Slog - Comments on A Bike Store Survey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey Photo by cloverity in the flickr pool. You don't need the New York Times--or any of a hundred small-town newspapers that have run likewise stories--to tell you that cars are out/bikes are in. Not if you work above a bike shop. There is seemingly a new bike in the window at Velo, the bike shop below The Stranger's offices, every day. The other day there was nothing in the window--and they weren't just faking people out. "We're selling 13 or 15 bikes a day on weekends," says Velo sales associate Annie Gillberg. "Our mechanics are having trouble keeping the... Copyright 2008 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:13:10 -0800 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:19:19 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Cato the Younger Younger Christopher actually still works at the Sranger? I thought he went the way of Josh?

]]> Cato the Younger Younger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087006 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087006 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:12:58 -0800 Comment by biker Yeah, I called Velo a week ago and they said it'd be 2 weeks for a tune-up. REI said 3 weeks...

The REI guy told me that 3-4 months of the year it's slammed. The other 8 months of the year you can pick up your bike next-day.

]]> biker http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087024 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087024 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:18:27 -0800 Comment by danielbennettkieneker Quick... it's a bird, it's a plan, it's a sattelite tracking prog for surveillance netties and little jacl hornres in a barn stormy floosie mookie mortal...

GAWD THEY NEED MORE MUSIC TO LISTEN TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..................................

]]> danielbennettkieneker http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087026 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087026 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:19:18 -0800 Comment by Matt from Denver For god's sake, people, tuning up a bike isn't hard. Get a book or look it up online.

]]> Matt from Denver http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087041 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087041 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:26:32 -0800 Comment by Non LOL @ when the rains return

]]> Non http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087042 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087042 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:27:09 -0800 Comment by Sir Learnsalot Best time to do any bike spending is during the winter. Especially right before they release new models or gruppos. Thus ends my obvious tip.

]]> Sir Learnsalot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087052 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087052 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:31:22 -0800 Comment by Jakub @6- I dont know what a gruppo is but it sounds either delicious or evil.

]]> Jakub http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087069 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087069 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:37:50 -0800 Comment by Lobot The wait is slightly shorter at the Redmond bike shops I called. Not sure if that goes for all of the Eastside or what. If you find yourself in the uncharted wilds of Redmond though, you should only have to wait about a week to get your bike tuned up.

@4 Matt from Denver, do you have any suggestions on a particular book to use?

]]> Lobot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087071 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087071 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:38:03 -0800 Comment by Reality Check We'll see how gung ho all these "new" riders are once the rainy season sets in now.

Sure it is all trendy and eco hip when the sun is shining. Revisit the story again in 3 months and see how many people find a way to crawl back into their nice warm and cozy vehicles.

It is just another temporary fad for people with more money than brains

]]> Reality Check http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087072 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087072 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:38:08 -0800 Comment by DOUG. The revolution starts now.

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087085 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087085 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:44:22 -0800 Comment by Sir Learnsalot Gruppo: A delicious pastry made of manflesh...

Or, a group mechanical parts for a bike (shifters, derailleurs etc)

]]> Sir Learnsalot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087086 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087086 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:45:51 -0800 Comment by Liked It Better When Biking Wasn't Hip @11: But you only call it a "gruppo" if you're a poseur spandex-wearing roadie-pussy...

]]> Liked It Better When Biking Wasn't Hip http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087102 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087102 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:51:05 -0800 Comment by meanie whats with the hate for local hero shop Montlake bikes? The people who work there might look be kooky but they ride daily and have awesome service.

Try to get off the hill every once and a while stranger peeps.

]]> meanie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087104 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087104 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:53:31 -0800 Comment by Cato the Younger Younger @9; You are the winner in "Truth telling on Slog" for today! Congrats!

]]> Cato the Younger Younger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087106 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087106 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:54:23 -0800 Comment by Sir Learnsalot @12

I guess I should call it a manflesh brownie then. :(

]]> Sir Learnsalot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087109 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087109 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:57:37 -0800 Comment by Gurldoggie I'm just amazed by all the hostility this story is generating. No one injured, one bike wrecked and a small amount of damage to a single car, and enough hot tempered response to jumpstart a volcano. What a bunch of bored people living in this town. I prescribe more bike riding and less gasbagging.

By the way, allow me to recommend the wonderfully readable Chainbreaker Bike Book for all neophyte bike mechanics.

]]> Gurldoggie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087113 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087113 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:01:57 -0800 Comment by J If you want all your information from the tubes then Park Tool's bicycle repair site is quite handy.

]]> J http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087130 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087130 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:10:35 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Maybe we can import them from China, while exporting our cars there?

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087138 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087138 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:13:23 -0800 Comment by pox I'm one of those newbs, for the last few months. I work mostly at home, so not much of a commute, but my wife and I have been doing most other trips and errands by bike or bus. We plan to dump one car and keep riding year round. I did ride in the snow that day in April, so we'll see.

Even if it's only a fair-weather fad for some, that's still 4 or 5 months of less fossils turned into greenhouse gas.

]]> pox http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087174 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087174 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:30:29 -0800 Comment by Matt from Denver @ 8 Richard's Bike Book is excellent, but any decent bike shop will have a selection of maintenance books on sale.

]]> Matt from Denver http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087195 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087195 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:40:24 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Gurldoggie, are you forgetting the driver of the car, who had to have his head stapled together?

Bike maintenance isn't as easy as some people claim. I used to do all my own, down to the level of packing my own bearings, until one day I took it into the shop for something I couldn't fix and the guy said "you do all your own maintenance, don't you?" At least let a pro go over it once a year.

And I can also tell you from experience that truing a wheel from scratch is a job for the insane, or those who wish to join them.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087199 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087199 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:43:25 -0800 Comment by Anon And meanwhile, the CM driver apologizes for being caught running over a human being:

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=140813

"I have reservations!" Accident my ass.

]]> Anon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087257 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087257 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:05:07 -0800 Comment by Fnarf @20, that's the book I had. Don't let that scare you; I'm just inept with tools. Been in print for something like 40 years.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087261 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087261 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:05:56 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle and I should admit I paid $30 for a bike lockup rental for the UW Tower, so count me amongst the number of born-again-bikers.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087326 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087326 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:29:58 -0800 Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball "...not so much with new purchases as with repairs on bikes that people haven’t used in years and just hauled out of the basement."

Guilty as charged! I went to REI and bought a Kona Cinder Cone for about a grand with the bells and whistles...and it promptly sat in my garage for the next two years.

Two weeks ago, I took it to Gregg's Green Lake and had them do what they do -- now it's my Scarecrow-QFC-Hiroki-Green Lake path-Molly Moon-Fuel-run conveyance! Woot!

]]> Jubilation T. Cornball http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087327 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087327 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:30:07 -0800 Comment by elrider You can take your bike to the free bicycle repair clinic at Garfield Community Center on Saturdays and they'll teach you to tune-up and fix your own ride. They provide the tools and advice, you provide parts and elbow grease.

]]> elrider http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087338 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087338 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:33:58 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Well, what about those of us who don't live on the Hill, elrider?

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087381 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087381 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:57:35 -0800 Comment by Jesus Christ, Will What the fuck about you, Will?

I can't believe the shit that falls out of your mouth. Same regard to your comment in the movies post; as if being French has something to do with perving over adolescent girls. WTF? Shut the fuck up!

Me: "Hey everybody, we have a Space Needle north of downtown!"

Will: "What about people in West Seattle?"

Me: Wants to kill myself that billions of years of life on this planet has come to this moment.

]]> Jesus Christ, Will http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087511 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087511 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:39:14 -0800 Comment by Matt from Denver Fnarf @ 21 & 23, my dad trues his own wheels and uses a wheel stand he made 40 years ago. He had spent nearly 10 years in the seminary which taught him focus if it didn't drive him insane. I have him do my heavy duty stuff.

But basic maintenance... anyone can do that. Clean and oil your chain, adjust your brakes, keep your tires inflated, etc. Just like anyone can do the basics of car maintenance.

]]> Matt from Denver http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087518 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087518 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:44:32 -0800 Comment by WS Gurldoggie, are you forgetting the driver of the car, who had to have his head stapled together?

Yes, Gurldoggie is forgetting him. You see, he is a motorist and to Gurldoggie and her fellow Critical Massholes, motorists are subhumans.

]]> WS http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087550 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087550 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:39:15 -0800 Comment by Sachi Wilson Heck, I've built my own wheels for years. It's not that difficult, and it's kind of a kick to do on an afternoon when things are slow.

I rode year round (including a 12-mile round trip commute) when I was in Seattle. It's not bad at all, as long as you have good raingear. And believe me, the bike shops have plenty of good stuff to keep you riding!

It may surprise you but more people in Seattle ride during winter than people in San Diego ride in *summer.* Weather isn't everything.

]]> Sachi Wilson http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087560 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087560 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:02:09 -0800 Comment by ps i was being sarcastic not subhumans, just douchebags. like pro wrestling fans or frat boys.

also, thanks for remembering that poor attempted murderer who had to go to the hospital for an hour or whatever. that really sux man. i hope you didn't hurt your neck from running over those bikes and that man too fast! next time make sure your victims are alone so nobody can fight back. maybe try stabbing little children walking to school? our only concern is your safety!!

]]> ps i was being sarcastic http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087561 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087561 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:02:40 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Every day more people get killed or injured by car drivers than by cyclists.

Every.

Single.

Day.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087625 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087625 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:46:29 -0800 Comment by Fnarf What's

Your

Point,

Will?

Oh, that's right, it's on top of your head.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087644 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087644 Life Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:36:30 -0800 Comment by Annee Getting back to the subject...

I need moral support...

I bought my bike, fell off my bike two months ago, and have ridden only half a dozen times since.

PTSD issues flared and I'm afraid of my bike!

]]> Annee http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087769 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087769 Life Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:03:46 -0800 Comment by Sam Hill @35, Perhaps you should have a biking buddy. Fnarf, could you join her?

]]> Sam Hill http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087773 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/a_bike_store_survey#c1087773 Life Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:19:19 -0800