What My Local Bike Shop Thinks....

[mapbike]

Well, I made a 8.5 mile trip into town to my local bike shop today "The Bike Peddler" in Brownwood, Texas, I was needing a 415 chain and he had told me over the phone that he had a couple of them, they are KMC 415H chains and look to be very good quality, it cost me $19.95, but hey ...I got it right now instead of waiting a week to save 2 or 3 bucks, anyway, he actually got excited when he saw my bike and wanted to know everything I had done to it, and when other customers would come into the shop he would ask if they saw it sitting out side and would take them out to see it, there was only one guy that was not very impressed or at least he acted that way, he had just returned from a 52mile bike ride and I think he is just a bike purist and thinks a bike with a motor is an insult to people like himself in some way or another, but the bike shop owner was even giving me his own ideas about how I could change some things to make them stronger, he told me that he would like to set me up with a disc brake hub for the rear so I could eliminate the rag joint and have a stronger set up for my sprocket, I know this would put money in his pocket but he was really having fun with it and really liked what I had done to the old Made in the USA RoadMaster Mountain bike, he suggested that in the future I let him sell me a higher quality bike to put my motors on because---
"he didnt want to see me have one of the cheap bikes come apart on me and leave me laying in the road with a cheap spoke up my *ss"

I'm happy he is so cool with it, because now I know he will take care of me when I need parts or some wheel work done.

He had a very sweet Giant Suede Bike I would really like to have a motor and jackshaft on, maybe my next project....!

Just wanted to share my little trip with everyone, it turned out great.

Happy Riding everyone.....!

 

[wheelbender6]

Bike shops in the Phoenix area were beginning to sell gas and electric assisted bikes last year. (Electric was more common). Many shops just want to sell what we are willing to buy. Other shops will remain dedicated to the fitness oriented customer. Shimano will soon offer e-bike components, including a front hub motor. Things are changing.

 

[Buzzard]

I live in a college town there are 1000s of students riding bikes all over. We have at least 6or7 bike shops. On my commute home I stopped at one of the local coffee hang outs, locked up my bike and went in to get a tea in the 90degree heat, when I came out there were at least 10-12 kids looking at my bike. Asking all kinds of questions, like how fast can you go, what's your mpg, what kind of motor is that. which bike shop handles that kind of bike, etc etc etc?? I told them none of the local shops have any of the components and I had a bad experience with the franchise shop. (see thread local bike shop) I gave them my card and told them to check out the forum. Maybe I stirred up some kind of hornets nest and we might have some new members.

 

[2door]

Thanks guys. Being good ambassadors can only benefit the hobby. We'll never convert some of the spandex crowd but the common man finds our bikes fascinating and sending them our way is a great step in getting them started right. Keep up the good work.
Tom

 

[asianflava]

We'll never convert some of the spandex crowd but the common man finds our bikes fascinating

Sometimes I just want to hit those roadies with the mirrors of my truck. A few weeks ago, we were going up Trail Ridge Rd in RMNP. There were some dumba$$ holding up traffic there. There is no shoulder and no safe place to ride a bike, what are they doing there?

 

[NunyaBidness]

Sometimes I just want to hit those roadies with the mirrors of my truck. A few weeks ago, we were going up Trail Ridge Rd in RMNP. There were some dumba$$ holding up traffic there. There is no shoulder and no safe place to ride a bike, what are they doing there?

Spandex or not, they have a right to be there just as much as you do. If they bother you that much I suggest you take public transportation.

I wear spandex when I ride my pedal bike and the attitude I have seen here regarding those of us that ride pedal bikes for great distances while wearing the best clothing designed for those rides, is simply disgusting. With that attitude you are only alienating those who could be a really good ally.

Remember, you don't have to give someone the same kind of attitude that you get. This is called being a grown-up.

 

[silverbear]

Spandex or not, they have a right to be there just as much as you do. If they bother you that much I suggest you take public transportation.

I wear spandex when I ride my pedal bike and the attitude I have seen here regarding those of us that ride pedal bikes for great distances while wearing the best clothing designed for those rides, is simply disgusting. With that attitude you are only alienating those who could be a really good ally.

Remember, you don't have to give someone the same kind of attitude that you get. This is called being a grown-up.

Good point and well said. The only time I kind of get down on the 'spandexers' is when I get a negative attitude and a kind of superior moral position, as if a motor on a bike were some kind of transgression to apologize for. If we want consideration and acceptance, then I guess we also have to give it. I'm not a long distance rider anymore and when I was as a young person there was no such thing as spandex, so it is something I really don't understand. What makes it good for long distance riding? Just curious.
SB

 

[NunyaBidness]

...I'm not a long distance rider anymore and when I was as a young person there was no such thing as spandex, so it is something I really don't understand. What makes it good for long distance riding? Just curious.
SB

It breathes like no other article of clothing. It wicks the moisture away from your skin and allows it to cool your body down better. It fits tightly so nothing can get caught on your bike. There are no seams to be sat on and rub your butt raw and there is a chamois to provide a little extra padding. For winter riding there is nothing that can keep me warm yet still let me ride as fast as I do.

Spandex may look crazy but it is the most sane thing a person can wear when riding the way I do. Would I wear it on my motor bike, **** no. It's not made for that kind of ride.

 

[Venice Motor Bikes]

I think that bicycles on the road are great & we all should watch out for them, but it really pi$$e$ me off when they hog up all the lanes & refuse to let cars pass them!

There were a few times here in LA that there was a large group of cyclists who were refusing to let cars pass them & some gangsters shot several of them!!

 

[BarelyAWake]

Spandex or not, they have a right to be there just as much as you do. If they bother you that much I suggest you take public transportation.

I wear spandex when I ride my pedal bike and the attitude I have seen here regarding those of us that ride pedal bikes for great distances while wearing the best clothing designed for those rides, is simply disgusting. With that attitude you are only alienating those who could be a really good ally.

Remember, you don't have to give someone the same kind of attitude that you get. This is called being a grown-up.

I think the problem isn't the spandex - it's the commonality of fanatics with bad attitudes amongst those whom would wear it. Obviously not all are like that but it does seem there's a disproportionate number of folks with their nose out of joint that choose to wear spandex more as a "uniform" than as a needed accessory, a symbol of how they wish to be seen - not necessarily of who they are.

I very much doubt anyone here would judge on clothing alone, nor would any deride pedal bikes and I suspect we've got nothing but respect for those that would distance ride... yet almost every time there's bikes ignoring a nicely paved shoulder to ride in the middle of the lane and annoy every other driver or even just a snarky comment at the local bike shop - they've got themselves all decked out...

Remember, you don't have to give someone the same kind of attitude that you get. This is called being a grown-up.

...and that's very good advice.

 

[NunyaBidness]

Critical Mass, these rides were started because of the attitudes that a lot of drivers have regarding bicyclists. The same attitude that some have shown here. If you don't like the critical mass rides the best thing to do is educate other drivers about the rights that bicyclists have, motor or no motor.

All bicyclists have a right to ride on the street, if that bike has a motor or not has nothing to do with the right to ride on the street. When drivers realize this we will all be safer and there will be no need for a critical mass ride.

 

[silverbear]

It breathes like no other article of clothing. It wicks the moisture away from your skin and allows it to cool your body down better. It fits tightly so nothing can get caught on your bike. There are no seams to be sat on and rub your butt raw and there is a chamois to provide a little extra padding. For winter riding there is nothing that can keep me warm yet still let me ride as fast as I do.

Spandex may look crazy but it is the most sane thing a person can wear when riding the way I do. Would I wear it on my motor bike, **** no. It's not made for that kind of ride.

Thanks, now I know there is a reason people wear it. I thought maybe it was a kind of unofficial uniform of serious riders or maybe a fashion statement. Learn something every day. Some days, anyway.
SB

 

[Venice Motor Bikes]

Critical Mass, these rides were started because of the attitudes that a lot of drivers have regarding bicyclists. The same attitude that some have shown here. If you don't like the critical mass rides the best thing to do is educate other drivers about the rights that bicyclists have, motor or no motor.

All bicyclists have a right to ride on the street, if that bike has a motor or not has nothing to do with the right to ride on the street. When drivers realize this we will all be safer and there will be no need for a critical mass ride.

I agree that bicycles are very important & have every right to be on the road, but I think those guys are just making motorists hate bicycles with how they do those rides. (IE, I think they're doing more harm than good for the bicycle movement.)

 

[asianflava]

Spandex or not, they have a right to be there just as much as you do. If they bother you that much I suggest you take public transportation.

I said that it makes me feel like doing it, I didn't say I do it! Relax dude! Besides, I don't have power extend on my mirrors. I'd have to stop, get out, pull out my passenger mirror, turn around, do another u-turn, and pass them again, just too much trouble.

I think that bicycles on the road are great & we all should watch out for them, but it really pi$$e$ me off when they hog up all the lanes & refuse to let cars pass them!

That is exactly what I'm talking about.

Yes legally they do have just as much right to be on the road, but because they are on the road means that they should also follow the rules and laws of the road. I can't tell you how many times I see them blow thru stop lights and signs just so they don't have to unclip out of their pedals. Or riding 2 or 3 abreast forcing traffic to go around them, last I checked they are supposed to be in single file. My favorite is when there is a separate path provided for bikes because the road has no shoulder, but they insist on being on the road. I'm not saying that all of them do it, but it seems like the more hardcore ones are the worst offenders.

 

[2door]

I don't mind the fact that its spandex, but why all the free advertising? The people who wear all the sponsor's names splattered all over themselves aren't getting paid to wear it...but those sponsors sure love it. Spandex is fine, just why not solid colors or multiple colors if visibility is an issue. Drop the freebie marketing. It looks silly and it doesn't make them Gary Fisher.
Sorry but I've had several less than cordial encounters with the hard core pedal folks and I typically ignore their head shakes and smirks but that superior attitude rubs me the wrong way sometime and colors my opinions.
Tom

 

[NunyaBidness]

...but that superior attitude rubs me the wrong way sometime and colors my opinions.
Tom

It does me as well and the sad thing is, it's starting to show up here also.

 

[silverbear]

Well, I made a 8.5 mile trip into town to my local bike shop today "The Bike Peddler" in Brownwood, Texas, I was needing a 415 chain and he had told me over the phone that he had a couple of them, they are KMC 415H chains and look to be very good quality, it cost me $19.95, but hey ...I got it right now instead of waiting a week to save 2 or 3 bucks, anyway, he actually got excited when he saw my bike and wanted to know everything I had done to it, and when other customers would come into the shop he would ask if they saw it sitting out side and would take them out to see it, there was only one guy that was not very impressed or at least he acted that way, he had just returned from a 52mile bike ride and I think he is just a bike purist and thinks a bike with a motor is an insult to people like himself in some way or another, but the bike shop owner was even giving me his own ideas about how I could change some things to make them stronger, he told me that he would like to set me up with a disc brake hub for the rear so I could eliminate the rag joint and have a stronger set up for my sprocket, I know this would put money in his pocket but he was really having fun with it and really liked what I had done to the old Made in the USA RoadMaster Mountain bike, he suggested that in the future I let him sell me a higher quality bike to put my motors on because---
"he didnt want to see me have one of the cheap bikes come apart on me and leave me laying in the road with a cheap spoke up my *ss"

I'm happy he is so cool with it, because now I know he will take care of me when I need parts or some wheel work done.

He had a very sweet Giant Suede Bike I would really like to have a motor and jackshaft on, maybe my next project....!

Just wanted to share my little trip with everyone, it turned out great.

Happy Riding everyone.....!

Pretty cool that you have a supportive bike shop to go to. Wish we all had one.
SB

 

[Nashville Kat]

I don't know what to say- I raced USCF back in the 70's and 80's for 14 years, and met all kinds of people- I always did think that racing cyclists had a bit of a hard cold edge-
but I also grew up changing the motor on my Rupp mini and planning to race the Indy 500 and Formula One.

It's too bad we don't all get along, but what I'm bothered by is the elitist PRICING in the world of cycling- like the oil companies own it all otherwise and want to turn legitimate transportation and excercise into POLO or something just with ridiculous costs.

I mean think of it- I was getting a nickle for two aluminum soda cans in L.A. at a machine outside the grocery in the '90s- practically worth nothing-

but put 30 or 40 or 50 together- that same amount of alloy- into a bike crank- and people shell out $200 for it- makes no sense!

Me in '71 at our high school bike race

My Super 8 film "procession"- 1975
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRvNigHRlYQ

 

[Buzzard]

I took a ride around the lake the other day. Watched the fish jump and smelling the flowers just having a good time by myself When I glanced in my mirror I seen them coming, the whole pontoon...riders in spandex Being an ornery old cuss I just swung into the middle of the lane to see what happened. They passed me on both sides. Some of them looked up at me and others just gave me dirty looks. Passed me up like I was sitting still. I chased them down and rode behind the pack for a little bit. I knew I could take them so I kicked it up and passed them till I got to the leader I pulled up along side of him blowing gas fumes back on the rest of the pack he looked straight at me and I asked Hey Bud can I bum a smoke? You shoulda seen the look I got. KIcked it wide open and left them behind me. I said I was ornery.

 

[Dan]

Very cool MapBike. Always amazes me how folks love to help ya out with these things. My local Ace guy will stop what he is doing and walk over to ask what I am working on now or will show folks my bike out front. Just a good feeling. He and they give me some sort of discount there and another local hardware place which is of course great but the just happy, get along and what we working on now stuff really is a joy.

Folks love the odd and tinkering. Fun to share it and great to hear other folks thoughts and ideas!

Glad to hear you had a great day there. (have ya rode to a MC shop yet? Thats a blast and the old guys will amaze ya!)