Big_papa_nuts

14 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I would guess that their challenge is the the amount of expansion that they did, and then the pandemic came down. 

My store (Guadalupe) really should not have happened, downtown is too close and even Research would be close for me. Parmer made sense and Hill Country made sense (though I was never in that store.) Basically they were over-represented in Austin. My guess is that there were some higher operating costs and that the Guadalupe/Research stores probably didn't drive the volume that they needed. For their larger stores, it becomes more about revenue per square foot and I do not have a feel for them.

Ultimately, having big stores with a local footprint when a pandemic hits is a recipe for major cash crunch. Tried to buy a helmet at the Parmer store a couple months back. Had to stand outside and an employee went inside to bring things out. Gave up and went to Peddler and even though I was inside (masked) the whole process took less than 10 minutes. It's tough.

Over the years BSS has gotten business from me, 2 bikes, lots of service. Some people knock them, but let's be honest, they we a net positive for the Austin biking community and I wish them well.  In a world where too many businesses focus only on the bottom line, they were unique, they tried different things. But this business environment just isn't conducive to a lot of businesses.

I actually had some back and forth with a BSS employee about a year ago and she gave me some intel, that she probably should have, about them shrinking the Guad store to service and pick up only. That actually makes a lot of sense in that location. Not sure what Trek will do though.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/retail-news/2020/12/18/hill-abell-it-was-just-right-opportunity#.X97EvM1MEqm

Apparently BSS wasn't doing as good as I would have assumed (through I never go in there so I wouldn't actually know). 

9 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

If BSS Research goes away, then I essentially will have no LBS.  Buck's Bikes, Music City Cycles, Hammerhead, and Nelo's are dead.   I will not drive up to Parmer location for a quick trip.  If I do I may as well hit Peddlers since they have been so influential in trail/feature building.  I used to do a group ride out of AJ's years ago.  Are they still around?

I already didn't like the limited selection of non-Bontrager/non-Specialized stuff.

For those that have been to Trek stores, do they carry Maxxis/Continental or other tire brands?

They have a list of brands they are allowed to stock. Last Trek shop I was in had as many Maxxis tires as Bontrager.

9 hours ago, Barry said:

I saw the SuperStore in El Paso. It was massive. They have a west and an east side store.

From the El Paso Trek Twitter:

That store isn't actually that big. They have a lot of storage in the back but are probably about the same size as MJ's.

There are a bunch of options on the market that will allow this. SRAM EX1, Microshift Advent and Advent X, Box Prime 9, SENSAH, ETC. Go, buy, do.

3 hours ago, TAF said:

Paid for by whom? There’s a good chance you’ll lose em, if they are spotted by our vandal.

https://www.fieldandstreamshop.com/p/stealth-wildview-trail-camera-12mp-20wviuwv1212mprxxtch/20wviuwv1212mprxxtch?camp=SEM:FNS_92700040565754029_nonbrand_pla-562973300528&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwf39BRCCARIsALXWETx2nUyXuwjeflddoLI_8DudiiKk5BqjIjfRm21aCFGRG9spBYcnur8aAqwUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I actually proposed just taking up a collection at C&D a few years back to give to Karl so he could get a cheap camera to investigate some troubles on another trail at the time.

I'd also invest in some metal zip ties, or such, to keep it somewhat secure. 

13 hours ago, TheX said:

Well, went to Velorangutan today and Wes hooked me up with a GREAT deal on the PNW Cascade for the Kona. Wait, he's @xl_cheese here I think.

Thanks Wes! Always a pleasure. I was a long time shopper at Motorangutan, and was glad he was into bike sales also.

Did he give you a discount based on the number of hikers you ran off the trail?

I kid, I kid.

1 hour ago, TheX said:

Would love to play around with a dropper on the Kona in its current config. Would have to be 100% external cable routing. I found a Private Jake online where the owner had DRILLED HOLES in the frame to internally route them. No thanks.

 

If it's got traditional rivnuts for cage mounts you can just remove the lower one and snake the cable through there. It can also be replaced pretty easily if you ever want to go back.

8 hours ago, WLemke said:

My friend just got his hands on a Ripmo AF. He brought it over to my place wanting me to give it an inspection to make sure everything was built correctly. In my head I’m thinking, “dude. I think a bike shop knows how to set up a bike”, but I said “sure, I’ll look it over”. 

Thw Bike Shop business model is pretty broken, for a lot of reasons, so I'm not surprised. 

Take the tubes to REI. They send them to Alchemy to make bag out of.

There was a Cedar Park City council member that made the news by saying something about how bikes don't deserve to be on the roads. Can't find it currently, but if I could I'd vote that prick out. I will also say the Mel Kirkland came by the shop after it happened to apologize on the council's behalf, so he seems cool.

Anyone have some of the Specialized Body Geometry Contour grips I can try? 

I did a quick estimate recently on what it costs per year to properly maintain a dual suspension MTB, that gets ridden regularly, per year and it's somewhere near $2k (if your taking it to a shop).

That was enough for me, someone that owns four MTBs, to quit looking at the numbers.

On 9/17/2020 at 5:43 PM, hurronnicane said:

Does anyone have a favorite campsite in or near Sedona?   Our group will include tents, vans and truck campers.  We won’t all have 4wd either...

Leave town on 89a going west, in about 10 miles take a right on FR525, stay right at the fork and then just drive in a few miles and find a empty lot. It's all BLM land out there so no services, but it's also free and beautiful.

I've ridden it. Felt like an enduro bike.

My favorite trails in the country actually. There's all kinds of great riding that's assessable from the campground at the state park, just to the southwest, or check out the Puzzler race loop if you're on the east side of the mountain.

24 minutes ago, WLemke said:

Internals looked fine and wasn’t really dirty at all. Gave the system a bleed and the issue persisted. 
 

found our from the guy who owns this bike that the lever is less than a year old. He is having it warrantied. 

I'd be interested to know if genuine Shimano brake fluid was always used in the system. According to Shimano other's "compatible" fluid can lead to system failures, but the internet insists "it'll be fine".

21 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Just to save WLemke some trouble, master cylinder assemblies for Shimano levers are not available unless you want to take a chance on some weird AliExpress bits. You have to replace the whole lever if that is the case. I've tried.

(Looks like you figured that out though.)

 

His brakes look to be 501s. If this is correct the part number for the master cylinder/lever assembly would be EBLMT501RL, UPC 689228686588, with a retail of $50 or less. 

I didn't look as far as just the lever blade but those are available for most modern Shimano hydro brakes.

If you pull it quick and hold will it pull all the way to the bar? I'd guess that fluid is bypassing the piston in the master cylinder. I'd plan to replace the master cylinder/lever assembly.

https://www.jbi.bike/site/product_details.php?part_number=66384

Available at your lbs.

I thought Lancey Pants wasn't connected to MJ's anymore. Well now I have a reason not to shop there.

3 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

I wear a cycling cap under my helmet with the peak pointed backwards. the front of my helmet has a visor on it, so the cap pointed back helps a little with keeping the sun off my neck, but not much. if you try this, be sure to get a cap that has a "smooth" elastic headband all the way around and not a bunched-up elastic at the back, or the bunchy part will leave some heinous grooves on your forehead.

I would buy a cycling cap/desert hat hybrid in a heartbeat.

40cm wide Bontrager RL ISOzone road bars.

37 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Shimano is a weird company. They say they use mineral oil because it's better for the environment, but when the seals in your hydraulic brakes don't do their job anymore, you're supposed to throw the whole system in the trash. They don't sell master cylinder parts or piston seals. I'm not that surprised but still disappointed.

Or you could recycle all the metal.

8 hours ago, The Tip said:

It all sounds like a good idea, but does it work in real life?

It would be great to have a doctorate of psychology on staff to diffuse domestic violence situations. But when my angry wife has a knife to my throat and I have Alexa dial the police, I don't want them saying, "Our staff psychologist will be out Tuesday to help you."

So maybe more funding is needed to cross train the police on the streets. Those police that are already in patrol cars that can respond to calls about anything in short order. Not by Tuesday.

In that situation you would still just call the police and they would respond pretty much like they would now. But if the systems where in place your partner may have gotten the help to deal with things before they got out of hand, or would be able to receive that help now rather then simply being locked up (or killed for being upset).

4 hours ago, Jackie said:

I’ve got a problem with you throwing all cops into the corrupt agency pool. How many LE people do you know? How many stories have you heard first hand about the way the public abuses them? What have your experiences been with LE? How do you feel when people put all mountain bikers in the dope smoking, reckless riding, rude category? I’m married to someone in LE. Another recently lived with us. Needless to say, we have many friends in LE and I’m gonna tell you that these are good people that went into law enforcement for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. We’re fucked without law enforcement. Prove me wrong. 

I also have family in LE and as a BMX rider have A LOT of experience with others while on the job and I can say definitely, echoing other comments from this thread, that they are just people. Some good some bad.

I will also repeat, no reasonable person wants to completely get rid of the cops. But I think everyone can agree that there is probably a better system then we have now.

A lot of ultra endurance adventure types will actually carry dental floss to remove goopy mud from tight areas.