LBS competence repairing flats

Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

J.

On Mar 10, 12:46*pm, " wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

J.

Performance on Halsted? I'd go to Rapid Transit on North, but give the
guys at Performance a break. Sometimes you can miss a worn bit on an
OEM strip, and they did catch it the second time.

"landotter" wrote in message
...
On Mar 10, 12:46 pm, " wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

J.

Performance on Halsted? I'd go to Rapid Transit on North, but give the
guys at Performance a break. Sometimes you can miss a worn bit on an
OEM strip, and they did catch it the second time.

Performance in Schaumburg, near home.

At least now, I know wide cloth strips are the best. If I need to swap out
the OEM tires on my Cannondale in favor of SM+, I will be sure to replace
the strips at the same time. And of course, the front rim on the Electra is
also suspect.

I like Rapid Transit too, but Rudy's on Irving Park is a better location for
me.

J.

On 2010-03-10, wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

Oh, sweet Jeebus. Of course he should have checked. However, it's
Performance.

I didn't realize you were all the way out in Schaumburg. There used to be an
LBS on Roselle, north (?) of Golf. I forget the name, but it might still be
there, and have better-trained wrenches.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

"Kristian M Zoerhoff" wrote in message
ell.org...
On 2010-03-10, wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

Oh, sweet Jeebus. Of course he should have checked. However, it's
Performance.

I didn't realize you were all the way out in Schaumburg. There used to be
an
LBS on Roselle, north (?) of Golf. I forget the name, but it might still
be
there, and have better-trained wrenches.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff


Yeah, they also sell model trains. I have not been there in years, but I
might give them a try.

Looking back, I think the rim strip should have been checked. The shop was
not very busy (not a weekend). There must be a cause *somewhere*. Why would
a customer bring a bike in, and make up a story about losing 30lbs pressure
per day?

And I am told, getting the rear wheel off my Electra takes a bit of time and
effort.

J.

On Mar 10, 1:31 pm, "Jay" wrote:
"Kristian M Zoerhoff" wrote in messagenews:slrnhpg2nl.62l.kristian.zoerhoff@otaku .freeshell.org...

On 2010-03-10, wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

Oh, sweet Jeebus. Of course he should have checked. However, it's
Performance.

I didn't realize you were all the way out in Schaumburg. There used to be
an
LBS on Roselle, north (?) of Golf. I forget the name, but it might still
be
there, and have better-trained wrenches.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff


Yeah, they also sell model trains. I have not been there in years, but I
might give them a try.

Looking back, I think the rim strip should have been checked. The shop was
not very busy (not a weekend). There must be a cause *somewhere*. Why would
a customer bring a bike in, and make up a story about losing 30lbs pressure
per day?

And I am told, getting the rear wheel off my Electra takes a bit of time and
effort.

J.

Seriously? You take your bike to the shop for a flat tire?

How much did they charge you, BTW? Unless it was at least $50, I
don't think you can complain about the mechanic's professional
thoroughness.

On Mar 10, 1:46*pm, " wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic snip
Should the mechanic have checked snip

Learn how to fix a flat. It' a basic skill that will come in handy,
and improve your experience of cycling. It seems
you have the basic idea down (find the problem, so you can fix it).
How about taking the next step.
Best,
Larry

Jobst Brandt wrote:
Jim Bollyn wrote:
[...]

Who is Jim Bollyn - a relative of Jay Bollyn?

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007

Jay wrote:

"Kristian M Zoerhoff" wrote in message
ell.org...
On 2010-03-10, wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

Oh, sweet Jeebus. Of course he should have checked. However, it's
Performance.

I didn't realize you were all the way out in Schaumburg. There used to
be an
LBS on Roselle, north (?) of Golf. I forget the name, but it might
still be
there, and have better-trained wrenches.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff


Yeah, they also sell model trains. I have not been there in years, but I
might give them a try.

Looking back, I think the rim strip should have been checked. The shop
was not very busy (not a weekend). There must be a cause *somewhere*.
Why would a customer bring a bike in, and make up a story about losing
30lbs pressure per day?

And I am told, getting the rear wheel off my Electra takes a bit of time
and effort.

J.

Yeah, I can't understand why a bike shop wouldn't get more enthusiastic
about the flat tire business. Sounds like they're leaving a fortune on
the table.

On Mar 10, 12:46*pm, " wrote:
Couple weeks ago, I had a slow leak on my Electra (Schwalbe Marathon +
tires). I told the mechanic I was very interested in knowing what
caused the flat, because otherwise a new tube might be a very short
term solution. He was unable to locate the puncture. The inflated tube
seemed to stay inflated. He did not put it under water. The inside of
the tire looked OK. Installed a new tube and sent me on my way.

This morning, tire completely flat. Last night it was OK. Walked it to
the shop, told the mechanic I really want to know the cause. This
time, he looked at the OEM rim strip, which was both too narrow and
cheap quality. One of the nipples had worn through. He used a wider
cloth strip this time.

Should the mechanic have checked the rim strip first time around, as
standard procedure? As time goes on, I am finding more reasons to
dislike this shop, which by the way is Performance Bike.

J.

Bicycle repairman is not a high wage job and, naturally, there's quite
a bit of turnover. By and large, they're good at what they do within
those limits. I would not be in a hurry to cast blame over the
necessary imperfections you encounter. I change my own flats, having
learned what to look for from my own mistakes over the years. But
even a raw repairman is better than me at just about any other repair.