Originally Posted by
fiataccompli
I'm starting to gather that it may not be worth taking up the shelf space for lots of shops to carry a full line of tools
True that. It's a different world from when I first started cycling in 1972. Back then almost every enthusiast was at least "somewhat" of a mechanic.
But the mechanisms were simpler and more universal requiring fewer specialized tools, (item A), and (B), we were raised by parents that lived thru WWII and remembered a time when it didn't matter how much money you had, you couldn't buy "it". If "it" broke, you had better be capable of fixing "it" or you were going to have to live without "it". If there's a (C) there, it would be that we were also instilled with a desire to "know how it worked".
As a society, we've lost that curiousity, and today we just throw "it" away, buy a new "it", and have a shop install "it".
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BICYCLE - [[I]bahy-si-kuhl] - Noun :> A medical device used to correct the common geriatric condition of OFS, (Old, Fat & Slow), in a manner that does not induce brain-decaying boredom like walking or running.
2005 Trek T2000 tandem, Giant TCR, Eddie Merckx Majestic Ti, Fuji Team, Giant Revel 29er, Windsor Clockwork (Orange) fixie, and a BikTrix Juggernaut Ultra 1000 fat tire eBike