Bicycle Mechanics - Really recommended thing to do!

Yesterday I had arranged a meeting after closing time with the owner of my local bike-shop. I wanted a total repair of my bike (including the things that already worked), and I wanted to do it myself together with him, to see how everything worked, and to have all the tools and space needed.

Together we stripped down my bike to the smallest ball of the ball bearings. We cleaned and lubed everything – now my bike feels totally reborn! It took four hours and I paid him $ 60. I bought hybrid clip-pedals (to use either with your normal shoes or with clip-shoes) and a new saddle (with gel, to protect my butt on long tours) and longer barends and got a 10 % discount, ending at $ 120.

Nice things to hear from the bike-shop owner:

– I haven’t done such a thorough repair of my own bikes for some years.
– We never do repairs this thorough.
– If we do, I would charge $ 100.

Yeah, it feel great! :p

That guy would get my business for life.

Good man! :thumbup: and nice thing from the owner to do this kind of workshop.

Oh, I might add that this wasn’t anything regular he does. He had in fact never done anything similar, it was me who suggested the whole thing, so I think I got the low price cause he thought it was a little bit fun too. And the barends ($ 14) were on the house. :)

hey karl i read your planet tour thing. and wanted to coment on your post. i have worked in a bike shop long enough to have seen many of tourers come and go often i see many far from home with no tools and little money or a desire to not spend it
on repairs and parts. to me it sounds like the bike shop owner likes you a lot. did he ream your seat tube as well, cause thats what you did to him/her, come on 4 hours after closing for 60 bucks and free bar ends. you owe this guy/girl. at least you could make an effort to send as much business to him as you possibly can and not tell people to ask for the special after hours deal.
spend a little less in technology and more on tools and help bike shop owners stay in business. you three dollar bill you.

Originally posted by huffy4130
hey karl i read your planet tour thing. and wanted to coment on your post. i have worked in a bike shop long enough to have seen many of tourers come and go often i see many far from home with no tools and little money or a desire to not spend it
on repairs and parts. to me it sounds like the bike shop owner likes you a lot. did he ream your seat tube as well, cause thats what you did to him/her, come on 4 hours after closing for 60 bucks and free bar ends. you owe this guy/girl. at least you could make an effort to send as much business to him as you possibly can and not tell people to ask for the special after hours deal.
spend a little less in technology and more on tools and help bike shop owners stay in business. you three dollar bill you.

Amen!! I have been a shop monkey off and on for the last 15 years or so, when I read Karls post this exactly what I thought.

Originally posted by huffy4130
to me it sounds like the bike shop owner likes you a lot.
I think he liked the idea that I would bike to Budapest as the first tour I have ever made. He hadn’t done any touring himself (he was more of a racer).


you owe this guy/girl. at least you could make an effort to send as much business to him as you possibly can and not tell people to ask for the special after hours deal.
I will always shop there!!! But do I get you right, do you think this was such a rare thing that shop owners would suffer if people started to suggest it to them? I mean, you can always ask. And you can also pay more (I didn’t realize the deal until he told me those things quoted in my post.)


spend a little less in technology and more on tools and help bike shop owners stay in business. you three dollar bill you.
If you mean the technology I write about on the planet, I’ve done a 180. My cellular was stolen, so with a vital link in the website updating chain lost, I started to think. And I thought that this is my first tour and I wanna be totally offline. But it wasn’t exactly about ”spending” anyway... since I’m still on a student economy and had won the Palm Pilot.

I applaud what you did, Swekarl. As you observed, because this was a business transaction in which both parties freely, honestly, and willingly engaged, by definition no one was exploited. Your friendship, future referrals, customer loyalty, and what businesses call "good will" can be worth alot to the shop owner. Bring new business into the shop over the next year or so and make this a win-win situation.

Retrogrouch -

How about, say, "ride fairly"? ;)

Cheers...Gary

Good deal! I have done the same thing at my LBS, Patty really takes pretty good care of me and my bikes! And, each time I have learned something new (hint, avoid the 'chain lecture', keep it lubed and don't run it too long!)

Now I have my own stand at home, and grease, bike-specific tools and so on so I can do tuneups myself....but for some reason, I keep taking them back to the bike shop! :D

And here’s the follow-up: Today I bought shoes, biking pants, winter/spring tights and a jersey at this my LBS. (First time I own any of these items.) The owner gave me a 10 percent discount again, so I guess I’ve become a regular customer. This is symbiosis, right? :)

Business is life. In business, as in life, we like to make associations and friends with certain people. We go the extra mile for them.

Sometimes, you do work without pay or at a loss, just because you like a certain person. Of course, you can't do it all the time, but what better thing to give than some of your profession to someone who really appreciates what you have done for them.

This is probably how Karl's LBS feels. He knows that Karl will appreciate the work he did and will use it wisely. Karl probably has the kind of personality that motivates people to be friendly and helpful.

I am delighted to know that in Sweden, there is a new friendship starting between a bicycle professional and a bicycle enthusiast.

I think I posted this on the "old" site, but in any case ...

When I was looking around in high-intensity learning mode, trying to figure out which "real" bike to buy, I ended up in a high-end shop near where I work. After over an hour of discussion, he told me that he would not have the right bike for me (he sells Colnago, Pinarello, Specialized, Cannondale, and Principia). He gave me the name and address of a custom builder up north. The next day, I had sat with him for three hours, gave him an order (two bikes - one for me, one for the wife), and then waited for my new custom bike for the next three months.

Since that time, I have bought many, many things from my local guy - clothing, tools, etc. And he gives me ten off as a matter of course. I now visit his shop on my lunchtime walk at least once a week, if only to say hello, chat about whatever, or just "smell the bikes" (and, of course, to give treats to his two pups - Waldo and Pepper).

We talk about Provence and Mont Ventoux - he and his wife often holiday right where we will be living - and I think that they will be regular visitors when they are down there. I sorta' hope one day that we will be able to cycle to the top of "le Geant" together.

So "business is life" is true. And sometimes it can lead to even more.

Cheers...Gary (getting more philosophical as I get older)