Bike Shop – Page 2 – PROBIKEWRENCH

Tools I Must Have – Post 1 in a Series

I’ve been drooling over several new tools lately, so I’ve decided to start a list of which tools/items are striking my fancy. Here’s the first of many:

This gem is a sweet new tool from Abbey Bike Works, called the Crombie. The Crombie does the obvious job of removing a cassette lockring. There are a few different models of the Crombie, including a single-sided model with a Campagnolo or Shimano head , a dual-sided model with Campagnolo AND Shimano heads, and a dual-sided SL model with both heads and a hollow handle. The hollow-handled SL model is made with the traveling mechanic in mind, understanding that for those mechanics, like myself, who utilize air travel from time-to-time, there are weight restrictions on toolboxes that we must meet, in order to spare extra fees.

It’s a pretty handy tool with these functions alone, but one additional function of the Crombie makes it stand head and shoulders above the rest. The Crombie fits over the quick release nut, enabling the mechanic to swap cassettes without removing the QR skewer. This is a HUGE plus for anyone having to make a cassette swap in a hurry. Sure it doesn’t take THAT much longer to remove the skewer, but every second counts in a race mechanic’s day… why not make it easier on yourself?

The fact that I can carry a handled multi-use tool, and eliminate two small bits and a wrench, makes this a tool that I must have. Several mechanic friends already have the tool, and are really enjoying it. Abbey Bike Works is also beginning production on a chain whip that the Crombie will slide into, making a very lightweight and compact two-tool combo. Both tools are on my shopping list, and will be purchased soon.

Oh, yeah… for an extra $10, you can get your name engraved on it, making it a truly custom piece. Yes, I’m a nerd. Yes, I’ll probably pop for the custom tool.

For more information on Abbey Bike Works and their line of tools, visit http://www.abbeybiketools.com/

Building a Friendship

Several years ago, I was road cycling regularly, participating at and leading most of our shop’s group rides, doing some solo training, and doing some other casual rides with friends. I stayed fairly fit, but at this point in time, I was pretty close to my mid-season prime, and had some legs about me. I started seeing an older gentleman show up for our group rides on occasion. I had seen him before, riding on his own, but he started tagging along on our Wednesday night “hammerfest.”

I gave him the obligatory once-over, the look that all roadies give to new members of their cycling group, not to belittle or offend, but to size up our new riding companion and his equipment. He was kitted out in Italian-made cycling garb, and his steed was a custom titanium and carbon Seven, with a full Campagnolo Record 10 gruppo. Upon this first glance, I could tell that he and I shared the same appreciation for very nice things. He straddled the bike, one foot clipped in, and was ready to ride… and was grinning from ear to ear. Interesting.

budsbike

We didn’t make verbal pleasantries at first, we just introduced ourselves by exchanging pedal strokes and paceline duties. This interesting character, who was obviously a few decades older than I, was able to suffer with the best of us. Upon returning to the parking lot to complete the ride, I gave the obligatory, “Good ride,” and continued home. The entire way home, I wondered, “Who was that guy?”, like I was trying to find out the identity of the Lone Ranger, or another masked superhero from a black-and-white television series. I didn’t anticipate someone his age having the ability to ride that hard and hang with us twenty-somethings. I was impressed… and respected that greatly.

Over the course of a few years, the guy kept coming back to our rides. He always rode at a very-high level, and we forged a friendship. His style never changed, and his smile never went away. He began coming into the shop more often, and I had the privilege of working on his Seven. I glued his tubulars, installed his Campy Super Record 11-speed gruppo, and did other maintenance on the bike, from time to time. One day, he brought a lady-friend into the shop, to help her purchase some cycling gear. He introduced us, but he didn’t tell me she was his new flame… he didn’t have to. He had a glow about him that I hadn’t seen before, and it was obvious that he was really into this lady. We outfitted her with cycling shoes, clipless pedals, and some proper cycling attire… keeping it perfectly fashionable, of course.

A while after that, I received word that my friend had been hit by a car, knocked off the bike, and had broken his hip. He was hurt pretty bad, but I knew he’d make a comeback. It was a long recovery, but he was a resilient old bugger, and I was sure he’d ride again. I didn’t see much of him for a while, after all… if he wasn’t riding his bike, he didn’t really need any maintenance or anything that I could provide at the shop. Just recently, he stopped by the new shop I work at, and we exchanged pleasantries. I knew he had visited that shop in the past, so I wasn’t shocked to see him, but I was happy that he found me. He greeted me with that same big smile on his face, same gentle attitude, and he seemed extremely happy that we had the chance to talk, even for just a few minutes. I was glad that I would be able to work on his bikes again, and to be able to ride with him again soon.

Little did I know, that was the last time I would speak with him. Bud Phillips, my friend, was hit by a truck while riding his bike in our town. He was air-lifted to a local hospital, and is currently on life support, with little to no brain activity, and has been that way since Saturday. Barring a miracle, Bud will pass away soon after the machines are unplugged from his body, which will be any day now. Since Saturday, I’ve been waiting for word of my friend’s impending passing. Needless to say, it’s been a rough week.

Just last week, I wrote about the death of champion mountain biker Burry Stander (“Death and Fear in Cycling”), and how much of a tragedy it was, not knowing that the same tragic situation would darken the roads of our town, just a few days later. Cyclist versus vehicle incidents seem to be increasing at a staggering rate. I don’t know the exact situation surrounding Bud’s incident, so I can’t blame anyone for the accident. I will say that motorists today are more distracted, less patient, and seemingly less sympathetic to individuals who choose to exercise their right to take a more healthy, two-wheeled approach to travel. Bud is not the first friend of mine that has been on the wrong side of this equation, and I can say, without a doubt, that he probably won’t be the last.

But it needs to stop. I’m tired of losing friends.

“Parts Hangers” vs. “Bike Mechanics”

There is a difference between “Parts Hangers” and “Bike Mechanics.”

A Parts Hanger can resemble a Bike Mechanic, and knows their way around a bike, but doesn’t like working on bikes unless they’re installing new, high-end parts. You can tell a Parts Hanger by the way they check in a repair. If, when checking in a repair for service, the “mechanic” (and I use that term loosely in this situation) starts tallying up a list of new parts without properly checking over the bike, you may have a Parts Hanger on your hands. Inside the bike shop, a Parts Hanger “cherry-picks” the repairs they work on, leaving less expensive bikes or repairs that require actual work, for another mechanic to handle.

A real Bike Mechanic can actually fix bikes. It doesn’t matter what brand or style of bike, or what shape it is in… the real Bike Mechanic can make the bike function properly. Sure, there are instances where bikes are too far gone to repair, but in most cases, the real Bike Mechanic will do their best to repair the bike to the best functioning order it is capable of. Real Bike Mechanics are fluent in all bicycle styles, and you do not usually see them turn up their nose at a challenging repair.

Don’t get me wrong… real Bike Mechanics like working on nice things. It is extremely fun to piece together a custom build for a good customer, but that is not the only part of a Bike Mechanic’s job. It’s easy to work on nice stuff… it’s engineered to work flawlessly. The mark of a true Bike Mechanic is whether or not they can make the crappy stuff work. Real Bike Mechanics do not cut corners, and they get the job done right – the first time.

And Bicycle Race Mechanics take it exponentially farther…

You Just Never Know…

On any given day in Atlanta, a traffic jam can pop up anywhere. For me, today was that day and the location was a few miles ahead of me…

I decided to take my Dad’s old van to work today. I stopped at the gas station to put some gas in the car and grab a soda before my 8 mile commute down the interstate to the bike shop. I kept thinking that I wished I had ridden my bike in, rather than drive, but I had a lot of old gear that I was taking down to the shop to get rid of, so it was a necessary evil.

About two miles down the interstate, traffic immediately came to a standstill. We were going nowhere, and by the pace of the first 5 minutes of traffic, we would be there for a while. After several minutes, cars started creating another lane in the shoulder around the two normal lanes of traffic. It was getting crazy. Unfortunately, so was the temperature of my engine. I noticed the temperature gauge on the inside of the car start rising at a fairly abnormal rate and started to get worried.

After a few minutes of rising temperatures, the van started overheating and smoking. My first instinct was to say, “Crap.” I had to wait for a hole in the “shoulder traffic” to move the van into the grass on the side of the road and park the van. I had to get to work and didn’t have a ride, so… I pulled my bike out of the back of the van and prepared for my commute in to the bike shop.

It was pretty neat riding around and through all the traffic jam. It was especially fun to see the cops at the top of the exit ramp, looking at me like, “What did you just do?” The thrill was fun for a second, but wore off when I remembered that I WAS wearing rolled up blue-jean trousers and sandals for the last 6 miles of my commute… sheesh!

I kept reminding myself of a video I spotted a few weeks back. In the video, a group of cyclists take to the LA Freeway during rush hour to show how fast they could ride in comparison to the cars. It was awesome! Bottom line today was, you just never know what you’re gonna run into when you head off to work.

Rose Pedal 2010

It’s been a busy few weeks, finally ending with the Rose Pedal charity ride today. Rose Pedal is a ride put together by my friend Zane Leake, and his family and very close-knit group of friends. The ride raises money to fight Cystic Fibrosis, which his daughter, Greyce, suffers from.

Last year was the first year for the ride, and was very successful. They put together a magnificent event, drawing well over 200 riders. This year was no exception. They had around 250 riders pre-registered, and I’m sure there were over 100 more that showed up for the ride today.

Here’s a few pictures from today:

To Zane and the Rose Pedal Crew:

GREAT JOB, TODAY!!! WITH YOUR HELP, I’M SURE A CURE FOR CF WILL BE FOUND! OUT SPOKIN’ BICYCLES, AND MYSELF PERSONALLY, ARE HAPPY TO SUPPORT YOU FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!!!