[schwaaa31]

speaking of, is there anywhere to grab a decent rental to ride in santa cruz? Planning to be out there for work in about a months time.

I rented from Another Bike Shop a few years ago. They had Santa Cruz and Transition. You can rent/demo directly from Santa Cruz which is right down the street from the shop, but I waited too long and they were out of demos the weekend I was there.

Edit. Ibis is right there too. I think they do demos as well.

 

[slimshady]

Credit where its due for Yeti, Richie seems to not have too many mid-race snapped frames and he's hardly gentle on the things.

Commençal gives their test bikes to a bunch of French/Andorran Ridemonkey wannabes, they say the pros take too much care of their steeds.

 

[dump]

I rented from Another Bike Shop a few years ago. They had Santa Cruz and Transition. You can rent/demo directly from Santa Cruz which is right down the street from the shop, but I waited too long and they were out of demos the weekend I was there.

Edit. Ibis is right there too. I think they do demos as well.

Thanks for the info. I looked up the ibis, but looked like they only wanted you to ride very tame stuff… i.e. no soquel. Will check out the bike shop and sc.

Edit: That was actually santa cruz, “Demo bikes are not to be taken to Soquel Demonstration Forest”

 

[schwaaa31]

Thanks for the info. I looked up the ibis, but looked like they only wanted you to ride very tame stuff… i.e. no soquel. Will check out the bike shop and sc.

Yeah, they bike shop couldn’t “legally” tell me to ride anywhere but the tame stuff, but I was pointed in the right direction. Met up with a local at the parking area that showed me some fun stuff.

 

[toodles]

Commençal gives their test bikes to a bunch of French/Andorran Ridemonkey wannabes, they say the pros take too much care of their steeds.

I'd be useless for feedback on high speed handling and suspension, but I'd be damn good at providing colourful feedback on how much shit of job it is to replace bearings

 

[Andeh]

Thanks for the info. I looked up the ibis, but looked like they only wanted you to ride very tame stuff… i.e. no soquel. Will check out the bike shop and sc.

Edit: That was actually santa cruz, “Demo bikes are not to be taken to Soquel Demonstration Forest”

They say that I'm guessing because it's a pretty long drive up to Demo. Demo is WAY tamer than any of the HW9/UCSC stuff.

Edit: I was just there last weekend, did 2 laps with very little stopping. Total time was just under 3.5 hours. I think their rental periods are only like 4 hours or something, so yeah... you'd either not ride much or miss the return.

ABS is good for some other brands too - I demo'd a Transition from them. Their website shows what they've got.

 

[dump]

Looks like ABS is not doing rentals atm:
“We have suspended our rental program at this time.”

 

[rideit]

I mean, it would be pretty irritating to demo bikes that wouldn’t even be available for a year or two anyway. Maybe they could just call them ‘rentals’?

 

[norbar]

My shop was a dealer for nearly 20 years but had to drop them around 2016 when they were all breaking, giving us the run-around, and replacements took months. I thought they'd changed manufacturers since then and were on par with other brands.

I have a friend who has one and does a lot of jumping on his but then again he also was happy with the original transition double so maybe he doesn't mind cracks.

 

[norbar]

View attachment 173125

This. WTF.

I'm not mad at the poor soul who came up with the idea - mental illness is a real thing. I'm just disappointed because I'm sure this idea had to be brought up, presented and signed off. All opportunities for others to intervene and stop it. Yet seemingly no one did.

Given that YT recently made a huge deal about using threaded bb's in their new alu capra this to me just looks like a long play towards "look we are forward thinking we are going back to non integrated double routing outside of your frame".

I mean seriously can we just ban dentists from the sport so we no longer have the bs of bikes being made for looks but not for use? Back in the day dentist trends were relegated to a few companies. If you wanted a great looking bike that was never going to see the trail you just get yourself an intense with some crank bros parts. We all knew to avoid them. Now it seems those trends are harder to miss than the rona.

 

[Electric_City]

i'm a packaging engineer and i can tell you several ways you're right, and several ways you're wrong

I'll have to add that to the list.

 

[SylentK]

Update on the No More Bike Park At Keystone:
Heard from an A-Basin patroller today that he heard Keystone bike park is done. He also heard that one of the reasons is management was sick of the cost of employees getting hurt while on the clock. This was both lifties taking a lap and bike patrol riders doing their duties. The final straw was an employee breaking their femur last summer in way that was really expensive.
The good news is he said A-Basin seems to be doing well financially and wants to have a bike park.

Dooood. I just can't believe it. Totally face palming right now.

So what are they gonna do for summer? Weddings and Beer fests? Convert biking trails to hiking trails? Pretty sure a hiker can break their femur on any trail their just like a biker can.

And what's the difference between Vail and Keystone? They're all Vail Resorts. Pretty sure someone can break a femur on Old 9 (Vail) just like they can on Wild Thing (Keystone).

I don't get it.

And I didn't know A-Basin is no longer with Vail Resorts, I had to look that up. Haven't been in a while. Cool. Good for them!

Interesting article on ABasin trying to keep the skiing numbers DOWN. Not up. Perhaps something "right with the [ski] industry"

 

[canadmos]

Convert biking trails to hiking trails? Pretty sure a hiker can break their femur on any trail their just like a biker can.

Shhh don't give them ideas. One of the ski resorts around here did just that last year.

 

[toodles]

I mean seriously can we just ban dentists from the sport so we no longer have the bs of bikes being made for looks but not for use?

If nothing else, they're going to save the LBSs from going broke. Working on those bikes at home must be such a PITA a lot of riders will just drop them at the shop and say fix it.

 

[Bikael Molton]

Yep, I think the whole point of internal cable routing is to keep LBSs in business.

If nothing else, they're going to save the LBSs from going broke. Working on those bikes at home must be such a PITA a lot of riders will just drop them at the shop and say fix it.

 

[StiHacka]

If nothing else, they're going to save the LBSs from going broke. Working on those bikes at home must be such a PITA a lot of riders will just drop them at the shop and say fix it.

How much do they charge per hour in your neck of the woods? I don’t think I would be able to afford lbs services.

 

[toodles]

How much do they charge per hour in your neck of the woods? I don’t think I would be able to afford lbs services.

LBS services are kind of stupid here. Not sure what they charge for a specific job but they list stupid crap like "Gold Service - $200" which includes crap like "check brakes"

 

[canadmos]

How much do they charge per hour in your neck of the woods? I don’t think I would be able to afford lbs services.

I couldn't afford it either. And definitely couldn't as a teenager, which is why I started learning how to screw up my bikes on my own time.

Two local samples for prices;

Tune-Ups & Repairs

www.spokeomotion.com

Service | Giant Bicycles Giant Barrie

www.giantbarrie.com

This one gets me, "tubless top up". Ignoring the speeeling, how is that a top up if it doesn't include the freakin' sealant?

lol pro clean and $15 worth of cables. Ohhhhh and they'll install stuff for you, purchased in their store!

This one seems dentist level. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't majority of bearings all cartridge bearings now? So what repacking are they doing? I doubt anyone with a $150 walmart bike is going to pay $259 plus tax for this...

ANYWAYS, at least this isn't a region specific issue.

 

[jstuhlman]

I couldn't afford it either. And definitely couldn't as a teenager, which is why I started learning how to screw up my bikes on my own time.

Two local samples for prices;

Tune-Ups & Repairs

www.spokeomotion.com

Service | Giant Bicycles Giant Barrie

www.giantbarrie.com

This one gets me, "tubless top up". Ignoring the speeeling, how is that a top up if it doesn't include the freakin' sealant?
View attachment 173904

lol pro clean and $15 worth of cables. Ohhhhh and they'll install stuff for you, purchased in their store!
View attachment 173905

This one seems dentist level. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't majority of bearings all cartridge bearings now? So what repacking are they doing? I doubt anyone with a $150 walmart bike is going to pay $259 plus tax for this...
View attachment 173906


ANYWAYS, at least this isn't a region specific issue.

lol. that made me randomly check a shop here. DO YOU EVEN LEVEL 3 BRO???

 

[canadmos]

lol. that made me randomly check a shop here. DO YOU EVEN LEVEL 3 BRO???
View attachment 173908

Jeebus.

That might be worth it if they actually strip the bike all the way down and replace consumables like cables, housing, bleed brakes etc.

Silly that they mention replacing bearings and doing suspension (seal replacing, probably?), but then there is an asterisk saying parts not including and the price will vary if it has suspension. What?

 

[boogenman]

Dooood. I just can't believe it. Totally face palming right now.

So what are they gonna do for summer? Weddings and Beer fests? Convert biking trails to hiking trails? Pretty sure a hiker can break their femur on any trail their just like a biker can.

And what's the difference between Vail and Keystone? They're all Vail Resorts. Pretty sure someone can break a femur on Old 9 (Vail) just like they can on Wild Thing (Keystone).

I don't get it.

And I didn't know A-Basin is no longer with Vail Resorts, I had to look that up. Haven't been in a while. Cool. Good for them!

Interesting article on ABasin trying to keep the skiing numbers DOWN. Not up. Perhaps something "right with the [ski] industry"

There is a big difference between Joe Blow customer that purchased a pass to ride with a signed a waiver compared to an employee getting hurt while on the clock.
The local ski area here now requires people to "wear" a complimentary pass while watching kid ski lessons on the beginner slope. It takes all liability away from the ski area if the person gets taken out by a skier, snow cat, falling ice, anything really. If a ski instructor standing on the same slope gets creamed by a rouge beginner the ski area has to pay for everything. AMERICA!!

 

[boogenman]

I was trying to buy the shop I managed back in 2006. A huge chunk of the annual revenue and profit was out of the service side of the business. We did a ton of entry level stuff that really made the shop profitable. Tune ups and tires on sub $1,000 bikes would bring in $200 plus tickets with little overhead. Pay a wrench $12/hr to tune up the bike which takes 30 minutes, replace 2 tires at $60 which were keystoned for profit, maybe a cable or 2 that were over 100%. It was crazy how much money came in. All While making less than $100 on a 2 bike sale that brought over $1,000 into the til

 

[jonKranked]

I was trying to buy the shop I managed back in 2006. A huge chunk of the annual revenue and profit was out of the service side of the business. We did a ton of entry level stuff that really made the shop profitable. Tune ups and tires on sub $1,000 bikes would bring in $200 plus tickets with little overhead. Pay a wrench $12/hr to tune up the bike which takes 30 minutes, replace 2 tires at $60 which were keystoned for profit, maybe a cable or 2 that were over 100%. It was crazy how much money came in. All While making less than $100 on a 2 bike sale that brought over $1,000 into the til

bike shop profits:

service, accessories, bikes themselves

 

[Atomic Dog]

lol. that made me randomly check a shop here. DO YOU EVEN LEVEL 3 BRO???
View attachment 173908

Assuming they actually do everything listed under Level 3 service, how much time would all that take a competent shop worker to do?

 

[Flo33]

I am not 100% but I don’t think Finn needs any help speeding things up. The new GoPro and a narrow trail ridden fast gives that impression. Vinny T told me his settings but I forgot them since I don’t have a GoPro myself. He gets sections in Morgins to look sped up too.

Distortion on the outside of the image creating a hyperdrive effect. Also, those guys are just fast.

I guess you're right. After looking at it on an actual screen it looks a bit different. And also not owning a filming device for the glory of self presentation on the interwebz makes me even more ignorant.

Come check it out one day! You can do a long trail down to another town called Fully and descend into vineyards and wine tasting bars. It’s a MIcroclimate for wine and dry dirt around here.

Wine? In the Vallais valley? Go tell me more, maybe I have to come and check it out

I tell you, I will come one day and bring a bike or at least some biking gear. I've been down there at lot of times, always for biz reasons, flying in and out with only marginal time to do fun stuff.

 

[norbar]

If nothing else, they're going to save the LBSs from going broke. Working on those bikes at home must be such a PITA a lot of riders will just drop them at the shop and say fix it.

Tbh. I'd be one such customer but there are no reliable bicycle repair guys I know of at Warsaw. Every service friends recomends has been sub par so far or goes "we dont service parts that are older than 2-3 years old and non big brand". The only difference is a suspension guy locally but I'm not going to send my 2007 Marzo DJ1 to a certified ohlins tech that goes overboard with servicing on everything. The damper in that fork is basically a colander.

Still yeah. I really want lbs's to be strong given living in the city center means I service my bike in my apartment complex yard/parking area and I'd rather no do that.

 

[norbar]

lol. that made me randomly check a shop here. DO YOU EVEN LEVEL 3 BRO???
View attachment 173908

Funny thing is those are the same prices I get in Poland and let me remind you the average annual salary here is 12k USD after taxes ANNUALLY. So yeah. F me.

 

[SylentK]

lol. that made me randomly check a shop here. DO YOU EVEN LEVEL 3 BRO???
View attachment 173908

Yeah, the bike shop I worked for (who was/is owned by Vail Resorts...HA!) did the same shinanigans. It's like, really?

Easy for the shop to just say 'pay one price for all these things', and hope the bike maniac actually did everything.

I think I worked with more pissed off customers that didn't think the service was done, than with customers who actually asked for such a "Level" of service.

Anyways, big thanks to all the bike maniacs (mechanics) out there! It takes a special kind of patience, understanding and communication. I know I couldn't do it...

 

[norbar]

Wine? In the Vallais valley? Go tell me more, maybe I have to come and check it out

Don't you live in already one of the best places for good wine in the world? Some Slovenian Oranges from Styria are probably the 2nd best reason to go to Maribor. There is this one wine bar they have in the center and it had some bomb wines. Need to order a few once I recover financially a bit.

 

[sethimus]

LBS services are kind of stupid here. Not sure what they charge for a specific job but they list stupid crap like "Gold Service - $200" which includes crap like "check brakes"

lol, never bring your bike to a lbs in switzerland

 

[Andeh]

lol, never bring your bike to a lbs in switzerland

I've already told my wife that if we ever have to move to CH for her work, I'm going to buy a shitload of bike stuff before we leave because it's the one place on earth MORE expensive than the Bay Area.

 

[sethimus]

I've already told my wife that if we ever have to move to CH for her work, I'm going to buy a shitload of bike stuff before we leave because it's the one place on earth MORE expensive than the Bay Area.

yesterday i charged this for changing a tube:

changing a tube: 29chf
tube: 11,90 chf
lubing the chain 3 chf (mandatory when bringing in a bike)
testride: 5 chf

 

[Flo33]

Don't you live in already one of the best places for good wine in the world? Some Slovenian Oranges from Styria are probably the 2nd best reason to go to Maribor. There is this one wine bar they have in the center and it had some bomb wines. Need to order a few once I recover financially a bit.

All true, there are a lot of awesome wines to be had here, but I love me some variation and especially the vines from Mr. Biber are something very special.
These are just some cartings I have at my office. There is a bit more in my basement

 

[toodles]

Every service friends recomends has been sub par so far or goes "we dont service parts that are older than 2-3 years old and non big brand".

That seems to imply that by "service" they mean "take off and replace"

This is our local shop's website service

Most of which seems completely superfluous on a modern bike.

 

[6thElement]

That seems to imply that by "service" they mean "take off and replace"

This is our local shop's website service

View attachment 173925

Most of which seems completely superfluous on a modern bike.

No new muffler bearings???

 

[Carraig042]

What about blinker fluidz?

 

[toodles]

NSMB.com - Vanity's Pricetag

"Internal cable routing has been the bane of bike mechanics’ collective existence ever since it was decided to hide the brake cables on road bikes..."

nsmb.com

amen

 

[Westy]

Was out on a ride a few weeks ago and a dude with the same bike as me asked about my setup. I went through all my settings and mentioned I had also added and angleset and bumped up the fork travel. He asked me how much it all cost and I estimated the cost of the air shaft and headset. He clarified his question and asked how much it cost me to have someone install the parts and get my suspension dialed in. I made a somewhat insulting reply saying $0 because my two hands work and I am not an idiot.

 

[6thElement]

NSMB.com - Vanity's Pricetag

"Internal cable routing has been the bane of bike mechanics’ collective existence ever since it was decided to hide the brake cables on road bikes..."

nsmb.com

amen

Haha I had a bike like the one mentioned in that piece where the gear cable housing terminated at the headtube badge, then just the cables ran down the inside of the downtube.

I sold it at a loss after ~3 months because it would ghost shift like crazy because there was a 10cm length of housing required to link the downtube to the DS chainstay for the rear derailleur.

The person I sold it to contacted me a few months after I'd sold it because the gear cables had cut their way into the steerer.

 

[dump]

yesterday i charged this for changing a tube:

changing a tube: 29chf
tube: 11,90 chf
lubing the chain 3 chf (mandatory when bringing in a bike)
testride: 5 chf

I know we've been around for a while and come from an era when if you wanted to ride decent stuff, you purchased it, learned about it, put it on yourself and maintained it. I think we've also been around long enough to know that we're a select group and the average person on the street w/ a bike is completely clueless about such things and seemingly uninterested in learning/doing. Their thought process is not so much what was done, how much money the parts cost, value for money or whatever. It's more like, "what do I have to pay you so I can go back to riding and having fun". Even if that means you just made 25chf by changing a tube.

This is why when I fix kids bikes, I show them what I'm doing so they see how attainable it is. If you can rock that LEGO set, you can fix your own bike.

On a related note, I'm shocked at the prices of tubes these days... even when they're from a discount seller like jenson. You want $5 USD for a tube?! Talk about highway robbery! In my day, tubes were ...