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I Need a Favor

Eigil

Eigil

Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
218
0
East County
I need a favor from all of you. A friend of mine and I are starting a bike shop here in Alpine, in place of the previous one. We have a pretty good idea of what sells around here, and we're both high-level riders interested in stocking not just Walmart bike stuff like the previous owner. Send me an E-Mail with a brief list of specialty things you'd like to see in your local bike shop; things you normally have to special order, cool stuff a lot of shops don't have, soda machines, anything. Thanks.

eigil@dirtfocus.com
 
EBasil

EBasil

Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
367
0
Hiding in the bushes with a sharpened McCleod and
Derailleur hangers for popular bikes, aluminum pivot "bolts" for the Titus bikes, brake rotors and adaptor kits, Goodrich lines (or at least a sample to fondle/inspect before ordering), Kool Stop combo pads for the guys ballsy enough to ride vees, EBC pads for disc brakes and Stone Russian Imperial Stout.

Oh, also: a selection of alternate springs for current Manitou and other forks, Fox or Maxima fork oils in small, take-home containers, DOT brake fluid in small containers, bleed kits. Some of that copper no-squeal sauce for disc brakes. Spokes for Crossmax wheelsets.

Cantina brand MTB shirts.
 
downhillzeypher

downhillzeypher

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
831
0
SoCal
Hell anything DH oriented, or even tires wider than 2.3

My lbs doesn't stock any dh stuff. Burliest thing in the shop was my bighit comp.
 
Fonzie18

Fonzie18

Turbo Monkey
Feb 4, 2003
1,418
0
Northern Mexico, Chulajuana (619). Orale!
Eigil said:
I need a favor from all of you. A friend of mine and I are starting a bike shop here in Alpine, in place of the previous one. We have a pretty good idea of what sells around here, and we're both high-level riders interested in stocking not just Walmart bike stuff like the previous owner. Send me an E-Mail with a brief list of specialty things you'd like to see in your local bike shop; things you normally have to special order, cool stuff a lot of shops don't have, soda machines, anything. Thanks.

eigil@dirtfocus.com
Click to expand...
Message from Performance employee #0567894562207:
YOU'RE SHOP WILL BE ASSIMILATED, RESISTANCE IS FEUTILE
THANKS!

Nah, I'll help you out man. Does this mean that you finally got a job??!! :devil:
 
C

cbcbcbcb

Chimp
Dec 3, 2003
11
0
San Diego
A lot of your walkins will be people on their way to the mountains, looking for last minute supplies. I stopped by your shop location a few weeks ago looking for Gu packs.

So I would carry a bunch of ride-saving emergency repair stuff:
  • A selection of decent tires (all-mountain types like Geax Sedonas, Continental Vertical Pros, Specialized Enduros, etc.)
  • Tubes
  • Stan's kits
  • Spokes and nipples
  • Freehub bodies and bearings for popular hubs (Chris King, WTB LaserDisc Lite, XTR, etc.)
  • Rotors, adapters and hardware for popular brakes (Hayes, Hope, Magura, XT, XTR)
  • Drivetrain parts: Chains, cranksets, chainrings and cassettes (XT, XTR, SRAM, Raceface)
  • Something to use as a replacement rear shock in popular sizes (e.g. Fox Float 6.5x1.5 for pre-2004 Truths)
  • Selle Italia saddles
  • Thompson and Easton seat posts
  • Thompson and Ritchey stems
  • Chris King headsets (is there any other kind?)
  • Fork rebuild kits
  • GU packs, Clif Shots, PowerBars, Clif Bars
  • CamelBak bladders, bite valves, etc.
  • Cleats, bolts and backing plates for SPD, Time, Eggbeaters
  • Socks, shorts, gloves, jerseys, helmets
  • Polar speed sensors and chest straps
Probably lots of other stuff I forgot...

Good luck. When do you open?

/cb
 
Orvan

Orvan

....................
Mar 5, 2002
1,492
2
Califor-N.I.A.
Big plasma TV screen playing vids of North Shore riding with screaming bats soundtrack.

-chain wallet with bike company logos in black kevlar material
-anything black tee-shirts
-goodridge brakelines and anything unnessary to call it an upgrade
-a good mechanic wihtout an attitude.
-"FReeRider Fo Life" sticker kits.
-"SoCal" stickers
-"Nor-Cal" stickers
 
MTB_Rob_NC

MTB_Rob_NC

What do I have to do to get you in this car TODAY?
Nov 15, 2002
3,428
0
Charlotte, NC
Bottled Water
RedBull or something of the like
Brake pads for sure
Gloves (you can never have too many pairs)
WTB Seats
Power/Cliff bar type stuff
Trail Maps/guide books for the out of towners
 
Kornphlake

Kornphlake

Turbo Monkey
Oct 8, 2002
2,632
1
Portland, OR
Which shop you taking over? I haven't been to either in several months, if it's the shop by the donut shop anything would be better, that guy is too into business to care about the sport. The other shop up towards Janet's cafe is cool, I just haven't needed any cables or anything lately so I haven't stopped by, he sure could use some more inventory though.

Really what I'm looking for but haven't found in SD county is some place like Go-Ride. They really specialize in high end stuff but don't necessarily discriminate between high end (read expensive) and high quality (read affordable but not crap.) I like to go into a shop where the guys actually know as much about bikes as I do because they ride and stuff, not just listen to the propaganda a sales rep feeds them. I'd like to know what tires really work in the area and be able to buy them today at a reasonable price. I'd like to get small parts like bolts and other little fittings without having to buy a whole new derailur, hangers are pretty non-standardized but atleast carry a good supply of the hangers for the brands you represent. Go-Ride is closed on Saturday, while it may be a bad business move in Alpine, it certainly gives Scott, Kris and Von time to get out to the races and see what people are asking for. They also spend a fair amount of time here and on MTBR getting to know what the market really is. If you're going to be successful you really need some heavy advertising, most people won't realize there's anything in Alpine except a gas station they can see from the freeway, if you're shooting to attract the guys headed up to noble on a weekend be sure to stock up on lots of different types of energy bars and such, don't just have one box of one flavor. I'd like to see some place that actually carries moto fork oil and sells it in non-retail packaging in smaller quantities. Call it your own shop brand or something.

Sponsor group rides on weekends and during the week, get involved with trail mantinance, get riders to ride wheelies in the local parades, set up an exhibition in the park on sunday afternoon just before the free concerts with some wimpified north shore stuff... Get involved with the public.
 
MTB_Rob_NC

MTB_Rob_NC

What do I have to do to get you in this car TODAY?
Nov 15, 2002
3,428
0
Charlotte, NC
Kornphlake said:
Sponsor group rides on weekends and during the week, get involved with trail mantinance, get riders to ride wheelies in the local parades, set up an exhibition in the park on sunday afternoon just before the free concerts with some wimpified north shore stuff... Get involved with the public.
Click to expand...
That is some damn solid advice right there. We have a few shops that "sponsor" trail maintenance by buying the Volunteers lunch. They reimburse us which is great, but I keep telling them how much it would pay off if they sent someone out with the food instead. A good portion of TM volunteers are really good LBS target markets. They are usually avid enough to want to get involved but usually not the total freak like most of us on here that do most of their work/research on their own.
 
Eigil

Eigil

Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
218
0
East County
Bill let the landlord kill the lease, so now an account/realtor got the spot. We've found a lot of places in our price range around Alpine, though.
 
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