"ghetto bikes" *insert mad face smilie here*

[caligurl]

ok.... so am i being overly critical or sensitive?

some of you may recall my gripe/vent a few weeks back about my hubby's bike and the LBS not getting it shipped back to the distributor for over a week (he FINALLY has his bike back after numerous phone calls and threats of getting his money back vice a new frame....)

anyways... about the time the bike is due back via UPS.... hubby gets an email from the LBS... in it the owner is telling him the time line of getting his bike built back up once it's received... and during the email he comments on getting some ghetto bike repairs out of the back...

i was seething when i read this this is a small shop in a small town... and he does NOT sell a lot of high end bikes (his main line is now raligh.. i think.. not even sure he can get those any more.. and some brand i can't remember.. not a "biggie" like trek, giant, specialized) the majority of his clients are repairs of really really really recreational riders or kids... thus his "ghetto" comment... but it irks me that he says this to us or writes in in emails.. it's like he's trying to impress us that he knows we have nicer bikes.. and these "ghetto" bikes aren't worth his time.... doesn't he realize these so-called "ghetto" bikes are putting bread and milk on his table?????? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

i know i'm kind of rambling... but i got to thinking about it and it just riled me up again... how DARE he refer to his customer's bikes as "ghetto" i don't think his shop will be around all that long.... not with that attitude!

p.s.... the last time my bike went in for a tune-up/adjustment.. .he commented with a derogatory "specialized" as if that is why i has having shifting issue..... he can't even sell specialized!

and no... my bike has not been back since then.. and now that hubby has his back from its warranty issue.. it won't be going back to him either!!

[SadieKate]

I think it is high time you two got yourselves some books and education and learned to work on the bikes yourself. If your one and only shop is like this, buy your stuff from them but do the work yourself. You can always have them do the difficult stuff like install the headset or true wheels, but the rest you should be able to do and save yourself a lot of frustration. Yeah, it means some grease so don't wear one of your cute outfits at the same time.

[caligurl]

hubby already plays around with the adjustments and stuff (park tool website has good stuff)... however my bike really IS a pain to adjust he attempted to fix it once.. and made it worse... i bannished him from touching that adjustment ever again! (and i DO think it's the specialized crank.. i have read stuff about it.. problems with shifting, etc) BUT... it's not his (LBS owner's) place to comment on it like that

hubby's already said he wants a bike stand.. shoulda ordered it when i did my last... err... unmentionable bad customer service place order!

i won't work on it... too prissy! but he LIKES to do stuff like that! if it's stuff that needs to go to a shop.. we'll drive to palm desert for his bike and palm springs for mine!





ME..... get dirty?????????????? perish the thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

caliPRISSYgurl



p.s. and at this point.. he doesn't even "deserve" for us to buy stuff from him! it's mail order or "down the hill" (hubby pointed out that his shop is getting bare-er (not a word! lol!) for example.. the park took display is empty and in the back.. the wall of stuff is sparse... we are thinking he's in "trouble"... which makes his comments about the repairs being ghetto... all the more annoying..... he may not be selling STUFF.. but he's getting money for repairs!

[SadieKate]

I personally get rid of the stuff that's a pain to adjust. Had some linear brakes once that wouldn't stay centered - OUT! GONE! I use the opportunity to upgrade both components. Also, it is amazing the stuff you discover when you work on the bike yourself. I had a frontt derailleur on a Stumpjumper that drove me nuts. I kept blaming myself because I was used to the primo shifting of the old Suntour XCPro stuff. When we finally worked on it ourselves we discovered that the derailleur was too high. We just kept playing with bolts and barrel adjusters, assuming the shop had installed it right.

You should be able to get some pretty decent deals on cranks about now. End of the year sales are abounding.

[caligurl]

that's a good idea!

[Irulan]

ok.... so am i being overly critical or sensitive?

yes.

If I had to work on crap bikes all day, I'd probably call them names too. Just not in front of the customers.

~I.

[Mia]

Hey Caligurl,

I just can't get over what a terrible bike shop you go to! No wonder he is losing business. We have the best guys at our LBS. It's pretty small, but you would love it. They are so friendly and would go out of the way to do anything for you. My DH was looking at a MTB in the $2500 price range and they had a large, but the owner wasn't sure that was exactly the right size, so he said he would order an extra large just so he could ride it and then just keep it in stock. ( he does not sell a lot of bikes in this range) We told him that wasn't neccesary, DH is mainly a road bike guy, and we ended up not buying that bike, but thought it was so nice for him to offer. They always go out of their way to be helpful even before we bought our first bikes, and have NEVER heard them say anything bad about another customer. It would make me wonder what they say about us when we leave!

P.S. I'm a girly-girl too. Have not a clue about bike maintenance, I don't even air up my own tires! DH does it all and enjoys it.