The story of my Balance AL550 is one of highs and lows. Getting this bike was a big deal—at that point in my life it was just me, my mom and my sister. Money was really tight growing up but my mom always did what she could. To make a long story short, I was convinced that I wanted to start mountain biking—I even viewed it as an “adult bike” or something like that even though I was still in my early teens. My mom agreed to get the bike for me for Christmas (plus my birthday if I remember correctly). She put the bike on layaway and I remember being really excited to go to the shop and see the bike while she paid down the balance (pun intended) leading up to Christmas.
When I finally got the Balance I couldn’t have been more excited. Soon enough though, I began riding it like a big BMX bike or attempting trials moves on walls and picnic tables. Only a few months later I cracked the aluminum frame. The good news was that it was covered under the warranty, the bad news is that it took forever to get a replacement. I only had the new one for a short while before it was stolen out of my front yard… I’m sorry Mom!
*Note: I am aware that the bike is drawn incorrectly. The drivetrain was not on the left hand side. I started drawing it from that side and realized you should never show a bike from that side so I planned to draw it and then scan and flip it. However, I started drawing the type and then there was no turning back.
Previously:
All My Bikes 7: Lotus Cobra
All My Bikes 6: Schwinn Predator
All My Bikes 5: GT Interceptor
All My Bikes 4: Robinson SST
All My Bikes 3: Diamondback Viper
All My Bikes 2: General Hustler
All My Bikes 1: Huffy
