One of the oldest Bike shops in Ontario closes

Lou Holtman wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 8:20:32 PM UTC+1, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 12:40:24 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:43:12 AM UTC+1, wrote:



Braun's Cycle of Kitchener Ontario looks like it has just closed down.







Along with Schipplings, which it purchaced a couple years ago, they







have been in business for well over 100 years.







Internet changed it all. You can get all the information you want
within a couple of mouse clicks, the prices are better and as the
service of the webshops improved dramatically over the years one can
ask what the added value of a real shop is concerning the purchase of a new bike.







Lou



Where do you take your bike if you do need to have something fixed you
can't do yourself? |How about lookng at new equipment or test riding a
bike? Brick and Mortar stores are about the only option. Like you said,
sales of bikes and parts online are killing the brick and mortar shops.
Brick and mortar shops rely on sales of accessories or service/repairs
to make their money. First it was thye demise of the Mom and Pop bicycle
shops. Soon there won't be hardly any Brick and Mortar shops either. Sad, very sad.



Cheers

Yes service and repair could be the added value, but like in this case
few shops can make a living out of that. The value of test rides are
overrated IMO and no small shop can afford to stock enough bikes (types
and sizes) to let a test ride be meaningful in the first place. If I
recall correctly you ride some vintage stuff. Do you think a shop could
make a living out off selling some brake pads and cables every two years?
Here fixing a flat on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case is a pain
in the ass, so people bring their bike to a bike shop to do that. If they
hear that it will cost 10-15 euro they think they are ripped off. How
about that? If a stranger comes to me and ask me to fix a flat on a rear
tire on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case with a gear hub and drum
brakes for 10 euro I will tell him to look for someone else.

Lou

The reason I buy my bikes from bike shops is that they will be there when I
need them.

Most shops around here sell only a few brands and usually have most sizes
available for a test ride. I don't remember the last time I bought a bike
without a test ride.
--
duane

davethedave wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 12:50:49 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:20:32 PM UTC-5, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Soon there won't be hardly any Brick and Mortar shops either. Sad, very
sad.

I think it's more likely that there will be more and more dominance by
the mass market retailers - *-mart, the Dick's Sporting Goods chain,
etc.

I recall many years ago going into a Sears store. They had a couple
dozen bikes on the floor, plus one shinier one on a pedestal high above
the rest. It had a "Sears Best!" sign on it, and it had its brake
levers installed upside down.

Heh! Sounds about right. I bought an outrageously cheap BSO at a mall dept
store once. I had tools in my bag and sorted the brakes on the shop floor
for the 10 miles home. Left the shop got astride my new cheap steed and
promptly crashed as the handlebars were loose.

And also +1
--
duane

Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 12:40:24 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:43:12 AM UTC+1, wrote:

Braun's Cycle of Kitchener Ontario looks like it has just closed down.



Along with Schipplings, which it purchaced a couple years ago, they



have been in business for well over 100 years.



Internet changed it all. You can get all the information you want within
a couple of mouse clicks, the prices are better and as the service of
the webshops improved dramatically over the years one can ask what the
added value of a real shop is concerning the purchase of a new bike.



Lou

Where do you take your bike if you do need to have something fixed you
can't do yourself? |How about lookng at new equipment or test riding a
bike? Brick and Mortar stores are about the only option. Like you said,
sales of bikes and parts online are killing the brick and mortar shops.
Brick and mortar shops rely on sales of accessories or service/repairs to
make their money. First it was thye demise of the Mom and Pop bicycle
shops. Soon there won't be hardly any Brick and Mortar shops either. Sad, very sad.

Cheers

+1
--
duane

Lou Holtman wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:43:12 AM UTC+1, wrote:
Braun's Cycle of Kitchener Ontario looks like it has just closed down.

Along with Schipplings, which it purchaced a couple years ago, they

have been in business for well over 100 years.

Internet changed it all. You can get all the information you want within
a couple of mouse clicks, the prices are better and as the service of the
webshops improved dramatically over the years one can ask what the added
value of a real shop is concerning the purchase of a new bike.

Lou

More than once I've taken my bike to the LBS with a problem right before a
century or a race or something and they've gone out of their way to get me
up and running. For me that's the added value.

Also helping the local economy seems like a good thing. And having
someone offset my municipal taxes.
--
duane

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 11:20:32 AM UTC-8, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 12:40:24 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:43:12 AM UTC+1, wrote:



Braun's Cycle of Kitchener Ontario looks like it has just closed down..







Along with Schipplings, which it purchaced a couple years ago, they







have been in business for well over 100 years.







Internet changed it all. You can get all the information you want within a couple of mouse clicks, the prices are better and as the service of the webshops improved dramatically over the years one can ask what the added value of a real shop is concerning the purchase of a new bike.







Lou



Where do you take your bike if you do need to have something fixed you can't do yourself? |How about lookng at new equipment or test riding a bike? Brick and Mortar stores are about the only option. Like you said, sales of bikes and parts online are killing the brick and mortar shops. Brick and mortar shops rely on sales of accessories or service/repairs to make their money. First it was thye demise of the Mom and Pop bicycle shops. Soon there won't be hardly any Brick and Mortar shops either. Sad, very sad.

In your town, maybe: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transp.../article/71973

Five of those shops are large internet retailers: Performance, REI, Universal, Western Bike Works, Bicycles Tires Direct. Bike Gallery has numerous stores locally and has some unbelievable in-store sales, mostly on high-end over-stock and odd-ball sized bikes.

This list doesn't even include places like Sugar. http://www.sugarwheelworks.com/ or repair-only shops or repair schools. http://www.bikeschool.com/ Or clothes only: http://www.oregoncyclewear.com/woolcyclingjerseys.html
http://www.bicyclinghub.com/ Or the zillion builders. Look at this list and ask "how do they all stay in business." http://bikeportland.org/resources/links

The answer . . . who knows?
I live maybe 400 yards from a bike shop. http://www.burlingamebikes.com/ You'd love it. Check out the classics. I'm sure that place will be out of business in a year.

I buy all my disposables from Performance because they're cheap and walking distance from my office, along with five or six other shops. I buy tools, chains and some other disposables at Universal, which has everything on the planet for bicycling, or can get it. http://www.universalcycles.com/ I buy Shimano via internet from Nashbar or PBK (but sometimes locally). I impulse purchase from Chain Love. I bought my plastic bike at River City, http://rivercitybicycles.com/ -- on rainy days, you can test ride bicycles on their indoor track upstairs (you have to dodge stock). They have a free espresso bar and more classic racing bikes than you will see outside a museum.

I work with a lot of people who commute by bike and who are not mechanics, and they all buy goods and services from bricks and mortar stores and are typically devoted to a particular shop. I have friends who are capable mechanics and still give their business to particular shops because of personal relationships and good dealings in the past. Even though I am extremely cheap, I still throw money at certain shops, but I only throw it so far.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 2/23/2014 6:21 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 5:36:39 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:

Here fixing a flat on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case is a pain in the ass, so people bring their bike to a bike shop to do that. If they hear that it will cost 10-15 euro they think they are ripped off. How about that? If a stranger comes to me and ask me to fix a flat on a rear tire on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case with a gear hub and drum brakes for 10 euro I will tell him to look for someone else.

Could you explain what steps are necessary to fix a rear flat on a full-chaincase bike? I'm curious, and the only such bikes I've seen here have been in museums.

Thanks.

- Frank Krygowski


Unclip rear brake and swing stirrup out of the way.
If hub brake, disconnect control wire or rod (various models).
Undo axle nuts and any hub gearing controls, tape gear wire
to stay so it doesn't fall into chain later.
Undo chain case which may entail screws, plastic clips, Dzus
fateners or crimps. Some models will allow a hub access
panel to be removed, others disassemble and come apart. On
most models, the mudguard is now free enough to allow the
wheel to wiggle out of the bike. Yes, you may need to deform
the mudguard slightly.
It's not complex, but it is tedious and often involves small
previously damaged or corroded fasteners.

"Assembly is the reverse of disassembly", words which run a
chill through any British car guy.

Makes you want to kneel facing Vicenza and praise Tullio.


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 08:19:16 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

Could you explain what steps are necessary to fix a rear flat on a
full-chaincase bike? I'm curious, and the only such bikes I've seen
here have been in museums.

Unclip rear brake and swing stirrup out of the way.
If hub brake, disconnect control wire or rod (various models).
Undo axle nuts and any hub gearing controls, tape gear wire to stay so
it doesn't fall into chain later.
Undo chain case which may entail screws, plastic clips, Dzus fateners or
crimps. Some models will allow a hub access panel to be removed, others
disassemble and come apart. On most models, the mudguard is now free
enough to allow the wheel to wiggle out of the bike. Yes, you may need
to deform the mudguard slightly.
It's not complex, but it is tedious and often involves small previously
damaged or corroded fasteners.

"Assembly is the reverse of disassembly", words which run a chill
through any British car guy.

Ah. Haynes manuals. How we love them.

--
davethedave

On Monday, February 24, 2014 3:19:16 PM UTC+1, AMuzi wrote:
On 2/23/2014 6:21 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 5:36:39 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:



Here fixing a flat on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case is a pain in the ass, so people bring their bike to a bike shop to do that. If they hear that it will cost 10-15 euro they think they are ripped off. How about that? If a stranger comes to me and ask me to fix a flat on a rear tire on a Dutch city bike with a full chain case with a gear hub and drum brakes for 10 euro I will tell him to look for someone else.



Could you explain what steps are necessary to fix a rear flat on a full-chaincase bike? I'm curious, and the only such bikes I've seen here have been in museums.



Thanks.



- Frank Krygowski





Unclip rear brake and swing stirrup out of the way.

If hub brake, disconnect control wire or rod (various models).

Undo axle nuts and any hub gearing controls, tape gear wire

to stay so it doesn't fall into chain later.

Undo chain case which may entail screws, plastic clips, Dzus

fateners or crimps. Some models will allow a hub access

panel to be removed, others disassemble and come apart. On

most models, the mudguard is now free enough to allow the

wheel to wiggle out of the bike. Yes, you may need to deform

the mudguard slightly.

It's not complex, but it is tedious and often involves small

previously damaged or corroded fasteners.



"Assembly is the reverse of disassembly", words which run a

chill through any British car guy.



Makes you want to kneel facing Vicenza and praise Tullio.





--

Andrew Muzi

www.yellowjersey.org/

Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Excellent summary. Thanks. I avoid chain cases at all costs. After a couple of years while you try to take (a part of) it off to take out the rear wheel something will break and you discover that they changed the model... Was it Sheldon that said 'chaincases are the work of the devil'. He was right.

Lou

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 21:35:09 -0800 (PST), jbeattie
wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 11:20:32 AM UTC-8, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, February 23, 2014 12:40:24 PM UTC-5, Lou Holtman wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 2:43:12 AM UTC+1, wrote:



Braun's Cycle of Kitchener Ontario looks like it has just closed down.







Along with Schipplings, which it purchaced a couple years ago, they







have been in business for well over 100 years.







Internet changed it all. You can get all the information you want within a couple of mouse clicks, the prices are better and as the service of the webshops improved dramatically over the years one can ask what the added value of a real shop is concerning the purchase of a new bike.







Lou



Where do you take your bike if you do need to have something fixed you can't do yourself? |How about lookng at new equipment or test riding a bike? Brick and Mortar stores are about the only option. Like you said, sales of bikes and parts online are killing the brick and mortar shops. Brick and mortar shops rely on sales of accessories or service/repairs to make their money. First it was thye demise of the Mom and Pop bicycle shops. Soon there won't be hardly any Brick and Mortar shops either. Sad, very sad.

In your town, maybe: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transp.../article/71973

Five of those shops are large internet retailers: Performance, REI, Universal, Western Bike Works, Bicycles Tires Direct. Bike Gallery has numerous stores locally and has some unbelievable in-store sales, mostly on high-end over-stock and odd-ball sized bikes.

This list doesn't even include places like Sugar. http://www.sugarwheelworks.com/ or repair-only shops or repair schools. http://www.bikeschool.com/ Or clothes only: http://www.oregoncyclewear.com/woolcyclingjerseys.html
http://www.bicyclinghub.com/ Or the zillion builders. Look at this list and ask "how do they all stay in business." http://bikeportland.org/resources/links

The answer . . . who knows?
I live maybe 400 yards from a bike shop. http://www.burlingamebikes.com/ You'd love it. Check out the classics. I'm sure that place will be out of business in a year.

I buy all my disposables from Performance because they're cheap and walking distance from my office, along with five or six other shops. I buy tools, chains and some other disposables at Universal, which has everything on the planet for bicycling, or can get it. http://www.universalcycles.com/ I buy Shimano via internet from Nashbar or PBK (but sometimes locally). I impulse purchase from Chain Love. I bought my plastic bike at River City, http://rivercitybicycles.com/ -- on rainy days, you can test ride bicycles on their indoor track upstairs (you have to dodge stock). They have a free espresso bar and more classic racing bikes than you will see outside a museum.

I work with a lot of people who commute by bike and who are not mechanics, and they all buy goods and services from bricks and mortar stores and are typically devoted to a particular shop. I have friends who are capable mechanics and still give their business to particular shops because of personal relationships and good dealings in the past. Even though I am extremely cheap, I still throw money at certain shops, but I only throw it so far.

-- Jay Beattie.
Seatle by chance?
Some cities support a very strong bicycle culture and the specialty
shops that go along with it. We still have Ziggies in Kitchener and
King Street Cycles and McPhails in Waterloo,, and East Side in
Kitchener. Back Pedalling in Guelph (big into BMX -) there used to be
another old-style cycle shop in Guelph but the old man had a heart
attack and died while out cycling last year, so it closed down too.
Then there is True North - a custom bike builder. Other than that it's
all big box stores where you buy a semi-assembled "kit" of
questionable quality. Better to buy "in the box" and assemble it
yourself - at least that way none of the bolts are pre-stripped or
cross-threaded and YOU know everything has been done right or it is
your fault.

every day since 1 April, 1971

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg