Views from a Bikeshop

Hearsay I dare say

2008-11-07T19:10:00.004+02:00

I'm surprised I'm still here. Considering what's been said.

Human nature has a nasty habit of wanting to believe the worst of people rather than the best. The truth is actually easy to find if you ask the right person. Believing the best of people used to be an easy thing for me to do. Perhaps you feel the same way. You'll understand if you've ever been on the wrong end of hearsay or a deal gone sour.

Don't believe what you're told - dig deeper - think clearer. It may be convenient to lend an ear to untruths and you may even enjoy what you're told. It'll tickle your ears and make you feel smug about yourself, you may even want it to be true - but deep down you know that what you're hearing just doesn't seem right.

It's like hearing about a trail and not riding it for yourself. You live in somebody else's experience and never go out and ride it - never really knowing the truth for yourself. Never knowing if the trail actually exists or if it was all made up to make the storyteller seem more than he is.

You really have to get closer to the source to know the truth about Bike Hut. It was once mine - my pride and joy as it were - that's for sure. I nutured it, fed it, nursed it and watched it bloom quickly into a remarkable thing. Many passed through and were blessed. Yet, Life took me away and now I know it only by name - the name I passed on to others.

The mystery lies in how it came to be theirs.

Pacific Cycles (GT/Mongoose/Schwinn) buys Cannondale

2008-03-28T11:28:00.003+02:00

It's always interesting when one company buys another. The effects further down the distribution chain can sometimes be more like nuclear fallout than anything else.

A couple years ago SRAM was almost a nobody company in cycling, then they purchased Avid (brakes), Truvativ (components) and most notably RockShox suspension. Almost overnight SRAM was a REAL somebody with leverage. One thing that SRAM Corp did was insist on was consolidation of all it's distributors. The guys in SA, Greenwall, doing RockShox at the time found themselves losing their agency to Cape Cycle Systems. That happened the world over. Many called foul - the smaller guys always seem to loose out. Now it's forgotten.

Last year Hayes bought Manitou suspension and Ritchey bought Syncros. Changes are coming I hear.

The latest in the soap opera of the bicycle industry is the sensational purchase of Cannondale bicycles by the parent company of Pacific Cycles who own the GT, Mongoose and Schwinn brands. You may recall that Cannondale was bankrupt in 2003 and sold to an investor for a paltry $58m. The effects of that were similar to what happened to RockShox except ProBike (Raleigh) lost Schwinn to Omnico who distribute GT and Mongoose in SA. Pacific insisted that their distributors handle all three of their brands - the result was that Omnico landed up with three mainstream bicycle brands under one small Cape Town warehouse roof.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Cape Cycle Systems distribute Cannondale. Omnico distribute all of Pacific Cycles other brands. If they apply the same philosophy as they have in the past - CSS will lose Cannondale to Omnico. I reckon Omnico will like that. Talk about full circle.

However, if Pacific decide otherwise: "Our intention is to build a world-class company that dealers will want to buy from," said Schwartz. The plans from parent company Dorel are that Pacific Cycle will become a stand-alone division with an exclusive focus on mass merchant customers holding Mongoose and Schwinn brands; and Cannondale & GT in another division. That will certainly throw the cat among the pigeons too.

If that scenario plays out Omnico could find itself loosing GT to Cape Cycle Systems so that Pacific can consolidate GT and Cannondale under one company banner - and not by the decision of either CSS or Omnico. No, when these big US profit driven companies make a decision they're not thinking of the effects to the SA bike industry!

Watch this space.

I once was stolen but now I'm found

2008-03-07T16:43:00.002+02:00

I'd always hoped that one day the stolen Intense M3 would appear miraculously through our door. And, thankfully, it has! The M3's theft hurt me badly as I had to cover the loss. Now it's back in our possession and for sale. If you're interested drop us an email on sales@bikehut.co.za

Summer's coming through the clouds

2007-11-29T12:03:00.000+02:00

Weird weather we're having. The Garden Route is practically washed away. The South Easter is already cranking up, wheezing between out of season rainfall and the odd Cape Doctor. Weird weather everywhere. Not exactly motivating another ride. The times are changing for sure, but I'm not convinced that Al Gore has all the answers on this one and I don't think a diet of beetroot will improve my immunity (or my fitness).

Now the kids are on holiday at the end of November - earlier than I ever recall. Heck when I was at school (oh hell I'm sounding like my grand father now) I seem to remember only about 3 weeks of Christmas holidays and now they're lining up for 6 weeks or so. Life's good if you're a kid with a bicycle (or a teacher), particularly one you can do some dirt jumping with like we did on our BMX bikes back in the 80's and mountain bikes since then... Every spare moment was spent building jumps and shaping tracks to ride away our time. We rode dirt jumps, BMX tracks, half-pipes, walls and over each other. If they weren't there, we built them for ourselves.

I chuckle to myself when I hear the crew talk about "trails" like it's something new to the naughties or riders complain about how "they/others" must build new places to ride. I wonder how many are planning building trails this summer holidays or buy a new PS3 game? I keep telling my kids - learn to bunny-hop for real, that's a real life skill to have. Never mind the shin burgers you get from slipping pedals trying to master the skill - it's all part of the progression. If you can't bunny-hop you'll never do a 360, and you won't get there without some reminders we weren't born with a bicycle between our legs.

2007 World Champs

2007-09-09T09:19:00.000+02:00

Not having live TV coverage in SA for our favourite sport's World Championships is like having a braai without meat. I scoured the web and this is the best video I can find: http://www.freecaster.com/live/fortwilliam/index.php

With Greg Minnaar and Andrew Neetling chasing the title in Elite Men Downhill there's a good chance SA will have another World Champion the rest of the country won't know about.

Coming soon to a Trail near you

2007-08-20T18:45:00.000+02:00

Around this time of the year there's a silent undercover frenzy in the bike industry. News of next seasons models break into the public arena via "leaks", press previews and product launches to distributors and dealers. As a self-confessed bicycle junkie I love this time of year although I must admit I also feel a bit jaded. However for the most part I look forward to what's new - especially from the smaller companies with limited advertising spend.

There are many launches that tout the "latest revolution" in mountain biking (let's face it the road bikes just don't factor in, although some "wow" us!), generally this relates to suspension design but most relate to nothing more than refinement of an existing design packaged in a new colour scheme and graphics dreamed up by the marketing guys. See, I told you I was jaded, maybe 'cos I was in that industry for many years or maybe cos like you I'm also a consumer of sorts. More over I need to know what's up so we can keep abreast of the industry and what we offer our customers.

Kona have refined the same same 4-bar linkage suspension design over a decade of improvements eaking out better performance year on year. Some swooping downtubes (now copied by almost everyone it seems) some years ago breathed new life into the classic conventional look. For 2008 Kona have really pulled out the stops and released the MAGIC link suspension design. Debuting on the awesome CoilAir (see pic above) the Magic link concept is quite "revolutionary" in that it the suspension self-adjusts according to rider or terrain inputs. It's takes quite a bit of explaining so I'll leave that for another time, suffice it to say that this is a major leap forward for Kona and interprative suspension design. We're hoping to get hold of some of these bikes toward the end of the year.

Of further interest to BikeHut is what GT and GIANT are up to according to some internet reports and leaked press releases. Rocky Mountain are laying low and are one of the few companies that almost stick to model years. If you think about it, it's absurd buying a 2008 model bike in the middle of 2007 (well almost). No other industry has this kind of approach. When did the motorbike or motor vehicle guys ever do this? I reckon it's daft and confusing when most of the time there's nothing more that a new lick of paint and restyled graphics from this year to the next.

No doubt you know that GIANT are Mr. Huge in the bicycle industry and their Meastro suspension bikes are good value and excellent performers so far, but there's always been a mismatch with the travel options they offered. GIANT seemed to ignore the fact that the 4" travel Trance range was screaming out for more travel, or at least another model with the same lightweight frame design. New for 2008 is just such a bike with a redesigned frame too, the Trance X - resulting in a weightloss and travel gain.

If you've been reading my blog you'll know that I reckon 5" travel is ideal for most riders around here. Provided that suspension design is efficient, a 5" bike can really do it all in SA. 6" travel bikes round these parts are mostly overkill, although the Reign bikes did a good job for all we sold too, especially if they wanted to push their boundries technically.

GT have long been in my bicycle stable from way back in my BMX days. The iDrive design is so underated in SA it's almost a shame. I rode various incarnations for a few years and even raced some Downhill for a time. For next season GT are relaunching the iDrive system as "Independent Drive" - dunno why but there you go. Marketing guys at work again and as asual changing a name when the system stays the same. Ah well - the new Sanction 6" travel bike is beautiful tho. That's not something you could really say about the previous years designs, apart from the Carbon iDrives that is. Interestingly there's two versions of the new 6" travel GT long-travel cross-country trail bike: one for light freeride and one for lightweight long travel. Guess which one I think's best for SA. Yup, the latter.

Seems like the big bike companies are really starting to finally pay attention to what the smaller guys are up too and what many riders are asking for - more travel and lighterweight chasis for genuine all-day all-terrain riding. Consider that Rocky Mountain had the Slayer for a few years now and Kona the Coiler/CoilAir since 2005. Things are looking good for trail riders!

The scent of a new season

2007-08-08T15:34:00.000+02:00

What a winter. Those few sunny, berg wind wonders definitely keep the mind hopeful of better riding conditions! Especially if you braved the mud in Stellenbosch over the weekend. I hear someone has put a price on Meurants head. As if he could possibly have planned the deluge that made some of the course more like a monster truck rally mud pit. Ah well it seems that it's just human nature to want to pin the blame on somebody! Afterall somebody put a gun to your head and made you ride didn't they?

The one thing I always liked about mountain biking was that it was fairly unpredictable. Even well ridden trails can be a complete contrast when wet or even ridden the other way round. Take your regular route and ride it in reverse. Not sitting backwards of course (that would be something special) but riding in the other direction. That trail will be like a new adventure. Same distance, same trail, different rush. All of a sudden riding can be fresh and invigorating. That's a pretty important thing to consider when drumming up the motivation to tear yourself away from the arm chair you've occupied all winter! Afterall, thinking of riding your local route for the umpteenth time can be pretty depressing.

Heading off to new trails can always be a great way to get yourself into the riding mood. It may even require a bit of training to get you prepared, but with the thought of new dirt to buzz always helps get the legs moving. So get planning - there's a long weekend coming up and there are trails to be ridden!

I've got my eye on some myself!

Rocky Mountain Photoshoot

2007-06-16T10:21:00.000+02:00

Jacques Marais is a wonder behind the lens and a longtime customer here at BikeHut. The last time we did a shoot together was when I opened the store in 2003 - a little something for Sports Illustrated. A finalist in RedBull's extreme sports photographer of the year, it's little wonder then that he'd be roped in to shoot for the South African Rocky Mountain ad campaign. He is afterall riding a Rocky Mountain ETSX70 himself. What's cool is that Rocky Mountain SA decided to use local riders to feature their series of bikes: Geddon Ruddock (ETSX), Mathius Beukes (Element), Justin Novella (RMX) and yours truely on the Slayer that I mentioned in a previous blog post. Man was I itching to ride that bike!

We're riding different bikes of course, showcasing the steeds from Rocky's stable of XC to DH rigs and everything in between. I had the enviable duty of showcasing the all-mountain trail category. I'm no XC whippet and having retired from DH racing a couple years back, I'm an average joe singletrack junkie with a penchant for what some would call "freeriding" or aggressive cross-country riding. Heck, this is mountain biking as I know it for as long as I can remember riding Tokai on a fully-rigid back in 89...

The weather was a bit dodgy - well ok - the weather was really dodgy, but as a puppet you gotta deliver the goods when Jacques shouts "one more time Steve, but can you..." while negotiating slippery rocks or steeps. Doing this kind of thing is quite the rush, we didn't fake any shots and chose lines that we'd ride to show off the bikes. The XC guys had it easy, but plonk yourself on a longer travel bike like the Slayer (which is 6") and Mr. Marais wants steeper, rockier, gnarlier action for his hungry lens. You can see why shooting a mountain bike movie requires exotic locations and big budgets.

I must say that the Slayer is one heck of a bike. It's got the looks and performance to boot. This is no poser bike - swing a leg over this and you're destined to blow your own mind. It's not often that you ride a bike and feel immediately at home. Like a comfortably fimiliar pair of "jeans pants" I had no problem seeking out lines and riding them first time on the Slayer. Bear in mind, there's no time to get used to a bike when you're called into duty like this. It's climb aboard and ride straight away - what the photographer wants he must get for that all important money shot. So, I was pretty relieved when the Slayer felt neutral and confidence inspiring in light of my recovering shoulder injury sustained last year. No matter how attractive the prospect of a possible cover shot I didn't want to sit the rest of this year out with another injury due to an over-eager ego. One big crash and it's "Good night Nurse!".

The Slayer 50 is an awesome all-rounder: it climbs well with it's customed tuned Fox RP23 rear shock and with the stiff-and-plush Marzocchi All Mountain 1 with ETA and TST upfront, with SRAM handling all the shifting duties one could easily adopt a bike like this for every kind of riding.

Legends of the Fall

2007-06-07T18:44:00.000+02:00

After three and half years we bid farewell to Ian who makes the fourth member of our team to fall foul of Cape Cycle Systems head hunting policy - I bet no one else can boast that feat. I'm kinda flattered by that in a way but at the same time I consider the personal investment (& otherwise) that I've made in many ways and I wonder in my quieter moments if it was all worth it. I don't like it when staff leave - I consider them far more than that. I guess I take these things too personally but then again I can't see myself being any other way. It's good to know that our skills are recognised elsewhere in the industry.

I once heard that the way you leave is the way you'll enter. Stickability seems to be a dying trait nowadays and I congratulate Ian on demonstrating that at least. I hope CSS get's the same kind of loyalty from him - RockShox could sure do with the help...

Without a beat Mike has stepped up to the plate - a great show of enthusiasm, willingness and intuition from our young mechanic whose training at Westlake College is proving that he's a thinking man with a maturing head on his young shoulders. (I hope CSS aren't reading my blog!)

BikeHut is a living organism - change is inevitable and there are great things on the horizon. I'm boyed by the move forward and I'm proud to say that BikeHut is becoming all that I planned it to be. Well, I have been working on it since 2003!

Taking it all Online

2007-05-08T11:44:00.000+02:00

Over the past few years we've spent a lot of time developing our online presence - and the returns show in the thousands of hits we get every month.

Everyday we get phone calls from all over the country from visitors browsing our shop catalogue online and often making purchases or seeking advice. It was inevitable then that we'd take things to the next level and launch an online shop where visitors can browse and purchase all from the comfort of their own desks. You only realise just how much stock you have in a bike store when you undertake such a task! It's been weeks of uploading editing and checking, but finally a fully finctional version of our webshop is up and running smoothly. Even though there's still more stuff to add...

What's motivated such a move? Well getting to your local bikeshop is not always convenient for the buyer. We have many customers who require something urgently but can't get out to us or their local shop - so logically we'd want to make it easy for them. That's why shopping on the web is so huge overseas - and it's getting stronger here too.

Sure we want to sell more stuff but we're not trying to put any local bikes shops out of business. We're adding a convenient aspect to cycle sales in SA. Maybe you can't get what we have at your local shop. Maybe you need it for this weekends ride and getting to a physical shop is not possible. Visit out webshop, select your goodies and enter your card details on our secure server (or print your order form and do a bank transfer) and we'll ship it out to you as soon as humanly possible.

There are of course restraints to getting stuff out overnight so if orders are in and paid for by 2pm we'll get it out that same day so long as the stuff's in stock. Some stuff will ship for FREE via tracked parcel post, but anything overnight will cost extra in most cases.

I'm pretty excited about this new aspect of BikeHut and we hope that it will serve the cycling community in SA well in the years to come. So buy local not from overseas vendors!

I love new bikes!

2007-04-23T15:45:00.000+02:00

Unpacking fresh bikes is like christmas around here - especially when they're the kind of bike you'd like to swing through some singletrack on! Like that spangly new Rocky Mountain Slayer 50 placed strategically right in front of you when you walk into the shop... I've been around to look at it from my office a couple of times since Ian assembled the beauty. Mmmm. That'd be fun in tokai this afternoon for sure. Actually any of those new Rocky Mountain bikes would be ace!

Anyhoo - Saturday I swung my leg over my new Intense Spider bike - which if you speak to me nicely is available to demo... I've ridden a couple of Jeff Steber's wonders but this is the closest I've come to saying this one's mine (which is weird cos as a bike shop owner I have a shop full...) but you know what I mean. After having a number of Spiders sold from under me I hope to hold onto this one long enough to feel like it's an extension of me on the trail. And it's got a lot to live up to considering my 5" travek Kona Coiler Limited Edition has been my steed of choice for the last couple of injury infested years! My Coiler is so custom specced with just the right bits that it's performance is just like I want it - getting a bike to that place of nirvana can be a journey of extreme satisfaction.

To keep myself injury free this year, and rebuild my dissappearing base fitness, I opted for a lightweight XC bike. The Spider is the king so here we go...

My first impressions are that this bike certainly doesn't feel like a 4" travel XC bike - it's got an awesome progressive feel to the suspension that it fools you into thinking there's more travel there than a paltry 4". But make no mistake - this is the best climbing bike I have ever ridden - hardtails included! I'm climbing out of my skin - and I love it! It's not nervous on tight singletrack or over rocks - quite stable and friendly for a performance oriented mountain bike.

I'm off to Tokai again this afternoon to satisfy the urge for more singletrack. Wowee - I'm like a kid with his latest toy!

STOLEN

2007-03-08T08:08:00.000+02:00

On Monday evening 5th March our storeroom was broken into and this beautiful Intense M3 downhill racing bike was stolen along with a number of other bikes. Please be on the lookout for this beauty - she's the only one of this colour and spec in the country. Don't be caught riding it...

So Far So Good

2007-02-16T08:15:00.000+02:00

What a move! After 2 weeks we're almost settled into our new home on Ou Kaapse Weg. There was no chance to slack off and we had customers from the word go. Thanks to all of you who've dropped by to either help or scope out the new showroom and workshop. We're finding a place for everything, and I just can't figure out how we managed in the last place!

It's great to have added a range such as GIANT to our eclectic mix of bicycle brands. There really is a very good choice at all levels now from hardtail to full-suspension and road bikes too. We're making sure that we've got the best for all budgets!

When I first opened BikeHut back in 2003 I had a strapline "All the best brands under one roof". Although I considered what we had in the store as the best available, we had primarily niche brands that your everyday rider was not necessarily familiar with. Now with a stalwart such as GIANT added to the mix, I can confidently use that phrase again.

BikeHut - All the best brands under one roof!

Please make a note of our new number 021.785.8558

On the move and In the House!

2007-02-01T20:19:00.000+02:00

The BikeHut is like a kid that's growing out of old shoes. You know what I mean. Kids go thru shoes so fast as they grow, I can't help but think that BikeHut goes thru shops in the same manner. Hopefully this time we've found a good fit for a long while!

Not too long ago (one year and six months) we moved into our third store in Tokai since opening in 2003, knowing that it was a big step forward but also, paradoxically, knowing that it was not big enough to begin with. Seems a strange move to make, but I was not ready to move BikeHut to another location. Although we took every shop that became available at the small centre we were in, I knew that another move was inevitable - the workshop was cramped, storage was at a premium and we needed to be able to put more bikes on the floor. Man do bikes take up space!

The new spot is on Ou Kaapse Weg in Sun Valley. We're converting a house into a showroom and we've got oodles of space for storage and the workshop. We're all pretty excited really. This is going to be a different kind of cycle business for sure.

I like the fact that we're on a major cycling route and near to some great peninsula mountain biking also. Only 10 minutes further south of where we were is no big deal, especially when you consider the awesome mountain pass you'll drive (or cycle) over to reach us. I'm going to miss seeing the views in either direction on the way to or from the shop in Tokai. The southern peninsula is truely spectacular.

I'm proud of what my red-headed step-child bike shop has done in the last four seasons. I always dreamed of owning a bike shop so it's great in many respects, but it is dang hard work raising this kid! I owe a lot to my staff and their hard work, particularly Ian whose been with me from the start. Please buy him a beer - he's really an awesome techie with a love of 5 inch trail bikes!

The new locaton will allow us to introduce some new great brands to our stable, namely GIANT and Scott. Plus we'll have great selection of Road, Mountain and BMX bikes on the floor due to the expanded showroom space. We've got loads up our sleeves so be sure to pop around often and grab a coffee with us.

I'll post shots of the new shop when we move in but here's what we're leaving behind. Farewell little shop in Tokai, Hello Bikehut in the Valley!

What's it for?

2007-01-06T09:00:00.000+02:00

When you drop by the BikeHut you'll see this interesting contraption sitting proudly out front. It's a Kona BikeHotRod. As you can see from the pic it's bound to attract attention, bemused looks and some head-scratching, just as it did at the Argus Cycle Tour Expo a couple years back when I introduced her to bewildered show goers. The BikeHotRod was a hit - people were queing up to have their photo's taken with her - like she was something out of a hollywood movie. Some immediately appreciate the unusual lines of the BikeHotRod, the grin giving away the imaginary ride going on inside their head, yet I'm always amazed at how many passers by ask "what's it for?".

I mean c'mon. It's a bicycle. See the wheels and the pedals. It's a dead give away really, it almost screams "BICYCLE". And bicycles are for riding. So that's just what I did this morning. Unlocked the shop and took her for a ride around an empty parking lot. What a rush. Feeling the three-speed click through the gears and the swoopy ride was a thrill. I'm sure it was an eye-opener to the breakfast goers at the next door Manuka cafe too.

C'mon grab your bike and go for a quick spin. Feel the thrill of it. Bicycles are just great for making you feel alive!

Four Christmas's of Give & Take

2006-11-12T07:24:00.000+02:00

BikeHut opened in the spring of 2003 - this is Christmas number four. It surprises me still that we meet new people everyday who've never heard of us. I suppose that's a good thing really as we're introducing more people to the bicycle and the joys of riding them - philosophically speaking. From the business perspective we're making new customers everyday. That's good for business. Not many can say that. (Telkom comes to mind). It's very encouraging of course when newcomers arrive having been referred by someone whose enjoyed their experience of shopping at the BikeHut. That means we're getting something right. Maybe not all the time but we're giving it out best shot and it's great to know that it's working.

Welcoming new people and making them loyal customers are certainly two different things. When someone walks in the door it's potentially the beginning of a relationship and like all good relationships requires reciprocity. If one gives and the other takes things just never work out. It's not a matter of "we take your money". You also get something in return. Hopefully a bike or some new kit. Afterall that's the way we make our living. The exchange of currency for a item or service is the crude nature of all business - not just bicycle shops.

Relationship is about give and take on both sides. Even in an environment like ours there are customers who've become friends and others we've never seen more than once. We love it when people come hangout to see what new goodies are in or just to shoot the breeze. Heck - we love that! How it all works out I certainly don't know, but one thing's for certain, bargain hunters don't make loyal customers. Don't use us to find out what bike suits you and then buy it somewhere else 'cos "they" gave you a discount. Think longterm - will the place you bought the bike from be a part of your future riding experience? We know you'll be back wanting us to take care of your new bike for you - which is a bit of a slap in the face and a kiss on the other cheek really. A paradox of business that we must unhappily live with. So next time you're around BikeHut way drop by and get to know us. It's going to be great!

Bend me, Break me

2006-09-17T06:24:00.000+02:00

Back in my BMX days in the eighties we rode just as hard as the guys today. We had trails with dirt jumps, kickers and dirt quarters, even hip jumps and transfers. Nothing new - just way more over the edge nowadays I guess. I digress - the point is we rode hard, raced hard and sometimes fell hard. We broke bars, frames, rims, cranks and ourselves.

Never once do I recall trying to get a warranty claim for any of that stuff. In fact I can't remember any of my riding buddies trying to warranty anything either. Maybe we were just ignorant or maybe we just accepted the responsibility that came with our riding. Imagine that - taking responsibility for the way we rode or (mis)treated our bikes.

Skip to the nineties and then we were riding mountain bikes, which were in no way as tough as BMX bikes, but then again neither were we. Trying to treat a mountain bike like a BMX bike has it's problems. Just take a look at the size of the thing - those wheels for instance, and the longer tubes. A mate of mine bought a new 'Dale and taco'd the rim so badly (all on video tape) that even the trees bent over in empathy!

I remember bending a set of chromoly forks dirt jumping in the early nineties. I took my bike to a local dealer in London with my first "I'm a grown up I don't bend stuff cos I've been riding all my life" approach. And while I didn't appreciate what the bloke said at first, he was right. "Maybe it's your technique" he suggested. The cheek! Anyway he was right - my one landing had been a bit too "front-end" and had bent the fork. It wasn't a manufacturing defect or even a workmanship issue, it was my fault. That landing sucked. Simple. I wasn't just riding along...

Fast forward to today and the warranty thing is almost out of hand. From racers to dirt jumpers to downhillers to freeriders - people are pushing the limit of mind, body and bicycle. But it seems to me that the attitude is that the responsibility for all of that is someone else's. Not in all cases but in most it seems. Now if a rider crashes into a tree almost putting themselves in hospital, the damage to the bike must be the responsibility of the manufacturer not the rider! You got to be kidding me.

Consequential damage is the fault of the rider. No-one made you crash or try dirt-jump your cross-country bike. No one put a gun to your head and said try that drop-off or enter that downhill race to see for yourself the thrill. Where's this going to end? Riders want cheaper, lighter stuff but want it all to be unbreakable with a lifetime warranty that covers all of the riders risk-taking or irresponsibility. That's just not realistic, let alone fair on the environment.

Warranties cover manufacturing defects and poor workmanship for the usable life of a bicycle or it's parts. Everything has a life. Everything can break. Everything wears out. Replacements cost money. Things don't last forever especially when they're used in a way they weren't designed to or face forces, weather, circumstances or the like
that place more than a reasonable stress on the equipment. I'm happy to help with true warranty claims like most industry-types. Just please consider your actions carefully and accept responsibility when the fault is your own.

Can I have a computer with that?

2006-07-20T06:23:00.000+02:00

Imagine walking into a restaurant, such as the Spur in Longbeach Mall, and ordering a meal with drinks then leaving... they'd be pretty PO'd. Especially the waiter and assistant manager. ;-)

You just wouldn't do it would you? Place an order, act all friendly and then make a duck while the cook and staff prepare your meal that you ordered.

It amazes me that people have the audacity to just this thing to a bicycle shop. It happens more than bicycles consumers would think ("I'll be back for the bike tomorrow/later" is a favourite). Staff spend time with the customer, paying attention to their budget, realistic riding needs and sizing - even test riding. The customer then makes a final choice, and requests some side-orders, such as a computer etc, to go along with the bicycle. The staff check the bike over, or build it up (sometimes even ordering it in especially), and add the condiments ordered - job done.

"I'm just going to draw the cash at the bank" was the latest lying exit a "customer" made. I appreciate that people change their minds, but if some customers have called before to say so then why is it too much to ask that people be honest with shop staff - this is how many make their living - getting a commission on what they sell in most cases. They go to a great deal of effort for people such as this only to be left having been freshly deceived and out of pocket. That sucks in anybodies books.

I wonder if they'd like that done do them - hey that gives me an idea. Does the Spur do take away orders?

Inclusivity vs Exclusivity

2006-07-12T06:22:00.000+02:00

I like downhilling. Freeriding too. You know, riding the technical trails that are 100% descent without ascent. That's what I enjoy - almost as much as I enjoy singletrack. Which I enjoy more than anything else in mountain biking. The fast swooping kind with banked turns that leave you weightless for a moment before your suspension rockets you out of the spirited carve. Singletrack. The kind without an abundance of hairpin corners that require too much braking forces to keep you
from roosting over the corner and into a long, tall pine.

Singletrack is inclusive - super technical riding is not. I mean freeriding video's are great to watch, but I'm passed trying that stuff out. A broken leg or back could cost me my business - you know what insurance companies can be like when you make a claim. But that's me. The thing is I reckon it's most people.

Hucking big drops is not the future of mountain biking. It's too exclusive. Most people look at that stuff and say "cool, but it's not for me", then they retire to the sofa to watch rugby and don't go ride their bikes. It can stoke them but also demotivate them. Especially the Playstation generation - doing dirt jumping or mountain biking sounds too much like hard work. To dial a trick takes loads of commitment and practise. Matt Hoffman BMX is easier on the games console - and, hey, they can actually pull a 360 there - even if it's not for real.

Mountain biking is, and should be all about getting out there with your mates and riding. Inclusivity. Doing drops can provide the same buzz and comraderie for sure, but it only caters for a select few. A valid segment of the sport but not entirely encompassing. Spectacular but no less so than a swooping a switchback or cleaning a rock section like you floated over it. For me mountain biking is about Singletrack. Everybody can ride it. Speed adds difficulty. The challenge, like pulling a 360 over a set of doubles, is making it flow. Easy on the brakes, trusting the suspension, positioning the body and feeling the bite of the tyres as you whizz along. Singletrack.

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"The Easyrider" Trail
We currently ride as much singletrack as we can every saturday afternoon in Tokai after we close shop. Hopefully we do that at 2pm and get riding soon after. There's no need for speed or Lance Armstrong lungs. Because of time restraints we try to avoid doing too much climbing, which is one of the numbing things about riding in Tokai. 45 minutes up then 5 minutes down is not quality time in the saddle in winter. If you want to ride up then meet us at the top - some riders do. Some cheat a little and shuttle to the top of Silvermine from Bike Hut. Then we ride, mostly downwards and land up back the shop exhausted but thirilled by as much singletrack as we can muster in 2 hours or so. Do join us with your mountain bike and wildcard. Call 021-7011558 for details about the "easyrider".

Who said that!

2006-03-14T07:22:00.000+02:00

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

Too sharp for our own good?

2006-02-23T07:18:00.000+02:00

The bicycle industry isn't exactly on the cutting edge of technology, so a blog for the staff of a bicycle shop is pretty out there. We don't even know who'll read this blog. Maybe it will be more of a therapy for us. Who knows? I reckon we'll have good time tho', and maybe make some people wonder if bike shop staff are as boring as they think - maybe change a few perceptions or provoke a riot. Who knows really? Imagine a bike shop with a blog... whoa!

You know the drill - "surely those guys who work on bikes all day don't have much of a brain... I mean how hard can it be working in a bike shop?" or "hey - you guys have the best job in the world - you get to ride all the time. When I've left school/retired/got fired/can't get a decent job/finally recognise my calling (delete where applicable) I'm gonna work in a bike shop too". Well...erm.

So we have a blog. Cool. Prepare to be amazed, confused, angered, and - well - entertained we suppose.