Wilson wrote:
>
> "Tom Sherman" <sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:g05gbt$cog$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> ryancycles aka Dick Ryan wrote:
>>>> In the early days of re***bency there were several small
>>>> manufacturers who
>>>> built relatively cheap re***bents. They too never sold well which
>>>> convinced
>>>> me there was no market for such bikes. Your Ryan re***bents were for
>>>> a niche
>>>> market from the beginning and never had a chance in hell of ever
>>>> gaining a
>>>> large market. There is nothing wrong with that but, please, do not
>>>> blame any
>>>> of your woes on the lowly bike shop owners and employees.
>>>>
>>>> - Show quoted text -
>>>
>>> Comments about re***bents that I've heard in bike shops.
>>> You'll never see one on the floor of this shop!
>>> They don't go up hills.
>>> They are too heavy.
>>> They are too low to the ground.
>>> They're slow.
>>> Sorry, can't help you, don't know anything about them.
>>> Real men ride REAL bicycles!
>>> They suck.
>>> A friend of mine works at Wheel and Sprocket, probably the most
>>> successful shop in the country. They sell about 5000 bikes a year and
>>> about 7-800 re***bents. Trek is located not far from them, they have
>>> an annual dealer meeting. According to my friend every year a dozen or
>>> so dealers from around the country will stop by to shoot the breeze.
>>> Most are astounded by the fact W&S has 50 or 60 re***bents on the
>>> floor and often ask WHY. The very fact that they ask "why" should be a
>>> good indication of the lack of intelligence on their part. For a few
>>> years we had about a dozen dealers around the country. We had a couple
>>> of high end very successful shops selling the bikes. Unfortunately
>>> they all shared the same problem, they had one employee who was the
>>> "re***bent guy" the rest of the employees refused to even discuss the
>>> bikes with potential customers. I know this is true because I visited
>>> a couple of these shops and didn't identify myself and when I asked
>>> about re***bents was told I'd have to wait until the "re***bent guy"
>>> was available. When I discussed this problem with the shop owners they
>>> all gave me the same answer. Well, I'm sorry, but I can't afford to
>>> offend the employees because they are so hard to find. I had quite a
>>> few calls from potential customers who had driven many miles to look
>>> at our bike and had made the mistake of not checking on the
>>> availability of the "re***bent" guy. Of course this reaction from the
>>> shop people didn't go over very well with the potential customer and
>>> they would call us and complain.[...]
>>
>> I have had almost exactly the experience Dick describes at several
LBS's.
>>
>
> No doubt from Blue State UCI elitist bike racing bigots with a room full
> of racing bikes they can't sell for reasons they can't fathom. You were
> in the wrong bike shop. Look down the street. Somebody has probably
> seen the op****tunity to sell and service non UCI racing bikes.
I know a bike shop owner who caters to commuters and practical cyclists,
but wants nothing to do with re***bents.
As for a re***bent shop, I went through Hales Corners four times today,
so I could have stopped in a Wheel & Sprocket [1]. ;)
[1] Also saw a couple of W&S advertisements on billboards (all showing
upright bicycles, however).
--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
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