Harry Meatmotor
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January 11, 2018 at 11:16 pm in reply to: How to work with a bike shop – will they teach me why my brake adjustment didn’t work #1081241
Harry Meatmotor
Participantfrom the perspective of a wrench: most of us don’t mind showing a customer how to walk thru simple things on a bike. brake adjustments would generally fall into the “simple” category. But bear in mind there’s kind of two ways that I will show folks how to do something.
The first is the “It’s okay, it’s only a bike” method. Often customers see the service side of a bike shop like the service side of a car dealership. I like to break down that barrier, if it helps the customer feel more confident as a bike owner/operator (hell, I want all of my customers to love their bike more than their car!). So, if a customer wants to know “how we adjust brakes,” I’ll show them in a way that tries to gloss over the idiosyncrasies and focuses on the simplicity of a bike in general. Bikes (for the most part) are beautifully simple machines, and I love when a customer has a small “eureka moment” when learning that a bike is not a thing that is better or worse than their capabilities as a home-mechanic, but rather, that they learn that the bike is something with which to be engaged. You don’t work ON a bike, you work WITH a bike. I’m trying to build trust that bike mechanics aren’t grumpy wizards, and we’re not the same as auto technicians in a lot of respects.
The second method is the “You can do this!” method. Here, I’ll focus on pitfalls and idiosyncrasies a little more because I don’t want a customer trying to adjust their brakes to completely fubar something because I gave them false hope that it’s stupid easy to fix anything on a bike. And that everything a shop wrench does is entirely replicable at home, for cheap/free and in a way that makes bike shops eventually die. I’ll often tell customers looking to do more home wrenching, “it’s one thing to fix something on a bike. It’s something else entirely to do so while making money.” Home wrenching is perfectly fine by me, but when it takes someone 3 hours to adjust a front derailleur and it still doesn’t shift well, one should start to question the value of their own time. ‘Cause, that fder adj. would usually only cost $15-20 at a shop. And, it’s the kind of job I’d generally be happy to do on the spot and show the customer that “it’s okay, it’s only a bike!” I might even do it for free if it helps convince a customer that bike shops are here for a good reason.
Participant@musclys 171584 wrote:
A private Facebook group could be helpful.
You can also subscribe to this thread (up top, Thread Tools) and get notified by e-mail if there are any posts in the thread.
Participant@cvcalhoun 171560 wrote:
Most common reason for this: Freezing Saddles isn’t authorized to read your Strava miles. I would suggest going to http://freezingsaddles.com/authorize and reauthorizing to see whether that fixes the problem. (You’ll need to wait a couple of hours to see, because the board isn’t updated in real time.)
I’ll try authorizing again! Thanks!
ParticipantI’m sure you guys will fix this, but I’m not even showing up on the main FS page:
https://www.freezingsaddles.com/people/
https://www.strava.com/athletes/7231787
ParticipantI haven’t personally used these guys, but they were recommended to me when I was looking to do some small batch powder coating:
http://www.extremepowdercoating.com/
I asked the tuner shop for my VW if they had any experience with them as they’re right down the block, and extreme does all of their powder coating, so I’d guess that’s good enough for me.
Participant@AlexandriaBiker 169458 wrote:
LOL i’ve definitely passed that guy heading SB on the MVT… he doesn’t like getting passed. at. all.
ParticipantI’ve got this under my desk.
…since we’re not allowed to have “portable heaters”.
It’s not a “portable heater;” it’s a “heavy duty glove and boot dryer.”
Participant@Judd 170003 wrote:
I do notice quite a difference between when I have a mountain man beard versus a Brett Favre in his prime beard.
I’m guessing it’s because Brett Favre didn’t have giant snot-cicles hanging off his face when he approached non-cyclists after a cold ride into work.
Participant@Judd 169970 wrote:
2. Average trip distance is 1.1 miles and 8 minutes.
Strava KOMs will remain mostly intact. Thank goodness.
Participant@cschnure 170007 wrote:
Okay I think I’m all registered.
WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME!!!!!
lol, jk
Welcome aboard!
Participant@Harry Meatmotor 151038 wrote:
2017:
- Podium in a CAT3/4
- 8k miles or 500 hours in the saddle
- ????
- Profit!
Ended up terrorizing the 4s too much this season. Only a couple 3/4 races, so no 3/4 podiums.
2017 Highlight reel:
- 2nd @ Ride Sally Ride M4 – almost lapped the field from a 2-man break
- Solo breakaway for over an hour @ AVC RR M3/4 35+ – biggest gap was 3:15 on the field
- 4th @ Shenandoah Speedway M3/4 – just off the podium
- 2nd overall/GC at Tour of Washington County M4/5, 1st in the TT, 2nd from a breakaway in the Crit
- Teammate 2nd @ Tour de Tysons M4/5 – probably our best race as a Cat4 squad: took a 60+ field down to 35-ish in 3 laps, completely decimated the field. Monster effort from three of my guys and me. Attack, counter attack, counter-counter attack; set tempo to “eye-bleeding.” Most fun I had all season.
- 3rd @ BikenetiCrit Open SS (behind two AMAZEBALLS fast guys… major tip-o-the-hat to Jay and Jared!)
- Cat3 road upgrade on points
- First CX podium, 3rd @ Hub Labels M3/4/5 35+
- 7.5k miles in 420-ish hours
2018 Goals:
- 8k miles/500 hours
- Hang on for dear life in M1/2/3 races
ParticipantParticipant@Sunyata 169649 wrote:
Oooh! If only I could afford the time off!
But… I now know the German words for finish, barriers, sand pit, and regular pit!
#themoreyouknow
Ausgezeichnet!
ParticipantMore: regarding tire pressure, it helps to ADD pressure in wet mud so that the tires will tend to cut through the slick mud and find traction in the hardpack below it. That being said, some folks who raced in the later races at BCX could have benefitted from running LOWER than normal pressures, as the mud was “tacking up”. When mud starts to “tack up” it will stick to the tire tread, making the tire a rolling ball of mud. running lower pressure will cause more tire carcass flex, which will help dislodge the mud from the tire tread’s voids.
ParticipantAlso: PAM. Spray liberally (just before staging) on pedals, shoe tread and cleats, and if running disc brakes, around the chainstay/seat tube/BB junction, and around the fork crown.
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