The bike of Milos Acanski

Sadly, he had to leave them all behind when he moved to the Netherlands four years ago.

Name: Milos Acanski (Serbia, Electrical Power Processing Group, EEMCS, PhD student)

Price: € 200

Brand: Merida

Striking Feature: It looks fast just standing still

Acanski’s current bike is his second commuter bike since he moved here, as his first was stolen. “Apparently one should put a lock on a bicycle when leaving it outside,” he quips. “I still cry sometimes over it.” He found his current bike on Marktplaats.nl and it was love at first sight. “The price was right, given the condition of the bike, and it was painted blue which is my favorite color,” says Acanski.

The bike is mainly used for Acanski’s daily commute from home to the university, which is about 25km. That may sound like a long commute, but he says it is actually much quicker than the public transport option. “The bike is reasonably light and fast, yet comfortable and very robust,” he says. “So far it has survived some serious abuse, but with a little maintenance it is still as good as new.” Occasionally, Acanski and his wife ride along the coast from Scheveningen to Leiden or Hoek van Holland. His most recent longer trip with a friend was about 150km from Delft to Vlissingen across the beautiful Zeeland islands.

Apart from his current commuter bike, Acanski also has a road bike which he uses for training and a cheap city bike for getting around the town. As a true bike lover, he also has an extensive collection of bike tools, and does all the maintenance and repairs himself. Acanski has been known to go beyond basic maintenance by adding a little flair to his bike.  “Every once in a while, I put a bunch of EL wires (Tron-style glowing light wires) all over the bicycle and wheels,” he says. “This looks nice at night, and draws quite the attention of passers-by.”