Originally Posted by
MrK.
Let me preface this by saying I'm 62 years old. I have been working on bikes since the mechanics in the bike shop close to my house would let me hang out when I was 10 and hand them tools and be otherwise annoying. I live in a small East Texas town. Closest bike shop is an hour away. I go there if I am close and need something, otherwise I order parts online. I was in that town today so I stopped in because I needed some cable and housing. I walked in and asked for a mtb brake cable and a full length piece of housing. The guy was pretty condescending telling me every bike is different and he needs to know exactly how long to cut the housing. I told him it's for a rear disc brake and the housing is full length so to cut me 5 feet. That seemed to annoy him so I said just cut it the length of the cable (knowing full well that there would be some left over). He blew and shook his head in frustration and I turned and started looking at the bike tools (ironic) thinking he was getting the housing. I heard him talking on the phone and mentioning housing. A minute later he gets my attention and asks me if I was bringing the bike in for installation. I told him that I would be installing it myself. He then picked up the cable and told me that I cannot install it myself, they had to do the install per company policy. ??? I know this shop changed hands recently and like to give them business when I am in the area but this is the last time I will give them business. Anyone else ever seen anything this absurd from a bike shop? Sorry for the rant.
I've never had anyone not sell me cable or housing. Could be a newb associate not knowing how these things work. I've had shop personnel ask me clarifying questions to make sure I got the right thing (which I appreciate, I sometimes get things wrong), but the only outright refusal I have gotten was when I asked a local mountain bike suspension guy if he would recharge the nitrogen on my motorcycle shock. He declined since he hadn't completed the full rebuild himself, but that's a safety issue that I totally understood after he put it in that light. The PSI can be in the hundreds and having a shock blow up on you could be dangerous.
If you still want to patronize the shop and you care enough, then I would send them an email to them to verify that is actually their policy. Their response will tell you whether or not it's worth continuing to patronize them.