Thread started by User1 at 07.10.09 - 6:06 pm



The Big Idea
Day the Insults Died
Angry bike mechanics are going extinct. And that sucks.

By Jason Gay

The humiliations go like this. You walk into a bike shop with a crisis: a brake pad that's rubbing. A greasy-fingered mechanic with a chainring tat and a Cinelli cycling cap takes a quick look and says something about a barrel adjuster. You ask, "What's a barrel adjuster?" He glares at you—and then at your carbon-fiber ride—as if you've just ordered a Shirley Temple in a dive bar.
Continues


The Angry Mechanic, Translated
WHAT THEY SAY
You could do that.
WHAT THEY MEAN
Only a moron would do that.

WHAT THEY SAY
This is a lot of bike for you.
WHAT THEY MEAN
There's a Big 5 down the street.

WHAT THEY SAY
Our group rides are Saturdays at 9 A.M.
WHAT THEY MEAN
Our group rides are Saturdays at 8 A.M.

WHAT THEY SAY
Try tightening your barrel adjuster.
WHAT THEY MEAN
Maybe take up race walking.