Continental Bike Shop presents the Spoken Wrench vol4 no14

Continental Bike Shop presents the Spoken Wrench vol4 no14

This edition of the Spoken Wrench is brought to you by the letter ‘Z,’ our final alphabetically inspired Spoken Wrench, and from now on I’ll have to find some other way of introducing this each month’s Wrench.  If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Ah yes, “Z” for Zipp Speed Weaponry, better known as Zipp Wheels, Zefal pumps,  and other French goodies, and Zero Gravity, manufactures of super light weight and super strong brake calipers.

Repair Classes, once more, with feeling.
Bike Commuting and the Bailout.
Timely Information.

Repair Classes, once more, with feeling.
In the last edition I mentioned that the January repair classes would be on Tuesday evenings.  I spoke too soon.  The repair classes will actually be on Thursday nights.  New dates are January 15th, 22nd, 29th and February 5th.

Bike Commuting and the Bailout.
I think Bailout may have become a 4 letter word.  But, in all the hubbub, the government did do something we can celebrate.  Beginning in January, (I think…) bike commuters can qualify for $20 a month for significant use of their bikes to get to and from work.  I realize that $20 a month isn’t a lot, but its certainly enough to pay for some tubes (which with our roads, you’re going to need) and maybe a tire here and there (see previous statement about roads).  Its not perfect, and I’m not sure how exactly you get 15 months in a calendar year, but thats what the bill says.  What else it may say in relation to bike commuters has gotten lost in the jumble of ‘qualifications.’

If you want to actually read the bill, the Library of Congress hosts the full text.

Timely Information
AKA, Holiday Hours.
We’re closed for Thanksgiving.  We’re open on Friday 10-6, just like normal.  We don’t believe in Black Friday.  Come here and escape the chaos.

We’re open December 24th 8AM-12PM.  Thats all.  No procrastinators allowed after noon.  And we’re closed on the 25th.

We’re also closed January 1st.  Must sleep off the new year and watch some college football.   Maybe.  Whatever, we’ll be enjoying a lovely day off, and possibly the annual First Dozen ride.

http://tinyurl.com/firstdozen

Continental Bike Shop presents the Spoken Wrench vol3 no10

Continental Bike Shop presents the Spoken Wrench vol3 no10
December, I believe it might be winter Edition.

This edition of the Spoken Wrench is brought to you by the letter “O.” Its cold outside, and there’s a large contingent of riders who don’t like the extreme cold, and if you’re one of them, perhaps now is the time to bring your bike in for an overhaul. As Travis points out, every bike can benefit from one, even with sealed bearings, sometimes, we need to replace ‘em to make things new. (Case in point, he’s over hauling a rear hub, after overhauling a rear wheel and coaster brake yesterday.) Now’s a great time to drop your bike off, and let us go to town. If winter riding is your thing, make sure you check out the Lake MXZ302 winter boots.

UBB and You
We’ve been doing a bit of cleaning, and reorganization. And we can’t be the only ones who prefer to engage in ‘spring’ cleaning’ outside of just spring. (I’ve never seen so much of my desk, and I don’t think Jason has ever seen so much of his bench.) If in your spring cleaning you realize that you’ve got a bike that might make someone else quite happy, and might just lead to a new bike for you, why not bring it in and have us UBB it. UBB is Used Bicycle Buyer, and they do exactly what their name says they do. It usually takes two days for us to inspect your bike and submit it for a quote, and from there you’re free to accept the quote or not, no questions asked.
The not-so-fine Fine Print: UBB quotes are good for 30 days. It’s a lot like selling a car: you’d get more if you did it yourself, but trading it in at the dealership is so much easier. You can use the credit from your trade in towards any parts, accessories, bikes, labor, etc. But you can’t have cash.

Ski Waxing Party?!?!
Now, I don’t ski, I admit that. I tried once, and I’d rather stick to ice skating and not being able to stop, than skiing and not being able to stop. But this whole ski waxing party thing sounds like fun. Friday December 14th at 7PM Wolverine Sports Club will be hosting a ski waxing party here. As the WCS newsletter points out, the waxing part of the Ski Waxing Party is Optional. There will be the Waxing part of the party, complete with a wax clinic for anyone who might need a refresher on waxing. And anyone means Wolverines and non-Wolverines alike. John promises specials, what kind of specials, we’re not sure yet. But specials there will be, along with hors devours, light snacks, and refreshments. Everyone is welcome to bring a dish to share (if you’d like) and its BYO(and shop)B.

Small Salsa, Still Spicy
Carbon bars are cool. They come in a variety of styles, wing bars, standard, oversized clam diameter, etc. You get the idea, I’m sure. What they don’t frequently come in is narrower widths, 38 and 36 centimeter bars can be hard to come by, but Salsa makes them. They’re light, they provide vibration dampening, and they’re narrow. Which, if you’ve got shoulders that warrant a 36 or 38cm bar, that’s important. So, if you or someone you know is looking for some narrow carbon bars, come on in and check out the Salsa bars.

Broken Bike Buddy?
Know someone who always gets to the start of the ride and needs to fix something on their bike? Or needs someone else to fix something on their bike? Consider getting them a gift certificate. We’re happy to do the work. And everyone will have a better riding experience with a well tuned bike.

Christmas Eve Hours
We’re giant procrastinators. And we get the feeling some of our clientele might have the same affliction. So to help you out, and for those of you who need us to hide the presents as long as possible, we’ll be open from 10AM to 2PM. But if its getting close to 2PM, give us a shout and make sure we’re still here.

A Note to our Canadian friends
The US dollar is not my friend. I’ve got grand ambitions to go to Europe sometime soon. The US dollar however, should make some Windsor natives happy. Don’t forget, you get more bang for your Canadian dollar, and we serve coffee to rival Tim Hortons. Well, maybe not rival Tim Hortons, but its free. So, please, come visit, and see how far your dollar can go.

Things that are important enough to be repeated:

• Get ‘em While They’re Hot! Arguably, the nicest child trailer out is the Burley d’lite, its lightweight, easy to attach to a bike, features that nifty little helmet pocket, and is generally a niiiice trailer. Well, we certainly think so, and obviously they’ve never been inexpensive trailers. But for 2008, they’ve gotten a little more expensive, to the tune of $90 over what they were in 2007, for a whopping $550 price tag. Now, since we’re not to crazy about that price hike, and Burley’s got a number of 2007 trailers still floating around, we think now might be the perfect time to get one. All 2007 d’lite trailers will be $430, (save $120 if you get it now, instead of in May), and layaways are our friend this time of year. If you’d like to reserve your Burley d’lite, drop us a line, and a little deposit so we know how many to get. They’ll be arriving sometime in early December, just in time to wrap and put under the tree.
• Repair classes Its that time of year. It’s always some time of the year… but this time I’m specifically talking about that winter tradition around here, repair classes. We’re wondering if there’s enough interest to hold them again this winter, beginning mid to late January. If its something you’re interested in, please drop us a note, and we’ll get you on the list. Repair classes cover everything in the Big Blue Book of Bike Repair from Park. Hubs, cones, tire changes, brake and derailleur adjustment are just some of the topics covered.
• Holiday Layaways A bike can be awfully hard to hide, especially in a small space. And bikes do make such popular presents… So we thought it was time to remind everyone that we do holiday layaways. And we will be open on Christmas Eve, if you need to wait until the last possible moment to pick your bike up, (or your trainer, Burley d’lite, rollers, Assos clothing… et cetera.) We’ve also got bikes starting at $250, that are really worth riding, and make the stuff you find at department stores look like pond-scum. So, if you know of someone who would really like a new bike, but doesn’t think they can afford one, point them towards us. We’re happy to work out layaway programs.