How Do You Pick a Bike Shop?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the all sponsors trail day on Mount Seymour. Most of these trail days put on by the NSMBA have a shop sponsor the day. The shop will supply lunch, maybe some draw prizes and help to organise the day's events. What was different about April 15th trail day was a number of shops helped to sponsor and organise the events and lunch for the day.

The boys from Different bikes had a great chili, Dan from On Top Bike Shop had a couple of salmon on the BBQ. Kim Steed and his crew from Steed Cycles had hamburgers and hot dogs. I think it was John Henry Bikes that brought pizza. New guy on the block Matt Juhas of North Shore Bike shop was making the rounds all day handing stuff out and giving a hand where he could. The Cove Bikes was also helping out.

What was interesting to me was that I know all these guys and gals. On Top is just down the street from our house. Dan, one of the owners of On Top, has a daughter the same age as my son. We have a lot in common.

Willie, of John Henry, lives down the street from me, has a kid that went to daycare with my daughter, and has just recently had another child. Willie is riding across Canada this fall to help support Juvenile diabetes .

I found out at the trail day that Kim Steed's wife is a "Townsend" A few of my buddies from Edmonton, when I raced, were sponsored by Proctor/Townsend bikes. We had a lot to talk about including additions to their family.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that all of these store owners are really great people. I want to do business with all of them. Unfortunately I don't have the time or the money to frequent all the shops that I want to. So how does one choose a shop, or maybe more importantly, why do you need to choose a shop? What I have found over the years is that it pays to be loyal to one shop.

Years ago when Jeff Carr was at the Cove, I would go there and Jeff would treat me right. He knew that I would come back if he helped me make the best decisions for my riding and my budget. He also knew that if he gave me a bit of a deal I would definitely keep coming back. Through the years Jeff has moved around a bit. I have followed Jeff from the Cove, to Simon's, and now to his newest venture at Different Bikes. Jeff has always treated me with respect, he has always listenes to my concerns, he gives me deals on everything I buy from him, but most importantly he makes sure that if I am having a problem with a piece of equipment that he tries his darndest to get it fixed, replaced or has a demo for me to ride on the weekend.

So although all of the bike shop owners are great here on the North Shore you have to find one or two that you are comfortable with, that treat you well and give you a reason to keep coming back time and again to spend your hard earned cash.

In Support of the Mudflap

In my last entry I talked about the essential tools for commuting in the rain. I mentioned the mudflap, not this kind of mudflap, as an essential part of the fender. This is a follow up to that post.

I recently bought a new pair of fenders for my commuter. My old fenders were a little narrow and I wanted wider tires, so I decided to get bigger fenders. The new fenders are Planet Bike Freddy Hybrids. Now these fenders have a "mudflap" attached so I didn't add my own initially. After a few rides I realised that the mudflaps were less function and more fashion though.

In general mudflaps channel water away from the rider and back onto the road. In most cases front fenders are too short and water that is supposed to be channeled to the road ends up on your feet and in your drive train. It is the latter that tipped me off that my mudflaps on the Freddy's was woefully inadequate.

After a week of riding to work and having a) soaking wet feet (even with shoe covers on, and b) a grinding sensation in my drive train I decided it was time to replace the Freddy's flaps with some "Monster" flaps.

As you can see from this picture the "water line" is above my front chain ring. This caused all the lube on my chain to be washed away leaving a terrible metal-on-metal-with-some-sand-mixed-in-grinding-sound.
The flap needed to be close to the ground and needed to channel the water better.

I used a drill to remove the rivets holding the flap on and then drew and cut a proper flap. My old muflap on my previous fenders was a "plain Jane" model. It was straight on both sides, it went almost to the ground, it was oh so practical, but a bit boring. So this time I thought I'd make it a little more graceful.

What you need to make this happen.
1) a drill ( to make a 2 holes in your fender to attach the new flap
2) zap strap
3) Stair tread rubber (Home Despot)
4) Scissors (careful with these they seem to be dangerous to some)
5) Template (print the image below)

Print the template , tape it to your stair tread rubber and cut it out (carefully). Drill two holes in your fenders 2 and 3 cm from the base of the fender (one on above the other). Align and cut two holes in your mudflap. Attach the mudflap to the fender with the zap strap. Voila a stylish and effective tool for keeping the sand and water out of your drive train and off your feet.

Bike Commuting in Vancouver; a low budget beginners guide

Recently my brother-in-law asked me what it takes to become a bike commuter in Vancouver. Now there are many "guides" out there that help with this, but Vancouver is a bit different, it rains here -- it rains A LOT here.

So I thought I would put up my own list of what I think it takes to commute here. I also thought that I would put together two lists, a low budget list ( this post) and a "if-I-had-all the-dough-in-the-world-list"(in a later post).

Low Budget List

1. Full fenders -under $20.00 at MEC, fenders are at the top of the because they are the MOST important piece of equipment on any bike in the rain. I add a mud flap to the bottom of both my front and back fenders.

2. Poncho -- I prefer a jacket, but on occasion I have used a poncho. Poncho's are great if you don't go too fast. The faster you go though the more likely hood of you turning into a parachute that will either slow you to a crawl or lift you into the sky -- be careful. I have a poncho I got for free at some event or another. It is great. I have used it for climbs from my house up into the mountains in torrential downpours. The advantages of a poncho are that you are cooled by the air coming up from underneath and you are kept dry from the rain coming down. The down side is that if you don't have fenders water from your wheels comes up (with the cool air) and soaks you. If you are climbing slowly they work great. A friend of mine got the MEC Poncho. He sowed thumb loops into it so that it stays over his hands and handlebars and doesn't flap around.

3. Lights. As many as you can afford. I run my light almost all of the time. Blinky lights that keep you seen by other road users are cheap! There is no reason for everyone that has a bike and is out on the street not to use these. I recently purchasesd a Planet Bike Super Flash. I also have a 5 beamer on the front and another blinky on my helmet. The total set up for flashy lights was about $30.00. Once you have your lights replace the batteries periodically. Although manufacturers say that they have 1000 hours of run time they really don't. I replace my batteries once a month or so. I have followed many a commuter who has flashing lights, but the batteries are long overdue for replacement -- batteries are cheap too!

4. Plastic bag shoe covers. If it is really raining it is nice to keep your feet dry. something as simple as plastic bags over your shoes with rubber bands to hold them up can slow the inevitable soaking of your feet.

5. Shower cap. I used to use these sometimes. These are the caps that are in hotel bathrooms. They fit perfectly over helmets. The only problem I found with using these is that if you sweat, the sweat seems to concentrate inside the terrarium like confines of helmet/cover combo. When the sweat drips down into your eyes it stings like the venom from some sort of tropical mankiller. So be warned!

Total cost of these commuting additions that make a real difference in how comfortable you are, about $50.00. You can get to work dryer and safer. Be careful out there.