Empire Cycles

Want wheels that are built to last? Come to Empire Cycles, a little shop lost somewhere in the seriously bustling Chor Bazaar, near the famous Crawford Market in old Mumbai. This bazaar has to be experienced to be believed with endless passages of shops, every imaginable good and a relentless stream of people flowing through the narrow alleys. Add hundreds of long hand carts piled perilously high with stuff, but somehow never spilling, being pushed somewhere in a hurry. Any load less than half a pick-up's worth is carried on the head. Then there's a circus like assortment of people on bicycles, scooters and full sized motorcycles beeping incessantly and threading their way through what in any sane market would be a pedestrian-only zone, and a random assortment of trucks of all sizes that somehow manage to squeeze through without hitting anything or running anyone over, forging their way slowly through no matter that people and other vehicles already flood the streets. This has to be one of the more insanely busy places on the planet (right up there with Tokyo's bustling Tsukiji Fish Market in my experience, and I've heard comparisons to the Grand Bazaars of Tehran and Istanbul.) Anyway, Empire Cycles is in the middle of what appears to be a kind of auto row in reverse, with motorized vehicles of all types in every state of active dismantling, usually by someone covered in grease from head to toe, wielding the largest available hammer and perhaps a chisel--no special tools necessary. Stalls in the area specialize in one part or another like shock absorbers or mirrors... you name it. One string of shops specialized in horns, which hung by the hundreds from the overhang, with ongoing demonstrations blasting passersby as if the constant bleating of moving vehicles weren't enough. Anyway, at Empire Cycles they have totally dispensed with spokes in favor of rebar, which they weld to massive hubs and rims and cover with heavy tire treads that need no air. The manufacturing of these wheels is being handled by a half dozen or so workers crammed into the back of a space the size of a one car garage, sending streams of sparks and smoke from a full-tilt cutting, grinding and welding operation that goes on not more than 2 feet away from the front of the shop, where parents hang out with small children, giddy with delight as they check out their first ride, complete with training wheels and streamers coming from the ends of the handlebars. The children's bikes seem to be a side business... it's the bomb-proof wheels hanging from the front of the shop are clearly the hot item here. No more truing. No more broken spokes. These wheels are maintenance free and will last forever, no guarantee necessary. And they're built in a modern radial spoke pattern to boot. Hope you like green.