Saturday, October 3, 2015

Winter Hours

Hey Y'all,

We are changing our hours of operation for the coming darkness. We will be open 10am-6pm Seven days a week until further notice. Plan accordingly. We apologize for any inconvenience.

-Clinton

Monday, September 28, 2015

Buying bikes off of Craigslist

When customers ask us about sourcing bikes on Craigslist, we always recommend they have those bikes checked out by a bike shop (or a competent mechanic) before they make a purchase. While there are often some good deals on Craigslist, there are also plenty of not so good deals:
  • Sometimes bikes are in decent working order, but need enough repair parts and labor costs to make them cost more than a brand new bike.
  • Sometimes bikes are put together by people who don't know enough about bicycles in order to properly assemble them. Non-compatible components are often 'slapped together' into a bicycle that will end up costing the buyer a lot of money to get into working order.
  • Other times, critically damaged and/or unprofessionally repaired frames and components are hacked together by someone who is fully aware that what they're doing is wrong, and couldn't care less about the safety of the person they're selling it to. Case in point:

A 1" threaded fork whose steerer was too short to fit this frame. Solution? Chop off another fork's 1" threadless steer, weld it together, and grind down the weld. The joint is sleeved with a tiny piece of some other bike's steer. The steerer is crooked regardless.


Random star nut, also welded into the steerer tube. 

 
A headset made out of: two different cups, no bearings on the top assembly, a 1" to 1-1/8" stem shim made out of a small chunk of steerer tube, and a cassette lockring ground out to act as some sort of spacer.


Not pictured:
-Indexed downtube shifter boss drilled out perpendiculary to act as a cable stop.
-Rear brake cable housing made out of a bunch of pieces of SIS housing.
-Brake pads installed upside down.
-8 speed trigger shifter on a seven speed cassette.
-A front brake caliper that had insufficient reach to grab the rim properly.

The price for this bicycle-shaped-object? $300. Upon contacting the original seller, the buyer was told, "I don't know what you're talking about; that bike rides great".

caveat emptor!



Friday, September 4, 2015

Labor day 2015

We will be closed Monday, September 7th for Labor day. We apologize for any inconvenience. Have a great weekend.

Love,
A Better Cycle

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Come check out the Redux 2!

$750.00
We are super stoked about this one:
-27.5 x 2.0 Schwalbe Big Bens.
-Tubular aluminum fork for stiffness/lightness.
-1 x 9 Drivetrain with Legit, Shadow rear derailleur.
-Hydraulic disc brakes


Monday, July 27, 2015

We are now a Raleigh dealer!

Hello folks,

Raleigh USA has made some great changes to their lineup for 2016. We are proud to say that we are a Stocking Raleigh dealer. Please visit raleighusa.com to see the exciting direction the Raleigh brand is taking. We will be looking forward to getting more people riding fun and comfortable bikes by way of the new and improved Raleigh bikes! Stay tuned for more.

Clinton Garner
A Better Cycle

 


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mayday 2015!

In celebration of our one year anniversary since our last blog post, We will be closed Friday, May 1st. This is also in celebration of International Worker's Day. Normal hours resume Saturday, May 2nd.

Thanks!
Clinton
A Better Cycle.