Several years ago I remember reading David Peckham‘s description of exploring the bicycle parts section of the African market in Accra, Ghana. I’d been to Africa many times, but my bicycle obsession still lay years in the future. Nonetheless, that image stuck in my mind, “the section of the market where they sell bicycle parts.” I could picture it: tables of cheap Chinese parts, sweltering heat at mid-day, and African men lounging behind their goods, joking with each other, maybe listening to a radio, and waiting to make a sale.
Despite visiting several African markets in my travels, and picturing it so clearly, somehow I’d never actually seen bicycle parts in an African market until last month. Then, wandering the market in Chokwe, Mozambique in search of a cheap duffel bag, I saw a bicycle beacon calling me: a big mess of tires hanging up for sale.
Sure enough, beyond the tires several tables of parts stretched out before me, and I asked for my traveling companion’s patience as I began to photograph and explore this section of the market.
As expected, the parts were mostly Chinese and Indian, and of cheap quality (and as imagined, the vendors were sitting around in the heat, with a radio playing). Almost everything in African markets these days is made in China, though Mozambique also has a higher proportion of Indian goods than I have seen in Ethiopia and Tanzania. (See the great article in this month’s Atlantic about the Chinese in Africa).
I have very few romantic notions about what I found for sale in the market – these are cheap parts, for sale to buyers who need to eke a few more more miles out of ancient, heavy bicycles. And there are almost no tools for sale. But I do love one thing about the scene: these parts are clearly considered “hardware.” Notice the plumbing joints, door handles, light switches, hacksaw blades, hinges, and other hardware displayed alongside these bicycle parts.
If you ask for bicycle parts in this African market, they won’t send you to the “sports and leisure” section, like they would at WalMart. Bike parts are stocked alongside the things you need to make your life more functional and efficient. The stuff you need to meet your basic needs. Plumbing, locks, hardware, bicycle parts.
(This is part of a series of Bikejuju posts about bicycles in Mozambique. Find all the Mozambique posts here. Or more broadly, all the Bikejuju African bike posts are here.)
