Back to the bike shop

[stompandgo]

I haven't worked in a bike shop since the late 1970's, when it was one of my part time jobs while attending college. I always thought, though, that when I retired, that taking a part time job at a bike shop might be something that I'd be interested in. I've been retired for two years now, and have been working on weekends as a race official.

So when my bike was in for the dual battery upgrade, I asked the owner if they were looking for part time work. Not much, just a couple of days a week, and not forever. We discussed the opportunities, and he vetted me through people that we mutually know. It's not a lot of money, but it's good pocket change, and interesting work. I start on Monday.

In the beginning, I'll be focused on building high end road bikes for customers and floor stock. They also have a hundred or so overstock bikes that need some repair before sale. They have a part time guy selling them on eBay, but that channel needs to be fed. I'll help out on the sales floor when needed. Finally, they have a Selle Italia idMatch fitting system that they want me to learn, particularly for racing bikes.

It will either work out, or it won't. We shall see. It will certainly be interesting.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I haven't worked in a bike shop since the late 1970's, when it was one of my part time jobs while attending college. I always thought, though, that when I retired, that taking a part time job at a bike shop might be something that I'd be interested in. I've been retired for two years now, and have been working on weekends as a race official.

So when my bike was in for the dual battery upgrade, I asked the owner if they were looking for part time work. Not much, just a couple of days a week, and not forever. We discussed the opportunities, and he vetted me through people that we mutually know. It's not a lot of money, but it's good pocket change, and interesting work. I start on Monday.

In the beginning, I'll be focused on building high end road bikes for customers and floor stock. They also have a hundred or so overstock bikes that need some repair before sale. They have a part time guy selling them on eBay, but that channel needs to be fed. I'll help out on the sales floor when needed. Finally, they have a Selle Italia idMatch fitting system that they want me to learn, particularly for racing bikes.

It will either work out, or it won't. We shall see. It will certainly be interesting.

Switch the coast (east to west) and the racing background (road to MTB), and you could be my friend Gary at Cadence Cyclery Encinitas.

He retired from a high-level IT career — yes, an IT bike racer — to relive the bike shop days of his youth, and he's having a ball. He routinely talks me down from higher-end to middle-tier stuff because the latter's fine, and the former isn't worth the money.

I pass Cadence on nearly every coast ride south and sometimes stop in just to see Gary. Well, that and to wallow in the bike porn. The front showroom's full of Specialized Tarmacs, Colnagos, Cervelos, Factors, and the like — many of them looking just shy of TdF-ready. The mostly Specialized MTBs and ebikes are in back.

That's where I took the Pinarello Dogma photo you recently commented on.

 

[stompandgo]

Looks like a great place. Those are proper pedals on that Pinarello.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Looks like a great place. Those are proper pedals on that Pinarello.

I think clipless pedals would be a lot of fun on my SL, but it does enough offroad to make MTB pedals seem a smarter long-term choice.

Not that I have any experience with clipless. Transitioned directly from road biking with toe clips to mountain biking with MTB pedals back in the Late Bronze Age. Then stopped cycling for 20+ years. What was I thinking??

 

[stompandgo]

I raced and trained on Speedplays, but I commuted on Crank Brothers EggBeaters and MTB shoes with cleats. I'm using the same shoes with my e-bike, but I switched to Candy 7's for the wider platform.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

In the beginning, I'll be focused on building high end road bikes for customers and floor stock. They also have a hundred or so overstock bikes that need some repair before sale. They have a part time guy selling them on eBay, but that channel needs to be fed. I'll help out on the sales floor when needed. Finally, they have a Selle Italia idMatch fitting system that they want me to learn, particularly for racing bikes.

What part of that are you looking forward to most?

 

[stompandgo]

That's a great question that will probably only be answered after some time there. At first glance, it would probably be the overstock stuff, since a large portion of those bikes are incomplete. They are new bikes that they took parts off of for repairs, or they are used bikes that they took in trade. Each one is a puzzle to solve, and the engineer in me loves to solve puzzles. I also love to make customers happy, because riding a bike should always be happy. Bike fits and floor sales are customer intensive.

 

[Base]

I'd say welcome back in the bike- branche

 

[Mulezen]

In reading this thread, particularly as regards to motivation, I think back to a book…Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance…R Pirsig (circa 1980) where the cycle you are working is yourself.

 

[stompandgo]

Agreed. Let's see how long this cycle lasts. I don't need to work.

 

[jowzia]

It's a balanced, exciting, and meaningful decision. Whether it lasts three months or three years, it will be time well spent.

 

[mschwett]

I raced and trained on Speedplays, but I commuted on Crank Brothers EggBeaters and MTB shoes with cleats. I'm using the same shoes with my e-bike, but I switched to Candy 7's for the wider platform.

i love my speedplay pedals. have them on both the regular and e road bikes. i can't say the 54g weight savings between the nano and zero was really worth the money, but incremental gains in spinning things make a noticeable difference in aggregate

 

[Extreme1]

Hey Jeremy, the Speedplays are terrible on a dirt/road/gravel bike. If dirt gets stuck in the pocket in the bottom of your shoes, you’ll never be able to clip in unless you take your shoes off and clean it out.
The best I’ve found for mtb and gravel bikes are the Eggbeaters. Even in the mud they are self cleaning. Also, the cleats aren’t protruding from the bottom of your shoes. You won’t slip and fall on your ass like you will with Speedplay cleats. Ask me how I know…

 

[stompandgo]

I chose Speedplays for racing because, Stomp And Go. I chose MTB shoes and Eggbeaters/Candy to be able to walk like a human in them, not a duck, and get the same kind of float action as the Speedplays. It helps my knees.

Day 1 at the LBS. I tuned up a Basso carbon rental bike. Fixed three flats. Did a tuneup on a vintage 1980's Ciocc. That was the highlight of my day. I took two new bikes, a Jamis hybrid and a Tesoro e-bike like mine, that had been scavenged for parts, and went through them, making an order slip for parts to complete them for sale. Helped half a dozen customers. All that was before lunch. After lunch, I spent time in the other building to organize their inventory of e-bike batteries and chargers. There's at least another day or two in that. My second day will be spent mostly on learning the SmartID fit system by observing.

 

[PedalUma]

In working retail in an all electric bike shop for the past year, I found that being more mature put me with more credibility with a key buying demographic. Many high-end analog roadies around here are in their 70's. I found the problem solving soothing, and yes, I have always found that in working on a thing, I am really working on myself. This really hit home at 16 working on my own bike. The more love and attention goes in, the more comes out. It is more than the corporeal, it is like monks making a mandala, besides being practical and gaining hand strength and agility.

 

[stompandgo]

You seem to be a spiritual guy. I am, for sure. At this point, it's about taking two days out of my life and helping people doing something that I enjoy. It's also about meeting people in a circle that I am comfortable in. Finally, it's about doing things the right way, without prejudice or discrimination. Snobby bike shops suck.

 

[PedalUma]

Last week I helped a girl with her new big box $229 bike for free. I installed sealant in the cheap tire/tubes and gave a new sealed BB, over the loose bearings. She makes my coffee and purely selfishly, I do not want her ever late for work. I need my toast in the morning, maybe with some onion soup.

 

[Chazmo]

I haven't worked in a bike shop since the late 1970's, when it was one of my part time jobs while attending college. I always thought, though, that when I retired, that taking a part time job at a bike shop might be something that I'd be interested in. I've been retired for two years now, and have been working on weekends as a race official.

So when my bike was in for the dual battery upgrade, I asked the owner if they were looking for part time work. Not much, just a couple of days a week, and not forever. We discussed the opportunities, and he vetted me through people that we mutually know. It's not a lot of money, but it's good pocket change, and interesting work. I start on Monday.

In the beginning, I'll be focused on building high end road bikes for customers and floor stock. They also have a hundred or so overstock bikes that need some repair before sale. They have a part time guy selling them on eBay, but that channel needs to be fed. I'll help out on the sales floor when needed. Finally, they have a Selle Italia idMatch fitting system that they want me to learn, particularly for racing bikes.

It will either work out, or it won't. We shall see. It will certainly be interesting.

Outstanding, Chris. Can you mention the shop?

 

[stompandgo]

here

 

[Chazmo]

Excellent. I love that they’re selling a wide variety of bikes. I imagine you’ll get a lot of interesting work to do. Have fun!