Old Riders....But not "Old School"

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Old Riders....But not "Old School"
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flag swan3609
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 14:41 Quote
Also.. Most real good mechanics in the bike industry leave the industry because the pay just isn't there.. Unless someone really just loves bikes and is ok with shit pay.

I am accredited bike mechanic, wheel builder, aviation mechanic, have an associates degree, and have lots of otter check boxes.. And I can't squeek out 18/hr at a shop here in Idaho.

I know lots of others that are very good bike mechanics that left industry to go make an actual money.

Hence why I think mobile gigs are the way of the future.. I couldn't afford to start a brick and morter, but a mobile gig was doable... And outsourcing some of the less profitable labor jobs to a cheaper mechanic that works out of his home bike shop would have been a money maker for me, especially since I only would have had room for 2-3 bikes in a van at a time anyways.

But I get that my situation is different than a brick and morter shop out sourcing labor.. That is kinda wack.. I wouldn't trust my shit there either. I'd be finding the garage guy on my own.
flag husstler
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 14:51 Quote
Or the van full of bikes gets rear ended.

Or a tree falls on it.

Or any other number of things that have happened even in his little crew here this winter.
flag d-man
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 15:50 Quote
Shops that don't pay their techs enough to keep them deserve to go under. Good techs are what makes a shop desirable.
I'd be pissed if I took my bike into a shop and have them sub it out to "a guy".
flag PACNW-MTB
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:23 Quote
husstler wrote:
Or a tree falls on it.

ohhh, you didn't.......Eek
flag PACNW-MTB
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:31 Quote
It makes absolutely no sense for the bike customer to transport his bike to the bike shop for repair, only to have it transported to some dudes house to do the actual repair. Makes me wonder if this business owner thinks his customers are idiots, or if he really thinks he DESERVES to be paid for waiting for some chump to walk through his door. In this case the customer should just deal directly with the repair guy.

I am so tired of brick and mortar businesses complaining about online competition. Yes, there are always those who will buy online solely based on price, but there is still a demographic that places value on brick and mortar; being able to touch and feel the goods, ask questions, receive experienced advice, deal with real human beings, etc. Business owners really need to step it up and offer first-class service, or they have just reduced themselves to an e-tail business model and will lose to the e-tailers every time. It is not rocket surgery.....
flag onemanarmy
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:47 Quote
PACNW-MTB wrote:
It makes absolutely no sense for the bike customer to transport his bike to the bike shop for repair, only to have it transported to some dudes house to do the actual repair. Makes me wonder if this business owner thinks his customers are idiots, or if he really thinks he DESERVES to be paid for waiting for some chump to walk through his door. In this case the customer should just deal directly with the repair guy.

I am so tired of brick and mortar businesses complaining about online competition. Yes, there are always those who will buy online solely based on price, but there is still a demographic that places value on brick and mortar; being able to touch and feel the goods, ask questions, receive experienced advice, deal with real human beings, etc. Business owners really need to step it up and offer first-class service, or they have just reduced themselves to an e-tail business model and will lose to the e-tailers every time. It is not rocket surgery.....

Exactly. Dude needs to hire a quality mechanic or just not offer repairs. I'd be pissed if I found out my expensive bike was being transported back and forth to a home. If that thing gets damaged or stolen the insurance battle would not be fun. Is it the business insurance, business auto insurance, home insurance of the dude making the repairs, etc.

I'd rather just find a local mechanic to come to my house and fix it. If this dude thinks it's the future he's out of his mind. There's enough drop ship companies in the world already. If people are going to brick and mortar it's because they want to form a relationship with that business.

I'm fortunate at the moment that I have friends stupid enough to help me. LOL!
flag onemanarmy
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:48 Quote
Wish I could watch the fight but I can't make myself spend all that money to watch it by myself. And I'm not gonna try and stream it because Dana is making some big big threats and I don't want his goons breaking my knees.
flag whoadragon
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:55 Quote
onemanarmy wrote:
Wish I could watch the fight but I can't make myself spend all that money to watch it by myself. And I'm not gonna try and stream it because Dana is making some big big threats and I don't want his goons breaking my knees.

f*ck him and his goons.

Plus don't care about that main card a*shole.

I'd rather watch the newbies beat the f*ck outa each other for glory than that shit show for money.
flag swan3609
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 16:56 Quote
PACNW-MTB wrote:
husstler wrote:
Or a tree falls on it.

ohhh, you didn't.......Eek

LOL.. I wish some of my bikes got hit by that tree... Getting a insurance check for my Levo, Sworks road bike and a few other high end bikes with XTR on them would have been way easier than me trying to sell them in the upcoming months..
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 17:26 Quote
There have been two mechanics that I trust to work on my bikes... neither is still a bike mechanic because of the pay and one of them moved out of state because of California's generally f*cked up cost of living.

I legitimately can't believe how incompetent some mechanics are... when I had to replace my road bike, I was gonna pay the shop to build it for me and it turned into a total shitshow of them not having parts and tools and shit and then when they finally unf*cked that situation, they couldn't manage to get a simple request straight and tried to bullshit me in the most ridiculous way ever... told them I wanted the steerer cut with a single 10mm spacer under the stem and a single 5mm spacer over the stem. Got it back with 15mm under and 10mm over, pointed it out and dude tells me that it can't be cut any lower than that because the brake cable runs internally and it has to have 10mm over the stem or it'll void the warranty because there's not enough clamping surface. Rolleyes

I literally disassembled the entire bike and built it back up from parts just because that much bullshit left me with zero faith in the job they'd done. The brake bleed was trash, they'd installed the bb dry, they broke a cable grommet thingy where the cables enter the frame, no grease on pedal threads or rear d threads, all the cable lengths and hose lengths were f*cked... just a completely shit job all around.

If I owned a shop, the entire business would be centered on the mechanics honestly... anyone can f*cking order parts or show someone a bike and answer twelve stupid questions, the mechanics make the difference between a good shop and bad shop.
flag ATV25
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 17:28 Quote
PACNW-MTB wrote:
husstler wrote:
Or a tree falls on it.

ohhh, you didn't.......Eek

Comment of the day !!!
flag sterlingmagnum
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 17:37 Quote
If I owned a shop, the entire business would be centered on the mechanics honestly... anyone can f*cking order parts or show someone a bike and answer twelve stupid questions, the mechanics make the difference between a good shop and bad shop.

Truth.
flag mtbman1980
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Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 17:37 Quote
The shop I deal with is pretty on the ball for customer service. His goal is to keep me riding. He has given me loaner shocks, bikes, etc just so I don’t have to wait while parts come in if it’s going to be a long wait.

There was a warranty issue and I had a loner bike for more than a month. He got mentioned in an NSMB article for coming in on a Sunday to get the guy a set of cranks.
flag whoadragon
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 17:42 Quote
My lbs guy was a genius. He couldnt get f*ck all for the newest fancy parts but he could wrench.

He had to retire after a health scare almost killed him and then covid showed up. Closed the shop and retired. He now works in a warehouse.

Never made f*ck all in this little city. Only enough to keep doors open.

He is a OG BC northshore guy. Rode with alot of the old OG Mtb guys. Authorized KONA dealer.

He is happy. And has money now lol. And holidays. And days off.
flag Twenty6ers4life
O+
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 at 18:39 Quote
onemanarmy wrote:
Wish I could watch the fight but I can't make myself spend all that money to watch it by myself. And I'm not gonna try and stream it because Dana is making some big big threats and I don't want his goons breaking my knees.


I’ll be getting it. We were having people over to watch, but now that I’m jacked up, we’re not. But the wife is also a fight fan so we’ll both watch. It’s not a great card, but there some interesting matchups, the co main should be good too.

 


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