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Department Store Bike Assembly Fails (pic thread ?)

Old 09-24-21, 11:11 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
Where I work, we used to have a guy who occasionally worked part-time for Toys R Us assembling bikes. He liked the job because he could start at something like 7PM and work until closing time with little or no supervision. He was an avid cyclist and had several super-high-end bikes himself. The bikes he assembled at Toys R Us were fantastic.... But he built them so slowly it took him about a week to do each one. So after a few weeks, they usually fired him. But next season, they'd hire him back! A careful and fastidious worker but his real problem was laziness.
Very interesting. The fellow that you worked with, was he by chance an overweight, semi impoverished, ill-mannered, malcontented, sort who frequents BF? Not long ago I ran into a person here fitting that description who had intimated that he had first-hand knowledge about working in such capacity as you have described.

I know it's a long shot but, the old saying about its a small world, inhabited by a small number of small people...

Just curious.
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Old 09-24-21, 11:20 AM
  #27  
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The front reflector facing the ground is a nice touch.
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Old 09-24-21, 11:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Eric F
The front reflector facing the ground is a nice touch.
Aero is king.
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Old 09-24-21, 11:45 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by bowwow
Very interesting. The fellow that you worked with, was he by chance an overweight, semi impoverished, ill-mannered, malcontented, sort who frequents BF? Not long ago I ran into a person here fitting that description who had intimated that he had first-hand knowledge about working in such capacity as you have described.
No.... More like a Felix Unger-style neat freak. Thin and fastidious. Paranoid of dirt. Just as an example, one year we bought new trucks for some of our guys and he insisted he should get one too rather than inherit one of the more senior guys' hand-me-downs. He was able to convince the boss he couldn't drive a truck full of someone else's germs and dust.

At some point we fired him because he was too lazy. I'd say more, but there's always the chance he might recognize himself, being a bike rider he just might be a member.
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Old 09-24-21, 11:46 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by tomato coupe
Aero is king.
Clearly it's a top priority for this machine.
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Old 09-24-21, 12:03 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
No.... More like a Felix Unger-style neat freak. Thin and fastidious. Paranoid of dirt. Just as an example, one year we bought new trucks for some of our guys and he insisted he should get one too rather than inherit one of the more senior guys' hand-me-downs. He was able to convince the boss he couldn't drive a truck full of someone else's germs and dust.

At some point we fired him because he was too lazy. I'd say more, but there's always the chance he might recognize himself, being a bike rider he just might be a member.
I can relate. For several years I worked with a Felix Unger. He not only acted like Felix, but he looked like him as well. My Felix was anything but lazy though. In fact, he was one of the hardest workers I've ever worked with. One day he came into work all upset. After some prodding, he explained that he was upset because his girlfriend had gone into ¨his" closet while he was gone. I asked him why he was so upset. Was there something in the closet that he did not want her to see? Exasperated, he explained, ¨ no, nothing in there, but, its ¨my" closet!¨ He was totally shaken - she had invaded his private space.

Gotta love Felix!
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Old 09-24-21, 01:10 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by bowwow
Very interesting. The fellow that you worked with, was he by chance an overweight, semi impoverished, ill-mannered, malcontented, sort who frequents BF? Not long ago I ran into a person here fitting that description who had intimated that he had first-hand knowledge about working in such capacity as you have described.

I know it's a long shot but, the old saying about its a small world, inhabited by a small number of small people...

Just curious.

Wow, you sure are bad at trolling.
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Old 09-24-21, 01:11 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by prj71
And this is why we don't buy bikes from department stores. Not only is the engineering on them crap so is the assembly. Double craptacular.
Typical reaction, and like most generalizations, wrong.

Out here in the real world we have mom & dad, 3 kids, a dog, a mortgage, and probably one or two car payments - and perhaps a student loan or credit card debt. They cannot afford to buy their kids a high priced big-name LBS bike to beat it up jumping curbs and leaving it out in the rain. Mom & dad don't need an exotic or pricey bike for casual riding. They drive a Ford Escape - they can't afford an Land Rover Evoque. The price point of department store bikes meets their situation. It's that or they don't ride.

The vast majority of our bike sales were decent and solid products. Not fancy or highly refined, but far from junk - basic steel "mountain" bikes for kids, comfortable bikes that older adults enjoyed, lighter aluminum hybrids that mom & dad bought to ride with their kids. We carried a few more serious mountain bikes and a few road bikes, but had little demand for them. The only real issues we had with them came from the typical abuse or lack or maintenance.

But I will grant the point that some department store bikes are junk. Every Black Friday we got a batch of $99.00 specials that were so bad that you could barely call them bikes. Fortunately they were advertised as "limited quantity" and we only got about 10 or 12 units. I never "sold" one of those bikes - I used them to sell up to a decent model. I told the customers exactly what they were and did everything but call them stupid if they bought one. But - there were always those people who saw only price and would not listen. I can't imagine putting my kids on one of those, but . . . .

Now I do contend that anyone who would buy a department store bike from a big-box store or wholesale club that does not have a service and repair facility in store is making a dumb mistake. Some of the "Schwinn" bikes at Target are probably OK, but there is no support. And I could relate a bunch of horror stories I heard about the LBS support, so they are not perfect either. A great new car experience can be killed by a poor service department. Like most things in life, it comes down to the person.

Of course, this is BF and I have the audacity to defend that most evil of products, the department store bike. On top of that, I am one of those terrible ebikers! So flame on guys!
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Old 09-24-21, 01:21 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by MNebiker
Typical reaction, and like most generalizations, wrong.

Out here in the real world we have mom & dad, 3 kids, a dog, a mortgage, and probably one or two car payments - and perhaps a student loan or credit card debt. They cannot afford to buy their kids a high priced big-name LBS bike to beat it up jumping curbs and leaving it out in the rain. Mom & dad don't need an exotic or pricey bike for casual riding. They drive a Ford Escape - they can't afford an Land Rover Evoque. The price point of department store bikes meets their situation. It's that or they don't ride.

The vast majority of our bike sales were decent and solid products. Not fancy or highly refined, but far from junk - basic steel "mountain" bikes for kids, comfortable bikes that older adults enjoyed, lighter aluminum hybrids that mom & dad bought to ride with their kids. We carried a few more serious mountain bikes and a few road bikes, but had little demand for them. The only real issues we had with them came from the typical abuse or lack or maintenance.

But I will grant the point that some department store bikes are junk. Every Black Friday we got a batch of $99.00 specials that were so bad that you could barely call them bikes. Fortunately they were advertised as "limited quantity" and we only got about 10 or 12 units. I never "sold" one of those bikes - I used them to sell up to a decent model. I told the customers exactly what they were and did everything but call them stupid if they bought one. But - there were always those people who saw only price and would not listen. I can't imagine putting my kids on one of those, but . . . .

Now I do contend that anyone who would buy a department store bike from a big-box store or wholesale club that does not have a service and repair facility in store is making a dumb mistake. Some of the "Schwinn" bikes at Target are probably OK, but there is no support. And I could relate a bunch of horror stories I heard about the LBS support, so they are not perfect either. A great new car experience can be killed by a poor service department. Like most things in life, it comes down to the person.

Of course, this is BF and I have the audacity to defend that most evil of products, the department store bike. On top of that, I am one of those terrible ebikers! So flame on guys!

I get the sense, though, that the quality floor in a sporting goods store like Dicks tends to be a bit higher than a Walmart--in other words, WM might actually sell a fair amount of total crap bikes when a Dicks wouldn't.

Is that wrong?

Please notice I liked your post, so don't see this as a prelude to a flame. It's an honest question. I've seen a lot of what I call the "Snob vs. Slob" debates here, and what I've noticed is both sides love to paint with a very broad brush.
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Old 09-24-21, 01:32 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by denaffen
I'm not sure how you could say it doesn't seem a problem unless it's because anyone with the forks reversed will give up riding shortly, either because it's no fun at all, or because they're seriously injured.
I wouldn't do it, but there are a lot of them around being ridden, so some people can do it. Have you ever seen a stayer bike? https://www.bikehugger.com/posts/stayer-bikes/
I can understand why it would feel unstable. As you slow the steering it's going to be hard to stay upright.
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Old 09-24-21, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by unterhausen
I wouldn't do it, but there are a lot of them around being ridden, so some people can do it. Have you ever seen a stayer bike? https://www.bikehugger.com/posts/stayer-bikes/
I can understand why it would feel unstable. As you slow the steering it's going to be hard to stay upright.

And then there's the big crank mountain descenders that must have a name, but I don't know what it is:

https://www.bikeforums.net/20846581-post130.html
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Old 09-24-21, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
Working for min wage, being held at 31 hours so the company doesn't have to pay any benefits, constantly being asked to do unpaid "incidental' overtime, sudden schedule changes ...... can't pay your bills, can't get assistance, can't get a second job because the hours change all the time without warning ..... When someone shows you "I don't give a frog about the lowly employees" the employees tend to return the feeling.

Look at your situation .... being ordered to do a crappy job in a situation where it actually creates more work, because the bikes have to be built twice ..... Getting yelled at for taking the time to do a good job .... and likely getting yelled at for not doing a good job when you work to the time limits. The only people who can tolerate that stuff are the people who truly do not care much about anything.
After re-reading your rant I have come to the conclusion that you have just attacked my basic character and implied that I am probably stupid and uncaring. I realize the anonymous nature of the internet makes it easy to take a cheap shot, but somehow I take offense at your comments.

Let me point out a few things to you:

1. I was treated quite decently by the store. The manager respected me and my work. He understood the build quality issues, but he was in a bind and was pressured to comply by the regional manager. I've been in management positions, so I know how that stuff works. No job I ever held in 50 years was ideal or stress-free. It's the nature of a work environment - unless you are your own boss most adults will deal with things by either quitting to find the "perfect" job or just deal with things and go on. (Or maybe they go postal . . . . ?)

2. I was retired. This was not a career. But I needed something to help fill empty hours, and the job was good for me, kept me in touch with younger people. I rode for years, so it was a good fit and I liked selling bikes and helping people. Since my time was flexible, I worked whatever shift was needed, gave the store 100%, even with the normal management issues and retail nonsense. I tried my best to make the customer happy, not for the good of the store but because it was the right thing to do. (But - No matter what they say, the customer is not always right.)

3. If you read my post you would note that I mentioned my standard for bikes - safe enough for my only grandson. Does that sound like someone who "...truly does not care much about anything?" I was raised with a work ethic, a conscience, and a sense of personal responsibility. I may not be happy with the pay, customers, management, store policy, etc. -- but they hired me to do a job and I did it....as I did for 50+ years.
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Old 09-24-21, 03:15 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
Wow, you sure are bad at trolling.
F-
I find your accusatory tone offensive. Stop it.
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Old 09-24-21, 03:42 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by bowwow
I find your accusatory tone offensive. Stop it.

This you?
Originally Posted by bowwow
obviously speaking from experience
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Old 09-24-21, 06:41 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by MNebiker
After re-reading your rant I have come to the conclusion that you have just attacked my basic character and implied that I am probably stupid and uncaring. I realize the anonymous nature of the internet makes it easy to take a cheap shot, but somehow I take offense at your comments.

Let me point out a few things to you:

1. I was treated quite decently by the store. The manager respected me and my work. He understood the build quality issues, but he was in a bind and was pressured to comply by the regional manager. I've been in management positions, so I know how that stuff works. No job I ever held in 50 years was ideal or stress-free. It's the nature of a work environment - unless you are your own boss most adults will deal with things by either quitting to find the "perfect" job or just deal with things and go on. (Or maybe they go postal . . . . ?)

2. I was retired. This was not a career. But I needed something to help fill empty hours, and the job was good for me, kept me in touch with younger people. I rode for years, so it was a good fit and I liked selling bikes and helping people. Since my time was flexible, I worked whatever shift was needed, gave the store 100%, even with the normal management issues and retail nonsense. I tried my best to make the customer happy, not for the good of the store but because it was the right thing to do. (But - No matter what they say, the customer is not always right.)

3. If you read my post you would note that I mentioned my standard for bikes - safe enough for my only grandson. Does that sound like someone who "...truly does not care much about anything?" I was raised with a work ethic, a conscience, and a sense of personal responsibility. I may not be happy with the pay, customers, management, store policy, etc. -- but they hired me to do a job and I did it....as I did for 50+ years.

I think you may be sensing an insult when none was intended. The post he was responding to had an anecdote by you where you talked about the regional management rewarding speed and punishing care at the store you worked at, and your store managers apparently resisted by refusing to compromise quality. I took from that that at your store, the "good guys" won. Then you described your buying experience where you got bikes that were assembled very poorly and asked how they got that way. Maelochs was merely suggesting that at the store you bought them at, the bad management approach had won out. Workers can't be expected to take pride in their work if they're actually being punished for taking proper care.

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Old 09-24-21, 06:44 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by bowwow
I find your accusatory tone offensive. Stop it.
I don't have an accusatory tone, I'm making an accusation. You personally insulted someone, that's a rule violation. Stop it. And if you are going to do it, at least be a little clever. There's nothing worse than a boring troll.
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Old 09-24-21, 11:42 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
Where I work, we used to have a guy who occasionally worked part-time for Toys R Us assembling bikes. He liked the job because he could start at something like 7PM and work until closing time with little or no supervision. He was an avid cyclist and had several super-high-end bikes himself. The bikes he assembled at Toys R Us were fantastic.... But he built them so slowly it took him about a week to do each one. So after a few weeks, they usually fired him. But next season, they'd hire him back! A careful and fastidious worker but his real problem was laziness.
Wow, a week per bike?! When I first started at a bike shop, I was slow, but still got a bike assembled and ready for the showroom in under an hour. Eventually got it down to 10-15 minutes, although most of the bikes at a real bike shop are probably easier to set up than the toy store bikes.
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Old 09-25-21, 03:08 AM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
I don't have an accusatory tone, I'm making an accusation. You personally insulted someone, that's a rule violation. Stop it. And if you are going to do it, at least be a little clever. There's nothing worse than a boring troll.
Your insults and goading are harassment. For the second time, stop it
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Old 09-25-21, 04:38 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by MNebiker
Typical reaction, and like most generalizations, wrong.

Out here in the real world we have mom & dad, 3 kids, a dog, a mortgage, and probably one or two car payments - and perhaps a student loan or credit card debt. They cannot afford to buy their kids a high priced big-name LBS bike to beat it up jumping curbs and leaving it out in the rain. Mom & dad don't need an exotic or pricey bike for casual riding. They drive a Ford Escape - they can't afford an Land Rover Evoque. The price point of department store bikes meets their situation. It's that or they don't ride.

The vast majority of our bike sales were decent and solid products. Not fancy or highly refined, but far from junk - basic steel "mountain" bikes for kids, comfortable bikes that older adults enjoyed, lighter aluminum hybrids that mom & dad bought to ride with their kids. We carried a few more serious mountain bikes and a few road bikes, but had little demand for them. The only real issues we had with them came from the typical abuse or lack or maintenance.

But I will grant the point that some department store bikes are junk. Every Black Friday we got a batch of $99.00 specials that were so bad that you could barely call them bikes. Fortunately they were advertised as "limited quantity" and we only got about 10 or 12 units. I never "sold" one of those bikes - I used them to sell up to a decent model. I told the customers exactly what they were and did everything but call them stupid if they bought one. But - there were always those people who saw only price and would not listen. I can't imagine putting my kids on one of those, but . . . .

Now I do contend that anyone who would buy a department store bike from a big-box store or wholesale club that does not have a service and repair facility in store is making a dumb mistake. Some of the "Schwinn" bikes at Target are probably OK, but there is no support. And I could relate a bunch of horror stories I heard about the LBS support, so they are not perfect either. A great new car experience can be killed by a poor service department. Like most things in life, it comes down to the person.

Of course, this is BF and I have the audacity to defend that most evil of products, the department store bike. On top of that, I am one of those terrible ebikers! So flame on guys!
I agree with your sentiment. Here in the UK there are places where you can buy a budget bike that is likely to have been assembled competently on site and ride reasonably well e.g. Halfords, Decathlon etc. But then there are also places where you can buy a budget bike that is likely to be complete and utter junk e.g. Toys R Us (before it went bust). The trouble is that a lot of buyers in that market don't have a clue what they are looking for. So it's mostly pot-luck whether or not they get decent value for their money.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:03 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by bowwow
Very interesting. The fellow that you worked with, was he by chance an overweight, semi impoverished, ill-mannered, malcontented, sort who frequents BF? Not long ago I ran into a person here fitting that description who had intimated that he had first-hand knowledge about working in such capacity as you have described.

I know it's a long shot but, the old saying about its a small world, inhabited by a small number of small people...

Just curious.
Originally Posted by bowwow
Your insults and goading are harassment. For the second time, stop it
You made two posts directly insulting another member. Spare me your cries of persecution.
Apologize to the person you called "small" and "an overweight, semi-impovershed, ill-mannered malcontented sort" and I'll stop calling you a troll. I get that you think that not naming the person in your second insult post is supposed to protect you from the mods, but you made it painfully obvious who it was aimed at. It was a personal attack, and a really obnoxious one to boot. You're insulting someone for having had a bad job and not being sufficiently wealthy to your standards?!?!?!

​​​​​I didn't insult you, btw, I just pointed out the obvious facts that you were trolling and that the insults were unclever and boring. Your false accusations against me are harassment, stop it.

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Old 09-25-21, 05:13 AM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by PeteHski
I agree with your sentiment. Here in the UK there are places where you can buy a budget bike that is likely to have been assembled competently on site and ride reasonably well e.g. Halfords, Decathlon etc. But then there are also places where you can buy a budget bike that is likely to be complete and utter junk e.g. Toys R Us (before it went bust). The trouble is that a lot of buyers in that market don't have a clue what they are looking for. So it's mostly pot-luck whether or not they get decent value for their money.
This!
I wish I was competent enough to write this, but I've always thought it would be helpful if there was a sticky post as to what to look for or look out for in an inexpensive bike in General Cycling. Every time someone posts a question about that, they end up having to wade through a zillion unhelpful "don't buy" posts that really tell them nothing but to spend money they don't have and the inevitable trillionth tedious argument about dept store bikes.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:36 AM
  #47  
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I have heard the RV industry quality standards are almost non-existent. They cant get anybody to work on a regular basis, no skill set, little training and the RV industry just wants to make money so they keep pushing and pushing to crank out bad units.
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Old 09-25-21, 06:01 PM
  #48  
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Um wasn’t this supposed to be a pic thread?
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Old 09-27-21, 12:36 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
I once applied for a seasonal job assembling bicycles for Toys R Us. Apparently having experience wrenching at a bike shop is so undesirable that they won't even give you an interview.
That may have contributed to their bankruptcy. A long time ago I worked as the "bike mechanic" at a big box store. The shop did actually have a repair stand, tools, and a parts catalog but I never did an actual repair
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Old 09-27-21, 01:59 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by MNebiker
My basic standard was that any bike that I touched had to be safe enough that I would allow my only grandson to ride it.
*Only* grandson? Oh, right, it would be different if you had spares.

Just kidding, of course. I appreciate the sentiment.
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