Why Bike Mechanics are A-holes
10-20-23, 08:59 AM
#51
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The owner, and only mechanic, at my LBS showed me this video yesterday. We both commented on the number of adjustable (Crescent) wrenches on the tool board.
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10-20-23, 09:07 AM
#52
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The Internet has created a new frontier in human interaction. Before, if you disagreed with an expert the debate would take place in front of the contested thing. The two parties would show each other what they are talking about and that would largely end the matter. "Your wheel is off center." Done.
Now we live in a world where someone can call an expert a liar based on the strength and adamance of their belief the chains don't rub chainrings, even though they aren't even looking at a bike while they insist their opinion about how physical reality functions remsins untested.
What hope does climate change have if you can't get someone to look at something as simple as a bicycle and observe how it functions?
Now we live in a world where someone can call an expert a liar based on the strength and adamance of their belief the chains don't rub chainrings, even though they aren't even looking at a bike while they insist their opinion about how physical reality functions remsins untested.
What hope does climate change have if you can't get someone to look at something as simple as a bicycle and observe how it functions?
10-20-23, 09:11 AM
#53
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Now we live in a world where someone can call an expert a liar based on the strength and adamance of their belief the chains don't rub chainrings, even though they aren't even looking at a bike while they insist their opinion about how physical reality functions remsins untested.
10-20-23, 04:25 PM
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The Internet has created a new frontier in human interaction. Before, if you disagreed with an expert the debate would take place in front of the contested thing. The two parties would show each other what they are talking about and that would largely end the matter. "Your wheel is off center." Done.
Now we live in a world where someone can call an expert a liar based on the strength and adamance of their belief the chains don't rub chainrings, even though they aren't even looking at a bike while they insist their opinion about how physical reality functions remsins untested.
What hope does climate change have if you can't get someone to look at something as simple as a bicycle and observe how it functions?
Now we live in a world where someone can call an expert a liar based on the strength and adamance of their belief the chains don't rub chainrings, even though they aren't even looking at a bike while they insist their opinion about how physical reality functions remsins untested.
What hope does climate change have if you can't get someone to look at something as simple as a bicycle and observe how it functions?
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
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Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
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Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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10-20-23, 04:58 PM
#56
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Nope. I asked a chemist if the point they were making actually matters considering what was being discussed.
But I'm glad you spoke up. Hopefully all the cranks will come out of the woodwork to make the helpful people as unwelcome as possible. Then you can get back to offering bad advice that doesn't work without so much interference by people that have fixed bikes for a living - and are really good at it.
I have experienced enough on this forum to know exactly how CXWrench likely felt just trying to shout through the incredible amount of noise offered by all the people that seem to feel that their half-baked ideas ought to be featured on a subforum that is 100% about fixing stuff and not about what's cool.
But I'm glad you spoke up. Hopefully all the cranks will come out of the woodwork to make the helpful people as unwelcome as possible. Then you can get back to offering bad advice that doesn't work without so much interference by people that have fixed bikes for a living - and are really good at it.
I have experienced enough on this forum to know exactly how CXWrench likely felt just trying to shout through the incredible amount of noise offered by all the people that seem to feel that their half-baked ideas ought to be featured on a subforum that is 100% about fixing stuff and not about what's cool.
10-20-23, 05:02 PM
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Nope. I asked a chemist if the point they were making actually matters considering what was being discussed.
But I'm glad you spoke up. Hopefully all the cranks will come out of the woodwork to make the helpful people as unwelcome as possible. Then you can get back to offering bad advice that doesn't work without so much interference by people that have fixed bikes for a living - and are really good at it.
I have experienced enough on this forum to know exactly how CXWrench likely felt just trying to shout through the incredible amount of noise offered by all the people that seem to feel that their half-baked ideas ought to be featured on a subforum that is 100% about fixing stuff and not about what's cool.
But I'm glad you spoke up. Hopefully all the cranks will come out of the woodwork to make the helpful people as unwelcome as possible. Then you can get back to offering bad advice that doesn't work without so much interference by people that have fixed bikes for a living - and are really good at it.
I have experienced enough on this forum to know exactly how CXWrench likely felt just trying to shout through the incredible amount of noise offered by all the people that seem to feel that their half-baked ideas ought to be featured on a subforum that is 100% about fixing stuff and not about what's cool.
10-20-23, 05:21 PM
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How could your opinion possibly matter? Who ever takes your advice? You're the closest thing this sub has to a regular troll.
10-20-23, 05:23 PM
#59
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I like the way my bike rides at that pressure. Prove me wrong.
10-20-23, 05:31 PM
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10-20-23, 05:36 PM
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BUT YOU DON'T READ OR LOOK
It's just a waste of time trying to teach people who are immune to education. The main reason I even bother is so no one takes all the bad advice some of you spew. Bikes are too dangerous, expensive and complex for all the uneducated guesses offered as advice on this sub.
10-20-23, 06:01 PM
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Nope. There is no point trying to educate the purposely ignorant. You have already been supplied with all the resources to understand the problem, just as Jeff was given all the things to look at to understand chain rub.
BUT YOU DON'T READ OR LOOK
It's just a waste of time trying to teach people who are immune to education. The main reason I even bother is so no one takes all the bad advice some of you spew. Bikes are too dangerous, expensive and complex for all the uneducated guesses offered as advice on this sub.
BUT YOU DON'T READ OR LOOK
It's just a waste of time trying to teach people who are immune to education. The main reason I even bother is so no one takes all the bad advice some of you spew. Bikes are too dangerous, expensive and complex for all the uneducated guesses offered as advice on this sub.
Oh, and please don’t bother trying to “educate” me. You don’t have anything I want to know.
10-20-23, 10:12 PM
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"I won't go to him, he said so many bad things about my bike."
That had opened my eyes.
I would argue that the job of a LBS (and, hence, whoever works there) is to make people happy, not (just) to fix bikes.
Many mechanics and even shop owners miss that. The problem with a customer described in the video demonstrates that.
To make customers happy without sacrificing the quality (and common sense) of service requires some "people skills" (not sure how else to call that).
Good mechanics (and people good at diagnosing mechanical problems) are usually not very skilled at dealing with people. Add the fact that the required skill set is ever-increasing (nowadays, LBS mechanics should be skilled with both mechanics, and hydraulics, electrics and electronics too), while the pays are relatively low - and you get a very small "pool" of people to choose from that "tick all the boxes."
My long-winded drivel on the job of a bike mechanic.
P.S.
The problem discussed in the video was in fact training wheels installation (the author corrected himself for saying "kickstand").
The way I see it:
People are usually happy and excited about a new bike. That's not the time to tell them it sucks, even if it does, especially for a kids' bike.
Also, training wheels are detrimental.
My recommendation would have been to (have the shop) lower the saddle, remove the pedals, and (have the kid) start by pushing the bike, explaining how it gets kids to easily learn to keep ballance (and how training wheels make that impossible).
If that didn't land well, I'd have just installed the damn training wheels.
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10-20-23, 10:36 PM
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Mechanics are often less effusive than their sales counterparts, but most mechanics I've worked with are pleasant, listen well, enthusiastic for nice bikes and have a sense of humor. Often they are a bit more empathetic when people are down about their crash or broken bike than the sales staff would be.
Mechanical people might be more muted on average, but they certainly aren't on the spectrum. Good mechanics are smart people, and intelligence doesn't end when you step away from the workbench. The last place I worked the majority of customers gravitated to the folks in service because we didn't seem to have an agenda but were nice to speak with.
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10-20-23, 11:15 PM
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That's a pretty broad brush, and not my experience.
Mechanics are often less effusive than their sales counterparts, but most mechanics I've worked with are pleasant, listen well, enthusiastic for nice bikes and have a sense of humor. Often they are a bit more empathetic when people are down about their crash or broken bike than the sales staff would be.
Mechanical people might be more muted on average, but they certainly aren't on the spectrum. Good mechanics are smart people, and intelligence doesn't end when you step away from the workbench. The last place I worked the majority of customers gravitated to the folks in service because we didn't seem to have an agenda but were nice to speak with.
Mechanics are often less effusive than their sales counterparts, but most mechanics I've worked with are pleasant, listen well, enthusiastic for nice bikes and have a sense of humor. Often they are a bit more empathetic when people are down about their crash or broken bike than the sales staff would be.
Mechanical people might be more muted on average, but they certainly aren't on the spectrum. Good mechanics are smart people, and intelligence doesn't end when you step away from the workbench. The last place I worked the majority of customers gravitated to the folks in service because we didn't seem to have an agenda but were nice to speak with.
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10-21-23, 12:46 AM
#67
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This is mostly on point for me, although I really endeavor to be pleasant, clear, and anti-elitist with customers. One of my favorite things is that, as one of very few mechanics in an area with a small population, I very frequently get thanked for my work when I'm out and about living my life or while riding.
He missed the plague that is poorly made, consumer direct eBikes. They have by far eclipsed Walmart/etc bikes in how much they make my job suck. They suck so massively, and it takes a lot of experience mechanically and interpersonally to help customers with them. In a fit of rage I made a CPSC complaint about a brand that had repeated leaking hydraulic calipers last week, ha ha. It takes me some work to be compassionate and relate to how, for most of these customers, these bikes make sense--they provide generally useful utility, and have reasonably effective motors and batteries at a low cost, at the expense of pretty bad design and really poor quality bicycle components, which when combined with their awkward design and high weight, make them nightmarish to work on. It takes some really proactive communication to let customers know that getting things working properly may be pretty involved and costly. Still, when I communicated well and clearly with customers with these bikes, I've had some of my most appreciative customers (and highest tips).
He missed the plague that is poorly made, consumer direct eBikes. They have by far eclipsed Walmart/etc bikes in how much they make my job suck. They suck so massively, and it takes a lot of experience mechanically and interpersonally to help customers with them. In a fit of rage I made a CPSC complaint about a brand that had repeated leaking hydraulic calipers last week, ha ha. It takes me some work to be compassionate and relate to how, for most of these customers, these bikes make sense--they provide generally useful utility, and have reasonably effective motors and batteries at a low cost, at the expense of pretty bad design and really poor quality bicycle components, which when combined with their awkward design and high weight, make them nightmarish to work on. It takes some really proactive communication to let customers know that getting things working properly may be pretty involved and costly. Still, when I communicated well and clearly with customers with these bikes, I've had some of my most appreciative customers (and highest tips).
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10-21-23, 01:03 AM
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This is mostly on point for me, although I really endeavor to be pleasant, clear, and anti-elitist with customers. One of my favorite things is that, as one of very few mechanics in an area with a small population, I very frequently get thanked for my work when I'm out and about living my life or while riding.
He missed the plague that is poorly made, consumer direct eBikes. They have by far eclipsed Walmart/etc bikes in how much they make my job suck. They suck so massively, and it takes a lot of experience mechanically and interpersonally to help customers with them. In a fit of rage I made a CPSC complaint about a brand that had repeated leaking hydraulic calipers last week, ha ha. It takes me some work to be compassionate and relate to how, for most of these customers, these bikes make sense--they provide generally useful utility, and have reasonably effective motors and batteries at a low cost, at the expense of pretty bad design and really poor quality bicycle components, which when combined with their awkward design and high weight, make them nightmarish to work on. It takes some really proactive communication to let customers know that getting things working properly may be pretty involved and costly. Still, when I communicated well and clearly with customers with these bikes, I've had some of my most appreciative customers (and highest tips).
He missed the plague that is poorly made, consumer direct eBikes. They have by far eclipsed Walmart/etc bikes in how much they make my job suck. They suck so massively, and it takes a lot of experience mechanically and interpersonally to help customers with them. In a fit of rage I made a CPSC complaint about a brand that had repeated leaking hydraulic calipers last week, ha ha. It takes me some work to be compassionate and relate to how, for most of these customers, these bikes make sense--they provide generally useful utility, and have reasonably effective motors and batteries at a low cost, at the expense of pretty bad design and really poor quality bicycle components, which when combined with their awkward design and high weight, make them nightmarish to work on. It takes some really proactive communication to let customers know that getting things working properly may be pretty involved and costly. Still, when I communicated well and clearly with customers with these bikes, I've had some of my most appreciative customers (and highest tips).
10-21-23, 07:49 AM
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For years I had responsibility for heavy industry mechanics, our mobile equipment shop had over 250 vehicles from ATVs to 300 ton haul trucks. The skill sets I looked for were work ethic, diagnostic, problem solving and resourcefulness, but when helping my daughters find bike mechanics in Tempe, Portland and Vancouver the #1 skill set I looked for was customer service. I believe it would be short lived to be a one man shop AH.
10-21-23, 09:58 AM
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10-21-23, 11:39 AM
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I ride 25 Zaffiros at 95-105 on my XC on the road when riding smooth roads, I don't know if it's faster or slower, or watts going on with friction or resistance, but I like the way they feel, and I do what I feel (in most things not just bikes)...
10-21-23, 11:52 AM
#74
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At all three traditional bike shops I worked at as a mechanic there was an impossibly fine line between 'be personable and provide great customer service' and 'don't spend so much time giving customers info and advice, it doesn't contribute to the bottom line and gets in the way of finishing service tickets.' And similarly between 'don't turn away service dollars/customers' and 'don't take in crappy bikes for service, we don't make anything working on them.' The challenge in most shops is that it's simply a very hard business to be in and what makes your average customer happy doesn't exactly line up with what turns a profit. So yeah, I'd basically agree with this video: it's the conditions that make most mechanics seem like grumpy *******s, not the people themselves.
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