u/blumpkins_ahoy

I’m not the most business minded person, but I’m trying to pick up what I can since I need it in my new role. One thing I’ve found curious is how Wolf Tooth seem to have their business model down pat. They offer high quality US made components at reasonable prices, often with discounts, and are constantly releasing fresh new products. I just don’t get with how low their margins must be due to US production, they’re able to keep a steady growth in an industry that is soulcrushing hostile towards the grassroots brands. Am I crazy in thinking they’ve cracked the code to longevity?

Edit: I think some people are missing the point about most of the components being made in the US. When you compare their products to other domestic US manufacturers, their prices are always lower on components while maintaining a comparable quality.

I swear to fucking god I’m going to rip my junk off.

Just that. I’m got into a discussion about bosses with another mechanic, and it got me wondering how many of us like our bosses? My shop’s owner and I are friendly, but not friends. We spend most of our time together because of how much we work, and we butt heads infrequently, but we’re also both professionals and we can set personal feelings aside.

So? How do you like your managers/owners?

Are they really Amish?

This dude is married to the game and I respect the fuck out of it.

Any time y’all have Marcos on for a guest, I know I’m about to listen to some of the most unhinged wisdom known to man. I’ve listened to Homie Vulgaris multiple times, but there’s something about the show format that just didn’t do it for me. But when you add Marcos to any KtC episode, it immediately elevates the entertainment experience.

The only thing that pushed me out the door to work this morning was the fact that I got to listen to a Marcos episode during the drive to work. More of that please.

Pretty much the title. I pulled a muscle in my lower back last month and haven’t been riding since because of the pain. Now that my back is slowly starting to feel better, and I’ve almost got my gravel bike back together, I’d like to get back to riding sooner rather than later.

I suspect that my injury may have been caused my riding as I had just been back to riding for only a few months. Now that I am close to recovering, what is the best way to ease back into riding to prevent the injury from reoccurring?

I’m running the service department of a local shop that is heavily invested in service. The owner and I have been rebuilding the shop since he purchased it, and as part of that, I’m realizing bounce backs are an unavoidable reality. While nothing egregious has come back, we have a small number have come back for issues that were either our fault or of the customer.

I fielded a phone call from a displeased customer over the weekend, and it’s had me thinking about how it may cover us down the road to formalize our service warranty. My previous shop did not like warrantying service because the owner was frugal. I believe he refused to accept any refund requests after 2 weeks.

I want my customers to have confidence in our work because we are such a small shop. Since I arrived, multiple customers have reported back to us about hearing about my reputation as a skilled mechanic. I feel a little pressure from that. The only way I can think to do that is to have a robust service guarantee on our work. With that in mind, I’m wondering what other shops are doing for their service guarantees. Do y’all have something formal or do you take things on a case by case basis? What’s the warranty period you’re willing to honor?

“Doing Terminator”

I’ll try to be brief. I’ve gotten back into riding my gravel bike several times a week, and I keep getting numbness in my hands. I use roughly the same “post-cyclocross fit” that I’ve used for the past decade or so. Numbness has always been an issue, but it’s keeping me from some of my riding goals.

So, I’ve always used a 44cm bar since I was fit for my road bike 15 years ago. At that time, my standard fit was 44 bar with a 110 stem. After I “retired” from cyclocross, I shortened the stem to 90 for a more comfortable fit, which is what I’ve used since.

Now, I’m caught between the idea of swapping my stem for an 80mm or going to a 42cm bar. I’m a bit torn on which to try first.

Thoughts?