On Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 7:16:52 PM UTC-8, pb wrote: > > On Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 4:57:32 PM UTC-8, Jim Bronson wrote: >> >> Why? Why, over and over again? Because the racing philosophy has the >> mainstream and the LBS. And it's not what serves most causal riders best, >> and I applaud Grant for calling them out for it. >> We all have seen at the LBS the times when some racerish young LBS >> employee is trying to fit an older person onto a racerish bike, that will >> not be well served by said bike. Why is this what's in the mainstream? >> > > I just got off the phone with three representative LBS's. I asked them > all the same thing: I'm going to send my 58-year-old neighbor in to see > you. He has average fitness, not bad, hikes on the weekend, hasn't ridden > a bike since college. He wants to start riding on weekends, maybe work up > riding more regularly. What kind of bike do you think he should look at > first? The shops were Black Mountain Bicycles, a large Specialized > dealer, the Performance near my house, and the Trek Super Store nearest to > my house. > > All three gave me the same answer: a flat bar road hybrid. None said, > well, duh, a racing bicycle, of course, with drop bars three inches below > the saddle! Then I asked about what tires would come with the bikes. Both > the Trek and Specialized stores said, somewhere between 32 and 38. The guy > at Performance said, 28 at the narrowest, but more likely 32 or 35. Two of > the three asked if I knew whether my friend had back or neck pain, and both > suggested my friend should start off with something pretty upright. The > guy at Performance said, well, I'd really have to talk to him to find out > what he wants to do with the bike. >
>Obviously Grant's message has trickled down or up (your preference) to your LBS. I think Norma is just being overly sensitive as is the case when someone makes a compelling argument that runs contrary to their paradigm. When trying to get your message out there especially against such a cacophony, at times it's required to make a bold loud statement. The U.S. bike store business practice promotes the race ethos to promote sales period. That practice is not always in the best interest of the people riding bikes for some fitness and pleasure. And yeah Grant is making a living but not to the extent of the multi-billion dollar bike industry. He's a small business supporting a small number of employee's with a positive message. He's not right on all things, but right on what matters. > > So, are those answers OK with you, Jim? How big a sample do I need to > persuade you that stereotyping the industry, LBS's, and a group of > cyclists, has the same value as other stereotypes? By the way, do you know > what bike shops make the most money on, the largest margins? Rubber and > softgoods. If LBS's are as stupid and singleminded as you and, apparently, > Grant think > they are, and if they are pushing bikes that will make people > uncomfortable, tell me, do you think their customers will come back and buy > rubber and softgoods? Will their customers be excited about riding, and > bring their friends in to buy bikes? >People do all sorts of things > against there own best interest. > > Do I think the racerish sale has ever happened? Of course I know that it > has. There are poor salespeople, making inappropriate sales, in every > industry. However, tarring the bicycle industry, and a significant group > of its members, all with the same brush, is not productive, and does not > reflect well on the speaker. The whole nonsense of making an entire > group of people wrong so that you can feel superior just needs to stop. > > Dude that's just plain horse***t. You really think that's what Grant is > about? He's offering an alternative. And I gotta tell you, I've never > heard any of the racer-y people I know say, those people on lugged steel > bikes with alba bars sure are stupid and brainwashed. >No they mostly > just sneer as they pass you! Slow pokes on steel how Victorian! Grin. > > I refer again to Norma's last paragraph. Clearly, she has gotten an > impression about Grant and about his positions, and it's not a positive > impression. I'm betting that she is in fact a nice person, and not a > stupid one. And, she's a cyclist! However she arrived at her impression > of Grant ... well, you draw your own conclusions. > Ultimately my conclusion is wear what you wan,t ride what want and listen to who you want! But above all don't get offended and most important be kind. ~Hugh Los Angeles, CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
