malpag3

Hey, so I work at bike shop, and I figured I'd implore my fellow bike salespeople to share their favorite lines, dumb stories, happy stories, whatever stories. Don't get me wrong. I like getting folks into cycling and having fun again. People are pretty nice.

So one of my favorite lines I hear on a daily basis is when I'm trying gauge the customer's needs. This line will always come from someone who is older, a complete novice, or someone coming back into it after a 25 year hiatus.

Me - "Well, what kind of bike or riding were you thinking of doing?"
Customer - "I want something that can do EVERYTHING! I want a hybrid! I want to take it trails and the sidewalk."

Every time I hear the word 'hybrid' now I cringe. Of course they want a one quiver bike, but they don't want to pay more than $300 for it! They always get so upset when I show them the one quiver cyclo-cross bike that goes for about $900!

Then they come to clarify that the trails they speak of are "rails-to-trails", and that they want to be comfortable. Sometimes people get excited and a little ahead of themselves when they come to us directly after they were at their local Trek-Donalds.

I think for the most part, people just don't understand that quality comes with a pretty big price tag. It's good to keep that in mind...

mlts22 

I've heard JRA stories (JRA meaning "just riding along".)

One example I've overheard: "I was just riding along when the wheel on this bike suddenly tacoed." After a bit of asking questions from the LBS staff, the "just riding along" was changed to "it was just a minor crash."

There are others mentioned secondhand whose sources I forgot for example, "I was JRA when the frame exploded from underneath me"... when the customer failed to mention the fact that he was doing pretty heavy duty drops on a road bike.

StephenH

mlts22- I'm a hefty guy, and I started off on a $100 mountain bike a couple of years ago. I went riding with a friend, and we took a short cut that went though about a mile of pasture. It wasn't super rough, but had some bumps in it, and I took them all real slow. Well, we got through that without incicdent, then rode a couple of miles on pavement, went down some hills at 25 mph or so, and turned into a subdivision, and suddenly, my rear brake started rubbing. I had broken a spoke, and wheel was badly out of true. Well, I'm thinking this almost certainly broke back in that pasture, but wasn't noticed until I was "JRA". So those kinds of things can happen.

big chainring 

"My paddle is bent and my wheels got a whop in it."

howsteepisit

On the just riding along and the wheel tacoed vein. Years ago while working at a shop, had a guy claim the same. Of course we did not believe him. But that wheel could be pressed back into almost perfect true, then would snap into the taco with just a little encouragement, and then be snapped back. It was as we came to call it a trick wheel!

oopfoo

"Y'all gots a wheel chain?"

"Wut!?"

"You know, dem wheel chains."

"I'm sorry, come again."

"Dat thang what da chain goes to da wheel."

Last week, I listened to my LBS owner friend take this one. It took 10 minutes just to clarify what it was that he wanted. Turned out he wanted a BMX freewheel.

malpag3

Yeah these are pretty good! Lets me know I'm not alone.

How about butchering bike maker names. My favorite is "Ya'll have any Track bikes?". When they actually mean Trek.

big chainring 

Many years ago it was common for people to refer to a "Raleigh" as a "Rally". Heard that one alot.

Then there was the "Champignola" equiped bikes. And Cinelli pronounced with a s sound and not ch sound.

nkuvu

I've only ever seen Raleigh written -- I've never heard it pronounced. So "rally" looks like how I'd say it. How is it supposed to be pronounced?

I'd also probably mess up Cinelli.

cooker

Of course it's "rally" - just listen to the White Album: "...and curse Sir Walter Rally, he was such a stupid git..."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaeopola8eA


However, since the capital of North Carolina is often pronounced "Rawlee", I suppose some Americans pronounce the bike name that way too.

Indie

That's how I'd always heard it said, either that or "Rawley" like Sir Walter (I'm pretty sure Brits say his name that way, anyways). For some reason I also have "Ray-lee" stuck in my head. I am completely confused.

StephenH

I just assumed "rah'-lee". Unlike Rally, where the "a" is prounced as in "cat". Am I off, too, or is that the only difference?

There's a lot of these names that I see in print, but don't normally talk to people about, so have no clue how it is to be said. A moot point, as most of the stuff I can't pronounce, I also don't use. Even if you know how the people in Italy or whereever say it, that's not always the 'Merican way to say it. "Toyota" and "Volkswagen" come to mind.

On the freewheel question, the best approach is to take one in the store with you and say "I need one of these"; saves you trying to guess what the thing is called. Even if you know exactly what it is, you can walk in the store and tell them and then they ask "Will that be 23mm or 27mm?" and of course, you didn't realize they even made 'em in two sizes.

big chainring 

Yes thats it. Dont tell me people actually say Rally. I'll never post on this forum again if you guys pronounce it Rally, which ryhmes with Sally. Rah'-lee

womble

Ah, that's hillarious As someone who lived in the UK (it was originally a UK brand) for years, it's certainly not pronounced "rah-lee"!

apclassic9

(I just bring whatever's broken and ask for a new one... let the experts pronounce it, I'll just pay for it!)

cooker

So are you saying John Lennon didn't know how to pronounce Raleigh?

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, but how much credability are you going to give somebody who doesn't even know how to spell "tire"?

I'm switching to "rally" from now on.

StephenH

"Ah, that's hillarious As someone who lived in the UK (it was originally a UK brand) for years, it's certainly not pronounced "rah-lee"!"

So, how do you pronounce it?

Doing some googling around, I find:
"Raw-ley" from one source. Actually, an 1858 newspaper item about the pronunciation, in which the American guy said it was "Raw-ley" and complained of others pronouncing it "Rally".
"Ra-lay" was the Englishman's response to that, with the "Ra" as in "Rather". But I don't know how he pronounced "rather", which has a short "a" in it here and now, but maybe a "rah" when he said it.
raw-lee, rah-, from an online dictionary
ra-lee, per wictionary, with the "a" as the sound in father, or as in law, caught, or saw.

AdrianFly

... and now for something COMPLETELY different.


It's pronounced "Row-lie"

As in.. Row row row your boat.. gently down the street. As well as LIE... as in, "Dun lie to me foo.. dis Specialized was a Huffay befoe it was repainned!"

Fredmertz51

Always love to hear LBS personnel talk of how stupid customers are. Makes me want to spend money there.

malpag3

Oh come on. I never said customers were stupid (for the most part). I always try to help the best I can but when I'm given such limited options by what someone is telling me it is very hard.

You can't be so naive to think that anyone in any service/retail job doesn't have a good laugh about things that are said throughout the day. It's what gets you through it because to be honest, people can treat service/retail like total **** sometimes, and NO ONE deserves that.

Kimmitt 

Yeah, I agree -- these are some pretty tame stories, and it's nice to learn how to pronounce the name.

apricissimus 

Every single person who works in a place where they meet lots of people from the general public will have stupid people stories. It's just because if you meet lots of people, you're sure to run into some real prize winners (7 years in retail management myself).

And everyone does it, not just the LBS guys, or people in other service industries. How many threads have you seen here beginning, "OMG, I saw this guy on the MUP and you won't believe what he was doing..."

Retro Grouch 

I would have thought that somebody would have at least one really outrageous one.

cod.peace

If you want really good stories about the dregs of humanity, ask an experienced waiter or waitress.