With tears in her eyes, she was trying so hard.
05-08-11, 04:41 PM
#27
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We should not assume she is a total novice, a total novice would not be able to climb a 17% hill so she indeed must have been on a bike before and she probably wasn't a "large" women. She probably was a good cyclist looking for a big step up as many of us have done.
Sounds like there is a lot of blame to go around that gave her a bad experience - it's a good thing you cam along and set the wrong right, and did not ask for her phone number in return...
05-08-11, 04:47 PM
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Perhaps this was an upgrade from downtube shifters - and she has ridden many years?
Still the LBS really dropped the ball.
In any event, GOOD JOB NOS88!!
Still the LBS really dropped the ball.
In any event, GOOD JOB NOS88!!
05-08-11, 05:28 PM
#33
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Great story!
Lots of things are possible to explain this scenario, including the possibility that she paraphrased what they said at the LBS. I doubt she is a newbie learning to ride a $4K bike AND riding clipless all at the same time --- however, stranger things happen and someone as determined as her might just be the type who has an abundance of confidence and fearlessly starts way above their head, rather than inching her way along below her actual potential --- the type who might attempt a first full century within a few months of learning to ride.
Lots of things are possible to explain this scenario, including the possibility that she paraphrased what they said at the LBS. I doubt she is a newbie learning to ride a $4K bike AND riding clipless all at the same time --- however, stranger things happen and someone as determined as her might just be the type who has an abundance of confidence and fearlessly starts way above their head, rather than inching her way along below her actual potential --- the type who might attempt a first full century within a few months of learning to ride.
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05-08-11, 06:22 PM
#35
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I guess I left out parts of the story. She was a long distance runner in her 20s that had suffered too many injuries running. She was a new rider, but very, very fit. I was breathing hard at the top of the climb, but she sure wasn't. This was only her second day riding. It could be that she wasn't attentive when given any instructions at the bike shop, but she sure quickly grasped the concepts that I explained to her. So, I tend to think her story was accurate. I was just so happy to see a young person with the kind of drive she had. And, to see her joy at success, made me remember my earliest victories on a bike.
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05-08-11, 06:35 PM
#36
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Your mother should be proud. You done good son
ARed
ARed
05-08-11, 07:43 PM
#38
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I guess I left out parts of the story. She was a long distance runner in her 20s that had suffered too many injuries running. She was a new rider, but very, very fit. I was breathing hard at the top of the climb, but she sure wasn't. This was only her second day riding. It could be that she wasn't attentive when given any instructions at the bike shop, but she sure quickly grasped the concepts that I explained to her. So, I tend to think her story was accurate. I was just so happy to see a young person with the kind of drive she had. And, to see her joy at success, made me remember my earliest victories on a bike.
When I sell C&V or even newer bikes to people I usually check to make sure they know how to shift. In some cases they are used to modern bikes or to MTB twist shifts and I have to explain bar end or DT shifters. It's surprising a big $ purchase wouldn't come with some instruction but as someone said the LBS probably assumed she was experienced based on the high end selection.
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05-08-11, 08:05 PM
#39
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I had a somewhat similar encounter.
At the start of a seven-day supported tour through Montana I overheard a rider complaining that his bike didn't shift. Yep. He was doing it wrong, and on top of that didn't even have a clue about how gears worked (unlike some of us, he apparently didn't grow up with the Golden Book of Simple Machines...)
I did what I could to show him how it worked, then promised myself not to ride anywhere near him.
At the start of a seven-day supported tour through Montana I overheard a rider complaining that his bike didn't shift. Yep. He was doing it wrong, and on top of that didn't even have a clue about how gears worked (unlike some of us, he apparently didn't grow up with the Golden Book of Simple Machines...)
I did what I could to show him how it worked, then promised myself not to ride anywhere near him.
05-08-11, 08:06 PM
#40
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That same kind of thing happened to me when I first started ridding and I didn't know there was more than one gear on the sprocket. I had a triple and didn't know enough to get off the big ring. Boy did I feel dumb when I complained to another cyclist on the trail.
05-08-11, 08:20 PM
#41
You gonna eat that?
As someone who has never had a bike with brifters... what's the deal with hitting both shifters at the same time?
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05-08-11, 08:27 PM
#42
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If it's a Shimano brifter, there are two levers on the brifter. You press in the smaller one to go to a higher gear, the larger one to a lower gear. You can't press both at the same time. The left brifter is for the chainring, the right for the cassette.
05-08-11, 08:33 PM
#43
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Wow. What a horrible LBS that sold that bike to her.
(btw I'm not 50+ but i'm still allowed to post here right???)
(btw I'm not 50+ but i'm still allowed to post here right???)
05-08-11, 08:37 PM
#44
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05-08-11, 08:50 PM
#45
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I like a few others here have never used brifters ( been riding most of my life as well ), but do like to ask questions. It usually pays off.
+1 to the op, you've likely helped someone avoid giving up a great sport/life style.
+1 to the op, you've likely helped someone avoid giving up a great sport/life style.
05-08-11, 09:03 PM
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05-08-11, 09:10 PM
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05-08-11, 10:45 PM
#49
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05-08-11, 11:21 PM
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