Respect for cyclists

I recently replaced the two gear cables and two brake cables on my wife's 20 year old bike in about 20 minutes. It takes me all afternoon to bleed the brakes on my bike. While the new bikes are nicer to ride, they are are total PITA to service. That's progress.

I have significant evidence that Spalding feels pretty wanky. It needs to be banned without delay.

@mark1a there must be something new, perhaps featuring in some pictures? I'm thinking of getting an absolute black 4 piston press. But I also wouldn't mind something for using on a single piston, for cleaning and working in lube when servicing that's far quicker, with a squeezey lever. Any suggestions? The frame repair and new front mudguard stays make access difficult with the wedge of the park pp1.2.

@Chris RideFar it can't be worse than volunteering at the bike co-op.

@Paul J Thanks, I totally agree, and I'm going to be reviewing my rates along with many other aspects over the winter season. The first 4 years after going solo were gradual growth or stable (I had 10 yrs prior experience working in larger shops); I'm not sure why things exploded over the past 6 months, probably various factors.

@andystow Don't forget that you have to deal with the clients as well as their bikes (most of whom are fine, but it's an aspect to the job that most people don't consider). Plus, people will generally come to you with the problems that they can't fix themselves, so there's rarely an easy/straightforward job; with the crazy ideas the product designers have these days, there are a lot of frustrations and lost time.

@Chris RideFar I'll be tempted to do this once I retire. As long as I make beer money and it doesn't take all my time, I'd enjoy doing it.

@Smoggysteve I'm on over 25 years with my Joe blow deluxe, I've always rated topeak for inflation.

I bet a fiver this costs less than a fiver to be manufactured

@Smoggysteve Same here, mine never seemed to work properly. Ended up buying a cheap one from Wilko which has lasted years.