Components
If you want some fun check out some component weights we do here
at the shop.
How we sell Campagnolo and Shimano now has change since the old days when we would sell
it as a group. We would get calls all the time as to the price of a Campy or Shimano group then ask the labor to
install it and the customer would decide who they would buy it from. We still do groups but we sell a lot more "kits"
now or even part group and a build kit. This is easier for me and lets me offer better prices to you but it is harder
to figure out better value for you. You now need to know a lot of different prices with all the other parts available
out there. I will list group prices and kit prices. I will list the build kits with every part available with it.
Any part can be pulled or change giving a different price with an almost endless possibility.
We are known for building up new kits on your frame. We will clean, align, and prep your frame when installing the new kit then ship it right out to you. Having the shop be a mechanical based bike store we have taken on a lot of jobs ware the customer was told that a new group or kit would not fit their frame. But with a little work and changing of a few parts most frames can be made to use the newer parts made today. So before you lean that old work horse against the wall in the basement email us or come on in and talk.
Campagnolo. Campy has come a long way since it started a long time ago. Even though
its market share is at a small percentage right now I think it still has a lot to offer. Campy parts are completely rebuildable
and you can get the parts. I also like the path that I see Campagnolo going in. They keep up grading the parts
every year and pass on the changes a few years later to the lower groups. By just upgrading the parts if they go down a
wrong path they can come back the next year to fix the problem. Dollar per dollar Shimano is lighter and it would seem
to be more for the money but the mechanic in me loves the ability to rebuild parts and the reliability of Campagnolo too.
I personally ride with Campagnolo Chorus on two of my bikes and could not be happier with them.
I know it is a little more work on your part but you look up the price of the frame then look
at the price of the kit. Remember the prices will change to me with out notice so I
reserve the right to do the same to you.
Campagnolo.
SRAM. Corp.1987 is born and opens its first office/factory in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Total number of employees, six. First year goal: sell 100,000 units. Actually sold 1,000. Sachs introduces the Pentasport 5-speed hub.
SRAM. Corp.2006 sets the bike world on it’s head when they come out with a road group to take Campagnolo and Shimano head on. Time will tell if it work but I am excited with the news.
SRAM.
Shimano. For all intents and purposes Shimano has taken over the bike world. It is not necessarily a bad thing. The main positive to this is that any shop in the world you go in to will and can get parts you need. It has become the standard in fit and finish. There are whole companies that build their parts just to fit in to Shimano's lineup. My complaints about Shimano has always been the same complaints. When they change the line the line goes through some sweeping changes and I find it may or may not be an improvement but you are stuck with it. Another complaint is with our side of the business a lot of mechanics do not spend the time to learn how to work on the new stuff. I spend a lot of time reading the directions Shimano provides and spend time to try it out first so you will not have problems. So if you are like most people you will love the improvements and enjoy the changes.
Shimano.
Wheels
When I started in this business you would have someone build you a set of wheels. Now a days people buy the wheel built up. When Mavic came out with the Helium wheels everything changed. Everybody wants the wheels built up. It seems to be a great idea. The manufacture can control the hub, spokes and rim. A engineer can design it to all work together. It has become a system. The only problem I see is it has become like everything else watered down. Most of the wheels I see are made in a hand full of factories in Taiwan. Most of these wheels are just the same with different graphics on them. They pick a rim from column A, a hub from column B, and the spokes from column C. The engineer is not there any more. The few I try and carry I feel are different. The first being American Classic.
American Classic These people really design the wheels they do not use the column A,B,C method of wheel making. Their designer take a look at each and every part of the wheel and truly tries to get them to all work together. They have their signature minimalist look. They focus on function, reliability, strength, ride quality and easy maintenance. I know they may be a little more but I think they are worth a long look.
American Classic.
Reynolds Among the hundreds of parts that make up the modern bicycle, the wheelset is unique: it's the only component that touches both the frame and the road at the same time. That means every aspect of the road surface–good and bad–is transmitted to the frame and rider through the wheels. The same is true in reverse. Every rider command, intentional or otherwise, ultimately meets the road surface via the wheels. In other words, success, failure, performance, and experience depend directly on the design, material composition, and quality of your wheels. Reynolds test and re-test in two unforgiving venues: the lab, and international competition. If you would like a wheel that is not just like everybody else’s it is time to take a look at Reynolds.
Reynolds.
Pedals
Speedplay pedals are nothing like any other pedal system out there, take a look and understand for yourself. But it is not there goal to be different just for its own sake. Speedplay pedals are different because they have improved upon virtually every aspect of previous pedal designs.
Speedplay.
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