Nits and Bits

Lack of organization on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Well, maybe............
Guitar Ted Productions

Here are some recent "nits" and bits that are on my mind this weekend.

1. Mr. 24: Hope he's gettin' his groove on @ the 12 Hours of Winter. Also, I hope he doesn't forget my "dirt-in-a-bag" that I collect after his races.

2. Our boss, Leans on Wood, decided to take a 4 day vay-kay at the busiest time of the season- brilliant! The top of his desk looks like the aftermath of a snowstorm, it's so covered with notes. My prediction: temporary paralysis brought on by overstimulation and stress of his nuero-transmitters. Oh! Wait! I forgot, he doesn't have those, (allegedly)...forget it!

2. No-Tubes: Not Stan's either. I mean, we are running out of tubes! This week coming up is gonna be hard if we don't get some, fast! Weird!

3. Touring bike guy: I spent over a year, off and on, talking to this young guy about buying a touring bike. I give him tons of info, and he even sends his buddy in, who buys a bike from us, and then.......He goes and buys his rig somewhere else! It didn't matter to me where he bought his bike, but I know he couldn't have without the knowledge he got from me! Thanks, Buddy! Guess that's how it goes, these days! At least his bike is a cool color. Sage green '06 Trek 520.....nice!

4.Discovery Channel Team- a no-show! Strategy, or is the jig up for Lance? I'm votin' for the conspiracy theory. These guys running the show at the Discovery Team are well known for bluffing and crafty strategies. This team has been sittin' back on it's heels ever since the team time trial, and I don't believe for a second that the whole team, sans Lance, has developed a sudden case of suck at the same time. This is too finely crafted a machine for that! Look for a dramatic turn about in the days to come!

M'kay, that's a-nuff fer now, I feel mo-betta! Thanks fer readin'!

Nits and Bits

Lack of organization on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Well, maybe............
Guitar Ted Productions

Here are some recent "nits" and bits that are on my mind this weekend.

1. Mr. 24: Hope he's gettin' his groove on @ the 12 Hours of Winter. Also, I hope he doesn't forget my "dirt-in-a-bag" that I collect after his races.

2. Our boss, Leans on Wood, decided to take a 4 day vay-kay at the busiest time of the season- brilliant! The top of his desk looks like the aftermath of a snowstorm, it's so covered with notes. My prediction: temporary paralysis brought on by overstimulation and stress of his nuero-transmitters. Oh! Wait! I forgot, he doesn't have those, (allegedly)...forget it!

2. No-Tubes: Not Stan's either. I mean, we are running out of tubes! This week coming up is gonna be hard if we don't get some, fast! Weird!

3. Touring bike guy: I spent over a year, off and on, talking to this young guy about buying a touring bike. I give him tons of info, and he even sends his buddy in, who buys a bike from us, and then.......He goes and buys his rig somewhere else! It didn't matter to me where he bought his bike, but I know he couldn't have without the knowledge he got from me! Thanks, Buddy! Guess that's how it goes, these days! At least his bike is a cool color. Sage green '06 Trek 520.....nice!

4.Discovery Channel Team- a no-show! Strategy, or is the jig up for Lance? I'm votin' for the conspiracy theory. These guys running the show at the Discovery Team are well known for bluffing and crafty strategies. This team has been sittin' back on it's heels ever since the team time trial, and I don't believe for a second that the whole team, sans Lance, has developed a sudden case of suck at the same time. This is too finely crafted a machine for that! Look for a dramatic turn about in the days to come!

M'kay, that's a-nuff fer now, I feel mo-betta! Thanks fer readin'!

A Viking Fan in Cheeseland

Today Jeff leaves for a 12 hour race up near Green Bay WI. Just want to say "Good Luck", and hope he has an awesome race! Of course, this means I, Guitar Ted, will be sacrificing some weekend time down at the shop, but hey! Anything that helps Mr. 24 is cool with me! Just don't go disrespectin' my teams home turf, doode! Ha, ha!

Back on the home front, we will be very shorthanded today, tomorrow, and Sunday due to the departure of Leans on Wood for other territories. Mr. 24's abscence makes things even worse, but we'll soldier on, and things probably will get interestin', if ya know what I mean!

All in all, it will be good to have another nice, sunny weekend. Enjoy it! Summers on the wane. So, get out and ride! You can mow the lawn in September, I won't mind!

A Viking Fan in Cheeseland

Today Jeff leaves for a 12 hour race up near Green Bay WI. Just want to say "Good Luck", and hope he has an awesome race! Of course, this means I, Guitar Ted, will be sacrificing some weekend time down at the shop, but hey! Anything that helps Mr. 24 is cool with me! Just don't go disrespectin' my teams home turf, doode! Ha, ha!

Back on the home front, we will be very shorthanded today, tomorrow, and Sunday due to the departure of Leans on Wood for other territories. Mr. 24's abscence makes things even worse, but we'll soldier on, and things probably will get interestin', if ya know what I mean!

All in all, it will be good to have another nice, sunny weekend. Enjoy it! Summers on the wane. So, get out and ride! You can mow the lawn in September, I won't mind!

Internet Commerce, Ted Style

One man's junk is another man's treasure.
Guitar Ted Productions

You know, I thought I'd be the last guy to make a sale on the internet. Well, there I go thinking again! Seems that I let on about my Klein bar/ stem combo while posting on an internet vintage mountain bike disscussion forum. The interest in it was sudden and surprising! Seems some folks were waiting for this moment! Anyway, to make a long story short, this piece of my mtb history is heading over the pond to jolly ol' England, where it'll be mated back up to a vintage Klein mtb in the same color scheme. This is probably a good thing, as it had been sitting up in the floor joists down in my basement labratory for many a year! Yep, one man's junk....as they say! Hmmm.....wonder what else I should mention next? Gonna hafta dig around down there fer a nuther gem! Well, see ya later. I'll be down in my mine, diggin' fer a spell!

Internet Commerce, Ted Style

One man's junk is another man's treasure.
Guitar Ted Productions

You know, I thought I'd be the last guy to make a sale on the internet. Well, there I go thinking again! Seems that I let on about my Klein bar/ stem combo while posting on an internet vintage mountain bike disscussion forum. The interest in it was sudden and surprising! Seems some folks were waiting for this moment! Anyway, to make a long story short, this piece of my mtb history is heading over the pond to jolly ol' England, where it'll be mated back up to a vintage Klein mtb in the same color scheme. This is probably a good thing, as it had been sitting up in the floor joists down in my basement labratory for many a year! Yep, one man's junk....as they say! Hmmm.....wonder what else I should mention next? Gonna hafta dig around down there fer a nuther gem! Well, see ya later. I'll be down in my mine, diggin' fer a spell!

More Tails From The Shop!

This pretty much sums up how the days are going. Twisted, metal maelstrom!
Guitar Ted Productions

This is it. The time of the year in this lattitude that you either are busy beyond all belief, or you are checking the help wanted adds. We here in the Iowa bicycle shops have the added "bonus" of Ragbrai. ( The annual bachanalia of bikes traversing the state in a general west to east direction every last week of July) Things are heating up, business-wise, and attitude-wise. Let's take a sampling, shall we?

1. A great "JRA" story! JRA is an acronym for "...just riding along...." Usually followed by some responsibility absolving reasoning concocted, no doubt, in a pool of sweat the night before they arrive at the shop counter with their broken machinery. Okay? So, this individual has the ubiquitous left crank arm failure. Yeah, you know, the arm "just fell off" thing, with the inevitable distorted square taper that renders the ol' left arm useless. Well, I tried to explain that this was not uncommon. to which this person replies, "Well, in 8 years of riding bikes I've never had this happen before!" Ummm.....rrriggghhhtt! Once again, customer logic....it's a beautiful thang! You know, if he would have just said that he was angry, and that he thought that he shouldn't have to pay to have it fixed, I would have had some sympathy for him. But no, we have to delve into the jar of twisted logic and angry eyes! Whatever! He payed for the arm, and got the labor, missing crank bolt replaced, and the calmest demeanor I could muster for free!

2. Black Spokes: Are these things the absolute worst idea to come along, or what? A great customer buys a bike to get into commuting, which is awesome. More of you need to get into this! Anywho! She keeps getting broken non-driveside rear spokes. Weird! So, by now she is getting cold feet on the commute, thinking that she may not make it because her new bike is breaking all the time! AArrrgggh! This is definitely no good! All the while, this customer is just being real with me about it. No "JRA" crap, no twisted logic. Fortunately, I was able to get the whole wheel rebuilt using my fave Wheelsmith spokes, and more importantly, this customer back riding in a day! See how it works, be nice- very nice- and I will bend over backwards for ya! Oh, by the way, the whole thing was done gratis! The manufacturer even picked up the costs for us! Cool!

Not every story, or every customer for that matter, is one way or the other, as I have portrayed. It's just that some people really make things way harder than they have to be. Hey, we all have problems! It's how we handle 'em that cuts things one way or the other for us, ya know? Be Cool!

More Tails From The Shop!

This pretty much sums up how the days are going. Twisted, metal maelstrom!
Guitar Ted Productions

This is it. The time of the year in this lattitude that you either are busy beyond all belief, or you are checking the help wanted adds. We here in the Iowa bicycle shops have the added "bonus" of Ragbrai. ( The annual bachanalia of bikes traversing the state in a general west to east direction every last week of July) Things are heating up, business-wise, and attitude-wise. Let's take a sampling, shall we?

1. A great "JRA" story! JRA is an acronym for "...just riding along...." Usually followed by some responsibility absolving reasoning concocted, no doubt, in a pool of sweat the night before they arrive at the shop counter with their broken machinery. Okay? So, this individual has the ubiquitous left crank arm failure. Yeah, you know, the arm "just fell off" thing, with the inevitable distorted square taper that renders the ol' left arm useless. Well, I tried to explain that this was not uncommon. to which this person replies, "Well, in 8 years of riding bikes I've never had this happen before!" Ummm.....rrriggghhhtt! Once again, customer logic....it's a beautiful thang! You know, if he would have just said that he was angry, and that he thought that he shouldn't have to pay to have it fixed, I would have had some sympathy for him. But no, we have to delve into the jar of twisted logic and angry eyes! Whatever! He payed for the arm, and got the labor, missing crank bolt replaced, and the calmest demeanor I could muster for free!

2. Black Spokes: Are these things the absolute worst idea to come along, or what? A great customer buys a bike to get into commuting, which is awesome. More of you need to get into this! Anywho! She keeps getting broken non-driveside rear spokes. Weird! So, by now she is getting cold feet on the commute, thinking that she may not make it because her new bike is breaking all the time! AArrrgggh! This is definitely no good! All the while, this customer is just being real with me about it. No "JRA" crap, no twisted logic. Fortunately, I was able to get the whole wheel rebuilt using my fave Wheelsmith spokes, and more importantly, this customer back riding in a day! See how it works, be nice- very nice- and I will bend over backwards for ya! Oh, by the way, the whole thing was done gratis! The manufacturer even picked up the costs for us! Cool!

Not every story, or every customer for that matter, is one way or the other, as I have portrayed. It's just that some people really make things way harder than they have to be. Hey, we all have problems! It's how we handle 'em that cuts things one way or the other for us, ya know? Be Cool!

Air Heads

It never ceases to amaze me how poorly people understand the principals of bicycle tires, tubes, and wheels. Take this sampling of problems from today's work.

1. BMX bike brought in by a father that had NO BEARINGS in the front wheel. The wheel wobbled and banged around in the fork like crazy. Question: Did those bearings all leave at the same time? I think not! (Well.....there is the possibility that "Johnny Home Mechanic" pulled them out, but the axle was assembled too well for that!) So, hmmm..........when did we notice that something was wrong?

2. The tire and tube must be bad! I just got them, and the darn tube keeps going flat! Uhh, dude! Check the rim strip? Yeeeaaah! That's what I thought! (Rim strip was WAY too narrow, exposing some spoke holes. - the best part was that the customer claimed that he hadn't had a flat in years until the tire and tube was replaced, and the whole reason he had them replaced was because he was getting too many...............flats!) Gotta love customer logic!

3. Another flatting problem: This time the customer is complaining of chronic flats, and can't figure it out. Hmmm.........did'ja check the tyre, fer...ya know! Furrin' ob-jecks? Riiigggghhht! That's what I thought! So, I do the tube diagnosis thing. Find the hole, orient the tube to the tire, look in the inside of the casing in that general vicinity, and..........lo and behold! A small wire sticking inwards! Pulled that puppy out of the tire casing, and whattaya know? No flat, no more!

4. The Daily Sermon: Air pressure! It comes as a major surprise to most folks that the common tire, be it tubeless or tubed, has to regularly have it's air replenished. Yep! Some folks don't even know that most bicycle tires have tubes in them! Amazing! I suppose the fact that their tire sidewalls bulging, and the increasing difficulty that they have in pedaling their bike must be due to some form of black magic, the Republicans, or gasp! a terrorist plot to overthrow Major League Baseball!

5. Speaking of Conspiracy Theories.... The ongoing valve debates! Presta vs. Schrader, or in laymans terms, "that funny, skinny valve vs. the standard, car tire one." How many times have I had to recount the the answer to, "Why do they even have those!" (Ever wonder who the collective "they" are?)

Well that's a minor sampling. I'm sure anyone with any shop experience at all can relate. To those of you that don't toil in the shops of bicycling goodness, become a evangelist of Air. Spread the word amongst the brethren! Air- it's good! Roll on it! Give your tires the love that is Air! Understand their tubey nature! Get to know how to make them better, and let everyone else know too! Please! There are WAY too many air-heads out there, if ya know what I mean!

Air Heads

It never ceases to amaze me how poorly people understand the principals of bicycle tires, tubes, and wheels. Take this sampling of problems from today's work.

1. BMX bike brought in by a father that had NO BEARINGS in the front wheel. The wheel wobbled and banged around in the fork like crazy. Question: Did those bearings all leave at the same time? I think not! (Well.....there is the possibility that "Johnny Home Mechanic" pulled them out, but the axle was assembled too well for that!) So, hmmm..........when did we notice that something was wrong?

2. The tire and tube must be bad! I just got them, and the darn tube keeps going flat! Uhh, dude! Check the rim strip? Yeeeaaah! That's what I thought! (Rim strip was WAY too narrow, exposing some spoke holes. - the best part was that the customer claimed that he hadn't had a flat in years until the tire and tube was replaced, and the whole reason he had them replaced was because he was getting too many...............flats!) Gotta love customer logic!

3. Another flatting problem: This time the customer is complaining of chronic flats, and can't figure it out. Hmmm.........did'ja check the tyre, fer...ya know! Furrin' ob-jecks? Riiigggghhht! That's what I thought! So, I do the tube diagnosis thing. Find the hole, orient the tube to the tire, look in the inside of the casing in that general vicinity, and..........lo and behold! A small wire sticking inwards! Pulled that puppy out of the tire casing, and whattaya know? No flat, no more!

4. The Daily Sermon: Air pressure! It comes as a major surprise to most folks that the common tire, be it tubeless or tubed, has to regularly have it's air replenished. Yep! Some folks don't even know that most bicycle tires have tubes in them! Amazing! I suppose the fact that their tire sidewalls bulging, and the increasing difficulty that they have in pedaling their bike must be due to some form of black magic, the Republicans, or gasp! a terrorist plot to overthrow Major League Baseball!

5. Speaking of Conspiracy Theories.... The ongoing valve debates! Presta vs. Schrader, or in laymans terms, "that funny, skinny valve vs. the standard, car tire one." How many times have I had to recount the the answer to, "Why do they even have those!" (Ever wonder who the collective "they" are?)

Well that's a minor sampling. I'm sure anyone with any shop experience at all can relate. To those of you that don't toil in the shops of bicycling goodness, become a evangelist of Air. Spread the word amongst the brethren! Air- it's good! Roll on it! Give your tires the love that is Air! Understand their tubey nature! Get to know how to make them better, and let everyone else know too! Please! There are WAY too many air-heads out there, if ya know what I mean!

Red, White, and Blue

In a twisted way, here is my tribute to the good ol' 4th of July............

RED, Eric Dekker put in a He-man type effort at today's Tour stage #3, but came up just short! When you put out that many watts, you turn a nasty shade of red! Check out the story, and tech news on www.cyclingnews.com .

WHITE, Okay, anyone that knows who Bob Roll is, well.... you know that screwy, nutty weirdness is stuck on that dude! Check out his latest whack at www.bobinthebuff.com . NOTE: I'll say it again....Be prepared for extreme, nutty, nudity, and weirdness! And don't forget to check out the trainers too!

BLUE, Waiting for the skies to turn that color! I am anticipating a ride, probably on the tarmac today. I get the urge when the Tour is on! Maybe I'll even break out the old Colnago......we'll see!

Okay! That's today's lame-o attempt at hee-you-more for ya! Hope you are enjoying your holiday, and don't forget the brave individuals that fought for our freedoms- both past and present- in your thoughts and prayers! Now, go ride your bike and think about that!

Red, White, and Blue

In a twisted way, here is my tribute to the good ol' 4th of July............

RED, Eric Dekker put in a He-man type effort at today's Tour stage #3, but came up just short! When you put out that many watts, you turn a nasty shade of red! Check out the story, and tech news on www.cyclingnews.com .

WHITE, Okay, anyone that knows who Bob Roll is, well.... you know that screwy, nutty weirdness is stuck on that dude! Check out his latest whack at www.bobinthebuff.com . NOTE: I'll say it again....Be prepared for extreme, nutty, nudity, and weirdness! And don't forget to check out the trainers too!

BLUE, Waiting for the skies to turn that color! I am anticipating a ride, probably on the tarmac today. I get the urge when the Tour is on! Maybe I'll even break out the old Colnago......we'll see!

Okay! That's today's lame-o attempt at hee-you-more for ya! Hope you are enjoying your holiday, and don't forget the brave individuals that fought for our freedoms- both past and present- in your thoughts and prayers! Now, go ride your bike and think about that!

Gear Jamming

Hey, it's Tour de France time again! Some "guy" is going for his seventh straight win in the event. Whatever! Check out all the cool gear, and tech that's going on! That's where it's at, baby! For instance, I thought it might be fun to see if any of you out there might be able to figure out if Campy has it's rumored 12 speed gruppo on any of the racers bikes yet! That's right! 12 speed! The gear wars esculate again! Lance's new TT bike was a little ostentatious! What's with all the icon crap anyway? Messed up an otherwise classy looking bike, in my opinion. Also, Campy has been testing it's electronic shifted gruppo for most of the spring. Will it make a Tour bow? Tubeless road tires, anyone? Last year, only two teams took the risk of testing the waters of tubeless technology. I haven't heard anything yet on it for '05. Looks like the "Lance" type TT bars are catching on with the pros. Interesting to see that Lance is using aluminum constructed bars this year. Probably lighter than carbon fiber ones. Anything else? We'll just have to wait and see. There is always the super lightweight mountain climbing hardware that will be upcoming soon. Probably some other surprises, as well. I'll try to get as much as I can on this site, once the cats are out of their bags. Enjoy the Monday holiday! Go Lance!

Gear Jamming

Hey, it's Tour de France time again! Some "guy" is going for his seventh straight win in the event. Whatever! Check out all the cool gear, and tech that's going on! That's where it's at, baby! For instance, I thought it might be fun to see if any of you out there might be able to figure out if Campy has it's rumored 12 speed gruppo on any of the racers bikes yet! That's right! 12 speed! The gear wars esculate again! Lance's new TT bike was a little ostentatious! What's with all the icon crap anyway? Messed up an otherwise classy looking bike, in my opinion. Also, Campy has been testing it's electronic shifted gruppo for most of the spring. Will it make a Tour bow? Tubeless road tires, anyone? Last year, only two teams took the risk of testing the waters of tubeless technology. I haven't heard anything yet on it for '05. Looks like the "Lance" type TT bars are catching on with the pros. Interesting to see that Lance is using aluminum constructed bars this year. Probably lighter than carbon fiber ones. Anything else? We'll just have to wait and see. There is always the super lightweight mountain climbing hardware that will be upcoming soon. Probably some other surprises, as well. I'll try to get as much as I can on this site, once the cats are out of their bags. Enjoy the Monday holiday! Go Lance!

Rants on Reviews, and Other Nonsense

There is a great thread on the product review process linked from the Blue Collar blogsite. The short of it is that some of us feel that magazine reviews are "bogus", slanted, or otherwise not totally honest for whatever reason. What do the readers of this blog think? Following is my opinion/ rant on the subject.

I think that for years the product review segment in magazines was anemic, low quality, and specious. I lamented the lack of depth, quantity, and the quality of most magazine reviews. The exception being Dirt Rag, and the first year/ year and a half of Bike magazine. The lack of time spent with equipment was what really chapped my hide. I can't count the times that a product that was reviewed highly upon it's release was an utter failure after a few months of use. Of course, had the magazine actually used the product for a few months, they would have discovered that for themselves, and hopefully, reported it. However, that's usually not possible for a number of reasons that I won't go into here.

For the above reason, and many others, I am of the opinion that magazine reviews are not relevant in today's culture. People are looking for real world results, from real people, in a real hurry! That is where the internet has taken over. Specifically, sites like mtbr.com for the mountain biking set. However, examples can be cited for any number of products or services. I can access hundreds of real world reviews, opinions, tips, and hints about any product currently available in the cycling world now! I don't have to wait for a magazine review to show up in my snail mail that is effectively two to three months behind the times. (The typical lag time print media deals with) I not only can evaluate the information, but I can contact the users, ask specific questions, and recieve feedback quickly. Try that with the magazine parked next to your toilet! ( Aww, come on! You read in the bathroom, admit it!)

Now, while it's true, you can't believe everything you read on the internet, you never could believe everything you read before the internet arrived on the scene. So, what's the difference? The difference is that based on the sheer number of opinions, users, and their situations, it's much more likely you'll find something closer to the truth about a product than you ever would from one single corporate magazine article. Are those rags influenced by their advertizers, associations in the industry, or other corporate means? I don't know for sure. The likely hood is there, though, and I suspect it does occur. I do know that I'd trust "John Doe's" opinion of a new Fisher Paragon that he's had for a few months for no other reason than that he plunked down his own hard earned cash on it. Of course, because of that, he is not going to be totally impartial as a reviewer, but at least I know that! I am not so sure where the latest shiny rags editors veiws biases are coming from! And, since I too have been the proud new owner of a new product, I can at least separate the wheat from the chaff....well, at least a little bit!

Where does this leave the print media? Well, in no man's land, if they don't change. The print media will always have a better fix on where products and services are going, trend wise. They will always have the inside track on the newest developements, the innovators, and shapers of the cycling world. I think this is where the print media needs to focus their energies. By the time they could use a product effectively, write about it, and get it to me in print, it's old news!

Rant mode off! Thanks for reading, if you got this far!

Rants on Reviews, and Other Nonsense

There is a great thread on the product review process linked from the Blue Collar blogsite. The short of it is that some of us feel that magazine reviews are "bogus", slanted, or otherwise not totally honest for whatever reason. What do the readers of this blog think? Following is my opinion/ rant on the subject.

I think that for years the product review segment in magazines was anemic, low quality, and specious. I lamented the lack of depth, quantity, and the quality of most magazine reviews. The exception being Dirt Rag, and the first year/ year and a half of Bike magazine. The lack of time spent with equipment was what really chapped my hide. I can't count the times that a product that was reviewed highly upon it's release was an utter failure after a few months of use. Of course, had the magazine actually used the product for a few months, they would have discovered that for themselves, and hopefully, reported it. However, that's usually not possible for a number of reasons that I won't go into here.

For the above reason, and many others, I am of the opinion that magazine reviews are not relevant in today's culture. People are looking for real world results, from real people, in a real hurry! That is where the internet has taken over. Specifically, sites like mtbr.com for the mountain biking set. However, examples can be cited for any number of products or services. I can access hundreds of real world reviews, opinions, tips, and hints about any product currently available in the cycling world now! I don't have to wait for a magazine review to show up in my snail mail that is effectively two to three months behind the times. (The typical lag time print media deals with) I not only can evaluate the information, but I can contact the users, ask specific questions, and recieve feedback quickly. Try that with the magazine parked next to your toilet! ( Aww, come on! You read in the bathroom, admit it!)

Now, while it's true, you can't believe everything you read on the internet, you never could believe everything you read before the internet arrived on the scene. So, what's the difference? The difference is that based on the sheer number of opinions, users, and their situations, it's much more likely you'll find something closer to the truth about a product than you ever would from one single corporate magazine article. Are those rags influenced by their advertizers, associations in the industry, or other corporate means? I don't know for sure. The likely hood is there, though, and I suspect it does occur. I do know that I'd trust "John Doe's" opinion of a new Fisher Paragon that he's had for a few months for no other reason than that he plunked down his own hard earned cash on it. Of course, because of that, he is not going to be totally impartial as a reviewer, but at least I know that! I am not so sure where the latest shiny rags editors veiws biases are coming from! And, since I too have been the proud new owner of a new product, I can at least separate the wheat from the chaff....well, at least a little bit!

Where does this leave the print media? Well, in no man's land, if they don't change. The print media will always have a better fix on where products and services are going, trend wise. They will always have the inside track on the newest developements, the innovators, and shapers of the cycling world. I think this is where the print media needs to focus their energies. By the time they could use a product effectively, write about it, and get it to me in print, it's old news!

Rant mode off! Thanks for reading, if you got this far!

What Is, and What Should Never Be, Part II

It's the Circle of Life. I, UN-92, must now return to the Earth. You, UN-73, must take my place!
Guitar Ted Productions

Another good one for ya! Check out the pic. Yeah, that's right, the spindle snapped in two! Yep, while the guy was riding it. And get this, the crank arm/ pedal slam into the back wheel, which happened to be a three spoke composite wheel, and smashed the spoke structure, so as to render the wheel useless. Cool! ( No humans were injured or killed during the failure of this part) Yeah, it's all good. This customer is huge, and he can take it! (dirtram- if your reading this, you know this dude! clue= steroid) Also note, the rest of this bike is thrashed! Toastito-buritto! Done! In other words, another example of a death sled! Stay tuned for more death sleds as Europa Cycle and Ski continues on the "05 Motorcade of Death Tour"!

What Is, and What Should Never Be, Part II

It's the Circle of Life. I, UN-92, must now return to the Earth. You, UN-73, must take my place!
Guitar Ted Productions

Another good one for ya! Check out the pic. Yeah, that's right, the spindle snapped in two! Yep, while the guy was riding it. And get this, the crank arm/ pedal slam into the back wheel, which happened to be a three spoke composite wheel, and smashed the spoke structure, so as to render the wheel useless. Cool! ( No humans were injured or killed during the failure of this part) Yeah, it's all good. This customer is huge, and he can take it! (dirtram- if your reading this, you know this dude! clue= steroid) Also note, the rest of this bike is thrashed! Toastito-buritto! Done! In other words, another example of a death sled! Stay tuned for more death sleds as Europa Cycle and Ski continues on the "05 Motorcade of Death Tour"!

Death Sled From "the bay"

It says "Caddy Up" on the downtube. At least that's what everyone tells me. All I can see is "Death Sled"!
Guitar Ted Productions

Oooohhh yeeeeaaaah! This gem has caused much head wagging at Europa Cycle and Ski. Thanks to that on-line market place, you know.... "the bay"! We have this to terrorize the bike paths 'round here. I wish you all could see this close up, because just about every part is so lame, so utterly useless, that even though this is a new bicycle, it is worthless! I'll just pick on one of the many glaring faults. (This is just too easy!) The linear pull brakes are comprised mostly of plastic! Yes, plastic! Stop a moment and think of it. Approximately 350-450 "el-bees" comin' atcha down the bike path, with only two sets of mostly plastic linear pull brakes between you and certain death! I'm not wanting to be there! Who thinks up these rigs? Have they ever heard the term "product liability"? Do they even have a brain?

Well, my only hope is that the owners realize what a crappy ride this is, park it in the deepest bowels of their garage, and forget about it. Just imagine, in 2075 a guy comes into a bike shop. He says, "Hey, check out this really old tandem I just picked up at an estate sale. How much do you guys think it's worth?" Yeah, just imagine it!

Death Sled From "the bay"

It says "Caddy Up" on the downtube. At least that's what everyone tells me. All I can see is "Death Sled"!
Guitar Ted Productions

Oooohhh yeeeeaaaah! This gem has caused much head wagging at Europa Cycle and Ski. Thanks to that on-line market place, you know.... "the bay"! We have this to terrorize the bike paths 'round here. I wish you all could see this close up, because just about every part is so lame, so utterly useless, that even though this is a new bicycle, it is worthless! I'll just pick on one of the many glaring faults. (This is just too easy!) The linear pull brakes are comprised mostly of plastic! Yes, plastic! Stop a moment and think of it. Approximately 350-450 "el-bees" comin' atcha down the bike path, with only two sets of mostly plastic linear pull brakes between you and certain death! I'm not wanting to be there! Who thinks up these rigs? Have they ever heard the term "product liability"? Do they even have a brain?

Well, my only hope is that the owners realize what a crappy ride this is, park it in the deepest bowels of their garage, and forget about it. Just imagine, in 2075 a guy comes into a bike shop. He says, "Hey, check out this really old tandem I just picked up at an estate sale. How much do you guys think it's worth?" Yeah, just imagine it!