Bike shops and the "I ride 6,000 miles a year" line

[ABlipInContinuity]

There's a bike shop in Manchester that I have used a few times for spare parts as they usually have a good selection in.

But if I go in there and hear that condescending statement one more time from "him"  when I voice an opinion that's different to theirs, I might just turn around slap him and walk out never to return.

I asked if they stocked SRAM chains, because in my experience I've found them to last quite well. He piped up that KMC chains are better, although they stock both. What SRAM chains have you got in? Just the £25 one. It's okay. I'll take the KMC chain.

Then it came. He said some along the lines of:

I've always used KMC chains. I think they are great. I coughed up and took the chain. They he said, you won't go wrong there. They make Shimano's chains.

And then I'm like "but I've always found SRAM chains last longer than Shimano chains".

So he goes on about all the different types of cycling he does and how unlucky you must be to bust a chain.

Sheesh! Whatever happened to "the customer is always right?"

I've had the same discussions about kool stops, concentricity of chainrings and goodness knows what else.

*there's several people who work their - it's just one guy that always seems to end up serving me who is guilty of this.

[Charlotte]

So don't discuss it with him.  Buy what you need and leave.  Better still, buy what you need elsewhere.

[mike]

do you ever offer opinions to others?  the guy's probably just being friendly, talking to a fellow bike geek....  must be nice (for him) to get someone who he can talk details with.   

[Jaded]

The customer is often wrong. The customer is always right went out along with general subservience in life, thankfully.

[ABlipInContinuity]

I go there because I know quite a few of the other staff.

And to be honest, there's nothing wrong with a difference of opinion. There's just no need to be condescending about it.

Quite a few bike shops seem to suffer from this. There's another bike shop which I like to use, but it was just too far away today. They know a lot about bikes, their service is spot on and they won't sell you something just because they are getting a higher margin on it.

[andygates]

Everyone's an expert. 

Including you.  And him. 

[Wascally Weasel]

I go there because I know quite a few of the other staff.

And to be honest, there's nothing wrong with a difference of opinion. There's just no need to be condescending about it.

Quite a few bike shops seem to suffer from this. There's another bike shop which I like to use, but it was just too far away today. They know a lot about bikes, their service is spot on and they won't sell you something just because they are getting a higher margin on it.

I find Condor are really bad for this.

[Tiger]

The answer is to always ask for something really obscure and wierd that they haven't got at the outset in order to establish your position at the outset. I have found the SON and solidlights combo is good for this sort of situation. Used to be the case in Evand for instance that enquiries about fixed sprockets and tubular tyres had teh same effect but now they are mainstream.

[clarion]

They would deny that such a thing existed and still try to be patronising...

[gonzo]

6 pages of stupid bike shop comments over here:

The stupidest thing you've heard at a bike shop... :: Weight Weenies

My favourite being:
"Campagnolo? That doesn't exist anymore. My father rode Campagnolo, but 20 years ago they closed the factory, so everybody began to import that Shimano stuff from Japan"

[oncemore]

"Better still, buy what you need elsewhere."

For sure. The very reasons I steer well clear of bike shops. In general staffed by the feeble minded (well, pay peanuts....).

[Clare]

"I ride 6 000 miles a year..."



"Oh, is that all?"




 

 

[Really Ancien]

You should try a well known shop in Preston. It's kind of like this.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/oz1ST5WTTVw&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/oz1ST5WTTVw&rel=1</a>

Damon.

[Nick H.]

If you want to out-pedant somebody on the subject of chains or rings, arm yourself with a long chat with Chris at Highpath Highpath Engineering : Home page.  To test all the claims of this-chain-lasts-longer-than-that-one he assembled a chain out of sections of several different brands and measured the stretch. Each section performed identically.

He says the reason people get differing impressions of chain wear is that they fail to appreciate that the biggest factor is the sideways bending when you're on a high or low sprocket. Leave the chain on a middle one (or buy a Rohloff) and it will last much longer. 

He's the man who persuaded me to upgrade to Uniglide sprockets because the teeth have more metal on them.  After that I spent a year on ebay amassing a shopful of stuff which I shall probably have to leave to my grandchildren as a sort of '80s time-capsule, perhaps with some photos of Duran-Duran. 

[clarion]

Chris Bell = Chainring God.

[teethgrinder]

My local is the same.
He's excellent when it comes to road race and TT stuff. He's a former National Road Race champ. But hasn't a clue about stuff for doing long rides. I gave up going there and always buy on line or from sales.

I've had too much rubbish from bike shops and very rarely visit them. But I am pretty fussy about what I use for reliability, value for money and longevity. It's usualy a pain buying fixed wheel stuff too, low quality hubs and sprockets.
Shop: Ooh, these are very good.
Me: No they aint, the flanges are prone to breaking and the bearings don't last much more than 10,000 miles.
Shop: 10,000 miles is a lot.
Me: Not really, not even a years riding, a Goldtech will do 100s of 1000s (wanders off)