Humbled by Howard's Half Hitches on my new gearing
The chain rubbed something terrible in all but a few gears. My beloved bike store was closed when I discovered this problem so I rolled into another bike store where the mechanics tsk-tsked over how a triple had been shoved in a place where there was really only room for a double. Their verdict was that another crankset was needed that might fit for another $80. I left to ponder the situation.
Meanwhile I visited the original bke store that changed out the gearing and consulted Howard, the bike store mechanic and store manager. It's always good to never jump to conclusions and flare up with righteous indignation when you are not sure of the facts, so I politely explained the chain-rubbing problem.
Howard smacked his forehead and stated that he had forgotten to take me though the gears and the half-steps. Indeed, once he demonstrated, the solid click of the half-steps made the problem vanish. Cost. $0 and no hard feelings.
Howard is not a demonstrative person and didn't seem to remember me from visit to visit, but as I was getting ready to leave the bike shop, he stopped me and said. "You know that email you sent to the store praising the staff...the one with the funny photos of me working on the bike? Well I had a really bad week that week and it really meant a lot to me."
Isn't life sweet?
