Road Cycling - A little rant....

Well, after years of pushing many hard miles on my old Raleigh Hybrid I finally broke down a couple weeks ago and bought a new road bike. I bought an Cannondale R600 double (no granny gear for this guy!), Ultegra pedals, SIDI shoes.. Man I'm all dialed in. I realize a lot of you have much nicer bikes and probably think I'm a dork for for getting all excited about a relatively inexpensive bike, but it’s my first one... Let me have my moment.

My only disappointment has come from the LBS and the service they offer. The sales reps were less than knowledgeable and had a sense on disinterest in what they were selling. Fortunately I had a pretty good idea what I wanted when I walked in the door thanks to what I've learned from the good folks at this forum. My lack of knowledge came from the little practical things like. How do I pump up these tires when they have the little skinny stems and my pump has the big nozzle? How do these shift levers work? Etc. After a day of monkeying around I figured these things out... maybe they assumed everybody knows this stuff, but I didn't. Oh well who cares, I got my new bike and I'm happy

Anyway... After about 2 weeks of riding and 300 miles later I got my first flat tonight. I hit a pothole that almost knocked my fillings out only to hear the dreaded psssss sound coming from my rear tire. Oh well I thought, this will give me an opportunity to change my first road bike tire. When I originally bought the bike I had the guy grab me a spare tube which I always bring with me. So I sat down on the sidewalk and started going about the business of changing the tire when I ran into a problem. When I put the valve stem into the hole in the rim it wasn't long enough. What the heck? I thought. I tried pushing it through again. Nope. It's not long enough. The guy sold me the wrong tube. Here I am 10 miles from home and no rear tire. Well I got a ride to nearby bike shop where they explained that I need a 48MM stem and not the 36MM like my sales rep gave me when I bought the bike. (Good thing to know) I put on the correct tube and drove home.

Well I was and am Pi**ed Off. I would say I'm never going back to the bike shop where I bought the bike but that isn't true. I'm going back there tomorrow and the sales rep is getting a 700 X 18c -25c tube with a 36 MM valve stem right to the side of the head. I'm grabbing the right tube and then never going back.

And these LBS wonder why people buy from the mail order companies. What make me most upset is that I love my bike and it has been the greatest joy for me and the bike shop is in a position where they can help make that experience even better. Unfortuately they have done more to get in the way of my love of biking than support it. So I say screw them!

One guy made a mistake ... maybe don't judge the whole store based on that.

Dude - I couldn't agree more. I get much better advice doing my own research on the internet and much better pricing as well.

MY LBS shop horror story is similar - I was looking for rim tape for a new set of wheels, and the MANAGER of the store tossed me 2 rolls of rim tape. Well, I didn't know then (I do now since I read up on the internet) that the tape comes in several widths. He simply sold me what he had - the narrowest tape - without asking me what rims I had (standard width Shimano road rim) or explaining that the tape came in various widths. Well, TWO flats later, I realized that both flats were coming from the inside of the tube, and realized that the rim tape wasn't completely covering the spoke holes in a few areas.

The tubes at the LBS were $5.99 each and I wasted 2 of them. Interestingly, I bought a 10 pack of tubes at Performance for $19.99, less a 20% coupon code and less 10% Team perf discount for a net price of $1.44 each.

Same LBS sold a very naive friend a $4500 custom Seven after convincing her she couold never find a stock frame that would fit her (she's 5'9") and proceeded to fit her using a tape measure. Her phone "interview" with Seven lasted no more than a minute or 2.

I am all for supporting local businesses that offer a reasonable mix of pricing and service, but am certainly not going to get sucked in blindly.

A LBS can be a resource or a nightmare. You need to find one that has a knowledgeable staff and can deal with you honestly. Sure I buy a lot of my stuff over the net now, but there are those occassions when you need something quick and a good LBS is the place to find it. Unfortunately it must be hard if not impossible for the small LBS to compete at the level of a Supergo , Nashbar, or Performance.

I have a great LBS. Worked with the store personel for the last 15 years. I started dealing with them in 88 and been a customer since. I know both owners and have the greatest respect for both as they treat you fair and do not try to sell you junk or something you do not need. As most places they have a few that are not real knowledgable, but they are quick to get help or refer you to someone that knows the product. They have built me wheels and rocket man makes a great bomb proof wheel :D . I have bought my last 6 bikes from them, 4 road and 2 MB; my wife's bike (last week), and 3 (soon to be 4) for my daughter. I still have my last 2 road bikes that I bought there. Paramount PDG Waterford built custom and Serotta Legend Ti. I am still riding that 93 Serotta and just built up the PDG for when we do family rides.

On the tubes, not everyone knowes to get the right stem lenght. Use to be they were all the same. Now with some aero rims you need longer stems. My WH7700 require a 60mm stem, but Shimano does give you a tube extender so that you can use std tubes. I keep one of thses extenders in my fanny pack along with 3 tubes and levers. I have learned to buy the longer stems on the tubes. YOu get what you pay for in tubes, the tim light weight ones are ok for the summer, but not in the winter when it get cold and you get flats easy. I run the heavier tubes then. I have had good luck over the years with contential tubes and tires and that is what I run in most tires. Right now on my backup set I have the cheep wrench force $2 tubes as I got a flat Sunday.

Note on some rims, you may get a flat where the stem goes trough the rim as this area tends to be sharp. Just add a couple of pieces of electrical tape ~ 9" long in that area and poke a hole for the stem to go through and this keeps the flats or holes around the stem area down. Past experance :rolleyes:

If it's just the tube that's bothering you than you're in for a rude awakening. EVERYONE has the potential for selling you the wrong tube. A mail order store is no different- actually they are worse because you have to wait for the mail to go back and forth and for them to fill the order.

I remember a guy came into the shop that sponsors me one night and asked them to trade a bunch of 650c innertubes for some 700c because Colorado Cyclist shipped him the wrong tubes and he needed them the next day. UH, UH denied! Tell your story walking buddy.

The stem size thing is a common mistake. I've even done it to myself, grabbing the wrong one. Now I just always buy a 45 or 60mm and that way I'm never short!

Anyway glad you are enjoying your bike otherwise!

Racer X, well said. The biggest thing is YOU have to know what you want on mail order. Also some things are only available MO or special order with a 3-4 week wait at the LBS. Like the DT RR 1.1rims I just ordered, they are hard to find right now.

Half the pro bike shop staff is usually racer wannabes who could give 2 poos about the novice customer. They are just putting in time untill the next training ride or race. If the customer is not a seasoned cyclist, they get the attitude. In my area, we have one pro shop left plus a Performance store. I go to which ever one is closer at the time I need something. One thing I will say is that Performace house tubes now all have a long stem so you can't screw up! What a concept.....

And these LBS wonder why people buy from the mail order companies. What make me most upset is that I love my bike and it has been the greatest joy for me and the bike shop is in a position where they can help make that experience even better. Unfortuately they have done more to get in the way of my love of biking than support it. So I say screw them!

DVDaze,

this is an excellent experience. as you learn more about your own bike and what's what, you'll become less reliant on fools. some LBS are better/more knowledgeable than others. most LBS' have both dumb and smart employees. eventually it won't matter to you, cause you'll know what's what.

sd

dvdaze ...

i bought a new road bike this spring, i shopped at, umm, let see, 5 LBS's, 3 of the five would send me out on test rides just by guessing what would fit and with the most rudimentary fit if any at all. the other two were much better, took the time to fit me on a bike and adjust the bike for me. of the two good shops, one's bikes were just superbly tuned, everything thing they put me felt like it was tuned race ready. you can guess which shop i ended up buying from.

-- michael

We dont all have nice or nicer bikes and the R 600 is sweet. Brush up on what to carry with you on your rides.

The stem size thing is a common mistake. I've even done it to myself, grabbing the wrong one. Now I just always buy a 45 or 60mm and that way I'm never short!


Hey I understand everyone makes mistakes. My point is that if you got a guy buying his first road bike take a little time and explain some of these little things to look for so he doesn't have to learn it the hard way. Anybody can say, "here is your bike, here is the manual, have a nice day."

I didn't mean to sound too harsh on the LBS, in fact most of the people I've delt with in other shops have been great and I will just take my business to them. I only went to this bike shop because they were the only ones around who had Cannondales.

I think people who work in bike shops should be and are in most cases enthusiasts and that is what makes bikes shops different than other retail establishments. I guess I just had a little bad luck. :o

DVDaze,

this is an excellent experience. as you learn more about your own bike and what's what, you'll become less reliant on fools. some LBS are better/more knowledgeable than others. most LBS' have both dumb and smart employees. eventually it won't matter to you, cause you'll know what's what.

sd


Well, what one needs to look for in a LBS is service. That is what an LBS really has to offer over mail order.

I have been careful with the LBS' I frequent. Being selective and a bit lucky can pay dividends. I suffered a concussion whist helmets primarily from a face plant. But the helmet I had one, while ok was not a really good fit. I had just gotten it because it fit well enough. Well, after suffering a concussion I wanted a helmet that would fit as well as possible. The lady at my LBS took a fair bit of time with me going from helmet to helmet and getting the nearly perfect fit. A good shop with good people, and the shop is only as good as their people, will do things like that for you. Service like that can be invaluable.

DVDaze,

this is an excellent experience. as you learn more about your own bike and what's what, you'll become less reliant on fools.

sd

I guess that's the main thing. As I was sitting on the sidewalk last night unable to change a stupid tire because of the the tube I really felt stupid. It's kind of funny though - I've read so much about different bikes, componenets, frames, etc. but I never knew valve stems came in different sizes. I really got fill in these gaps in my road bike knowledge. :)

On the tubes, not everyone knowes to get the right stem lenght. Use to be they were all the same. Now with some aero rims you need longer stems. My WH7700 require a 60mm stem, but Shimano does give you a tube extender so that you can use std tubes. I keep one of thses extenders in my fanny pack along with 3 tubes and levers. I have learned to buy the longer stems on the tubes. YOu get what you pay for in tubes, the tim light weight ones are ok for the summer, but not in the winter when it get cold and you get flats easy. I run the heavier tubes then. I have had good luck over the years with contential tubes and tires and that is what I run in most tires. Right now on my backup set I have the cheep wrench force $2 tubes as I got a flat Sunday.

Thanks for the advice. I was wondering why the tube I took out last night was so much lighter than the one I put in. I didn't realize there were light ones and heavier ones. :)

Your welcome. If I can help somone from my experances than I have done something. Enjoy your new ride!! I very fondly remember my first road bike, a Diamond Back Centurian with hybrid 105 and lower group parts and cheep wheels. 7 speed with down tube levers and center pull brakes.

I like Pat's advice as I do most of my own work and now learning to build wheels so that I do not have to depend on someone else. I can do everything else but remove/ replace headsets as I do not have the $$ tool.

Well, what one needs to look for in a LBS is service. That is what an LBS really has to offer over mail order.

I have been careful with the LBS' I frequent. Being selective and a bit lucky can pay dividends. I suffered a concussion whist helmets primarily from a face plant. But the helmet I had one, while ok was not a really good fit. I had just gotten it because it fit well enough. Well, after suffering a concussion I wanted a helmet that would fit as well as possible. The lady at my LBS took a fair bit of time with me going from helmet to helmet and getting the nearly perfect fit. A good shop with good people, and the shop is only as good as their people, will do things like that for you. Service like that can be invaluable.

That is so true. I ride motorycles and luckily my friend has a shop where I live. When I lived in other towns the service was so awful sometimes that it just disgusted me. I would sit at the service counter with people walking by me for 20 minutes without even a hello, or hold on just a minute we will be right with you. I walked out twice at one shop because they were so awful but went back because I really needed the parts fast. Local shops, no matter what you are dealing with, sometimes forget that their customers are the ones that put the food on the table for them. I would gladly pay money to a local shop over an internet company if they treated me like an individual and not just another customer.