first post, no name, no location. I'd almost call out troll on this one but I'll reply:

Nah, troll it is. No "almost" here.

WAFI*. Yeah, pictures of the owners along with their names, addresses and social security numbers were posted along with the pictures of the bikes. And Tom decides to, on his own dime, to correct most or all of the issues with these "race ready" bikes.

Tom, you are indeed a bastard, damn you. ;-)

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*="what a fucking idiot"

"If nothing else it was probably a poor business decision.....others may disagree, but its never a good thing to make fun of your customers or innocently expose them to ridicule which, knowing this place as he does, Tom should have foreseen."

Interesting observation, but I don't buy it. Here's why:

If I hadn't documented this and the guys bike had a mechanical, you can bet I would be on the opposite end of this double edged sword.

Better to be a hammer than a nail.

Also, if "making fun of a customer" is pointing out that their bike needs maintenance- Guilty as charged.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

But you decided to sponsor a team and have your logo on their outifts...and they knew you were not going to pay for said sponsorship? Not to stir the pot or anything.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

But all bullshit aside, Tom. What was he purpose of that post? I don't think it's news that some people don't take proper care of their bikes or don't know enough about bike maintainance. But so what? The post did strike me as either a bit mean-spirited ("Look at these assholes!") or a bit self-serving (Look at what a great guy I am.) So, relly, what was the point? I'm sure there was one. I just can't figure it ouit.

And Chuckie V is a better fitter than you - so there.

[reply]He exposed a customer, who did noting other than drop of all allegedly dirty bike at his store for shipment, to the Slowtwitch Bike Police..[/reply]

Well, you have a point here. I might be rather pissed to be subjected to ST's wrath when I didn't bring it on myself....

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Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away.

You most certainly should have documented the contition of the bikes, but probably just not on Slowtwitch with photos. The point you were making was a good one...too many people race on dirty or poorly maintained bikes and this is indeed the place to make that point...I just don't think you should have exposed the bike owners to the ensuing ridicule in such a way that they could identify their own bikes...i.e. with photos.

And I don't think you made fun of anyone, but others here did and you should have seen that coming.

I think you could have made your very valid point in another way and not lost this person as a customer.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

To show people they should maintain their bikes.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

"Better to be a hammer than a nail."

better to be a nailgun than a nail !

the hammer is for show the nailgun is for go.


Dirt

Obviously we didn't ridicule those people enough.

I'm sure if you bring your bike back Tom will throw some dirt on it and restore it to its original condition.

[reply]To show people they should maintain their bikes.[/reply]

Oh, come on, man, don't be so disingenuous. If you wanted "to show people they should maintain their bikes" why did you feel the need to show the whole forum? How 'bout just telling those bike owners? It doen't play, Tom, not at all.

Here's where I'm going with this. I bet there are quite a few nervous lurkers on this site, some customers or potential customers of Bikesport, who might think twice about bringing their bike to Tom's store for shipment or maintenance, afraid that they may be the next victims of the Forum Bike Police.......ha ha ha look at that dude's saddle its way too high, ha ha ha, look at his gearing does he know there are no hills in Florida?, ha ha ha has this guy ever heard of soap and water?

I don't think Tom made a good business decision exposing his customers like that. His intentions were good, I just think his judgement was poor.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

Guys, many of you are throwing "dirty" and "poorly maintained" into the same boat. There is nothing wrong with racing and training on a dirty bike (as long as your drivetrain is clean, who cares if you have dirt on the top tube). However, a poorly maintained bike can be dangerous. I'd rather see a dirty bike with brakes and gears that work (and I am stickler for that), than a waxed and clean bike with lose bolts in the handlebars (maintenance).

Its like the guy who always washes his cars but neglects to change the brake pads. I'd rather ride in the dirty car with good brakes.



Dev

Well said, and now, I totally agree with you. I'd be hesitant to do ANYTHING that might subject me to the ST Bike Police.

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Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away.

I personally don't know why anyone would even give a shit what people on this forum have to say. I've see threads rip plenty of people or products I've had good luck with or good service from. If you lack that amount of self confidence that your concerned that people made fun of your bike on the slowtwitch forum you probably have a lot of other problems going on.

Lighten up, Francis. I for one have no problem with Tom posting the pics and descriptions and then letting us know he took care of the issues.

Was it in poor taste? Not likely...it goes to show how some---many?---people don't take care of their equipment and then wonder why s*it happens on race day. 4 blown tires in transition before the race just goes to illustrate the point that we as a group need to know as much as we can about at least minimal bike maintenance...we talk about how sexy our bikes are, how much we spend on them, how fast we can go....or not go as the case may be...and then treat the bikes like crap.

Tom did a service by posting what he did.

I think its misdirected anger ,,,,,,, He paid $600 for a tire on his BMW , His son or brother came out of the closet , His taxes went up , got passed over for promotion , needs two viagra now , The Harley money is remodeling the kitchen , His stocks took a dive.

And someone has to PAY. Tom is just a target

I agree, I think Tom should keep posting pictures of those bikes. If I saw one near me during a race I'd make sure to keep my distance.

Actually considering todays dimple technology wouldn't a dirty bike be more aero than a clean one?

~Matt

Unless you are going for the Olympic ITT gold medal, you think the dimples make any difference for even FOP age groupers. Gimme a break. Most guys sit up immediately when they hit a wind gust to "control their bikes" rather than staying aero. There is more time lost from poor execution in any given 10 second snapshot on race day, than any dimple technology can yield. You guys need to look at the forest before the trees?

"If I hadn't documented this and the guys bike had a mechanical, you can bet I would be on the opposite end of this double edged sword. "

I thought you were just a drop off point? I have no idea what the specifics of the situation were, don't really care either, but if you were just a drop off point I think the above is specious arguement.

I did think the whole original post was a bit, left of right...still pretty damn funny though.

Is this the dude that had 3 feet of spacers on his bike?

Also since you admitted to being an asshole can I use that all the time now?

~Matt

good answer ! like we know anything. lighten up . it's just ST . their ain't any dirty bike prison. dirty bike shame give me a brake. have some fun you all. but I ain't posting my bike . I would cry if you said somthing bad.


Dirt

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Slowtwitch bitchist place on planet earth

Deep breath....I was joking...I'm an anti smiley face Nazi....

~Matt

I can honestly say that the original post did help me...

you can damn sure bet that the first thing I did was go check out my bike to make sure none of the same things were wrong...admittedly, it was a little condescending, but the fear of god which Tomn struck into me has helped me get back on top of keeping my bike in good order...

It did feel a lot when my parents would yell at me for not taking care of my toys, though...

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Jacob

well, the dirt would certainly have an effect on moment of inertia f it were placed on certain moving parts - creating a 'flywheel' of sorts.

and we all know, now, that the new 1hour record was set with 25-pound wheels.

huzzah! dirty is new high tech!

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/