Suresh Situmal Balani, known better by his nickname “John”, is a living landmark at Sembawang Road.

Often seen sitting on a stainless steel stool along the old green-and-white tiled corridor, Suresh, 55, could be changing tyres, fixing a broken chain, or greasing gears, or doing all the above at the same time, outside his bicycle shop called “Cheap John’s Enterprise”.

Even when the afternoon sun pierces the walkway, Suresh would toil away, one bicycle after another, unfazed. Music from the 60s, 70s and 80s would be blaring away on a bluetooth speaker, courtesy of his assistant “Abangman”, who is also the resident deejay. 

Rahman bin Mohd Don, 60, nicknamed “Abangman”, who has worked alongside Suresh for 14 years, is his longest-serving assistant. But the two of them are no strangers - their friendship goes back to the kampong days in the 1950s.

“I prefer it the old school way,” explained Suresh, as he spun the wheel on an axis, checking its symmetry and balance.

Machines are available to do this process called “wheel building”, but Suresh prefers to do it manually. As more customers brought their two-wheelers in for repairs, Suresh took his own time, examining and tinkering each one with a quiet calm.

It is against this idyllic atmosphere in the northern nook of the island, that a humble bicycle shop would stand stoically and watch generations of Singaporeans grow up.

One such young man, in his early 20s, wearing a baggy basketball jersey and a cap worn backwards, came up to Suresh and exclaimed: “Wow! I remember when I was 10, this was the place I will bring my bike to for repairs. How long have you been here, Uncle?”

“All my life,” Suresh smiles. 

Cheap John’s history began with Suresh’s father, Situmal Balani. He had opened a general store in the 1960s along Sembawang, about 2km from the present day shop.

Many British customers from the neighbouring naval base could not pronounce his name and called him “John” instead.

Mr Balani decided to call his shop “Cheap John’s”, to impress upon his clients that they were getting a good deal from his shop, which sold everything, from jeans to carpets from China. Since the elder Mr Balani also had a passion for bicycles, he also repaired them as a side business.  

This passion was passed on to his sons, Suresh and Haresh. The bicycle business flourished and in the mid 80s, Cheap John’s evolved to become a full fledged bicycle shop, and a household name in Sembawang.

Today, Suresh has passed the reins to his daughters, Tanisha, 25 and Presha, 22.

Tanisha now takes care of a second shop in Serangoon, while Presha runs the Sembawang shop and markets its online business on Carousell and Facebook. As bicycles become more sophisticated, the younger Balanis have used their internet savviness to their advantage, learning through online hacks and YouTube instructional videos.

But even with the digital advantage, Presha readily admits nothing can replace experience.

Cheap John’s Enterprise is located at 598B Sembawang Road and is open daily 11am to 7.30pm except Tuesdays. More information can be found at their Facebook Page.