Customer Feedback #1: Monica

This is Monica.

Monica had me tune up her Specialized S-Works (and her husband's Stumpjumper). She was referred to me from another customer of mine. Her bike was bought used which seems to be fairly typical for my customers, and had been pieced together with quite an array of parts. Rolf front wheel, Mavic Askium in the back, and a mishmash of Shimano drivetrain components. Beautiful S-Works frame from before the carbon boom of the last 7 years. The Rolf wheel had to go however due to a broken spoke (my fault) and loose bearings (typical of these wheels). It was replaced with a nice Reliable Shimano 500 front wheel with all normal parts and spokes with it. Anyway, real nice ride for her triathlon aspirations.

Monica started doing Triathlons this year. Her first was supposed to be at Shawnee Mission Park, but it was rained out. Next chance she had was at Lonestar Lake (7/19) where she placed 15/70 in the women's short course (58/207 overall short course men and women).

The next race she let me know about was again at Longview Lake where halfway through her 12 mile bike ride, she slid and wrecked. From her email to me:

"I was in another tri on Aug19 at Longview Lake that I ended up totally wiping out on my bike about 1/2 way through the 12m bike course. I ended up w/severe road rash on my left hip, elbow, left fingers, and left wrist. Also got 1 stitch in my left wrist. I was out of training for 2w so I was a little rusty (and terrified once I got back on my bike on 9/12!) for my last race."

The pictures she sent me are from her most recent race on September 12th were she placed 42/302 overall (7/45 in her age division). Pretty tough person I would say, especially doing so well just under a month later from a nasty case of road rash.

I just wanted to wish her continued luck in the triathlons and showcase her success here.

If any other past customers want to share any stories please just send me an email and let me know how it is going.

Shop Update and Useful Bike Related Items Found on the Web

First off I would like to say that I luckily didn't need a skin graft, but my right hand is still healing. Despite whatever I may have said, it will probably take 2-4 weeks before I can wrench bikes again. I can still give advice and I have been thinking of offering 2 hour sessions with any individual on bike repair instruction for $60 or so. I can cover whatever people want to learn, but I won't be able to really get dirty (I have to prevent infection). I should note that a two hour session won't make you an expert but it certainly can give you the knowledge tools to start. I am just throwing it out there if anyone is interested.

That being said I have been glued to the computer for a couple of weeks looking for parts and such for a touring bike that I have been thinking about building up. None of these items I have bought but rather, just think they are quite ingenious.




Bar none, the coolest item I have found on the web are Phil Wood's "Riv" hubs made for Rivendell Bikes. What makes them so cool is that they are high flanged and the rear hub is centered. First off the benefits of high flanges are that they create a stronger built wheel, due to shorter spoke length. New road hubs these days have a small flange radius and thus longer spokes which at times can cause for wheels to come out of true more easily. Also the rear hub is meant to only have a 7sp freewheel often found on older that 1990 or so bicycles. What it allows for however for the flanges to be centered on the hub, thus allowing for the need of only one spoke size and no dish needed in the rear wheel. Again this makes for a strong long lasting rear wheel that should not come out of true. The front and rear hubs share flange widths and flange radius' so a common spoke size can be had for all the spokes in the front and rear wheel. Thus the touring bike rider would only need to carry a single size spoke as back up for their tour instead of three. Very trick, very brilliant, very expensive. I hope that wasn't too bike nerdy.




Next, have you found an old french Peugeot that that you wanted to update to new parts, but have been told the bottom bracket is french threaded and a replacement is hard to find? Well VeloOrange stocks a well priced ($48) Grand Cru replacement bottom bracket that can allow for you to use a more modern crank.

Like to see some other brands that make bike tools besides Park or need some specific tool that no ones seems to stock? Head over to BikeToolsEtc.com for a vast selection of tools, odd ball replacement parts, and more lubes and grease for bikes than Napa. I have on several occasions spoken with the owner/customer service who is extremely knowledgeable and very willing to find and stock something that he may not have. Definitely worth a visit if you a tool nut.

Why the shop is down...

(do not scroll down if you are squeamish, you have been warned)

click to make bigger...

So that is the picture this is the story. I drove down south to the Blue Valley spot of the Overland Park-Lenexa-Olathe Megatropolis area to an appointment I had made with a purveyor of a two year old Specialized Tricross Sport.

This is a bike that I thought was out of my price range when I was looking for a replacement of my old odd blue Raleigh titanium road bike. I consequently purchased a Jamis Aurora touring framing and have been slowly putting the parts together to put that bike together.

This guy had a good price on it, though it is well ridden and I wanted to go check it out. I thought maybe I buy it, maybe not. If I do I would only keep it until the Jamis is built up, blah, blah, blah. Nice guy, we talked a while and I asked if it was okay if I take it for a ride.

I hop on, ride up the block, shift through the gears, and think, it seems okay. I decide to shift down, stand up, and mash on the pedals. The rest is a flash, some how shifting up I dropped the chain. I was thrown into the front handlebars after I lost my balance, the front wheel and all turned to the right 90 degrees, and acted as the brake. I had enough time for two things: 1) Say the word, "F*ck!" and 2) Turn my head to the side so I wouldn't take the impact head on.

I flipped, smashed, grinded, and then saw the bike go over head. I remember thinking, "I'm okay I think," and "What a eff'ing nightmare." Which I said many times over the next 30 minutes. The bike owner came and checked me out, to his accord he cared about how bad I was, which was pretty bad at least bloody wise. Meanwhile I surveyed that I had messed up his bike.

He helped wash me off, spray on some disinfectant, and dab dry. We talked for too long, I saw that the bike wasn't as bad as I thought (bent bars and front wheel only), and I left to get cleaned up and go see a doctor.

Needless to say I am buying the bike and will get it all fixed up. I don't know if I will keep or sell it but either way it is costing me time and money. I don't feel like I made the right choice.

So be careful while riding, you could get hurt any time by a car, by yourself, or by accident. I don't know what would have prevented this other than me being more careful and not pushing a bike so hard. Ride safe...

Is it a stockbroker, is it a quantities surveyor, is it a church warden...

No it's bicycle repairman.

no repair for awhile...

sorry folks, hurt my righthand and left arm test riding a bike the thursday. i believe the young'ns would call it an epic fail. i am all scraped up and my hand may need some surgeon's care. it makes it hard to type, let alone work on bikes. so the shop is down for now.

truly sorry,
the management

An interstesting article on street mechanics...

(clicky) For Busy Sidewalk Bike Mechanics, the Fix Is In (clicky)

How I typically do Tune-ups...

For those of you that have stumbled upon this website and wonder how I typically do things, I would like to share how it typically works.

First off for a true complete tune-up I charge $35 and it typically takes me about two hours (yes, I am kind of slow), but I am thorough and typically do more than a shop can afford to do for that price. I start with your wheels, repack the bearings, clean rims, and true wheels. I then clean up brake pads (replace if needed), replace wheels, adjust brakes (replace brake cables if needed), and start in on the shifting. I always start with the rear derailleur, replace the cable if needed, lube moving joints, then adjust for proper shifting. Next is the front derailleur, replace cable if needed, lube moving joints, then adjust for proper shifting. Then I check the handlebar setup for anything out of place, realignment if needed, replace grip if needed, and move on. I then disassemble the headset and repack bearings and put everything back together, and tighten the headset. About here I remember that I haven't repacked the bottom bracket and do so if I feel it is needed.

I think I forgot to add that if I don't replace your cables, I always still lube the cable to improve shifting. The last thing I will do is ride your bike over and over around the block until everything is shifting and braking smoothly. My neighbor can tell you how silly I look when I am cruising around on a kid's cruiser or some huge bike.

If things go easy then I charge less than $35, never more than that unless you are wanting me to fix something that it very old or just in terrible shape. Those bikes typically take me much more time than two hours and I charge $50 for those.

Again, I typically do not make any money on parts I replace, so anything I am telling you that I think is replaceable is typically for your best interest. You can ask my previous customers, I will tell you what to look out for, what really needs to be replaced, and what is just fine.

Here is another thing, I don't mind if you want to go to a store instead for this or that, or if you want to find your specific tire, or you want to purchase something on craigslist, or if you don't use me for anything at all. I am doing this to simply build extra income for myself and build a customer base. I do have a pretty good knowledge of bikes, parts, and what works. What I don't know I will tell you, no b.s. If you want to know my strengths it would be all bikes from the late 90's and older and road bikes from any period. I have twice built a recumbent from nothing into a working bike for school projects, I have built fairings out of carbon fiber, machined hubs, and more.

Lastly timing, it typically takes me two days to get to your bike and finish repairs. I typically have only 4 working hours a day to work on bikes which only allows 2-4 bikes to get completed in the time period. Thus, if you drop your bike off and nothing is in front of it, I will probably have it done two days later. If there is 4 bikes in front, then maybe it will not be finished for 3 to 4 days. I am a quality over quantity guy. It should be said though, that if you need your bike done quickly for a race or triathlon, I will try and get your bike put ahead of the line. I can't always guarantee that though.

Again, any questions feel free to get in touch. My contact information is above.