I just thought I’d write a few things about this store. But first, I thought I’d quote from a post about Mission Bay from somebody who used to post here, by the name of Nice Guy Eddy:
“They are very good. Val and Bill are two of the nicest people I have meet in this sport.”
This is what Nice Guy Eddy wrote within the last few weeks. In fact his sig has been “Loyal Customer of … Mission Bay” for quite some long time now. Perhaps this is in reference to the excellent service he just about always gets there.
Anyway, I thought I’d bring this up, because Mission Bay Multisport has about 500 wetsuits in stock right this minute, all of which are triathlon-style, and this is of course what you’d expect from the single largest retailer of triathlon wetsuits over the past 15 years.
Well, that’s about all, except that yes, there is truth to the fact that two different entities have approached Mission Bay with the intent of buying that enterprise. However, the last I heard Bill and Val have rejected both offers. That’s probably because they enjoy giving good service to people like Nice Guy Eddy, and don’t know what they’d do with their day if they didn’t have customers to help.
“I just see a pattren of some companies can be ripped to shreds while others are treated like churches.”
Mission Bay is a church. i didn’t make it that way. they did so themselves. when somebody builds a store from $160,000 in total annual storewide receipts to twice that much in wetsuit sales alone, and buys everything with cash, that’s a church. or a whole religion.
we’ve had a spate of mean spiritedness lately. companies like nytro, mission bay, aquaman, these are not trek or microsoft. these are individual people running businesses. the U.S. distribitor for aquaman is one person. when you go postal on aquaman or MB you’re tearing down one or two people, not the U.S. Postal Service.
so if you can find me that tri-specific entity on which its open season on slowtwitch, i’d like to see it. i’m happy to restate the rules, the same ones i’ve stated for the past 6 years:
be as shit-headed as you want about me, or slowtwitch.
don’t attack a tri specific retailer or manufacturer.
Well, for fear of being sidelined permanently from SlowTwitch, I’ll just say one of the shops you mentioned I will never go back to. I bought my bike there and that was all fine. But, later, I bought some higher performance wheels and I needed a cassette for it. I have to admit, I was green to triathlon then didn’t know squat. The man asked what I needed and I said I didn’t know. He asked what type of races I’m doing. I said Pac Coast - some rolling hills, Ralph’s - a couple extreme hills, L.A. Tri Series - fairly hilly, too. He recommended an 11-21. What the hell do I know? That was the worst season I’ve had. No problem on the swim, no major improvement on the bike, completely devasted on the run - every race. What kind of recommendation is that? I think it was, “we have this piece of gear that’s been here awhile nobody in their right mind except Lance would probably buy this, so dump it on some unsuspecting moron.” Can you imagine me, an average cyclist, climbing over the Ralph’s course on a 39/21 set? No wonder I had a 2 hour run (walk!) Another time, had the bike tuned-up there. I wason site when he was wrapping up and lubing the chain - spinning the wheel. A sales guy dropped by and began to comment, “that wheel looks pretty wobbl.” The tech cut him off, said, “It’s fine.” What do I know? I’m just a dumb-assed greenhorn. Well, I’m smart enough now to never go back there. Found Edge Cyclepsorts. They’re practically just down the street from me, now.
…i need your 3X/yr. reminder of how shitty women are, at which point i re-flagellate myself, harshly, for ever even contemplating making a really stupid mistake w/the foul sex.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
—Not wanting to hit any sacred cows, I must agree with you that some posts here are indeed a bit mean spirited at times. Otherwise, this is a great forum and a great resource.
“I must agree with you that some posts here are indeed a bit mean spirited at times.”
it’s okay to APPEAR mean spirited if you’re actually engaging in IRONY. see, if i’d said anything bad about TRI-SPECIFIC women, or if i said that women were UNSAFE, well, then that would’ve been over the line.
A bit of a double standard here, Captain. Admittedly, your forum, so your rules.
So then I can safely assume that negative comments about the amazing lack of competence of certain specific retailers are OK, as long as they are done with irony?
Or is something else happening here? Perhaps the all-too-common parenting line applies here (to you?): “Do as I say, Not as I do.”
I could tell you a couple good stories about your new “holy cow”, your new favorite bike shop here in the Southland. You may be surprised what dirt one can dig up about them.
But this is not the point.
Did they screw up or did you?
I think that this discussion is very embarassing (for everybody who posts in this thread). There is tons of literature out there about gearing, about anything related to a bike. If yo can’t get educated about gearing, carbon wheels etc., get at least a second opinion from another shop or watch closely what they are doing with/to your bike.
I let a “holy cow” get away with screwing me (in my case I did not check their work carefully when I picked up the respoked carbon wheel). This was my mistake (costing me a split ZIPP front rim) and I take all the blame…
There is nothing out there like a “best bike shop”. They all have their flaws, they all screw up sooner or later. And paying suppliers cash is only testimony for good business-practice (at best). It has nothing to do with their “quality control”, which is generally poor in most of the bicycle retail business. (no surprise if the guys wrenching your bike make minimum wage).
I have a fair bit of experience (wrenched myself to make grad-school). I always shudder when I have to bring something into the shop if I don’t have the $$$$ tool.
Is it safe to come out?