that's the tip of the iceberg when building a Demon, everything has to be perfect, tyre logos, cable outer logos, you name it, building one of those bikes takes longer than usual because everything has to be positioned for the best aesthetic look. it goes without saying that with the spec on that bike it will ride lovely but the details are what those types of customers obsess over, so i do it for them, Tom (at Demon) also appreciates this attention and it's why he brings them to me.
yeah they are old the old race numbers from various events, the predator lid is actually in the shop but the Gixer is currently out of action with a dodgy fuel pump!
i might do mayhem but it massively depends on time and fitness so i'll make a decision later, might just pop up for support like last year though as that was fun!
Good to hear your ventures going well mate. Sounds like you know where you want to be offering a great friendly service. I wish you all the best with it.
thought i'd do another little update, the last one was in december, the winter trading period was little slow but ticked over no problem, everyone told me that i'd struggle in the winter but as i have been obsessed with paying the bills i found that because i owed nothing it was then very easy to not buy stuff as soon as started to go quiet which meant anything i sold the money went straight in the bank so when it came to the bike trade show season (end of january early february) i had a bit of money to spend so i could take advantage of the show deals etc.
i paid myself for the first time, but it was so i could tax the van! other than that it's going pretty well, the shop is one year old on the 6th of April! the plan now is to try and calm down the spending on the shop and try and get a regular wage going and see what happens from there.
last week was the best week financially so far, this week is looking good aswel as i currently have 18 bikes in the workshop! a mix of work, road bikes, hybrids and mountain bikes, so i do get a full on mix which is nice.
but anyway here's some pics of stuff i've had in the shop recently
rebuilt this from a Yeti frame for a friend IMG_7366 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this came in as a complete bike with DX, almost all original, but it was in a state, the respray was done by Bob jackson, there is some pitting on the fork and stem and unfortunately the control centre headset was too far gone but the rest has cleaned up mostly ok and should be rebuilt completely by the end of the week, when it came in it looked blue but i knew it was purple, as soon as i started to strip it i saw the original colour so i asked Bob jackson to match the original colour IMG_7381 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr IMG_7382 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this Ragley Piglet came in for a fork service and a good bike service IMG_7420 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this Bob Jackson bike came in for a service, chain cassette and new tape, it rides really nice considering it's one of their entry level models IMG_7421 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this Canyon full suss bike came in for a good sort out, needed bearings right through both wheels aswel as the headset, reverb post bleed, new spoke in the front as well as new chain and cassette, yes i know the pic was taken before the chain was fitted! IMG_7423 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this S-works TT bike came in, it's a 2010 model that was found new old stock by the customer and he had it sent from america, built to his bikefit size. IMG_7425 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr IMG_7427 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
last week there were 3 nights that i didn't finish until 1030pm, so the Demon Frameworks bottle opener made it a little easier IMG_7430 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
this was a electric conversion, i didn't really want to do it as frankly i really don't rate these kits but i felt sorry for the guy as he'd lost his drivers licence, but not really sorry as it was for drink driving, also i'm not sure how i feel about someone getting done for a DUI and then giving them the ability to ride quite fast and potentially after a few drinks. but anyway the bike, it had a mix of SLX and XT on it, 10 speed, this presented a massive issue as the wheel supplied was 6 speed, so to make it all compatible i had to change the entire gears for a more basic gear set, also it made sense to change the chain set as the kit required a mount on a square taper axle to i took the opportunity to fit a chain set with a 48t top ring as with the 14t rear sprocket it gave him a more sensible gear ration other wise he'd be spinning out a 42/14. took a while to do but got there in the end, there were no instructions of any use, £900 bike, £500 kit, respeccedthe bike at a cost of £171 in parts and 3 hours labour = £90, plus his fine, that was an expensive night on the piss! IMG_7433 by Dr. Branom, on Flickr
Glad to hear things are still going from strength to strength for you John
Sounds like you've built a solid foundation for the business both financially and customer base (I appreciate the two often go hand in hand but you could have spent big and burdened the business with massive start up debts)
Thanks for the update its good to see what your upto and what comes through your door.
