Amazing Story

A man comes in, asks for a tube.

What size?

28 inch.

That is a rare size, are you sure?

Well, it's a road tube, 700 by 28?

OK, presta or shrader valve?

What's that?

This is a presta, this is a shrader. (showing)

Well, can I put the normal valve in?

Only if you have the bigger hole in the rim.

How do I know?

You look at it. Do you currently have a presta valve tube?

Let me make a call.

(two minutes)

Is there a price difference between regular and presta?

No.

OK, well, I'll take the what-do-you-call-it?

Presta.

Yeah.

Regular or thorn-resistant?

Huh?

Lightweight or heavy-duty, to help prevent flats.

Uh, well, the heavy one. How much is it?

Ten dollars.

(on the phone)

How much for the regular one?

Six dollars.

(on the phone)

Is it worth the extra?

Yes, but it will impact performance. The lighter tube rolls easier and handles better, but is more likely to flat.

(on the phone)

How much is it?

Ten dollars for the heavy, six for the regular.

Hold on.

(on the phone)

Can you do better on the price?

No.

Hold on.

(on the phone)

Do other bike shops have lower prices?

I don't know.

I'm going to go look in Target.

(he leaves, returns in ten minutes. Target doesn't have presta-valve tubes, I guess)

What's the price on the heavy tube?

Ten dollars.

For any size?

Ten dollars for that size.

Let me make a call.

(two minutes)

Do you have any sales going on?

No.

(on the phone)

Can I get a lower price?

No.

This box has a crushed corner. Any discount for that?

No.

OK, well I suppose I'll take it.

Here, you can have this extra box. Ten dollars eighty-eight cents.

You said ten dollars.

Sales tax. It's the law.

You said ten dollars.

Are you going to buy this tube?

(he presents a credit card, purchasing the tube)

Thank you.

Next day, a phone call:

What's your return policy?

The Big Move

Temporary headquarters, one more step on the road to Global Bicycle Hegemony. In the background are seen ranks of our Children's Army who will fan out across the metro area and terrorize baby strollers and bird watchers and dog walkers and any others who may stand in our path. Mwahahahahaha!

My generals awaiting their orders.

Baptism of the new digs.

Halfway there.

Hard work has its own rewards.

Thanks to all who helped! Ed, Bill, Don, Doug, Jeannette, John and Erin, Mom, Dad, Jim and Florence, Miller and Winegarten and Co., City of Sheridan, and of course Customers. Couldn't have done it without you. -Paul

Bicycle Tour of Colorado 2011

Trail Ridge Road, waiting for the gates to open.
Severe altitude sickness
Evening campsite down time. And up. And down. And up.
Roadside attractions.
The crew.

We are Open!

at the new shop! 3602 River Point Parkway, in Sheridan. Up the hill from the confluence of Platte River and Bear Creek. In the bottleneck between Fatburger and Subway, across the parking lot from SuperTarget. New hours, M-W-Th-F 10-6, Tu 12-8, Sa 9-4. Give us a visit soon!

MOVING THE SHOP!

Paul's Cyclery will soon be moving to a new location. (Finally!) Starting June 1 or thereabouts we will be found in the beautiful, new, sunny and spacious location at 3602-D River Point Drive. For the address-impaired, it's the building presently occupied by Subway at the intersection of Platte River Trail and Bear Creek Trail. Across the parking lot from SuperTarget. A stone's throw from the path. Look for it!

Thou Dost Promote Too Much, Methinks

Just want to say, we're not offering bribes of store credit for posting a favorable online review.

We promise to build or repair your bike as well as possible, and to honor all reasonable requests fairly and cheerfully. Our primary means of promotion has always been and will continue to be referrals from satisfied customers. If you are pleased with our products and service, we believe that you will come back and tell all your friends, and if for some reason you are displeased with our service we hope you will tell us in person and give us a chance to amend the fault. That's all.

Campagnolo Delta Brake

The cover has been removed for illustration.  How many moving parts?  Thirty?  Forty???  What could possible go wrong?

Seriously, this is a great brake, somewhat limited in application, but super-strong with great modulation.  Hard to setup, won't work with tires over 23c, hard to adjust, and expensive to manufacture.  The cable binder takes a 3.5mm hex wrench, and to get the cover back on you have to cut the cable off flush, so good luck trying to make any subsequent cable adjustments.  There is a very narrow adjustment band and the pad thickness has to be matched to the rim width.  You can see how the arms don't quite line up with the body in this particular application.  I need thicker pads or spacers.  Maybe there's another adjustment in the pivots to account for rim width?  Arggh I don't have time for this!