Do bike shops have any idea about retrobikes?

[orangeone]

i have a little repair shop a couple of miles up the road from me i use if i get stuck with something. I used him to sort out the front mech on my proflex as for the life of me i could not make it shift properly. When i dropped it off his eyes lit up as he had not seen one for years and how he wanted one back in the day. when i picked it up he had given it a once over tweeked the gears the brakes and oiled everything but only charged me for the front mech. He said that he just wanted to make sure it was going to last another 20 years.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Do bike shops have any idea about retrobikes?

In part no, perhaps, but after My LBS telling me that the same caliper adapter would do a 180mm disc front and back, and having the manager telling me to stop wasting the time of his staff "did I want the adapters or not?"

I'd suggest that Some bike shops simply know nothing about bikes, nor being a shop. :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Find a good shop and give them your business, regardless of price or inconvenience, They'll then be there when you need them.

 

[NeilM]

Neilm ;

Newbury. Supernovacycles. Come see us if your ever around, and thanks for the acknowledgement

I'll drop in the next time I'm in the area, as I get up that way a couple of times a month.

 

[Houlio99]

For what it's worth my LBC in Bristol, Strada, are chracking, their guys are v knowlegable, have helped me no end with sourcing difficult parts like rear mech hangers. And they seem pretty keen on retro bikes.

JT

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

One thing to bear in mind. No matter how good someone is, their knowledge will never be infinite, they will forget things. That doesn't mean they're stupid, that doesn't mean their shop is crap, it just means that they're not on the money with that one particular thing.

And of all the smug customers that triumphantly log onto web forums to regale us with tales of how they knew something the bike shops didnt... Well, it probably fair to say that the bulk of those smart arses could change a freewheel themselves, couldn't 're-face a bottom bracket, couldn't bleed a hydraulic brake properly, yet most of these shops can do all those things.

Even the most helpful folk ain't perfect- get over it, because the world would be a really annoying place if everyone was as smugly perfect as some of the opinions voiced here.

 

[futuristicoldman]

All my boys seem pre programmed to give me a shout if anything vaguely old rolls through the door, its always nice to see and work on peoples old treasures but it is very rare to even see them in the shop these days.
Even though there is very little that a shop can offer in terms of kit I find that usable advice of the old bike kind wins over a lot of customers and general knowledge of all things old creates a definite rapport with many of our "older" customers who are there to buy their modern kit. Knowledge of how bikes used to be is a without doubt crucial to forming a level of trust with most middle aged cyclists, it is far easier to explain the benefits of a carbon road bike when you can confidently explain and relate to the difference between what you are selling and say a 753 frame without being dismissive of its good points.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Nothing wrong with people in the trade being shaky on procedures they don't do very often or on parts they don't often encounter a need for. Problem is when they rip people off on work they have not done properly. One of my mates got his bike 'serviced' at the LBS and they had his handlebars offset to his forks by at least 15 degrees, had fitted one Shrader and one Presta valve, had one tyre fitted against its rotation, left a blob of grease on a brake disc and generally left everything untidy.

I had refused to do the work for him as I was always getting dragged in to it, but after I pointed out all that he invested in some tools, a stand and learned how to do it himself.

Not all LBS are equal!

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

I've had one of my fleet bikes come back with both crank arms pointing the same direction. I kid ye not.