Freewheelers Bicycle Shop

The recurring effort of the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News to try to convince dealers that we can create new riders is here. They provide dealers with a pep talk and lots of good ideas. I have one for the industry, speaking from the background of a career bicycle mechanic/seller/user. Stop making components and bike frames that are not user serviceable. At least in the entry level price point.

The internal cables routing really does work, is not expensive, don't get me wrong. But it is unnecessary. Disc brakes are a good value and they do everything that they say and they too are unnecessary.

We need more bike mechanics and store owners that do every customer interaction every day and who get all the praise and complaining that businesses get, instead of having a staff with no institutional memory and whose job it is to insulate the owners from daily stress, which is customer feedback.

Not dollars only, loyalty creates better business. Loyalty is disappearing as the Epstein class squeezes more and more from the middle class and working class, which results in online shopping from, in many cases, businesses that have no name or at least do not impress upon the customer who they are and where they are. Amazon shoppers, in some cases, do not know the name of the seller they patronize for discount reasons or the fiction of free shipping.

We need smaller shops, fewer absentee owners and more training of staff in the realities of retail. One of which is the more you give away, the more you get back.

Why some tires run larger or smaller than actual measurement. The narrow tire is a thirty year old, 27x1" tire, made in Japan and the other is today's German 27x1-1/4". There are no standards of measurement as of yet between various countries (and eras).

27x1-1/4
Continental is renowned for durability, flat resistance and roundness.Tolerances are excellent.

The other one is a 27 x 1 inch specialized Turbo.S. Not very round, famous for flatting.

Market music

The Public Market becomes an evening stage of food and entertainment. Bands on the Bricks is back for the summer season on consecutive Friday nights through the months of June to August with additional bonus performances on Wednesdays — aptly dubbed “ROC the Bricks”. The free to attend concert series will have live performances, food trucks and a beer garden. Starting off the series is improv jam band Delilah Jones from 6-9 p.m. on June 10 at 280 N. Union St.

To see the bike before my customer restored it and had it repainted, see the top comment

E-biking has helped folks re-start an exercise regiment after a long recovery, especially joint replacements and cardiac surgeries.

We have a lot of spring tune ups to finish, but there's still room for more

Wald seat post bolt, snap ring brake lever ferrule, top tube cable housing stops for old Schwinn bikes, Lucas odometer spoke mounted tapper bolt.