[Alfred]

I was just thinking that I true tons of wheels and tune lots of bikes up for people. I do just about anything, and never take more than beer. I just got off of a call with a woman that called on someone else's recommendation that I might be able to help with numb feet.

Are you helpful to others? Just wondering, and not really trying to toot my own horn.


(I am nowhere near as helpful as sunny is)

 

[splat]

I'd like to think I do.

On the trail I have given out at least a dozen tubes to people with flats, and when riding on or off road when I see a rider stopped I always ask if they are All set , and if they say No I stop and try to help. and just tonight, I met a girl on the trail ( WHo I have seen many times before ) she was ridning her DH rig ( in 90 degree heat ) because as she told me the tires on her XC bike were shot and she is broke right now , so I offered her ( and she accepted) so some cheap asseed tires I had at home.

But I just want to know how come every time I give away a tube ( I won't take $$ for it, I tell people to pay it forward) I seam to have a flat shortly there after ?

 

[stoney]

always. Karma is your friend.

 

[Alfred]

I never charge for a tube, unless I am in the parking lot. I figure if people come out unprepared, they should buy the tube.

I give tires away too. I have tons of XC tires I should give away.

edited - is it a violation of karmic value to charge for tires in a situation like I stated?

 

[splat]

edited - is it a violation of karmic value to charge for tires in a situation like I stated?

In the parking lot - No , cause they are not stranded, Just stupid !

 

[Echo]

This buddy of mine went to a crappy LBS because he got a flat. They convinced him that he needed a new TIRE, and proceeded to charge him $55 for some piece of crap that looked like it was designed 10 years ago (and has probably been sitting on the shelf at said shop for that long). I was like "hey dumbass, I have like 25 tires in my garage that are all better than that one, that you could have had for free"

Hopefully he learned something.

 

[jimmydean]

On a non-race weekend, a friend and I went to do practice runs and he got 3 flats. I had a tube, he had a tube, and we got a tube on the last one. We caught the guy that gave him a tube in the parking lot and handed him $5 for his effort.

I don't expect people to pay me for tubes I hand out on the trail, but I like to think I can give back when someone has given to me if I get the chance.

I also work on a lot of bikes for friends because I have gotten a lot of help myself over the years.

 

[manimal]

when i lived in an apartment i had a garage and all the neighborhood kids saw my bike collection and my son and i riding a lot. so naturally, i became the neighborhood "can you fix _____" dad. i probably donated about 15 tubes to kids who's parents were to lazy/cheap to go to wal-mart and buy a $3 tube so their kid could ride.
i enjoy working on friends bikes, especially those who are just getting into riding. $10 in cables/housing/random parts is well worth making a friend that may end up getting the riding bug like you have it...besides, people do lots of cool favors for me too, so it all works out in the end.

i used to sit outside a corporate bike shop i worked at for a while just tooling around after work. this dad walks in with his kids bike in hand that had a flat tire, bent wheel and broken chain. he obviously didn't have much money and when told how much it would cost to fix it, $40+, he walked out. i beckoned him over to the corner where my boss couldn't see me and fixed the kids bike in about 10 minutes. he was very grateful. the next day, on the way to work, i stopped to get lunch and realized i had forgotten my wallet. as i reached in my camelback for my lock keys i found a fresh $20 bill that the guy must have stuck in it when i was working on his kids bike. talk about being floored. i'll never forget that.

 

[Chunky Munkey]

...just tonight, I met a girl on the trail ( WHo I have seen many times before ) she was ridning her DH rig ( in 90 degree heat ) because as she told me the tires on her XC bike were shot and she is broke right now , so I offered her ( and she accepted) so some cheap asseed tires I had at home.

We all know why you REALLY stopped and offered. So, did you get any? BJ? HJ? A number? ANYTHING!?

 

[nato]

Donating tubes are great and all but dont you suckers own patch kits?!? works for any sized tube, weighs way less, and is barely anymore hassel. ? ? No? just me?
ok... **shrug

 

[golgiaparatus]

I have fixed lots of other bikes on trails and build, upgraded and or tuned lots of various things for friends in my garage. If I were a bike shop I'd have about 6 regular customers.

 

[McGRP01]

I help my my nextdoor neighbor all the time. He's a strong rider (road and offroad), but knows little about bikes. I recently went over his road bike top -> bottom for him before he raced the Ironman in Lake Placed, NY. 112 bike miles raced with not so much as a flat.

 

[splat]

We all know why you REALLY stopped and offered. So, did you get any? BJ? HJ? A number? ANYTHING!?

A Ride home, and I tried to convince my Wife I was having an Affair with her. ( she didn't buy it )

 

[narlus]

I was just thinking that I true tons of wheels and tune lots of bikes up for people. I do just about anything, and never take more than beer. I just got off of a call with a woman that called on someone else's recommendation that I might be able to help with numb feet.

Are you helpful to others? Just wondering, and not really trying to toot my own horn.


(I am nowhere near as helpful as sunny is)

do you also send people small parts for free, like an ISIS crank puller dealio?

 

[hooples3]

If I have the time and I am able to help out.. I will always help out
I hope someone would do the same in time of need. I will not however change a flat on someones bike because the are not sure how to do it, i will stop and watch them do it so that they can learn

 

[mud'n'sweat]

Always. I have helped many people finish a ride they wouldn't have been able to otherwise with a little roadside/trailside assistance. Most recently helped someone out on the trail who's brake calipers got so out of true after a fall that you could barely move the wheel. Easy enough, but the person didn't have a clue as to how to fix it and was really grateful for the help. Especially since we were 8 miles out from the car.

Another recent one was during the MS150 road ride. We were about 26 miles away from the finish when a guy and his buddy tapped tires and ended up in a nasty spill into the drainage ditch. Guy bent his Derailler hanger and couldn't figure out what was going on. He adjusted his barrel adjuster a bunch and made it even worse. I did some roadside bending and readjustments and actually got him shifting flawlessly again. I thought a few gears might still be skipping but fortunately everything was perfect and he finished the race!

 

[Cooter Brown]

oh yeah, if I've got an extra part laying around and a friend needs it, it's their's, and same way with tubes, if I've got em, I'll give em away

somehow, I always feel obligated or guilty or something when someone gives me a tube or some though..........wierd

 

[brungeman]

always... (well I did pass up a couple on the trail in VT) cause the guy looked like he had the girls chaindrop under control!

but I always think some people don't have as much technical knowledge and if I can get them back up and pedaling that is what maters.

I try when I am working in the shop to show people how to fix their bikes with minor tweeks and stuff.

 

[Chunky Munkey]

Donating tubes are great and all but dont you suckers own patch kits?!? works for any sized tube, weighs way less, and is barely anymore hassel. ? ? No? just me?
ok... **shrug

Did someone steal my funny little pill gif and make it his avatar hmmm?

 

[Chunky Munkey]

If it's a guy I say, "Got all your tools?" and keep driving away... if it's a cute girl I say, "Here let me fix that for you." heh heh hehneaky:

 

[I Are Baboon]

I ran into a guy four miles into the woods who had a flat tire, no spare tube, and no patch kit. So I gave him a tube and filled it with CO2. He wanted my address so he could send me a check, but I told him to just pass the good vibes onto someone else.

 

[stosh]

This buddy of mine went to a crappy LBS because he got a flat. They convinced him that he needed a new TIRE, and proceeded to charge him $55 for some piece of crap that looked like it was designed 10 years ago (and has probably been sitting on the shelf at said shop for that long). I was like "hey dumbass, I have like 25 tires in my garage that are all better than that one, that you could have had for free"

Hopefully he learned something.

I'm not really sure what that has to do with the question.

 

[Echo]

I ran into a guy four miles into the woods who had a flat tire, no spare tube, and no patch kit. So I gave him a tube and filled it with CO2. He wanted my address so he could send me a check, but I told him to just pass the good vibes onto someone else.

Waste of time and effort. It was probably someone like Chunky Munkey, who will hoard his spare tube with the faint hope that someday he will happen across one of the millions of poor helpless hottie mountain bikers who don't carry a spare or know how to change it.

 

[McGRP01]

I told him to just pass the good vibes onto someone else.

Hippie.

 

[Echo]

I'm not really sure what that has to do with the question.

A heck of a lot more on topic that your contribution there Mr. Newlywed!

 

[I Are Baboon]

Waste of time and effort. It was probably someone like Chunky Munkey, who will hoard his spare tube with the faint hope that someday he will happen across one of the millions of poor helpless hottie mountain bikers who don't carry a spare or know how to change it.

Yeah, but it made ME feel good, so screw him.

ink:

 

[I Are Baboon]

Hippie.

If I ever run across you in the woods and you need help, I'm going to kick your bike over and steal your CamelBak.

 

[Echo]

Yeah, but it made ME feel good, so screw him.

ink:

Leave it to Baboon to find a way to be selfish when helping others

 

[I Are Baboon]

Leave it to Baboon to find a way to be selfish when helping others

Hey, I am all about being helpful to others as long as there is something in it for me.

 

[stosh]

A heck of a lot more on topic that your contribution there Mr. Newlywed!

I agree, it has nothing to do with the topic.

 

[Alfred]

On an unrelated note, but kind of helping others. A sales guy promised that we would ship 1168 combo desks out on Monday, although none were built. We had some folks work on Saturday. On Sunday the sales group worked nearly 12 hours in the plant to get this done.

Yesterday they had a big meeting with the whole plant and my boss told all of the factory workers how he put on his "grubby" clothes to help them, and got them so dirty that he threw them out. Well, do the math on the reaction of the people after he essentially called them dirty. I have been accused of being over sensitive in the past, and would largely agree, but thought they overreacted. What would your reaction be to someone saying that? The more I think, the more condescending it sounds. It will turn out to be a political nightmare that ends up causing people to quit, I'll bet. :nonono:

I guess if there is a moral to the story, company presidents should not work in the plant, and if they do, they shouldn't talk about it.

 

[Echo]

Most bosses think it's their job to be condescending it seems.

 

[OGRipper]

If I see someone stranded I will always at least ask if I can help. If I only have one tube and am not near the end of a ride...sorry, I've been burned on that one before: Gave away a tube, later got an un-patchable flat, and couldn't beg one off someone else to save my life.

But off the bike I routinely help my less knowledgable friends with bike builds, wheel truing, suspension adjustments, etc.

 

[dante]

Most bosses think it's their job to be condescending it seems.

worst I've seen was turning away kids (who had no $$) when it was obvious their stem was fubar'd.

edit: back on topic, I try to help people but have a feeling that I'm at best breaking even on the whole Karma thing. one bad ride (3 pinch flats in one ride, damn FR HT) and I'm suddenly back in debt.

 

[morethanjake543]

Yeah. Dropping a tube is no big deal if you've ever had the pleasure of having someone do it to you. I carry a spare and I'll give it away if someone needs it.

I had a spare fork and hfx-9s in my used parts corner, once. My buddy really needed to get a new fork and upgrade his brakes, so I told him to "pay me what he thought it was wourth." I still haven't gotten paid yet, so I guess that counts as giving things away.

We're dirtbag college kids, though. . . so it's to be expected.