Re: [RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
Thank you, Matt, that was kind. ♥️ The bike is still in the shop, but I *might* get it back tomorrow, which would be lovely as it is the Monday Night Ride. I have been riding my mermaid Shopping Platypus to the rides and boy, have I been getting comments. See, I stripped the Backabike bags, but realized, “Oh no. The Wald basket is still going to be there…” Showing up on your Platypus for the club ride is one thing, showing up on your basketed Platypus is quite another. Also, that bike is set up heavier and with harder gearing. I am working to keep up. But, I do keep up, and then I get a lot of backhanded compliments after the ride.LeahOn Oct 6, 2023, at 11:43 PM, matt miller wrote:This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all lucky to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I hope you get the pretty red Platy back soon.Matt in STLOn Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they always happen. You can count on it.There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please.Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. Rob has not gotten anything done. “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to rebuild your pedals and do your tubeless didn’t show up. I have a buddy that I can call to come by and show me.” I panic. “No, no,” I say, “Just leave the tubeless and I’ll take care of it.” “I pulled the tires off,” he says, “So now we HAVE to do something about the tubeless.” My heart sinks and my mind spins. I want to race over and collect my disassembled bike. I can’t believe this shop owner has no formal training on tubeless and was going to invite his friends over to service mine.“Well,” I say, keeping my tone calm and measured, “How about you put on that rear cassette and then I’ll just get the bike the way it is and take it with me.” I figure this will let him keep some pride and earn a little money. I head to the shop wanting to die a thousand deaths because I have 2 miserable conversations before me: The first will be when I get to Rob’s shop. How much will he expect me to pay for his services? Will he have damaged my bike? Will he return all the parts I’ve left with him? The second will be facing the staff at “my” bike shop, admitting my unfaithfulness and asking them to fix what Rob has done. I decide I’m going to be gracious for the first conversation and humble for the second. Rob has my Platypus wrapped in foam and in the stand. He gets my naked rims back on my
[RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
Back when Pardo and I were at the University of Washington as grad students there was a campus bike shop fully equipped with tools and good workstands. The student body had paid for the shop, but there were also full time bike repair folks at the shop for people who didn't want to do their own work. Pardo and I would show up with our bikes and start wrenching on our own bikes. The full time bike repair folks would look at our bikes and say: "Darn it. Why is it that the people who bring in nice bikes never let us work on it." I learned to work on my own bikes simply because I got too tired of arguing with bike shop mechanics who would refuse to do what was correct because their bike lore had to be unquestioned. Once in a while I find a good mechanic and I'll let them do work I don't like doing. But over time I've also replaced the parts on my bike that require the kind of service I don't like doing and what's left is simple and easy to work on. That's how I ended up with friction shifting on all my bikes except the one bike that's supposed to be thrown off a mountain with me on it. :-) -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4272560b-68bc-4a5c-9202-d635b80a4c65n%40googlegroups.com.
[RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
Sorry to hear but all good lessons learned. I've yet to encounter any shop or mechanic that knows it all or has all of the tools necessary for every job. Especially now because it's arguably more proprietary and specialized than it's ever been even within brands or parts. Always nice when you can find a shop that knows your stuff & their stuff. On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8:27:40 AM UTC-5 Ryan wrote: > I can totally relate.i took my all-rounder wheels in for servicing and > they lost the rear quick release from the Mavic 501 hubs.try finding > another one.nope.i was not best pleased needless to say. > > On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8:07:31 AM UTC-5 Johnny Alien wrote: > >> Is this your first time with Ultradynamicos? I am curious what your >> thoughts will be. I have tried twice with them now and ultimately just >> never clicked with them. What style did you go with? The Cava? Race? JFF? >> >> On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:43:52 PM UTC-4 mmille...@gmail.com >> wrote: >> >>> This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all >>> lucky to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I >>> hope you get the pretty red Platy back soon. >>> Matt in STL >>> >>> On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >>> wrote: >>> I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they always happen. You can count on it. There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please. Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. Rob has not gotten anything done. “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to rebuild your pedals and do your tubeless didn’t show up. I have a buddy that I can call to come by and show me.” I panic. “No, no,” I say, “Just leave the tubeless and I’ll take care of it.” “I pulled the tires off,” he says, “So now we HAVE to do something about the tubeless.” My heart sinks and my mind spins. I want to race over and collect my disassembled bike. I can’t believe this shop owner has no formal training on tubeless and was going to invite his friends over to service mine. “Well,” I say, keeping my tone calm and measured, “How about you put on that rear
Re: [RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
There is one shop, and until recently, ONE PERSON at that shop in town who I trusted with my Rivs (well, until they left the shop to pursue other ventures). They also know me very well and know that I prefer to do all my own work and when I bring something to them, it’s always a fun problem. Typically I come in to pick up parts but not for service, they’ve been very generous letting me piggy back like that on their QBP account to get stuff I was having trouble finding otherwise. I’ve had my fair share of misadventures with shops, unfortunately. It’s all too common, particularly in big name shops that SPECIALIZE in particular brands (I don’t want to point fingers, they’re just very SPECIALIZED in their knowledge). Also common to find kids working in shops that are just doing a summer job and don’t really know bikes too well (yet). Once you find a good shop that knows their stuff, treat them like the precious gem they are. Pay them respectfully for their time and expertise and tell everyone you can about them so they stay in business. On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 9:27 AM Ryan wrote: > I can totally relate.i took my all-rounder wheels in for servicing and > they lost the rear quick release from the Mavic 501 hubs.try finding > another one.nope.i was not best pleased needless to say. > > On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8:07:31 AM UTC-5 Johnny Alien wrote: > >> Is this your first time with Ultradynamicos? I am curious what your >> thoughts will be. I have tried twice with them now and ultimately just >> never clicked with them. What style did you go with? The Cava? Race? JFF? >> >> On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:43:52 PM UTC-4 mmille...@gmail.com >> wrote: >> >>> This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all >>> lucky to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I >>> hope you get the pretty red Platy back soon. >>> Matt in STL >>> >>> On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >>> wrote: >>> I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they always happen. You can count on it. There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please. Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. Rob has not gotten anything done. “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to rebuild your
[RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
I can totally relate.i took my all-rounder wheels in for servicing and they lost the rear quick release from the Mavic 501 hubs.try finding another one.nope.i was not best pleased needless to say. On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8:07:31 AM UTC-5 Johnny Alien wrote: > Is this your first time with Ultradynamicos? I am curious what your > thoughts will be. I have tried twice with them now and ultimately just > never clicked with them. What style did you go with? The Cava? Race? JFF? > > On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:43:52 PM UTC-4 mmille...@gmail.com wrote: > >> This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all >> lucky to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I >> hope you get the pretty red Platy back soon. >> Matt in STL >> >> On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard >>> my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, >>> as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I >>> can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they >>> always happen. You can count on it. >>> >>> There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always >>> patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. >>> Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, >>> but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other >>> shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater >>> bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of >>> Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was >>> assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine >>> points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a >>> conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected >>> his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are >>> eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. >>> >>> The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, >>> new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals >>> rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime >>> Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. >>> >>> Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over >>> our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. >>> “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) >>> >>> I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee >>> are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn >>> on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go >>> inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in >>> tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of >>> metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says >>> he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but >>> will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s >>> my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please. >>> >>> Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that >>> isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is >>> DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. >>> >>> But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is >>> apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. >>> >>> Rob has not gotten anything done. >>> >>> “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to >>> rebuild your pedals and do your tubeless didn’t show up. I have a buddy >>> that I can call to come by and show me.” I panic. “No, no,” I say, “Just >>> leave the tubeless and I’ll take care of it.” >>> >>> “I pulled the tires off,” he says, “So now we HAVE to do something about >>> the tubeless.” >>> >>> My heart sinks and my mind spins. I want to race over and collect my >>> disassembled bike. I can’t believe this shop owner has no formal training >>> on tubeless and was going to invite his friends over to service mine. >>> >>> “Well,” I say, keeping my tone calm and measured, “How about you put on >>> that rear cassette and then I’ll just get the bike the way it is and take >>> it with me.” I figure this will let him keep some pride and earn a little >>> money. >>> >>> I head to the shop wanting to die a thousand deaths because I have 2 >>> miserable conversations before me: The first will be when I get to Rob’s >>> shop. How much will he expect me to pay for his services? Will he have >>> damaged my bike? Will he return all the parts I’ve left with him? The >>> second will be facing the staff at “my” bike shop,
[RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
Is this your first time with Ultradynamicos? I am curious what your thoughts will be. I have tried twice with them now and ultimately just never clicked with them. What style did you go with? The Cava? Race? JFF? On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:43:52 PM UTC-4 mmille...@gmail.com wrote: > This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all lucky > to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I hope > you get the pretty red Platy back soon. > Matt in STL > > On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard >> my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, >> as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I >> can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they >> always happen. You can count on it. >> >> There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always >> patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. >> Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, >> but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other >> shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater >> bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of >> Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was >> assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine >> points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a >> conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected >> his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are >> eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. >> >> The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, >> new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals >> rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime >> Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. >> >> Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over >> our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. >> “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) >> >> I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee >> are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn >> on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go >> inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in >> tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of >> metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says >> he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but >> will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s >> my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please. >> >> Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that >> isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is >> DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. >> >> But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is >> apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. >> >> Rob has not gotten anything done. >> >> “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to >> rebuild your pedals and do your tubeless didn’t show up. I have a buddy >> that I can call to come by and show me.” I panic. “No, no,” I say, “Just >> leave the tubeless and I’ll take care of it.” >> >> “I pulled the tires off,” he says, “So now we HAVE to do something about >> the tubeless.” >> >> My heart sinks and my mind spins. I want to race over and collect my >> disassembled bike. I can’t believe this shop owner has no formal training >> on tubeless and was going to invite his friends over to service mine. >> >> “Well,” I say, keeping my tone calm and measured, “How about you put on >> that rear cassette and then I’ll just get the bike the way it is and take >> it with me.” I figure this will let him keep some pride and earn a little >> money. >> >> I head to the shop wanting to die a thousand deaths because I have 2 >> miserable conversations before me: The first will be when I get to Rob’s >> shop. How much will he expect me to pay for his services? Will he have >> damaged my bike? Will he return all the parts I’ve left with him? The >> second will be facing the staff at “my” bike shop, admitting my >> unfaithfulness and asking them to fix what Rob has done. I decide I’m going >> to be gracious for the first conversation and humble for the second. >> >> Rob has my Platypus wrapped in foam and in the stand. He gets my naked >> rims back on my bike. There’s a new cassette that he assures me is the same >> gearing as my old one. He has
[RBW] Re: Bike Shop Misadventures
This is a wonderful story. No judgements from me. I think we are all lucky to share in your humility, graciousness and wonderful storytelling. I hope you get the pretty red Platy back soon. Matt in STL On Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9:46:36 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > I have a long and storied history of bike shop misadventures. If I heard > my tales secondhand, I would believe that I, Leah Peterson, am the problem, > as I am the common denominator. But I make you a solemn promise that I > can’t see how. And I am gracious, even in the misadventures. But they > always happen. You can count on it. > > There are 2 shops in town. One well-established, the one I always > patronize. My bikes are oddballs there, but they never point that out. > Great shop. Best I have had in years. I’ve had some misadventures there, > but I caught the mistakes and the shop fixed them. Minor stuff. The other > shop is in a downtrodden part of town, and they work on a lot of beater > bikes. BUT, they know all about Bridgestone and Mount Tam and a little of > Rivendell and they revere it all. My son’s Future College Clem was > assembled by them, and the mechanic greased every bolt. He saw all the fine > points of that frame and mentioned them. He even met Grant once at a > conference/bike show. He took his time with the Clem and I really respected > his work. That shop doesn’t work on a lot of high-end bikes, and they are > eager to see beautiful steel bikes like Rivendells. > > The Racing Platy has a lot of miles on it by now. It needed: a tune-up, > new chain, new cassette, possibly new tires, new brake pads, pedals > rebuilt, and to be inspected for anything else. When you have a Lifetime > Bike, you must keep it tip-top so it lasts. > > Because I wanted a thorough tune up, and because they had so fussed over > our Clem, I called the shop and asked if they would service my Rivendell. > “Don’t tempt ME with a good time!” Rob said.* (Rob is not his real name.) > > I drove there, wheeled the bike to the entrance and Rob and an employee > are smoking something outside. Red flag number one. I feel an urge to turn > on my heel. Maybe I’m mistaken; I decide to keep an open mind. We go > inside. The mechanic who assembled our Clem is not here. The shop is in > tatters as Rob is moving locations. The other man comes by with a pile of > metal rods and nearly bashes them into my Platypus. I cringe. Rob says > he’ll have the bike done in 48 hours. I’ve provided most of the parts, but > will need cassette and chain. I ask him to keep the gearing I have - it’s > my club ride bike and the gearing is perfect. No changes, please. > > Rob calls me on Wed to tell me he has this cassette laying around that > isn’t the same but should work. I decline, telling him that the bike is > DIALED. I agree to wait a couple days while he places an order. > > But I don’t hear from Rob. So, I call him today. Rob is nervous. Rob is > apologetic. Rob has a sick kid and 400 interruptions. > > Rob has not gotten anything done. > > “I don’t know how to do tubeless,” he admits. “The guy I had coming to > rebuild your pedals and do your tubeless didn’t show up. I have a buddy > that I can call to come by and show me.” I panic. “No, no,” I say, “Just > leave the tubeless and I’ll take care of it.” > > “I pulled the tires off,” he says, “So now we HAVE to do something about > the tubeless.” > > My heart sinks and my mind spins. I want to race over and collect my > disassembled bike. I can’t believe this shop owner has no formal training > on tubeless and was going to invite his friends over to service mine. > > “Well,” I say, keeping my tone calm and measured, “How about you put on > that rear cassette and then I’ll just get the bike the way it is and take > it with me.” I figure this will let him keep some pride and earn a little > money. > > I head to the shop wanting to die a thousand deaths because I have 2 > miserable conversations before me: The first will be when I get to Rob’s > shop. How much will he expect me to pay for his services? Will he have > damaged my bike? Will he return all the parts I’ve left with him? The > second will be facing the staff at “my” bike shop, admitting my > unfaithfulness and asking them to fix what Rob has done. I decide I’m going > to be gracious for the first conversation and humble for the second. > > Rob has my Platypus wrapped in foam and in the stand. He gets my naked > rims back on my bike. There’s a new cassette that he assures me is the same > gearing as my old one. He has put my ebike brake pads on. He charges me $35 > which is fair and he carries my bike to the van. I carry my bag of parts > and with my heart in my throat, toss them in the passenger seat, and point > the van towards My Shop. > > I leave the bike in the van. I walk into My Shop and the cowbell on the > door shatters the silence. I am the only customer in the store. Five >
