Anyone that buys a 500 dollar bicycle for a child is a fool. The first thing most kids do when they get off a bike is throw it on the graound....I hate to see this with a 50 departmant store bicycle i bought for my nephews...
bicycle shops hate us !!!
- Thread starter robin
- Start date
I'm already doing that,trying to start a bike business that caters to older bikes and to motorized bikes as well.I do rebuilds and also restore bikes and repair these little ht's as well as install these motors on customers bikes as well.Also i try my best to find hard to find parts as well as customize bikes at a resonable cost compared to what you would pay at a regular bike shop. Although right now i can do only one bike at a time and if you wanted your bike done you would have to be patient with me because i take my time for a good reason to make sure the job is done the right way the first time around. 
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Ive never been to a bike shop in my life, I have you guys and the internet for advice and buying. I can fix anything if I understand it and have the right tools. As a kid I remember trying to straighten out a rim by tightening the spokes and I never could get it just right.
I go to two shops. One carries the parts for my bike. They have alot of schwinn parts. A little more pricey than online but i don't have to wait. The old lady that runs it is a mean old witch. The other is a bmx shop. They rebuilt my coaster break on aligned my sprocket for me. They're really sweet on my MB. But I'm the only person around here with A MB> The guys on the harley's and choppers like it too. They buy me drinks at the local pub in the neighborhood. I usually get thumbs up from windows and honks. But i did when i didn't have the motor. Now if only I could get the fenders to fit on my bike. 20'' wheels on an old 26'' frame. any suggestions?
Buy a set of 20" baloon fenders from Lovely Lowrider or another custom bike eshop. They use struts that mount on the wheel axle instead of mounting on the frame. That should work.
The schwinn shop here closed (open since 1937), then re-opened, but now all they sell is fix geared bikes under a new owner. I don't care much for fixie's lol. Before they changed hands the guy who ran the place with his wife were a mom and pop operation, I loved going in their just to talk. One day I went in to buy a tube and I didn't have a lock for my bike so I brought it in. The old man noticed I didn't have bar-ends on my bike and he told me about how another kid came in and had cut his stomach up in a wreck b/c he had no bar-ends. Long story short I bought my tube and only had 30 cents left over, on my way out he gave me a set of GT stainless steel bar ends (A 15$ set of bar-ends) for my bike and told me he would help me put them on before I left. I am only 25, service like that doesn't exist anywhere in my town today, I think its sad we can go back to people helping people. Its sad that bike shop employee's have to judge when you go in nowadays, regardless of your bike motorized or not, Wal-Mart bike, or Pro bike from the shop, you are still out their everyday doing what you love and nobody should give you attitude for that.
i know a guy who works in a bike shop and
he calls me for info hmmmmm!!! he is a bit of a tool though
Bike Den has the witch?
Have you tried DealExtreme.com they have some cheapo fenders that you could mess with to make fendoers.
There is nothing unsafe about department store bikes,they are usually the safer ones because they are made of steel.The reason they are cheap is because they don't come with thousand dollar forks, five hundred dollar race faces,hundred dollar chains,and hundred dollar crank inserts.Aluminum alloy rims are more expensive than the cheap steel ones because they are lighter,but they are NOT as strong. I use the steel rims for my motorized bike because they are very strong and can take the weight and the pounding. The aluminum frame on my Hrro is only guaranteed for five years and its is T-6 air craft alum. Metal suffers from many streses.One of them is called fatigue, and this is what will cause alum. to fracture over a long period of time .High tensile steel and chro/molly frames are guaranteed for life .They are heavier but alot stronger.It's funny how they are the cheaper ones.
there are a bunch of bike shops here in st pete. Some are cool some are not. There is also a shop that works strictly on pocket bikes and go carts, they are alright and a good place to go if you need something like a masterlink on a saturday. and a shop that sells electric bikes and small scooters. all in all there is like 20-25 places you could goto to get what you need, it is just a matter of who is the nicest youve found. a lot of the shops are filled with snobby folks who drop thousands on a bike and ride it in spandex with advertising on there shirt. what is the deal with that? Did Geico really sponser you or did you buy that shirt? Are you really riding for Charles Schwab? Who wears that junk. anyway this is not an ad for any one bike shop but if anyone in st pete wants more info on the best bike shops i have found they can message me.
there's a place by my house that i haven't been into since i was a kid. Don's Schwinn. i went in there a while back looking for a chain breaker, and the guy totally ignored me. then i went online looking for more bike stores and i saw Don's reviews.
some hilarious reading material right here:
Don's Schwinn Cyclery - Google Maps
some hilarious reading material right here:
Don's Schwinn Cyclery - Google Maps
I know what you mean about those shirts, and this why I drink Coca Cola and Coca Cola I drink also because Coca Cola is the one and only original real thing. The other colas are just wana bees and copy cats they are not the real thing like Coca Cola.There's one more reason why I drink Coca Cola.I drink Coca Cola because I like the taste of Coca Cola.
Amazing that the guy is still in business. Pretty funny reading alright. It made me think of an old lady who owned Roses Ben Franklin in Ely, MN. a long time ago when I was a kid. My brother and I would go in there for glass beads and pea shooters, marbles and other necessities of life. Rose was tall and thin, or so she seemed from my height (depth?) as a seven year old. Wherever you were in the store in a moment, ghostlike, she was inches away hovering and in a deep voice for an old lady would say CAN I HELP YOU? DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Creepy and I always felt guilty of shoplifting or something even though we never took anything. Some stores make you feel like trespassers and should have a large sign stating "The Customer Is Always Wrong, Goodbye". Not that Rose compares at all with Schwinn Don. He da man!
SB
There are two Bicycle shops close to where I live. One is run in conjunction with a Hobby Shop and it's Called Tim's. The only reason I mention it by name is that I like the place. The guy who runs the counter most of the time is one of us. He actually builds/sells Golden Eagle kits, and I've seen his work running around Everett. (I even talked with him about supplying replacement belts.) He was impressed with my rigs and the only "negative" comment he had was on the Huffy frame, and that was more of a warning about the poor quality of the welds. (Bubastis hasn't failed me yet, but I still keep a close eye on her.)
His shop deals mainly in MTBs (The real competition grade stuff), and repairs. He can re-true a wheel for a fair price, and occasionally has some interesting used things in there. (Like a Schwinn Orange Krate that hangs from the rafters.) I go there for prettymuch everything. I still have my eye on that beautiful Felt MP he has sitting out on display. One of these days, eh?
The "other shop" caters mainly to spandex superheros. One of the guys at the counter pulled a face at me when I told him I need the beefier non-skewer wheels because the engine won't handle quick-releases. They also tried to charge my buddy $150 to replace the single-piece crank on his old cruiser. (I ended up doing it myself, and learned a bit in the process.)
Plus they wanted to make him wait a week for a tuneup and charge him $99 for the privelage. Tim's did it for under $50, and got it done the same day. Or they will simply ignore you when they realize you aren't in there to drop $3000 on a road bike and a ridiculous spandex suit. Needless to say, I would rather eat my helmet than give them my money.
As for general public reception, most people just stare because they don't know what it is. This is followed by "What's the point of that? Why not just buy a motorbike?" Or the "Holy ****! That's AWESOME!" reaction, which of course I quite enjoy. The kiddies love it, they think my bikes are the most awesome thing since Thomas the Tank Engine. (I ended up with an entourage of kids on bikes the last time I decided to cut through a local park Lastly the Spandex superheros ususally respond with "That's cheating!" or try to race me.... Which always ends with them wearing themselves out, and me waving as I buzz past them a second time .
His shop deals mainly in MTBs (The real competition grade stuff), and repairs. He can re-true a wheel for a fair price, and occasionally has some interesting used things in there. (Like a Schwinn Orange Krate that hangs from the rafters.) I go there for prettymuch everything. I still have my eye on that beautiful Felt MP he has sitting out on display. One of these days, eh?
The "other shop" caters mainly to spandex superheros. One of the guys at the counter pulled a face at me when I told him I need the beefier non-skewer wheels because the engine won't handle quick-releases. They also tried to charge my buddy $150 to replace the single-piece crank on his old cruiser. (I ended up doing it myself, and learned a bit in the process.)
Plus they wanted to make him wait a week for a tuneup and charge him $99 for the privelage. Tim's did it for under $50, and got it done the same day. Or they will simply ignore you when they realize you aren't in there to drop $3000 on a road bike and a ridiculous spandex suit. Needless to say, I would rather eat my helmet than give them my money.
As for general public reception, most people just stare because they don't know what it is. This is followed by "What's the point of that? Why not just buy a motorbike?" Or the "Holy ****! That's AWESOME!" reaction, which of course I quite enjoy. The kiddies love it, they think my bikes are the most awesome thing since Thomas the Tank Engine. (I ended up with an entourage of kids on bikes the last time I decided to cut through a local park
Lastly the Spandex superheros ususally respond with "That's cheating!" or try to race me.... Which always ends with them wearing themselves out, and me waving as I buzz past them a second time .
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Why is it that every time I go to one of our 2 and only bicycle repair shops iam greeted with disdain and negativety. Like today i was getting a new front axel, new fenders,gel in tire tubes, wheel truing and guess what --very sarcastically - you should get rid of that thing its not safe (it is a brand new Santa Cruz Scooter Works Boxter bikes) and i spent $100-i spend far more on my motor bike --cant they see the business potential??
Then the guy shows me a picture of a Honda 125 street bike that you apparently dont need a motorcycle license for.
I was going to buy one and a half years ago a Kawasaki 650 all terrain bike and drive to Costa Rica in the winter with my friend--but my wife said no motorcycle--so this is the next best thing and i told the guy-he shrugged his shoulders and said i should spend the winter convicing her.
But they do push the electric bikes.
We REALLY NEED a professional motorized bike builder here!!
what model was the Honda 125 street bike? i know its off topic but i would like to know more about it, thanks
Why is it that every time I go to one of our 2 and only bicycle repair shops iam greeted with disdain and negativety. Like today i was getting a new front axel, new fenders,gel in tire tubes, wheel truing and guess what --very sarcastically - you should get rid of that thing its not safe (it is a brand new Santa Cruz Scooter Works Boxter bikes) and i spent $100-i spend far more on my motor bike --cant they see the business potential??
Then the guy shows me a picture of a Honda 125 street bike that you apparently dont need a motorcycle license for.
I was going to buy one and a half years ago a Kawasaki 650 all terrain bike and drive to Costa Rica in the winter with my friend--but my wife said no motorcycle--so this is the next best thing and i told the guy-he shrugged his shoulders and said i should spend the winter convicing her.
But they do push the electric bikes.
We REALLY NEED a professional motorized bike builder here!!
Hear Ye....Hear Ye......not one single bicycle shop in Gainesville Florida will touch your bike if it has a motor on it .....not one !...I sh*t you not....they won't even change your tire for you....
I've even been called a * cheater *.....I just told them...." I can go a whole lot further than you.....in a whole lot less time....carrying a whole lot more.....with a whole lot more fun "
Who do they think they are ?....fu*%ing pr*cks !
Laters,
Salty
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I laud thee on your extreme luck in finding a sympathetic person at a bike shop....seldom do they even give us MBers the time of day .....for some inexplicable reason they simply DO NOT like us ....is weird that way huh ?
Laters,
Salty
Another thing about the folks here in the Gainesville Florida bicycle shops is that they almost ALL are * Earth People*....I've seen girls that work in the shops with natty dreads, wearing shorts and halters exposing hairy legs and hairy armpits smelling like raw hamburger....I couldn't even get close enough to talk to her.....GAWD !
Gags,
Salty
Gags,
Salty