Anyone have anything they'd like to rant about?

[climberevan]

They had to cut costs in order to maximize profits on their upcoming e-bike launch.

One of the things I like(d) best about Ibis is that they didn't make a moped.

So my rant is that they didn't hold the line. I guess I'll have to find another DW link bike made by a company that only makes bicycles to replace the Ripley.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>

And tailgate pads. Good way to scratch your bike and your truck, at the same time.

[singlesline]

The Ibis dealer in Missoula is closed BOTH Saturday and Sunday. That's even weirder.

Might be part of why I see few Ibis bikes in Whitefish...I wanted to test ride a Ripmo AF for a year before I found a way to be there when that damn shop is open (spoiler alert: they didn't get my money). There's a dealer a similar distance away in Fernie (open Sat AND Sun!!!), but at the time the Ibis CAD pricing + BC sales tax was not favorable.

[Roxtar]

And tailgate pads. Good way to scratch your bike and your truck, at the same time.

Agree with all except this. I've never scratched either my bike or my truck with mine. To me, it's basically a bike rack I never have to remove.

[toast2266]

I'm sure there's something we're missing given that it is a common phenomena. Maybe there really isn't that much Sunday business? If the owners have kids, better to be in sync with school schedules--or the devout want to go to church--but they can't find some of their 23 year old workers to open the place up Sunday morning in exchange for extra midweek days off?

Traditionally shops were closed on Sunday because Sunday is race day. I want to say that trend started in the moto world and then extended into the bike world.

Of course these days, most shops aren't going racing on Sundays, and a lot of the races are on Saturdays. But tradition lives on.

[singlesline]

Traditionally shops were closed on Sunday because Sunday is race day. I want to say that trend started in the moto world and then extended into the bike world.

Of course these days, most shops aren't going racing on Sundays, and a lot of the races are on Saturdays. But tradition lives on.

That makes a lot of sense (and I'll also take the Sabbath explanation for SLC--Mormon's aren't supposed to work or shop on Sunday and I can see them being more adherent than most other groups).

When I was racing midwestern CX 10 years ago races were Sunday and attending Sunday races was sometimes referred to as "going to church" ...although many larger shops had shifted to opening all weekend/closing on a weekday.

[Roxtar]

It all depends on the situation. We closed on Sundays because we live in a weird town that empties out on the weekends as everyone travels.
Our downtown area is a ghost town on Sundays.

[El Chupacabra]

My bike has gotten scratched from transport on others tailgate pads. I don't see how you can avoid that - the downtube and fork leg touch the pad. Any dust at all, and there's inevitably movement between the bike and the pad, so chafing= scratches.

I also don't see how you can strap a pad to a tailgate and expect nothing to get in between the pad and tailgate. Any dirt road use at all, and dust is going to get in there.

[nickwm21]

Many bike shops in SLC are open 10-6 and closed on Sundays. It’s like they don’t want to make money.

Not just bike shops… so many brick and mortar service type businesses are only open when their customers are at work. Boggles my mind. Wage workers literally have to take time off / pause earning money to visit the business…

My rant?
MTBers constantly choosing fashion over form, aka, fads.

MTB “fashion” in general is pretty ugly and stupid. MTB brands were pushing baggy shorts until recently, 5-10 years after that fad went away for casual clothes, and baggy shorts are not workwise on the bike. MTB apparel colors are pretty horrendous as well.

More idiotic trends are the fanny pack….
….
And tailgate pads. Good way to scratch your bike and your truck, at the same time.

IMHO - Fanny packs are pretty ideal for the MTB. Allows you to carry repair essentials, small snack, and an extra water bottle - perfect amount for up to a 4hr ride…

Tailgate pads work well enough that I see the appeal…



Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[singlesline]

My bike has gotten scratched from transport on others tailgate pads. I don't see how you can avoid that - the downtube and fork leg touch the pad. Any dust at all, and there's inevitably movement between the bike and the pad, so chafing= scratches.

I also don't see how you can strap a pad to a tailgate and expect nothing to get in between the pad and tailgate. Any dirt road use at all, and dust is going to get in there.

Some people don't have a detailer's eye for scratches...it is only a scratch if it is big and deep. Because yeah, anything that makes contact with paint (and then bumps around driving for any distance) is going to start causing fine scratches and marring of the paint.

I suppose you can put some protective film on the bike's contact areas and just not worry about the tailgate. If you put the pad on clean and leave it there forever you'll get marking on the paint...but it should only be clearcoat marring that will buff out if you are just worried about it looking nice for resale.

Of course if the dirty wheels contact your bumper below the pad, that's also going to wear the paint and plastic (and while the plastic is less fragile than paint...you can't buff it out later).

Also gotta be real careful about pedals when putting a bunch of bikes on there...an errant platform pedal bouncing around can chew the the hell out of a downtube.

[Andeh]

My rant?
MTBers constantly choosing fashion over form, aka, fads.
...

- Not wearing gloves; apparently, that whole "connection to the bars" thing is overrated. Besides, who sweats while riding?

-Riding in jeans. Too stupid for discussion. Again, who sweats while riding?

-My third and primary one is platform pedals. ...

While I agree on the first 2 points, I'd counter rant against the clip-in riders thinking that the only way to be a good rider is riding clips.

Most people don't race, and don't need the extra bit of efficiency climbing. Most people aren't going full send through gnarly rock gardens at 30 mph where clips help just staying on their bike. Most people can't afford to be on crutches for several weeks because they had a 1% odds mistake in a technical section, and twisted their knee or ankle. This even happens to pros now and then - Yoann Barelli's EWS career ended when he blew out his knee falling on a janky low speed feature and couldn't unclip. Saying that people have to ride clips because that's what all the elite riders do is as dumb as saying that you shouldn't wear gloves because elite riders don't. It's perfectly reasonable for people to make their own risk/reward calculation and ride flats to save their knees just like they wear gloves to save their palms.

In your own words <blank pedal choice>, "It's simply a different, unnecessary, skill-set (not a bad thing)."

[Dee Hubbs]

QBP Stock levels...
The supply chain is not back to normal yet.
My email blew up today for the item watch list. These are all items that I'm waiting on, and have been out of stock for over 90 days. I couldn't zoom out my email to get the the whole list.

And still no SRAM 12s chains to be had....

[XXX-er]

Anybody noticing employee turnover in bike stores, a great resignation for mo money ?

It got to be hard to staff a store

[teledad]

Trying to get a part for a Mavic wheelset (rear boost adapter). Crawled through the Mavic tech specs and managed to find the part number. Went to order and found:
- Mavic seems to no longer have distribution or dealers in the US.
- Found a few online shops in UK/Europe that have the part but won't ship to the US due to the above.
- Found a website (mavicbikeparts.com) that says they have the part and can ship to a US address. But although having Mavic graphics and a legit SSL certificate they don't seem to have any connection to Mavic and generally look sketchy as fuck. (E.g. the "Contact Us" page lists a street address in Las Vegas but no phone and the address matches that of a Walmart.)

[Eluder]

I can't believe how many 9-5ers bitch that they have to take a break from their boring day as cogs in the machine to buy bike parts (which they won't pay retail for anyway). I mean yeah fuck those service industry folks, fuck them for wanting to hang with their friends and family. Just hire some young dumb kids that don't have to care about hanging with friends or family but somehow are master techs and super knowledgeable about the exact thing I am interested in.