Why not 2 buy a bicycle at department store

Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects they're selling these days. Saw and heard a woman and her son talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim. The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except.... Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat - not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i showed her and her son how to install the tire and tube..

I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their planned ride tomorrow.

Cheers

On 2015-07-04 8:54 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to
the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects
they're selling these days. ...


They sell bicycles in tire stores up there? Then again, in Germany even
coffee shops are known to sell bicycles at times.


... Saw and heard a woman and her son
talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her
saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim.
The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to
order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered
the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in
the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except...
Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where
the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it
was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat -
not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with
normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire
and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i showed her and
her son how to install the tire and tube.


I hope that sales clerk went into the nearest hole to hide :-)

It's not just clerks, also riders. Once I saw a guy with a very fancy
road bike, upside down, scratching his head. He wore expensive cycling
clothes. He had pulled so far off the bike path that I almost missed
him. "Need so help?" ... "Ahm, no, well, actually, well, ahem, maybe I
do". He was unable to switch out the blown tube in his road bike so I
did almost the whole repair for him. In my old mountain bike jeans and
T-Shirt with holes and stains.


I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would
mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy
a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their
planned ride tomorrow.


Don't expect much there. However, when I rode a friend's Mongoose
Deception from Walmart I was quite impressed what you get for $200. Very
sturdy frame (I just can't ride MTB hardtails much because of a lower
back issue), shifting worked well, good tires. I took it across some
gnarly trails. The brakes were lousy to say it mildly, IMHO very much
useless. But that's something easy to fix, $100 gets you a nice
hydraulic set from Shimano. Another friend then bought that bike and is
very happy with it.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

you are in orbit....

sales help is here online

floor help is random from part time brain to part time retard

lotta floor help is mean...

On Sat, 4 Jul 2015 20:54:33 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects they're selling these days. Saw and heard a woman and her son talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim. The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except... Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat - not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i
showed her and her son how to install the tire and tube.

I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their planned ride tomorrow.

Cheers
Nothing wrong with the average "department store bike" as long as you
take it home IN the box, and know how to assemble it (generally the
instructions are pretty good - too bad the department store "bike
assembler" can't read english (or any of the other 3 - 5 languages the
istructions are generally printed in)

On Sun, 05 Jul 2015 08:27:25 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

On 2015-07-04 8:54 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to
the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects
they're selling these days. ...


They sell bicycles in tire stores up there? Then again, in Germany even
coffee shops are known to sell bicycles at times.


Canadian Tire is a large Canadian hardware,sporting goods, housewares,
tire and auto parts department store that sells just about anything
you might need that you don't eat or wear - and even some of that.
They also own "Mark's WorkWear House" - a store that sells workwear
and some sportswear, and "Parts Source" - an auto parts store.
Recently they bought up another company, but I can;t remember which
one.

... Saw and heard a woman and her son
talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her
saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim.
The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to
order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered
the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in
the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except...
Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where
the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it
was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat -
not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with
normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire
and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i showed her and
her son how to install the tire and tube.


I hope that sales clerk went into the nearest hole to hide :-)

It's not just clerks, also riders. Once I saw a guy with a very fancy
road bike, upside down, scratching his head. He wore expensive cycling
clothes. He had pulled so far off the bike path that I almost missed
him. "Need so help?" ... "Ahm, no, well, actually, well, ahem, maybe I
do". He was unable to switch out the blown tube in his road bike so I
did almost the whole repair for him. In my old mountain bike jeans and
T-Shirt with holes and stains.


I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would
mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy
a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their
planned ride tomorrow.


Don't expect much there. However, when I rode a friend's Mongoose
Deception from Walmart I was quite impressed what you get for $200. Very
sturdy frame (I just can't ride MTB hardtails much because of a lower
back issue), shifting worked well, good tires. I took it across some
gnarly trails. The brakes were lousy to say it mildly, IMHO very much
useless. But that's something easy to fix, $100 gets you a nice
hydraulic set from Shimano. Another friend then bought that bike and is
very happy with it.

On 7/5/2015 8:27 AM, Joerg wrote:
On 2015-07-04 8:54 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to
the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects
they're selling these days. ...


They sell bicycles in tire stores up there? Then again, in Germany even
coffee shops are known to sell bicycles at times.


... Saw and heard a woman and her son
talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her
saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim.
The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to
order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered
the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in
the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except...
Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where
the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it
was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat -
not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with
normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire
and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i showed her and
her son how to install the tire and tube.


I hope that sales clerk went into the nearest hole to hide :-)

It's not just clerks, also riders. Once I saw a guy with a very fancy
road bike, upside down, scratching his head. He wore expensive cycling
clothes. He had pulled so far off the bike path that I almost missed
him. "Need so help?" ... "Ahm, no, well, actually, well, ahem, maybe I
do". He was unable to switch out the blown tube in his road bike so I
did almost the whole repair for him. In my old mountain bike jeans and
T-Shirt with holes and stains.

I helped some intellectually challenged rider at the end of the GG
bridge with his flat tire. His problem was that he was too stupid to
carry a mini-pump and was relying on CO2 cartridges which of course he
had run out of.

Don't expect much there. However, when I rode a friend's Mongoose
Deception from Walmart I was quite impressed what you get for $200. Very
sturdy frame (I just can't ride MTB hardtails much because of a lower
back issue), shifting worked well, good tires. I took it across some
gnarly trails. The brakes were lousy to say it mildly, IMHO very much
useless. But that's something easy to fix, $100 gets you a nice
hydraulic set from Shimano. Another friend then bought that bike and is
very happy with it.

Some sporting goods stores sometimes have bicycles that are equivalent
to the lower end bicycles from bicycle shops but they are shoddily
assembled of course. Costco has had some decent bicycles in the past.
They were supplied with a store brand by Specialized for a while, then
by Giant. They've also sold Cannondale obtained on the grey market.

On 7/5/2015 12:37 PM, wrote:

snip

Canadian Tire is a large Canadian hardware,sporting goods, housewares,
tire and auto parts department store that sells just about anything
you might need that you don't eat or wear - and even some of that.
They also own "Mark's WorkWear House" - a store that sells workwear
and some sportswear, and "Parts Source" - an auto parts store.
Recently they bought up another company, but I can;t remember which
one.
We used to have "Western Auto" which was like that. "Western Auto was
known for its "Western Flyer" bicycle..." and " By the end of the 1950s
Western Auto was very much like a Sears store, even equipped with a
catalog order center. Auto parts comprised only a small percentage of
the company's sales by the mid-1960s and had all but disappeared by the
1970s."

On Sun, 05 Jul 2015 14:58:34 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 7/5/2015 12:37 PM, wrote:

snip

Canadian Tire is a large Canadian hardware,sporting goods, housewares,
tire and auto parts department store that sells just about anything
you might need that you don't eat or wear - and even some of that.
They also own "Mark's WorkWear House" - a store that sells workwear
and some sportswear, and "Parts Source" - an auto parts store.
Recently they bought up another company, but I can;t remember which
one.
We used to have "Western Auto" which was like that. "Western Auto was
known for its "Western Flyer" bicycle..." and " By the end of the 1950s
Western Auto was very much like a Sears store, even equipped with a
catalog order center. Auto parts comprised only a small percentage of
the company's sales by the mid-1960s and had all but disappeared by the
1970s."


We had Western Tire and Auto stores here too. And the odd "Motorcade"
stores as well.

On Sunday, July 5, 2015 at 11:27:29 AM UTC-4, Joerg wrote:
On 2015-07-04 8:54 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to
the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects
they're selling these days. ...


They sell bicycles in tire stores up there? Then again, in Germany even
coffee shops are known to sell bicycles at times.


... Saw and heard a woman and her son
talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her
saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim.
The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to
order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered
the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in
the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except...
Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where
the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it
was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat -
not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with
normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire
and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i showed her and
her son how to install the tire and tube.


I hope that sales clerk went into the nearest hole to hide :-)

It's not just clerks, also riders. Once I saw a guy with a very fancy
road bike, upside down, scratching his head. He wore expensive cycling
clothes. He had pulled so far off the bike path that I almost missed
him. "Need so help?" ... "Ahm, no, well, actually, well, ahem, maybe I
do". He was unable to switch out the blown tube in his road bike so I
did almost the whole repair for him. In my old mountain bike jeans and
T-Shirt with holes and stains.


I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would
mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy
a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their
planned ride tomorrow.


Don't expect much there. However, when I rode a friend's Mongoose
Deception from Walmart I was quite impressed what you get for $200. Very
sturdy frame (I just can't ride MTB hardtails much because of a lower
back issue), shifting worked well, good tires. I took it across some
gnarly trails. The brakes were lousy to say it mildly, IMHO very much
useless. But that's something easy to fix, $100 gets you a nice
hydraulic set from Shimano. Another friend then bought that bike and is
very happy with it.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

landmines, lampshades made from human skin....you name it

On Sun, 05 Jul 2015 15:33:29 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 4 Jul 2015 20:54:33 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

Was in a Canadian Tire store today to get some spray paint. Went to the bicycle section to see what sort of bicycle shaped objects they're selling these days. Saw and heard a woman and her son talking to the guy working in the bicycle department. I overheard her saying that the 24" mtb whel she was holding had a crack in the rim. The guy looked at the wheel, saw that crack and said he'd have to order her a new wheel. The tire was flat which is how she discovered the crack. I asked if I could help and they showed me the crack in the rim and I saw that the crack went right across the rim Except... Are you ready for this? It was NOT a crack but was the joint where the rim is joined together. I lookeed at and checked thetire and it was worn through at the sidewall which is why the tube went flat - not a blowout just a gradual but quick loss of air like you get with normal puncture. We went to the tire section ans she got a new tire and tube. The guy let me use their floor pump and i
showed her and her son how to install the tire and tube.

I was shocked that someone who worked in a bicycle department would mistake a rim joint for a cracked rim. Another good reason not to buy a department store bicyccle. At least now they can go for their planned ride tomorrow.

Cheers
Nothing wrong with the average "department store bike" as long as you
take it home IN the box, and know how to assemble it (generally the
instructions are pretty good - too bad the department store "bike
assembler" can't read english (or any of the other 3 - 5 languages the
istructions are generally printed in)

But that depends greatly on the assembler knowing what he is doing.

I recently fixed a couple of flat tires on some "Wallmart" grade bikes
that my landlord has in Phuket. The wheel bearings seemed sort of
scratchy so I took them apart and cleaned, greased and re-adjusted
them. The next day, I see the landlord's wife's brother messing with
the wheels so I asked if there was something wrong and he tells me,
"Yup, the bearings are too tight. See, there is supposed to be wobble
at the rim - shows that they aren't too tight".

I didn't reply :-)
--
cheers,

John B.