Trek SA Concept store Design Quarter

[love2fly]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:19 AM, Furbz said:

just think, this all could have been avoiding by using BSC....

I know of a Top Fuel that went to BSC to have a larger chainring and new chain fitted. Chain was probably just cut to same no. of links as the end result was 1 or 2 links too short. It's things like this that made me learn to work on my own bike. I only entrust a LBS with wheel truing and take my suspension to a specialist that I know really well.

Plus I get the enjoyment of doing the work (right) and saving a fee Escudos.

[Johan A Marais]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:39 AM, Paul Ruinaard said:

Okay so I had some fun here and a lot is tongue in cheek and I do go to the concept stores to look at the drool worthy bikes but when i look at the prices i have a bad WTF reaction. 

FWIW I was watching the insert on Cadence last night on DSTV  where they profiled Woodstock cycles. Now that's a bike shop. People like Mellow Velo who were always good and always had stock of everything or would get what i wanted and the like. Willing to charge like wounded buffaloes for the pleasure but he commanded a premium in my book cause he knew his sh&t and added value. 

The other guy who was my go to shop was Josh at Complete Cyclists who i am told sadly has burned down. Josh built more bikes for me than i knew and i think he was always entertained by whatever crazy project i dreamed up and wanted built. We geeked out on things jointly as he brought my visions to life.

There is something innately creative that fulfils a piece of my being and needs to bring life to a project and imagining the finished product, then procuring the bits and discussing the build and specs with the bike shops. Bikes are inherently simple and easy to fix but also complex with small things that make a difference - spoke tensions and nipples and rim widths etc.

As you can see i climbed pretty far down the rabbit hole of cycling and cycling lore over the 25 years or so since i got my first onramp drugs.  So far that when i moved hoods to Paarl i went and interviewed bike shops to see who would be my go to guys for my projects and the like and i see to have found a like minded bunch in the All Mountain dudes in Simondium who are now building a little hardtail runaround for me. i arrived there with a box of leftovers from various projects in my garage and they are effectively bringing a box of spares to life with some added bits, which will become a real living bike. I love doing this and i love their passion for the project and getting freehubs to work with hub bodies, building wheels out of rims and hubs and machining adapters for me. Thats craft.

The lifestyle/concept stores have their place and TBH i spend time with my nose pressed up against their exciting store windows but take my money elsewhere. Mixed feelings but they always seem so superior - and therefore I am not a major fan as they also have to support a rental and staff etc that is a minimum stake and pay the franchisors etc so its a different model.

Having said that i have a garage full of Specialized's but i was buying the brand starting in 2000 and i do think they have some wicked ideas. Also have had Treks and Cannondales along the way and some Santa Cruz and the like thrown in for good measure oh and some real craft things like Lynskey single speeds and Merlin Cielo (which i sold after a divorce and still regret).

My 2 cents worth - but its Friday so dont take any of these ramblings seriously 🙂

Paul

I love this, I do the same.  Bike projects drives my spending to a large degree, and I found a LBS (and nogals a concept store) who supports this passion, very much like you did.  They get as excited as I do re these projects and go far and wide to help me with sometimes really crazy ideas (and they do throw in their own also 😉).  To the point that not one of my bikes are a stock standard (you can buy it in a shop) bike, and I love that...

And it is not really a money spinner for them, but the love of cycling and providing exceptional service to a very loyal customer and supporter. (It takes two to tango).  Off course they will make a buck or two, or three, sometimes even four, but that is good...

I just love it when fellow cyclists come on over to talk and admire these creations.  And that happens often and much more than when I am at the coffee shop, drinking by standard Americano, with my Sworks Epic. (PS. also customized 😁)

[droo]

22 hours ago, The Commuter said:

Paul

I love this, I do the same.  Bike projects drives my spending to a large degree, and I found a LBS (and nogals a concept store) who supports this passion, very much like you did.  They get as excited as I do re these projects and go far and wide to help me with sometimes really crazy ideas (and they do throw in their own also 😉).  To the point that not one of my bikes are a stock standard (you can buy it in a shop) bike, and I love that...

And it is not really a money spinner for them, but the love of cycling and providing exceptional service to a very loyal customer and supporter. (It takes two to tango).  Off course they will make a buck or two, or three, sometimes even four, but that is good...

I just love it when fellow cyclists come on over to talk and admire these creations.  And that happens often and much more than when I am at the coffee shop, drinking by standard Americano, with my Sworks Epic. (PS. also customized 😁)

Yup, I also know 2 concept stores that are actually a proper bike shops underneath all the shiny stuff.

Not all of them can be tarred with the same brush.

[Shebeen]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:39 AM, Paul Ruinaard said:

 

FWIW I was watching the insert on Cadence last night on DSTV  where they profiled Woodstock cycles. Now that's a bike shop.

i will watch this., must be on catchup.

 

Got so much time for the mayor of Woodstock.

 

video up to 1.6b views now!

 

[Paul Ruinaard]

2 hours ago, Shebeen said:

i will watch this., must be on catchup.

 

Got so much time for the mayor of Woodstock.

 

video up to 1.6b views now!

 

Holy sh$t thats cool. Did not know that.

[Cycle4Life - Paarl]

On 11/17/2022 at 7:40 PM, ChrisF said:

 

Ouch....

 

Seriously bad experiences with the Trek store in Paarl ....

Could you please contact me regarding your bad experience as we would like to address this matter

 

[Shebeen]

18 minutes ago, Paul Ruinaard said:

Holy sh$t thats cool. Did not know that.

he tells a good story about it, had no clue about how or who it was for, and it needed to be THAT day (this was the original shop on albert rd). Then next thing chris martin walks in, and it all makes more sense since they were in CT for a concert (did not get paid much for it, btw). 

5 minutes ago, Cycle4Life - Paarl said:

Could you please contact me regarding your bad experience as we would like to address this matter

 

i think he said experiences as a plural, good luck though putting out an old fire!

[ChrisF]

On 11/17/2022 at 2:38 PM, ChrisF said:

 

Standard TREK practice ....

 

My EX5 went back creaks in the first week ...

 

Also a TREK concept store 

 

@Cycle4Life - Paarl

 

Having to do two times 90km round trips because the pre-delivery inspection was not done properly was a rocky start.

 

Selling an undersized bike to a newbie left a lasting bitter taste.... and resulted in some serious school fees.

 

EDIT - The other items were minor items.

 

O-well, we live and learn.

Edited November 22, 2022 by ChrisF