Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Tipping The Wrench

The other day I went into the lbs and had a problem that would've kept my bike off the trainer for a day.

I talked to the wrench and he said bring it in tomorrow at opening and he'd take care of it for me.

I'm kinda ashamed to say but all I could tip him was $10, I told him to have lunch on me.

I think he appreciated it. I hope so.

Take Care of the Wrench..........

Cash and beer go a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way. It doesn't take much to establish a little good will.

You'll like this, I had this Specialized Crossroads that was really interfering with my trip to the head. In the hallway. The lbs says, hey man, you can keep it in my garage till the tent sale for a 12 pack a month (I like Canadian). So I brought him 2 cases of Molsen. Now I have a Trek 4300 in it's place LOL!

Just seeing a smiling face and a Thank you makes my day.

If a rider is a regular at my LBS or a team racer and I see that it is going to be quick fix I usually fix it while they wait.

Most of the repairs I see are from the derailleur screws tempting a rider to be turned :D.

Just remember that barrel adjusters are you friend, they are there for you and are the most forgiving.

I took my LBS beer near Christmas. I bought a few different beers and said Merry Christmas and left after buying some tubes.

thanks Wrench! I always thank them.........

-eric

Comes 4th of July, or just a few days before I think I'll drop him a $25 gift certificate @ the local market. :)

-eric

I just got back from my local grocery store and got gift certificates for my friends at the lbs.

$50 a piece for the 4th of July. All I could afford.

-eric

Why does this make me want to be a wrench at my LBS?

because people that appreciate you take care of you :)

Plus I want to learn how to wrench on my own bikes. ;)

If you grow your own vegetables, take in a bag once in a while of what is ripe. They love that too. We took up a few dozen cucumbers and about 20 tomato last fall and they were fighting over it before we even got out the door. The zucchini (sp?) was the only thing the owner took all of, the rest he let the rest of the guys fight over. We went back about two weeks later with a friend to help her get a new bike and the only thing we had were a few yellow squash, but they were glad to see those also.

I always give my LBS some homemade cookies at Christmas. The family just cant see it, but when I can walk in with a wheel that need some attention and they work on it free, and while I wait, I can see it.

My fellow Clydesdale's and Athena's. One of the most common repairs is the rear derailleur. I found a video showing the easiest way to make adjustments on this most intimidating part of the bicycle.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/984922/how_to_adjust_the_rear_derailleur_on_a_bicycle/

Just remember if your shifting is a little off, use the barrel adjuster to fine tune it.

So it seems I have basic wrench skills. I tuned my old cheap MTB's derailleurs pretty easily.:rolleyes: Looks like I already have a foot in the door to becoming a wrench at my LBS.:p

In all reality it is not as complicated as it looks. The hardest part is staying focused as people are asking questions on the other side of the counter.

At my LBS the rule is, every customer gets met within the first minute of entering the shop. So when the shop is busy that can slow repairs down to a crawl, sometimes it is hard to remember where I was when I get back to the bike.

I didn't know wrenches were supposed to be tipped. BTW, tip your furniture delivery guy (I used to be one and it's a helluva job).

I didn't know wrenches were supposed to be tipped. BTW, tip your furniture delivery guy (I used to be one and it's a helluva job).

I am the referred to as the family mule, :rolleyes: but yea they just feed me and we are even.

The other day I went into the lbs and had a problem that would've kept my bike off the trainer for a day.

I talked to the wrench and he said bring it in tomorrow at opening and he'd take care of it for me.

I'm kinda ashamed to say but all I could tip him was $10, I told him to have lunch on me.

I think he appreciated it. I hope so.

Take Care of the Wrench..........
I tip them all the time with special foods and drink. They take good care of me, so I do the same just as a thank you.

flip - I don't have my own garden but I get corn from this grower down the road that has IMO the best around. I have a bushel basket that I think.... holds around 40 ears, depending on size; I'll take a ride when it comes in season and drop a bushel off.

THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!

ScotteeD I'll get to the video, recently brought the FX down for something or other and told the wrench I had rotated the shifters for better thumb position and the chain was not as smooth. I knew the reason. He just backed of the knob a click and it was perfect again.

I can reassemble a tail rotor with bullets whizzing through the air blindfolded, why should I or anyone be intimidated by a derailleur. sp, I know, it's one of those words.

ScotteeD, just watched the linked video, thanks!

I once but just recently did a Google Video search on 'bicycle maintenance' just now and came up with this link:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=bicycle+maintenance&hl=en&sitesearch=

I'm sure more are added more or less daily.

Thanks man........

DrPoo, I tip almost everyone. It may not be a lot but the appreciation's there. Even if it's only for six pack after a hard days work. I work hard too.

My fellow Clydesdale's and Athena's. One of the most common repairs is the rear derailleur. I found a video showing the easiest way to make adjustments on this most intimidating part of the bicycle.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/984922/how_to_adjust_the_rear_derailleur_on_a_bicycle/

Just remember if your shifting is a little off, use the barrel adjuster to fine tune it.



that's one of the reasons i use friction shifters when i use my geared bike. i prefer them anyway but to me they're a lot easier to adjust. but recently i've made it even easier by throwing out the derailleurs and riding a fixed gear :lol:

back on topic, i always take care of the lbs, bring beer and buy some stuff whether i need it or not since a lot of the time he won't let me pay after he helps me out. plus the amount of advice i've gotten from him over the years is priceless. i actually feel bad that i haven't been able to bring him beer for a while, but i'm building a beater fixie that'll have a rack on the back so he'll be getting beer from me again soon.

kyle

flip - I don't have my own garden but I get corn from this grower down the road that has IMO the best around. I have a bushel basket that I think.... holds around 40 ears, depending on size; I'll take a ride when it comes in season and drop a bushel off.

THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!

I have been to my not LBS (60 miles away) and walked in and on the counter will be different fresh fruit or vegetables from different customers. I do the same thing at work. If we are going to have a lot of fresh vegetables come on before we get a chance to turn it into salsa or something else, we let a lot of people come over and get it or we take it to work. I have a 70 year old farmer that loves fresh tomato sandwiches or sometimes he eats them like an apple. I told him to pick one whenever he feels like it. I bet he had about 20 last year sitting on his back patio. When I was tearing everything down in the fall I took a bunch of green one's and put them in newspaper and put on his picnic table. He told me about two weeks later that they were ripe and ready to eat and he loved them.

I don't grow sweet corn, but they would probably love to see that show up also. Very good idea!!!!

coffee in the AM, donuts too, subs before noon, cookies anytime, beer right before closing.
ALWAYS beer your support wrenches at big rides! even the few that don't drink can use beer as barter!