A buddy of mine was driving by and was surprised to see the lights on so he stopped in. Apparently many of the same faces as the old MB were working there. Anyone have any more info on this?
I’m happy to hear this. I really liked the guys from the old store.
I’ve just confirmed that the new name is Mox. Good news for Chicago area triathletes. Additional options are rarely a bad thing.
What old guys do you mean? You mean the “old guys” or the “Old Guys”? Rumor has it that the “Old Guys” are going to re-open as well. It is a shame what was done to the Mission Bay name by people who were gifted something great.
Should have clarified. I mean the “old guys” (actually the young guys who were working there recently).
Beh…but Get a Grip is just around the corner. I prefer to work with professionals.
You see, I don’t like snobs. 
I thought they were referring to the Elgin store…a landmark and the guy who set the bar…
I dont like people who dont pay their bills 
It is a shame that this is going to reflect possibly on “The New Mission Bay”
Source - http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?id=1623
0900029, Mission Bay Multisports Inc, 738 W Randolph St, Chicago, Chap. 7
I’m not sure why people are still blogging about Mission Bay. It’s over!! Let’s all get on with our lives. And record 10, please you had dinner with Bill and Val? Not knowing the situation, it’s pretty transparent who’s camp you’re in. Get over it!!
P.S. Leave the guys alone, that was pretty low posting stuff that doesn’t pertain to you. Let’s hope no one opens Bill’s dirty closet. And by the way, the new shop is owned by new owners and there happens to be plenty of room in the sandbox for everyone to play nicely. And Get A Grip, they are good at what they do and the new store MOX, is good at what they do. Believe it or not, but business doesn’t have to be done on such a low level playing field especially with the economy what it is. Why doesn’t everyone focus on the real issues that effect all of us or is it too hard for us all to actually behave like we are one community.
You know Chip (record10carbon), you are full of “it”. You’re sponsors have changed three times (first mission bay, then get a grip, now running away). I shopped at mission bay, they were great. I know from what I heard from people close to the owners and suppliers that they had a constant uphill battle because of rumors and allegations made about them from people who wanted to remain anonymous, (I wonder why). This damaged their customer base and their suppliers got drawn into the rumor mill. They did not bankrupt because of finances but because of their lawsuit against the “OLD GUYS”. Dan and you claimed that the “OLD GUYS” new shop would open March 1st and the “originators” would be back. I wasted an entire day fighting traffic to see this so called store only to show up and it was a freaking mess inside (there is no store, even to this day). Yet, march 1st was going to be the opening day, now it’s in the future. You know, if you’re going to advertise for your buddies at least coordinate better, or don’t say anything AT ALL.
What happened to the OLD Mission Bay store? Did the owner die, or did they merely go bankrupt?
Get a Grip is still a sponsor of Rockman Bike Course, Running Away is sponsoring the Run course. Mission Bay was year one, now in year three we are maintaining Get a Grip took over year two when I was told by Mission Bay that they could not afford it.
I never claimed Bill and Val were going to open on the first - but I can tell you that they were open last weekend on South Street. As for the legal issues, I will side with my old friends Bill and Val every time. They are icons of the sport and have my utmost respect.
What happened to the OLD Mission Bay store? Did the owner die, or did they merely go bankrupt?
Bill and Val sold the shop. Bill and Val are both alive and well. Bill was out over the weekend riding his bike trying to put the hurt down on some youngsters - Bill as you may know is 65 years young.
I’m really excited about this and I apologize for getting the name wrong. Good bunch of guys who are always willing to help with no attitude. Here’s to the success of Mox.
The crew at MOX Multi Sport are doing a great job, stop by & check them out, They just finished building my Look 596 & I could not be happier,Thanks You Again.
You see, I don’t like snobs.
Why do I hear this a lot?
Mainly its due to the attitude that is given when you walk into their store, while the folks at Mox are more than willing to help you in anyway they can. My experience with that other shop has been lees than favorable & I have seen them set peolple up on bikes they really did not need to spend $$$$ on for their type of riding. Customer service is key & first impressions speak volumes,a friendly Hello when you walk in the door helps! Southren Charm even more
Mainly its due to the attitude that is given when you walk into their store, while the folks at Mox are more than willing to help you in anyway they can. My experience with that other shop has been lees than favorable & I have seen them set peolple up on bikes they really did not need to spend $$$$ on for their type of riding. Customer service is key & first impressions speak volumes,a friendly Hello when you walk in the door helps! Southren Charm even more
I haven’t been in Mox, but I bought my first tri bike at Mission Bay downtown when Bill owned it and got great service. I went into the store a couple of times after he sold it and every time I went in no one said hi to me and no one asked if I needed help and there was at least one most of the time two or three employees at the front register when I went in. I stopped going in there before I moved out of town.
i’m glad to see all the new folks on our forum who are friends of the folks at the new shop in question. welcome to slowtwitch.
at the same time: when chip writes on the theme of fair and appropriate business practices, it’s an issue that strikes a chord with him, and to others. i know most of the folks involved on all the sides, and i spectated the whole thing. at least a part of what’s true is this: bill and val built a store into a very strong, nationally known, enterprise. it took them 25 years to do it. they sold it to a group of their managers, and bill and val carried the entire note. within a year and a half, the whole enterprise was gone up in smoke, in a heap, with nothing to show for it. everybody lost. bill and val got practically nothing out of the shop they took two and a half decades to build.
i’m willing to agree that there are two sides to every story; and maybe it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie. just know that i don’t think it’s appropriate for champions of the new store to shout down guys like chip because he’s got heartburn over what he thinks is an unfortunate turn to long time friends and fixtures in the chicagoland multisport market. if you want to buy from these new guys, fine. but i do think chip deserves to have an opinion; and if the champions of the new shop want their cheers and huzzahs heard, i think chip deserves to have his dissenting voice heard.
“Dan and you claimed that the “OLD GUYS” new shop would open March 1st and the “originators” would be back.”
when did i claim this? it was my understanding earlier in the year that the elgin store would be reopening at some point in the spring – no firm date – but i frankly still don’t know for sure if/when/what will happen in elgin.
i have stayed out of all of this. i have never spoken to any supplier, or any customer, after the sale of the stores from bill and val to the new guys. this is because: 1) i liked the new guys, and wished them well; and 2) anyone who’s a friend of bill and val would want the new guys to proper, or else they couldn’t retire the debt owed to bill and val.
as i said in a prior post, what is true is that the whole thing imploded very quickly. each side / every side can make their case as to why this is. where chip is wrong is this: bill is not 65, he’s 67 and, yes, i feel very bad that a person who spends a quarter century building a thriving business finds himself with nothing to show for it, and without much time to rebuild. i have some heartburn over that.
Thank you, Dan. I have been a loyal friend to Bill and Val for years, and feel terrible about how this transpired, so put me in the box with Chip. They often talked of retiring and being your neighbor, in fact. I have to have some resentment that these “new owners” took that from them. No one who was so fair and took such good care of their customers should have to worry at this point in their life about what social security will do for them. I’ve been in the old store they build into a giant in the industry; one that Criag Turner of Nytro fame would ask me about (Who are these guys"), one that Karen Sing(Of QR fame) would recommend to midwesterners, and to see how it has been ravaged is criminal. And now to be held hostage by the state because of tax liens caused by the “new owners” so they are not able to make an income is insane! When they open, I’ll be one of the first through the doors, even though I’ve been out of work for over 2 months. Although I don’t have the money to do much, I’ll find something I can’t live without, to try and repay all they’ve done for me through the years.