Road Cycling - people are so incompetent :mad:

i just got home from the bike shop where i recently purchased a trek 2300. i got 4 extra tubes today...so i get home and i look at the tubes and they are schrader! im like you have got to be kidding me. they should know that my bike would take a presta valve. so now im stuck with 4 schrader valves for my presta fitting bike. is it really that hard for people to think? people are just invalids these days. :mad:

did you tell them you needed presta tubes? or that you were getting them for your road bike? because they might not have known...and you're not stuck with them. take them back tomorrow with the reciept, tell them what happened and exchange them.

Maybe you look like a schrader kind of guy :D

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

What OneTinSloth said. For all they knew, you could have been buying tubes for a totally different bike. If you didn't specifically ask for presta valved tubes then I think you really have no one to blame but yourself. Also, the valve type is usually pretty well marked on the outside of the box. You should always check the valve and dimensions of tubes before concluding the purchase. And as was mentioned, just go back and exchange them for presta tubes.

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. One of the things you learn as you get older is to figure out what to agonise over and what to let go. If coming home with tubes that have the wrong valve is the extent of cause for your demoralisation then I envy you. Even if the guy knew you were buying it for your new roadbike and made a mistake by giving you the wrong tubes, there's a very clear way to resolve this matter unlike some others you may face later on in life. Yes it may be a hassle but getting flustered over the little things will just eventually turn you into a stress puppy. Now go out and enjoy your ride and destress.

Maybe you look like a schrader kind of guy :D
Now that was pure EVIL! But FUNNY!

man, aren't you a little young to be so bitter and angry? relax. why not ride your new bike there and exchange the tubes for the ones that fit your bike? i wish there was an angry young man smilie. that would be funny and speak volumes.

dan

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

Wait till you realize they forgot to apply financial aid and you get a bill for $21,388.
Or AT&T Wireless screws you and your $69.95/mo bill becomes $389.
Or that your landlord's selling the building and you've got 6 weeks to move.
Or you realize your company's downsizing and you're at the bottom of the food chain.

Don't sweat it cause you got some wrong tubes. Go out for a nice bike ride and chug on back to the store, explain it to him and he'll exchange it for you. You're gonna have plenty of stuff to demoralize you later on in life, don't sweat it now.

If you're still angry, channel some of that energy into going as fast as you can back to that store on your new roadie and try to break your own speed record. Have fun :)

i've noticed that there are two possibilities when buying tubes: 1) you ask for a tube, and the person working assumes, since you didn't specify, that you just need schraeder, or 2) they ask which style you need. most 15 year olds don't even know that presta exists, so the "maybe you look like a schraeder kinda guy" comment could actually come into play here...

it's not their job to know what you need if you don't tell them. now you know to tell them. always, always, ALWAYS tell them what style and what size. it makes it easier for them (since there are two styles and just about every size possible in both), and faster for you. pick up some glueless patches too. the little park ones work WONDERS.

i got into a brief spat with a friend who's bike i was working on because i didn't fix something that was wrong that she didn't tell me about. i finally just said "look, i'm a bike mechanic, not a psychic. if you want a psychic, here's the phone, call Miss Cleo." then i fixed her bike for my usual fee of a hug and some water.

Cranker...Is the store that far away..? You will become more addicted to cycling as you get into it...I am very happy when I have to go to my bike store 20 miles away...I ride. Another excuse to get on the bike...What is 20 miles?
I have a store 1.5 miles away. But that is no ride..I prefer the merchandise and personnel of the store 20 miles away..
So, what did you buy your bike for? Have a lot of years to work on your addiction...! I get really disappointed when I can't get all my bike crap within the panniers of my touring bike. I have to drive.? No way.
I even do much of my Christmas shopping on my touring bike.. Cars stink...
In fact..take maintenance issues..Have to get my bike worked on and it stays overnight..Cheat myself out of a ride.? No way....To get in half a ride, I will either take a district Transit bus coming or going , with bike racks- so I get in some assemblance of a ride.

now i'm mad. there's a 15 year old with a newer, nicer bike than i do (age 39) lol

like everybody has said...dont sweat it. at least you didnt find out 70kms from home when you blow a tube :D ... im sure your lbs will let you exchange them. Dont hassle them about it though because it really is your responsability to check what you are buying...mind you they should have asked also. but keep a good rep with your lbs because it can go a lonnnnnnggg way. happy riding

it's not their job to know what you need if you don't tell them.

I agree 100%.

Let this be a lesson. The person you bought the bike from may have sold several bikes over the past week to young men your age. He may remember your face, and if he's really good a sales person, your name too, but he may not remember your purchase.

Its really hard to link a person to a bike, so much more what tube they use, just by looking at them. Usually, kids your age ride BMX's or MTBs, its just normal for him to assume shrader valved tubes.

He/she may be at fault since he/she just assumed you need a shrader tube. But you are equally at fault for assuming he/she knows what you need.

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

Waiting around for your parents to drive you to a bike shop when you have a perfectly good bike to ride? Its a road bike, ride it on the road... and while your at it, stop by the bike shop!!

It's nice to think that everyone who sells you something is going to remember you and everything about you but it's not realistic. If you had ridden to the shop in the first place, maybe they would have noticed your bike and sold you the correct tubes in the first place.

It also doesn't hurt to verify you're buying the right thing the first time around...

i've noticed that there are two possibilities when buying tubes: 1) you ask for a tube, and the person working assumes, since you didn't specify, that you just need schraeder, or 2) they ask which style you need. most 15 year olds don't even know that presta exists, so the "maybe you look like a schraeder kinda guy" comment could actually come into play here...

it's not their job to know what you need if you don't tell them. now you know to tell them. always, always, ALWAYS tell them what style and what size. it makes it easier for them (since there are two styles and just about every size possible in both), and faster for you. pick up some glueless patches too. the little park ones work WONDERS.

i got into a brief spat with a friend who's bike i was working on because i didn't fix something that was wrong that she didn't tell me about. i finally just said "look, i'm a bike mechanic, not a psychic. if you want a psychic, here's the phone, call Miss Cleo." then i fixed her bike for my usual fee of a hug and some water.

I need you as a friend. I would even throw in a homemade cookie if you'd work on my bike for me!!

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

Please take this in the spirit in which it is given - free advice! For a very brief period in my life, I worked retail, in a Radio Shack. I quickly adopted the attitude of the other salesmen, viewing anyone under about 25 as more of a pain than a customer. I had to force myself to listen to them. Basically, they didn't buy anything expensive, so they were just wasting commission helping them.

Just remember, you viewed as "a kid" who doesn't have anything useful to say, even though you just spent a bundle.

When you enter a store, make sure you tell them exactly what you want, then check the merchandise out closely before leaving.

As sort of a consolation prize, it happens to adults, too. A friend of mine who is my age, 58, bought a new wheel for his MTB in an LBS across town. When he picked it up, the salesman said "It's drilled for presta, okay?" He said "Okay, better give me a couple of tubes." The moron gave him two shraeders.

By the way, the 2300 is a fantastic bike. You made an excellent choice.

Maybe you look like a schrader kind of guy :D

I just laughed so hard,man, that was a cracking pot.

i just got home from the bike shop where i recently purchased a trek 2300. i got 4 extra tubes today...so i get home and i look at the tubes and they are schrader! im like you have got to be kidding me. they should know that my bike would take a presta valve. so now im stuck with 4 schrader valves for my presta fitting bike. is it really that hard for people to think? people are just invalids these days. :mad:

Dude, you are obviously starting to understand that the ONLY person who will ever look out for you is you. If you never comprehend this and expect everyone else to take care of you, you will be continually disappointed for the rest of your life. Two rules to live by: 1)if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself and 2) trust, but verify.
Rant: The fact that very few people in this society are willing to admit fault and accept the fact that they made a bad decision is the reason why we have such a hyper-litiginous culture. "I can't be held responsible for the daily act of putting a Big Mac in my fat mouth! It was McDonald's fault!"
I am optimistic, shimano_cranker, that this mildly annoying experience of The Case of the Incorrect Tube will 1) open your eyes to the fact that you have to look out for yourself and 2) that your mistakes are just that, yours. Use all that energy to keep those pedals ticking over and you'll rack up the wins like it's nobody's business!

BTW be prepared to get only 3 tubes in exchange b/c road tubes cost more.

hey,i did'nt even get upset when i recieved my new mavic 517 wheelset which only accepted presta tube's.....i got my drill out and made them to where my shrader's worked and i smiled!!! alot of thing's in life just are'nt perfect son! love the high of a good ride....david

Dude, you are obviously starting to understand that the ONLY person who will ever look out for you is you.

Depends on your LBS, and, as I previoulsy noted, your age. When I walk into my LBS, the greet me by name. When I ask for a tube, they say "For your Navigator or your Zurich?" If I say "Navigator," they ask "front or back?" because they know I have a presta on the front and a shraeder on the back.

I stop in occasionally just to shoot the bull with the owner or one of the wrenches who works weekends. The owner is a great guy and a superb businessman. I don't think they blow-off the youngest of riders. In fact, two of his salesmen started there when they were juniors in high school. One is full-time now and the other is part time as he is a full-time university student. They relate to younger riders and speak their language.

the guy who gave me the tubes was the guy who i bought the bike from. its real obvious that it would take presta, but no nothing can be easy these days. its just so demoralizing...i have to get my parents to drive me there (im only 15) and its just a hassle.

then just ride there to exchange it! don't get stuck with it.. u should just tell that guy off.. since he made money off of you from commission.. he should at least gave you a tube for free! it doesn't hurt to ask even if ur only 15rys old!!!

BTW be prepared to get only 3 tubes in exchange b/c road tubes cost more.

1) they make 700c schraeder tubes so the kid might have bought 700c schraeders
2) I always have paid the same price for scraeder/presta/26"/700c... I actually can't think of a shop I have ever been at that charges more for a 700c?

it's not their job to know what you need if you don't tell them.

Yeah, actually it is their job. The LBS "professional" should always ask which type you need. They should be the expert. Not expect the customer to be. That is just as incompetent as walking into your local Auto Zone and saying "I need a water pump" and the guy just grabs that first one off the shelf, not even knowing what kind of car it goes on.

It is amazing how many people don't even expect any level of customer service anymore.

I need you as a friend. I would even throw in a homemade cookie if you'd work on my bike for me!!

i would love to work on your bike for a homemade cookie.

i just spent all day building and working on bikes at a shop...it was a "tryout" of sorts. they want me to come in again tomorrow at 1 and work until they close. i'm taking that as a good sign.

i can't ****ing believe they PAY people to do this!!!

i would love to work on your bike for a homemade cookie.

i just spent all day building and working on bikes at a shop...it was a "tryout" of sorts. they want me to come in again tomorrow at 1 and work until they close. i'm taking that as a good sign.

i can't ****ing believe they PAY people to do this!!!
Now thats living the good life! :)

Welcome to biking 101, the real world is upon you, it is time for you to learn the way of the bicyclist. You must pay attention to all the details that foresake your awareness of what a cyclist must go through in this life. Or you can just roll on two wheels and life is good.

Most the time they will ask you,not assume.

Yeah, actually it is their job. The LBS "professional" should always ask which type you need. They should be the expert. Not expect the customer to be. That is just as incompetent as walking into your local Auto Zone and saying "I need a water pump" and the guy just grabs that first one off the shelf, not even knowing what kind of car it goes on.

It is amazing how many people don't even expect any level of customer service anymore.

it's not that i don't expect customer service...and granted, most shops worth their salt will ask which, but if they don't, i don't think it's something to get upset about, maybe the guy at the shop forgot to ask that ONE time, it happens. it doesn't make it okay, but seriously, if a 15 year old came in and asked me for a tube (i would ask which type and size), but i would also assume that he or she wanted either a mountain bike tube (which could be either, which is why i'd ask) or a BMX tube (which is almost always schraeder).

a nice solution to this problem that i've seen in a couple places is to just have the tubes sitting on the "customer" side of the counter, rather than behind it. that way, the customer can grab what they need and pay for it.

it's not that i don't expect customer service...and granted, most shops worth their salt will ask which, but if they don't, i don't think it's something to get upset about, maybe the guy at the shop forgot to ask that ONE time, it happens. it doesn't make it okay, but seriously, if a 15 year old came in and asked me for a tube (i would ask which type and size), but i would also assume that he or she wanted either a mountain bike tube (which could be either, which is why i'd ask) or a BMX tube (which is almost always schraeder).

a nice solution to this problem that i've seen in a couple places is to just have the tubes sitting on the "customer" side of the counter, rather than behind it. that way, the customer can grab what they need and pay for it.


I bought some Blackburn tubes at Performance that were really cheap, on closeout. AT 50, my eyes aren'
t exactly what they used to be, but when I whipped one out to fix a flat on a club ride, I was standing there with a schraeder valve tube for my 700 road wheel. When I took them back to exchange them, the guy in the store looked at the box and the letters saying "Schraeder" were so small even he couldn't read them. It actually was pretty funny on the ride, which was one of my first with the club. I was thinking of taking my yellow jersey to the T-shirt shop and having "Newbie" stenciled on it.

Nothing was mentioned about the bike sale..... Did the bike fit? Set up right? Everything adjusted to your satisfaction? Did he thank you for the purchase? Did he do anything right? It really is hard to be perfect. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but it is harder than you think. Congrats on the new bike!