On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 8:25 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > As an aside related to the poster who mentioned Budget Bikes on Regent in > Madison. Anybody who visits Madison should take a gander at this place, as > it is the most stupefying spectacle I've seen in cycling. There are > actually, I think, four or five Budget Bike locations on Regent within a > 2-block stretch, but the one of interest is the used bike warehouse. > Thousands of used bikes, many of which are pieces of undeniable cycling > historical interest, occupy every square inch of this large, > minimally-heated warehouse. The prices are nothing short of outrageous, like > $500+ for an old Schwinn Varsity or an unremarkable ladies Raleigh Sports > from the 1970s, and the price for anything even remotely more desirable will > generally be $2000+. The rumor is that if you show interest in one of the > bikes, the price will suddenly be significantly greater if you return to buy > it the following day. My friend tried to buy a Jack Taylor tandem there > once, and the price seemed about right. The employee said, sorry, not for > sale. But there's a price tag on it, right? Turns out the price tag was for > "insurance purposes". One current and one former employee there told me, > when I asked about this curious business model, that the shop's owner > focused on the "acquisition side" of the business, and that he made his > living in real estate. The multiple bike shops are apparently some sort of > hobby, or maybe a tax-avoidance scheme. In any case, I don't suggest buying > anything there, but it sure is fun to wander around and look.
Jim, Very curious. This was the exact opposite of the experience I received when I visited Madison. We went by yellow jersey to see about renting a tandem for the week we were there. The attitude and contempt we received was unbelievable. We were told it was impossible to ride a tandem in the city and they would not rent one to us if we were planning to do that. When I asked if there was other bike shops that did not share that belief I was told that they didn't shop at other bike shops and didn't know of any. We left and went to budget bicycles - both their facility with hundreds upon hundreds of bikes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejchang/5005545281/ and then their folder/tandem/recumbent-specific location. At the location with the many older bikes we talked with a couple of employees who said that they stockpile a lot of bikes and many of the turnover for the massive influx of students to U-W. I asked about tandems and they pointed me to the other location a few blocks down the street. At the tandem location we were shown their rental tandems and allowed to try them out before determining which one to take for the week. They were helpful and relaxed. We got a reasonable burley duet tandem and were treated quite well. We also got to try out a brompton while we were there. I asked about a map of the city paths. They didn't have one on hand at that location so they suggested we go across the street to one of their other locations. We went over there where we were given a map and then the map was highlighted by one of the folks there to tell us which paths were not in good shape right now. It was kinda fantastic service. I bought some tires and gloves from them before we left madison b/c of how well we were treated. I'd recommend them to others. Oh and I did see the two jack taylor tandems: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejchang/5005556695/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejchang/5005554239/ The price tags on them online are $9999.99 - which I suspect is the MAX for their system. They are also hung up 10 feet above the ground and angled so they can be seen but not touched. -sv -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
