First and foremost most LBS's suck ass. Not mine tho. It all started about 6 or 7 yrs ago when i got a new fork and every shop in NYC wanted 100$ to install it cause it was not purchased at their shops. So i find Chelsea Bicycles and the owner installs it for 40$ bucks on the spot.Over the next year or so i buy and build a c-dale piece by piece from him. Every weekend before i was to go DH'ing my bike would be in the shop til 11pm or later so i was always on a perfectly tuned ride every weekend at plattekill. So these days things r even better. I got the mechanic into DH. So now when ever we go riding we have the shop mechanic w/ us (ingenous thinking on my part!!) Anyway i pretty much get full run of the shp- i get to watch the owner weld, paint, tune and wrench on anything from full blown DH bikes to antique Brass lamps(he will weld anything from brass to cast iron for anybody). I get to leaf thru all the shops order books and get charged just a few bucks over the shops cost. I get to hang out and drink and smoke while i work on my bike. All the staff is great and heres the best part. I have no car-just bikes and a 4 bike hitch rack( yeah cart before the horse thing goin) . I tell the owner i am gonna race this year and i have no dependable ride. He tells me i can take one of his trucks every race weekend!!!! (and his mechanic and my riding buddy). So hes kinda giving me a quasi sponsorship. Hes gonna get some Jerseys done up and maybe i can convince him to cover race fees but that might be pushing it. Too bad half the shops around cant be half as cool as Cheslea Bicycles in NYC . They EVENTUALLY get the parts u want in stock and i do all his printing (i own a shop around the corner). So we have a pretty good thing going.
Thanks for listening to my little positive bike shop rant.
Thanks for listening to my little positive bike shop rant.
