[loco-gringo]

So...a customer just called about a bmx bike in for repair. We put tires on it, but it is still lacking the brake repair. I told her we hadn't gotten to the brake. She told me she can figure the brake out. I'm thinking..."let me get this straight...you don't know how to change tires, but the brakes (which are missing the lever and housing) won't be any trouble to figure out".

I feel like maybe I exist in some weird parallel where I'm the only one with normal thought patterns.

 

[jimmydean]

You can fix the brake without taking the wheels off, sheesh.

 

[ICEBALL585]

Who needs brakes anyways... stopping is overrated.

 

[MMike]

Another "my customers are ruining my bike shop" thread....

 

[jimmydean]

Another "my customers are ruining my bike shop" thread....

Worst part of his job, you know. Damn customers.

 

[eaterofdog]

BMXers don't give a sh!t about brakes.

 

[loco-gringo]

Another "my customers are ruining my bike shop" thread....

Not really that, but that's just stupid. It's like helicopters without rotor blades, but thanks for trying to act like I'm whining.

 

[stoney]

Loco - let her do as she will, but I'd not the repair ticket to show that she took the bike without fixing the brake.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Worst part of his job, you know. Damn customers.

Business would be soooo much easier without customers!

 

[eaterofdog]

The customers should be delivered in pods with cash scotch taped to the outside.

 

[Westy]

She is probably just going to take the bike to someone who she trusts more.

 

[Da Peach]

She is probably just going to take the bike to someone who she trusts more.

Yup.

"I can figure the brake out"

is code for:

"Thanks, but no thanks."

For sure.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

I bet you can sell her some pegs so Skippy can ride his little sister down to the park after school. But only she will slip off and get mangled by a drunk on a riding lawn mower and you'll get sued for being an irresponsible dumb-ass. Just cut to the chase and hit the customer in the face with the flat side of a pedal wrench then thank her for her patronage.

 

[lovebunny]

man sometimes i miss my shop... then i read these stories

 

[jdcamb]

You know something. Compared to all the other ss****tty jobs I have had, working on bikes was the best. I miss all the trials and tribulations of working in a shop. Try being a Mason. Slinging Rocks and Mortar sucks no matter what spin you put on it....

 

[Jim Mac]

Pretty easy customer fix - Street BMX brakes essentially work like this:

 

[I Are Baboon]

Wow, sounds like difficult and stressful work.

 

[sstalder5]

I doubt this is the case, but I HATE changing tires. If I wasn't a broke college student I would pay a shop fix all my flats.. But other than tires and the occasional drivetrain frustrations I love working on my bikes and would rather do the rest myself.

 

[jimmydean]

Yup.

"I can figure the brake out"

is code for:

"Thanks, but no thanks."

For sure.

Is that like "It's not you, it's me"? Getting dumped by a customer, damn.

 

[eaterofdog]

I had one shop hold my bike for 3 weeks, till finally I went by to get it and take it somewhere else. The guy goes "We don't let bikes out of the shop until the work is completed." I gave him a long look and a small smile and he said "I'll get it for you."

 

[rockofullr]

Bicycles is serious time!

 

[loco-gringo]

I had one shop hold my bike for 3 weeks, till finally I went by to get it and take it somewhere else. The guy goes "We don't let bikes out of the shop until the work is completed." I gave him a long look and a small smile and he said "I'll get it for you."

We had only had it two days, and the guy who changed the tires isn't much for brakes.

Ultimately...I blame Wumpus for being sick twice last week.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

We had only had it two days, and the guy who changed the tires isn't much for brakes.

Ultimately...I blame Wumpus for being sick twice last week.

A person should not be allowed to work at a bike shop as a mechanic if he can't do EVERYTHING on a bike (except for maybe wheelbuilding).


They're bicycles, not spaceships.

 

[loco-gringo]

A person should not be allowed to work at a bike shop as a mechanic if he can't do EVERYTHING on a bike (except for maybe wheelbuilding).


They're bicycles, not spaceships.

Trust me...I agree.

 

[William42]

A person should not be allowed to work at a bike shop as a mechanic if he can't do EVERYTHING on a bike (except for maybe wheelbuilding).


They're bicycles, not spaceships.

yup, fyck training people. EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING!

 

[sanjuro]

I had one shop hold my bike for 3 weeks, till finally I went by to get it and take it somewhere else. The guy goes "We don't let bikes out of the shop until the work is completed." I gave him a long look and a small smile and he said "I'll get it for you."

On the flip side, my shop promised a Headshok rebuild from a 90's bike to be completed in a week.

I wouldn't have made any promises, but the tech was out this whole time, so when ran a week a late (with phone updates this entire time), the guy came in mad that we didn't finish the work on time.

Now maybe one of you geniuses can rebuild a 15 year old Headshok, but I can't. The tech at my shop could though.

After, I did prank call every Cannondale dealer in the area to warn them this guy was coming, by saying that I was the owner of this bike and I demanded a free warranty repair.

 

[stoney]

A person should not be allowed to work at a bike shop as a mechanic if he can't do EVERYTHING on a bike (except for maybe wheelbuilding).


They're bicycles, not spaceships.

Cantilever brakes. This might be the one exception, because that is an art form.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Just tell her to jam her foot in the fork between the wheel and the fork. Problem solved.

 

[Wumpus]

If someone would quit posting on the internet and fix a bike, it wouldn't have ever happened.

 

[loco-gringo]

If someone would quit posting on the internet and fix a bike, it wouldn't have ever happened.

Exactly...stop screwing around.

 

[jdcamb]

On the flip side, my shop promised a Headshok rebuild from a 90's bike to be completed in a week.

I wouldn't have made any promises, but the tech was out this whole time, so when ran a week a late (with phone updates this entire time), the guy came in mad that we didn't finish the work on time.

Now maybe one of you geniuses can rebuild a 15 year old Headshok, but I can't. The tech at my shop could though.

After, I did prank call every Cannondale dealer in the area to warn them this guy was coming, by saying that I was the owner of this bike and I demanded a free warranty repair.

I got pretty good at Headshoks, Leftys on the other hand always kick my ass.... I can service any manufacturers forks and some shocks. Those effin Leftys would always eff me up. I just serviced an I-Drive eccentric thingy what a bitch....

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

yup, fyck training people. EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING!

If they were more like me, they would.

 

[jdcamb]

Bicycle mechanic rule #1, You are the first rung on the ladder, get used to it.... Take advantage of every oppurtunity to use your employee discount. #2 Make as much money selling as much weed to your stoner coworkers as you possibly can, use it as a tool to get free bike parts. #3 Never under any circumstances should you ever give anything away. #4 If you fix someones bike on the trail. Make sure they know how much you are hooking them up by wiping the grease from your hands on their grips during the test ride. Hand them the bike back in such a way as they have to take it by the grips.....

 

[HAB]

Cantilever brakes. This might be the one exception, because that is an art form.

 

[stoney]

They are the devil's brake. I can make them stop, like a mofo indeed, but quietly? Psft... that's damn near impossible. Even when I was working at the tri shop, One of the other wrenches always had to do the CX canti's. I did all the fork rebuilds and such, but Cant's...

*First mtb was 1989 Schwinn Impact 18sp with friction shifters and canti's.

 

[HAB]

They are the devil's brake. I can make them stop, like a mofo indeed, but quietly? Psft... that's damn near impossible. Even when I was working at the tri shop, One of the other wrenches always had to do the CX canti's. I did all the fork rebuilds and such, but Cant's...

*First mtb was 1989 Schwinn Impact 18sp with friction shifters and canti's.

I worked at a shop that sold a ton of cross bikes for quite a while. Got good at them pretty quickly, but granted I was getting a lot more practice than most people.


If there's any repair I'm embarassingly bad at, it's putting stems on straight. I'm probably cross eyed, or maybe just a fvcking moron, but I swear gremlins come and move them on me when I'm not looking.

 

[JRogers]

Hear you on the cantis. If you have a frame/fork that shudders or squeels it can be hard to get rid of and the solutions that usually work are not the issue (eg toeing in the pads and whatnot). My last cx bike had this issue and I could never completely and permanently get it to stop.

Here's some good stuff on it: http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/09/cyclocross/technical-qa-with-lennard-zinn-return-to-cross_101807

 

[sanjuro]

I got pretty good at Headshoks, Leftys on the other hand always kick my ass.... I can service any manufacturers forks and some shocks. Those effin Leftys would always eff me up. I just serviced an I-Drive eccentric thingy what a bitch....

My Lefty went exactly like the instructions. But the old HS's are part dependent, and that's hard to source after 15 years.