Mutter Mutter

Kieran_Burns

In my LBS yesterday waiting to be served and the guy in front of me asks for some help.

Conversation goes something like:
"Hi. I want to start cycling to work"
"Okay, Sir. What kind of bike were you thinking of?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything about modern bikes"
"Ah. would you like a Hybrid or MTB?"


MUUUAAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Not:
How far do you cycle?
What's the route like?
What experience do you have?
These are the options, let me show you examples of each


muttermuttermutter

CiB

You really should have stepped in and offered some good - or better - advice. I'm not welcome in PC World for similar reasons.

AyrshireBacon

Good advice in this case may have been "find a better LBS"

Salsamander

I went back home recently to see my family and I have clearly been spoiled by my LBS, I found that the people in the bikes shops there didn't like steel, didn't have a single road bike, or any singlespeeds for that matter

UndercoverElephant

Customer: "I know nothing about bikes!"
Shopkeeper: "You'll be wanting a MTB or hybrid then, Sir."

Sounds about right to me. :P

rjsterry

Salsamander wrote:

I went back home recently to see my family and I have clearly been spoiled by my LBS, I found that the people in the bikes shops there didn't like steel, didn't have a single road bike, or any singlespeeds for that matter

You sure you were actually in an LBS as opposed to a shop with some bikes in it.

lost_in_thought

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Customer: "I know nothing about bikes!"
Shopkeeper: "You'll be wanting a MTB or hybrid then, Sir."

Sounds about right to me. :P

Have a heart, people who do know about bikes wouldn't buy a hybrid, or an MTB for a road commute.

The poor LBS has to shift them somehow...

:P

daviesee

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Conversation goes something like:
"Hi. I want to start cycling to work"
"Okay, Sir. What kind of bike were you thinking of?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything about modern bikes"
"Ah. How much money can I make off this muppet?"

Translation added :twisted:

CiB

daviesee wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Conversation goes something like:
"Hi. I want to start cycling to work"
"Okay, Sir. What kind of bike were you thinking of?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything about modern bikes"
"Ah. How much money can I make off this muppet?"

Translation added :twisted:

How much? Twice as much as he could have, potentially. First they sell you the bike you didn't know you didn't want, then in a few months when you've got the idea you come back and buy the bike you should have bought in the first place. Two sales instead of one. Ker-chingggg.

Stevo_666

Maybe he's a vengeful MTB'er who has read this forum, where anyone buying anything other than a drop barred road bike for commuting will be hung drawn and quartered :P

Kieran_Burns

It was actually Samways on Ashbourne Rd in Derby - there are some good assistants in there and people that DO know their stuff, but then there are clearly muppets working there as well... <sigh>

Clarion

Crikey! Samways still there? :shock:

They always seemed on the verge of failure due to lack of will to live.

The only bike shop I liked in Central Derby (as opposed to Mercian, which is trying to be in Nottingham) was the one on Abbey St. All dark & mysterious, with skinny steel bikes hanging from the ceiling.

They went out of business, of course...

suzyb

CiB wrote:

daviesee wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Conversation goes something like:
"Hi. I want to start cycling to work"
"Okay, Sir. What kind of bike were you thinking of?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything about modern bikes"
"Ah. How much money can I make off this muppet?"

Translation added :twisted:

How much? Twice as much as he could have, potentially. First they sell you the bike you didn't know you didn't want, then in a few months when you've got the idea you come back and buy the bike you should have bought in the first place. Two sales instead of one. Ker-chingggg.

Know that feeling :oops:

Except by the time I decided to get rid of the hybrid and get a road bike the shop had closed down. So they couldn't have been that good at it.

Salsamander

rjsterry wrote:

Salsamander wrote:

I went back home recently to see my family and I have clearly been spoiled by my LBS, I found that the people in the bikes shops there didn't like steel, didn't have a single road bike, or any singlespeeds for that matter

You sure you were actually in an LBS as opposed to a shop with some bikes in it.

Sadly yeah, the only proper bike shop in my mums town. the other one is a car place which also does bikes. the shop I spoke to had cytech grade three mechanics. odd i guess

Kieran_Burns

Clarion wrote:

Crikey! Samways still there? :shock:

They always seemed on the verge of failure due to lack of will to live.

The only bike shop I liked in Central Derby (as opposed to Mercian, which is trying to be in Nottingham) was the one on Abbey St. All dark & mysterious, with skinny steel bikes hanging from the ceiling.

They went out of business, of course...

You don't mean this one on Monk St do you? These guys are proper enthusiasts but never seem to have the stock in.

Clarion

Crikey no. Predates that a bit. Closed in about 1980. The sort of shop where the owner (who was, in all probability, one time a top rider) wore a brown coat, and kept odd screws & brackets in a chest of drawers...

Used to be next door/couple of doors down from the socialist bookshop. Looks like both have been knocked down now.

cyclopsbiker

lost_in_thought wrote:

Have a heart, people who do know about bikes wouldn't buy a hybrid, or an MTB for a road commute.

:P

and what is wrong with a MTB for commuting?
I know about bikes and yet I commute every day to work on a MTB.
It's great. I get to scalp roadies who are asleep. and taxis. and buses.
and I get a whole lot fitter for it too

Clarion

Call it resistance training

plowmar

+1 cyclopsbiker, but I only have a couple of miles to commute but with some tight turns in it which couldn't be taken on a road bike, and yes Clarion it does make you work harder especially when you only use top gear, :oops: sorry for swearing.

chuckcork

cyclopsbiker wrote:

and what is wrong with a MTB for commuting?

Everything.

Great big chunky tyres (ones I see usually half flat) and nice'n'bouncy suspension so all energy that could have gone into moving forward is absorbed by the bike itself. Upright riding position with wide bars, just perfect for nipping through the traffc and taking out wing mirrors, also great for stearing if you want to do so one handed and wobbled all over the road.

And fine if you want to go nowhere fast but at 18.5 miles each way my ride to work takes long enough already!

Sorry, slightly prejudiced, might have something to do with never being overtaken by a MTB, unless I've stopped for a red and numpty mountain biker has decided not to.

cyclopsbiker

chuckcork wrote:

cyclopsbiker wrote:

and what is wrong with a MTB for commuting?

Everything.

Great big chunky tyres (ones I see usually half flat) and nice'n'bouncy suspension so all energy that could have gone into moving forward is absorbed by the bike itself. Upright riding position with wide bars, just perfect for nipping through the traffc and taking out wing mirrors, also great for stearing if you want to do so one handed and wobbled all over the road.

And fine if you want to go nowhere fast but at 18.5 miles each way my ride to work takes long enough already!

Sorry, slightly prejudiced, might have something to do with never being overtaken by a MTB, unless I've stopped for a red and numpty mountain biker has decided not to.

I ride with slicks on. but what doe the type of tyre I use matter to anyone but me?
my tyres are pumped up to the correct pressure. yes. I do ride a MTB. but I do know how to put air into my tyres with a pump.
yes, I have front suspension. It saves me from the shock of the 1000s of pot holes I go over every day. that's no sign of me not knowing how to avoid them, its just a fact that riding in London means you're gonna go over a lot of pot holes.
upright riding - each to their own. MY choice.
I think that's it really - its MY choice to ride whatever bike I like. Not yours.
so my bars are wider than yours. so what. even if I had narrow bars I still wouldn't squeeze through traffic putting my life in danger. not to say you do ride dangerously. its just MY choice to ride the way I like. I have never hit a vehicles wing mirrors or any other part of one because I have good balance and ride well.

and finally, YES, I stop at ALL red lights. I too get annoyed by other cyclists (regardless of their bike type) when they RLJ. I don't do it. I see plenty of road bikes, mountain bikes, bikes with shopping baskets and all sorts of bikes RLJing. it's stupid. and dangerous.

I find your generalisations and prejudice quite annoying really.
Everything is right for me on my bike, on my commute for me. don't make assumptions for others.

@Clarion - resistance training is great. I might actually go back to knobbly tyres at some point soon just to make it a bit harder

Cafewanda

cyclopsbiker, breathe hun. Don't take it so seriously :shock:

I ride a hybrid and love it 8) I get (or used to) teased about it mercilessly and had to get a pitchfork but that proved useless once some of the BR crew met me (I'm 4'11) so once they stopped laughing, it was all good

Point is, we all going to get teased about something on here. Very rarely does it get bad, but I'm happy to lend you my pitchfork :twisted:

cyclopsbiker

I'm breathing, don't worry. though thanks for the concern Cafewanda.
I don't usually get annoyed, but the lack of winks or smiley faces got to me
I actually don't care what other people think about me

hey, are you still heading over to the QE occasionally? did you try going through Greenwich Park?

Cafewanda

Hey CB.

I've put away the pitchfork but you know where it is if you ever need it

Not had to head over to QE as the sick has been released, but now that I've signed up for the cycle challenge I'm thinking of meandering over that side for the mileage and going down Blackheath Hill :roll:

It might help improve my mapreading skills which are dire :oops: (probably not though)

cyclopsbiker

glad the sick are getting better.

whats the challenge you're doing?
If you need a guide to show you the hills of Greenwich sometime just give me a shout...I might not be quick up them but I know them pretty well

daviesee

plowmar wrote:

+1 cyclopsbiker, but I only have a couple of miles to commute but with some tight turns in it which couldn't be taken on a road bike, and yes Clarion it does make you work harder especially when you only use top gear, :oops: sorry for swearing.

Just curious, what type of turn can be made on a mtb and not a road bike? :?

ride_whenever

off camber gravelled drifting turns? :twisted:

ones in the air, all standard fair for urban assault commuting.

daviesee

ride_whenever wrote:

off camber gravelled drifting turns? :twisted:

ones in the air, all standard fair for urban assault commuting.

If I had an old hack of a bike I would give it a go as I did that and more as a nipper.
As I now have a Colnago, I will give you that one 8)

wgwarburton

cyclopsbiker wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

cyclopsbiker wrote:

and what is wrong with a MTB for commuting?

...Everything. ...

I ride with slicks on. but what doe the type of tyre I use matter to anyone but me?
....I find your generalisations and prejudice quite annoying really.
Everything is right for me on my bike, on my commute for me. don't make assumptions for others.
...

Bit sensitive about this, perhaps?

An MTB is designed for riding off-road. A road bike (not necessarily a race-bike) is designed for use on-road. Most commuting is done on roads, or surfaced pathways of broadly similar quality.

It makes sense, therefore, for a "road bike" to be the first choice for commuting. There are corner-cases where an MTB is the better choice but, in general, a bike designed for road use is a better option than one designed for off-road use.

Why then, when someone walks into a bike shop, would it be assumed that an MTB or hybrid would suit their needs better? Both are likely to be overengineered, and hence heavier than necessary, for the job and neither is generally set up to make riding at a pace appropriate to road use comfortable.
An inexperienced cyclist might suggest they would prefer flat-bars... Fair enough- the salesperson should point out the advantages of a drop-bar bike for their needs and then offer them a flat-bar road bike as an alternative, if that's their preference.

But hey, just my view... don't take it personally!!

Cheers,
W.
PS Many commuting bikes are "BSO"s, these are designed to be sold at a low price point, not to be ridden, so in a sense they don't count.

tailwindhome

Using an MTB to commute on roads is like using a 4x4 to do the school run.

Impractical
Heavy
Inefficient
Not designed for the purpose
Ridculously overengineered




But fun nevertheless.


(I miss my Specialized Hardrock, it was a lovely bike)

beverick

Are you sure it was an LBS and you hadn't wandered inadvertantly into H@lfords (sorry for swearing) or Evans?

Bob