Yep!!

Hey buddy, That sucks, the economy's in the tanks and I'm sure some store owners are hitting it hard. But you're right you should never go to him again. In fact, I have 3 bike places to choose from 1) is a little to far from me and I'm a little uncool to be in that one. The 2) is run by a business man the problem his prices are too high. The 3) I have made a friend at who is the dude who buys the crap for the shop and he's super helpful and gets me what I want...that's who I stick with!

Anyways, I just got this thrift store book and it says " measure the distance from the head of the femur (google that to find out exactly where it is) Subtract 13.75 inches (35cm) from that measurement to determine the correct frame size. Then all the other adjustments are made once you get a saddle and bars and stuff. The book was published in 1979 it's called understanding, maintaining, and riding the Ten-Speed bicycle (By Denise de la rosa and Michael Kolin). So things may have changed since then (I'm guessing the number you subtract is the 1/2 the diameter of the wheels + tires you wish to use (back in 79 everyone rode 27") I think ? But if you make that measurement (barefooted) and email your peeps, they'll probably know exactly the right size to get you...

I haven't been to a shop in Madison for about a year, but when I last lived there, there wasn't anywhere I could think of that anyone would be too uncool for. May I ask what shop you speak of?

yes, momentarily, see below

I want an LBS to provide me with oral pleasure at no charge.

lol

Oral pleasure from bike fixing dudes, strange thought but good luck with that! :lol:

what, you've never seen a girl wrench? an elusive yet wonderful creature.

I would have to go with both sides of this one as well. The weird thing is that I spent 12 years working in shops, but now....I do most of my shopping online. Anyway, it's just my opinion, but to offer a pay-for service of fitting is a smart thing for a shop to do, even if they don't sell a frame from it....bikes and frames are the lowest profit grossing merchandise a shop can sell anyway, so doing fittings is very high profit as there is virtually zero overhead...it's all labor and maybe a small one time investment in some equipment. There are two things that I never did...and will never do.. First, when I was working in shops I never fought with a customer over what they wanted, unless it was simply unsafe or they asked for my opinion and/or technical advice, and I NEVER talked "down" to them. The other thing I don't do, when I do go into a shop, is share my personal feelings on their business, the internet, the competition, how much "stuff" is, etc, etc... It's rude to begin with, and it will put most people automatically on the defensive. You would not be "lying" if you simply said "I'd like to buy a fitting". If the guy/gal asked you if you were going to buy a new bike, a simple "I'm knocking the idea around" would be completely sufficient. I have fitted plenty of people only to have them buy a bike somewhere else only to have them come back to show off the bike, buy accessories, have repair and maintenance work done, etc... Perhaps you and the "sales guy" may want to evaluate how you relate to one another.

Revolution Cycles, it's a great place, but I'm definitely not cool enough to hang out there ;). I go there sometimes, but I prefer budget cycles. But both shops are great.

Also to cover my ass even more. YJ in town is also a cool ass shop, but the prices are a little high, but if you want something vintage they probably have it (at auction prices) .

bens & yellow jersey?

Hmm I am treated pretty well by my lbs even thought I bought my bike online. Why? I've recommended them to several people who bought 500+ dollar bike from them. Treating any customer like that is bad business. Who knows how many people he could influence in a good or bad way. Shops really need to stop looking at individual customers and look at the big picture. 1 happy customer could lead to 10 whether he buys something or not.

Of course I don't know the whole story... Just my 2 cents.

If the shop has the capacity to do fittings, then I would assume that they also sell said fits. We do. If someone is willing to come in, plop down $100 for a basic fit, then we don't care (well, a little) what bike they buy from whom. If they are happy enough with the fit, they'll come back to have the bike assembled, get a tune up, buy tires, or whatever.

I just seriously doubt that any mention of money was made. It's hard to believe, but there really ARE people out there who think the LBS is a public service entity and has no right to make any money. See my story above about the guy with the wetsuit. (I hope I see that tool again so I can ignore him while he wanders around looking for a $4 tube)

of course. he clearly did not offer to pay.

Your juvenile, LBS are rip offs, we are talking about bicycles, BICYCLES it's not f'ing rocket science. A couple hours of research and I guarantee the average person can learn the same crap they feed the customers at the bike shops. Can you tell I hate bike shops and what they do to customers. I would not care if they all went out of business. (I'm a competent person, no need for a "bike" mechanic)

Even if he didn't, all the owner had to say was 'we offer fittings for free with a bike purchase, otherwise we charge $XX'. Or, 'sorry, we used to charge for fittings, but found it to be too problematic in one way or another.' Or, 'we'd be happy to fit you, but you'll have to wait until I take care of these other customers first.' Etc.

You can get away with being rude if you don't have much competition. That's not really the case for LBS anymore.

The point is, Sparky, that not everyone WANTS TO work on their own bikes. Do you work on your own car? Would you replace a head gasket? Why not? It's not f'ing rocket science. I did that ***** for 10 years and it's something that any competent person COULD do if they WANTED to.....

People can clean their own damn houses too, can't they? So why are there maids and house cleaning services?

I like this thread.

:lol::thumb:

You have a good point, I do know how to work on cars though, when I was active duty military that was my primary job as a mechanic. So yes I would change my own head gasket if needed. I just feel a lot of LBS rip people off left and right, I know when I went to mine they were HORRIBLE, and all I was asking about was a set of rims that the owner/sales rep marked up 200 dollars over the original ONLINE price. He Didn't think I knew what I was talking about, so I went online bought the set of rims for two hundred dollars cheaper, showed up next week at the LBS for the group ride which the owner rides in. His face was priceless, more like beet red, constipation, wanna die look.

That's funny, here in Eugene, Revolution Cycles is by far the worst, least trustworthy shop in town.

\

So your one bad experience means that all bike shops should go out of business?...and your opinion is more valid because you were in the military(active duty no less...)?? "I feel" is not fact it's opinion which you are entitled to....but if bike shops are "ripping people off" left and right they'd be highly profitable...which isn't always the case. Bike shops HAVE to charge more than the internet. If you're polite about it I find you can get a great deal from a shop because they want your business. ie "I know that you can't match the online price but can you come close? I'd like to buy the bike/wheels/tires/shoes from you" goes a long way. Of course their are bad shops/techs/sales but not all are. As an aside I am glad you take such pride in the discomfort of others though, it makes others look that much better.

Wow, this thread is still happening?

I admitted being a dick 3 pages ago. I didn't go in with the intentions of being a dick but I wasn't thinking clearly with my actions.

Back to the topic of dicks,
Does anyone know any good dick fitting spots in Southern CA?

I was thinking about getting the new Cinelli leather racing shorts with pink stripes but can't figure out of my dick is too small

it probably is.

i think a good idea for an LBS would to offer fittings at 60 bucks, but if you buy a frame or bike at the shop the 60 bucks can be used as credit toward your purchase. everyone wins