One of the oldest Bike shops in Ontario closes

On Monday, February 24, 2014 1:55:38 PM UTC-5, wrote:
every day since 1 April, 1971



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

..............

oh John, look outside Andrea's dragging her beautiful Amsterdam cruiser in for a new tube....

Great Subie lock the ^%%T$(( doors......

On 2/23/2014 12:22 PM, AMuzi wrote:

Just did a bottom bracket rethread for a gentleman who was told at one
of the Great Chinese Bicycle Selling Company stores that a new bike was
the best, and only, solution.

I've been in LBSes where the staff has had to gently inform a customer
that brings in a bicycle for service that the cost for parts and labor
is going to exceed the cost of a new bicycle. When labor rates are $85
per hour, and all parts are sold at retail, repair costs add up quickly.

On 2/23/2014 2:36 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:

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.

I've patched tubes without removing the rear wheel in cases where the
rear wheel removal was a pain.

On 2/23/2014 9:35 PM, jbeattie wrote:

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.

In my area, REI and Sports Basement have become big time bicycle shops.
The prices aren't spectacular at REI but they are open until 9:00 p.m.
on weeknights which is a big draw since cyclists want to ride on the
weekend, not shop on the weekend. Sports Basement is also open until
9:00 p.m. on weeknights and has been expanding. Performance recently cut
back on their hours and now close at 7:00 p.m. so they are not so
convenient anymore.

REI sells touring bicycles and commute bicycles, something that most
local shops aren't interested in dedicating floor space to.

REI also has a big repair shop and they do repairs in a timely manner.
Some LBSes are so backed up on repairs that they don't accept repairs on
bicycles not purchased at their shop while others have long waits for
repairs.

One thing nice about Sports Basement is that they sell a very wide
variety of tube sizes, you don't have to buy something that's not really
the right size but that you can get by with. It's often hard to find 26"
tubes in narrower widths than are used on mountain bikes but a lot of
people run narrow tires on their mountain bikes, using them as commute
bikes.

My son now wants a road bicycle and the selection at the local shops is
poor unless you're rich. All I want is a 56cm, non-compact frame, with
mid-level components and a triple crankset. Something like
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/supermirage_steel.htm
but with Tiagra or 105. It comes with 2300/Sora which is acceptable I
guess. AL is acceptable though of course CroMo is better. But I'm trying
to convince my friend to sell me her old Bianchi that she doesn't use
anymore.

AMuzi brought next idea :
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.

Some additional ifo to that:

In the first place: only glueing a new patch on a puncture does not
require to disassamble the wheel at all - just take out the inner tube,
find the hole, glue it and the rest speaks for itself.
For some reasons many people cannot glue tubes anymore and even LBS
prefer to sell and install a new inner tube instead of glueing.

When you have to replace inner or outer tire you have to disassemble
the wheel of course.

In older days, with steel chain forks, one could apply a so called
fork-spreader to open up the fork at the non chain (guard) side and
wriggle the tyres through the created free space between axle and fork
end.

I remember I bough a backup frame from racer sportif about 14 years ago- I asked them to face and chase the bb (which I paid extra) - picked it up trustingly without bothering to inspect took it home and mothballed it. the day came when my old steed had to be replaced and it was then that I discovered they totally ruined the bb threads- freaking morons !- no way am I ever trusting anyone else to touch my bike; I've invested in the tools; learned and discovered the mechanics and get great satisfaction with my perfect running bike...

yes, there are good places and bad places- and unfortunately you wont know which is which until you ride away. I recognize some shops have skilled persons who take a justifiable pride in their work- hopefully word of mouth will help the cream rise to the top and rid us of the vermin

On Tuesday, February 25, 2014 11:04:13 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I remember I bough a backup frame from racer sportif about 14 years ago- I asked them to face and chase the bb (which I paid extra) - picked it up trustingly without bothering to inspect took it home and mothballed it. the day came when my old steed had to be replaced and it was then that I discovered they totally ruined the bb threads- freaking morons !- no way am I ever trusting anyone else to touch my bike; I've invested in the tools; learned and discovered the mechanics and get great satisfaction with my perfect running bike...



yes, there are good places and bad places- and unfortunately you wont know which is which until you ride away. I recognize some shops have skilled persons who take a justifiable pride in their work- hopefully word of mouth will help the cream rise to the top and rid us of the vermin

Had High Park Cycles replace a freewheel and chain once over 25years ago.Told them I wanted to old ones for anothr bike. They must have taken the chain off by twisting it with two screwdrivers until it broke. The freewheel lloked like it was taken off with a hammer and punch.

Around 2001I had a new Campy Velocebb and crankset installed by Braun's so I could ride the bicycle 30+ kilometres home. They did a great job. I'll miss them.

Cheers

When labor rates are $85

per hour, and all parts are sold at retail, repair costs add up quickly.

.........................

where are LBS rates $85/hr ?

On 2/26/2014 7:24 AM, wrote:
When labor rates are $85

per hour, and all parts are sold at retail, repair costs add up quickly.

........................

where are LBS rates $85/hr ?



No idea. They're usually around 60 CDN here.

On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:29:00 -0800 (PST), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Tuesday, February 25, 2014 11:04:13 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I remember I bough a backup frame from racer sportif about 14 years ago- I asked them to face and chase the bb (which I paid extra) - picked it up trustingly without bothering to inspect took it home and mothballed it. the day came when my old steed had to be replaced and it was then that I discovered they totally ruined the bb threads- freaking morons !- no way am I ever trusting anyone else to touch my bike; I've invested in the tools; learned and discovered the mechanics and get great satisfaction with my perfect running bike...



yes, there are good places and bad places- and unfortunately you wont know which is which until you ride away. I recognize some shops have skilled persons who take a justifiable pride in their work- hopefully word of mouth will help the cream rise to the top and rid us of the vermin

Had High Park Cycles replace a freewheel and chain once over 25years ago.Told them I wanted to old ones for anothr bike. They must have taken the chain off by twisting it with two screwdrivers until it broke. The freewheel lloked like it was taken off with a hammer and punch.

Around 2001I had a new Campy Velocebb and crankset installed by Braun's so I could ride the bicycle 30+ kilometres home. They did a great job. I'll miss them.

Cheers
Did you ever deal with Schipplings, over on Duke? street?? It was
like a museum!!!