Here in Madison, WI, we are also blessed to have many good bike shops, with knowledgeable owners and employees, well stocked with cool bikes and bike parts. Cronometro <http://cronometro.com/about/>, Yellow Jersey<http://www.yellowjersey.org/wru.html>, Revolution Cycles <http://www.revolutioncycles.net/therevolution.html>, Budget Bicycle Center<http://budgetbicyclectr.com/vintage-bicycle-parts-vintage-bicycles-mountain-bike-parts-vintage-bike-accessories.html>... Even at the flagship Trek Bicycle Store <http://trekstoremadison.com/> you can find some very skilled and knowledgeable mechanics who truly love bikes and bicycling, including my buddy who rides an Atlantis.
Any city that is lacking a good LBS is really lacking something important, in my opinion. It is not just about the convenience of being able to go to the LBS to buy a part the same day that you perceive a want/need. It gets to the question of whether or not your community includes a critical mass of people (other than bike racers and wannabes) who love cycling. I feel very fortunate that when I move later this year for work reasons, it will be to another city that has many cyclists and cool bike shops, San Francisco. - David G On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 12:08 PM, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Once again, I am very surprised that this is the usual for so many places. > We do get idiots like the youngster who was insisting that the 6'4" man > next to me needed a 56 cm frame (I snarled and spluttered myself into > disgrace that day) but usually at least the older mechanics and the > owners/managers are on the ball. > > Am I just more mellow, or are we especially blessed here in ABQ? > > > On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 10:47 AM, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> I love it when I go to a bike shop and they tell me that there is no >> such part made. Most recently it was the Park MLP-1 chain link pliers. >> First it was "There is no such thing," from one of the MECHANICS (they >> typically tend to be more clued in) then finally "Why do you want >> that?" from the managerial type. >> >> I ordered on-line. >> >> On 2/17/12, Bill Carter <billcar...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > Jim, >> > I really appreciate the common sense way you represent the LBS point >> > of view, but some niche items (for lack of a better term) are just too >> > far off the radar for most shops. Your shop is a rare exception. I >> > know and trust a local shop where they actually do very good work. I >> > try to support and spend with them when I can rather than internet >> > order everything. I recently asked if they had any seat posts with >> > more offset, to which the manager replied that posts aren't even made >> > that way because of the added stress induced by greater offset. I >> > just went home and ordered one from Harris. >> > Bill >> > >> > On Feb 16, 7:28 pm, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> >> > wrote: >> >> In the oddball little Rivendell niche, a shop could conceivably stock >> most >> >> of the parts of interest, most of the time. In the broader world of >> bikes, >> >> however, it's impossible. There's just too much, and since few shops >> can >> >> isolate themselves in a niche and survive, we have to be ready for >> anybody >> >> who walks through the door, from the guy who rides dumpstered X-mart >> BSOs >> >> to the bleeding edge roadie to the retrogrouch looking for a wide >> >> selection >> >> of toe clips and straps to the antiquarian who wants us to find >> chainrings >> >> for his old Stronglight crank. Here, when we're busy, "we can order it >> for >> >> you" means "it'll be here tomorrow". Still, I get a chuckle when >> customers >> >> tell me, "that's ok, I'll try some other shops" when I'm 99% certain >> that >> >> no local shop would intentionally stock such a low-demand item. Good >> luck, >> >> I say! Anyway, "we can order it for you" is not the kiss of death. >> They'll >> >> likely get it faster that you would from Harris or whatever, and if >> it's a >> >> good shop they'll keep you from making a mistake. >> >> -- >> Cheers, >> David >> Redlands, CA >> > > -- > Patrick Moore > Albuquerque, NM > -- 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.
