I meant to post this prior to going on vacation but didn't get a chance. I recently had this great experience and wanted to share and see if anyone else wanted to post their good bike shop stories, or maybe just good biking karma stories (like getting your stolen bike back).
Post getting my Bianchi back there were a couple of things I desparately needed to get looked at prior to riding it in the Danskin Triatholon a couple of sundays ago. So with only the Friday before it free, I took it into Charles at Wright Bros as soon as he was walking into work. He had two emergency wheel builds that day (a tandem that was going on a 500 mile ride the next day) but had no problem taking some time to look at my loose headset (a reoccuring problem) and my oddly shifting derailler. He started to tighten my headset and we soon realized there was a bigger problem, the top cup kept spinning. It seems that it had been ridden while loose one too many times. To sum up: I spent 4 hours with Charles, and for a little over $200 I got a new head set, a new carbon fork, brake adjustments, brake pads, my rear derailler aligned, my rear wheel trued, three spokes replaced (I need new wheels soon), and it all done with incredible patience as we barely finished at closing time. And I even got a call from Charles the next day to check that everything was alright and to offer me a free t-shirt.
Needless to say, the triathalon went smoothly, no bike issues, and in the biking section, my rank was 79 out of 3496.
I've been rocking a busted Bottom Bracket, and I finally had the initiative to take it apart and look at what was wrong. I had destroyed a bearing and the bearing cage, and was missing a seal on one side. I took the bike and all the junk I pulled over to Wright Bros and checked what Charles would say about just replacing the parts.
He reccommended that I put in a cartridge BB and let me use his shop to put it in myself. He was totally busy but took the time to give me a few pointers on how to not f*k things up and pulled a couple tools for me, even though you're supposed to be a member to use his stuff. Anywhoo, I even talked about getting a new set of chainrings and such (replace my Schimano Biopace) and he said it wasn't worth the cost, I should wait until I actually NEED to replace them.
$25 and some valuble experience I was all set. Very nice that he was close to my home, its no fun riding on broken crap. CounterBalance is closer, but I don't get the same kind of service there.
One is for Unreal Cycles. The owner/operator/big cheese, Ben, rides with us all the time and is an all-around fucking awesome guy. Long before .83 existed and I thought I’d ever own a road bike of any kind I was riding an XC mountain bike all over town. It broke. A lot. So I started doing research on downhill bikes, aggressive urban hardtails, and BMXs. Ultimately I found Ben’s online business. Not knowing a damn thing about what bike would be best suited for my needs, how much I would use it, or if I really needed something as strong as the stuff he sold I relied on Ben’s advice. His friendly service, overwhelming technical knowledge and practical application of said knowledge is unparalleled when it comes to those bikes. I got the info I really needed. He was honest and up front. I get so sick of people who want to just give a sales pitch and can’t actually tell me exactly why something is better or worse than something else. Ben would straight-up tell me if something would stand up to the test of time and abuse, or if something was overrated or unnecessary. Absolutely no bullshit about it. He also stood up for me and helped my ass out when I finally did my frame in and had to get a new one. He’s also into learning new things about his products and not just from the companies who distribute them. He gave me the knowledge and advice I needed to really go anywhere and find the parts I needed. I ended up buying from him, and still do. His honesty about what he sells and his willingness to seek out what he doesn’t carry is something to be admired. I’m stoked on my bike, and I’m stoked on his business. Lastly, how great is it to know that when you call a business that it's the owner who is personally taking care of you? Can fucking beat it.
Last edited by j_ryde on Tue Sep 06, 2005 4:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
Aaron is the bestest. I got my wheel fucked when someone fell on it when they couldn't clip out. Aaron fixed it, on the road, and totally bent it back then trued the wheel. ON THE ROAD. Cooooool.
I <3 Aaron.
It sucks your shop is so far from me. I promise I will come... not like that.
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Phillip
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 191
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
hissy fit
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 440
Location: Sea-Town
