the front derailleur and cables and new chains).
• New lighting systems (only the Shimano dynamo was retained)
• New tyres

So it could have gone on for a long time.

The natural death of a bicycle

And then came the summer of 2023, I had an appointment with friends for a short cycle tour in Slovakia. The idea was to cycle a leisurely 25 kilometres and then hop into the beer garden and enjoy the good beer there!

So, we saddled up the nameless bike and loaded it up with the essentials. We filled up our water bottles and headed for the train to Kittsee, the railway station near the border. 

From there we cycled as a group directly across the border into Slovakia and then along side roads into the alluvial forests south-east of Bratislava. Everything was fine, but I had a growing feeling that something was wrong. My bike was moving so strangely. 
At first I thought the saddle was loose, so I stopped and tightened it. But it was tight. Then I cycled on. Another strange feeling.

Anyway, after a few kilometres in the forest, I found the fault. A broken frame! (So not quite through yet, fortunately!)

Firstly, I didn't want to just throw the bike into the forest (I wouldn't have the heart to do that) and secondly, all the new components were on it, so I pushed my bike the 10 kilometres to Bratislava on foot. There were happy people everywhere on bikes or swimming in all the lakes there. An extremely hot day and a burning sun. And I'm pushing ...

So anyway, that was the end of a business trip. The McKennzie was then boned out, the components dismantled and the frame disposed of as hazardous waste.

If you look at the bike like that, it's not difficult to see that a 195 cm long, 105 kg person and this bike won't be together for long. I don't think a simple aluminium frame can withstand the forces that are obviously at work here forever.

Conclusion

The McKennzie was a simple and very cheap bike that served me reliably for over 10 years.
Would I recommend it to others? Possibly. It all depends on what you need a bike for. And maybe it's just a matter of luck when you buy such a cheap bike. 
Would I buy it again for myself? Yes. Why not? (I only have good experiences. But I would insist on a frame with a frame height of 64cm...)

I haven't bought another one though. I found something much nicer. But that's the next story...