More progress and my first sale…

Being on scenic Highway 1, I see a lot of tourists pedaling south (to take advantage of the predominant tailwind). A couple from England came in yesterday as I was working on getting the racks up and the shop a little more organized. When they got their bikes off the plane, her derailleur was bent up pretty bad, she says, and the first thing they had to do before starting their California coast tour was replace the derailleur.

When I looked at it, the hanger was still bent a bit, the limit screws needed attention, the B-tension was too low, and somehow, the head of the cable had come out of its recess in the shifter and had limited how much the shifter would move. She was stuck in #4 as she described it. Fixed the derailleur alignment, limits, and B-tension; removed the cover from the shifter (Shimano Easy-Fire) and saw the head of the cable bent at 90 degrees to the length of cable – just waiting for that inopportune moment to snap off so I replaced the cable too. Lubed the cables at the BB cable guide and her bike was performing just like new again. Payment: $10, a cup of Americano and a biscotti from Toby’s across the street and everyone was happy. Made me feel pretty darn tootin’ good.

Okay, so someone wanted updated shop photos. Bike rack in progress. Flanges custom bent and formed by Steve Potts in his brake. We also bent up the braces to tie the front of the rack to the back out of some galvanized steel sheet. It’s pretty amazing watching him custom make these bits. This thing is solid. It ain’t going anywhere.