Bloody Halfords. Inept - no - Damn Dangerous. And Ham-Fisted.

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Shearwater Missile

Über Member
Reading the OP it reminded me of my first dropped handlebar bike which I had from new in 1972 as a 13 year old. It was a new Raleigh Olympus which I rode home the 13 miles or so from a one man bike shop in Stowmarket who had been in business for years. That bike I cycled miles on and never had to check anything except brakes, a bit naive perhaps. When I left the shop to cycle home I did`nt even think about checking anything. I put my trust in a man who knew his job. I am sure there are still good mechanics out there and of course this goes for car mechanics also. You put your trust and life in their hands. I am sure Halfords are not unique and sad that perhaps they are given such bad reviews. At the end of the day it comes down to staff attitude and training.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Schwinn, above and beyond the bicycles themselves, had a string of dealerships, in purpose built buildings, like a franchise. Staff had expertise well and above their cunning marketing efforts(which, for many years, led Americans to view a bicycle as a children's toy) and you knew, you were going to get a durable(extremely heavy) bicycle, well set up and adjusted. This was what put them ahead of Ross, Columbia, Huffy, etc. I did live close enough to Chicago that you never knew when a Schwinn family member might drop in for a spot inspection. What hurt them was lighter bicycles, and adults riding them more. An old track racer from town set himself up in business selling used and new, better bicycles, for less than Schwinns cost. But he knew his stuff. "Little" was an expert in all aspects of cycling, especially storytelling. He sold out to a friend of mine from school, and the shop is still going strong. Sales, selection, service, these three, but the greatest of all is service.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
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This last one shows the thinking behind this, a note to the dealers.
 
OP
OP
Sheffield_Tiger
I used to train people to use EPOS systems, and I built my own bike up. I didn't realise this was a unique skill set :-)
It's not.

I started at my work as the cycle technician and currently I'm heading up the integration of a new omnichannel website/moto/epos system. The two must go hand in hand :biggrin:
 

Shearwater Missile

Über Member
View attachment 456217 View attachment 456218 View attachment 456219 This last one shows the thinking behind this, a note to the dealers.
The Schwinn Mk 2 Jaguar looks the same shape as by first bike in about 1970 only it was a Puch, who used to make mopeds I believe from somewhere in Europe possibly Czechoslovakia ? It was a strong bike, judging by the times I fell off it. Never sure if it was a boys or girls bike as it had a curved top tube or tubes as I think there were two. My memory is a little hazy.
Just found out that Johann Puch was Austrian from Graz.
 
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Manager Mr Joe Simmonds from Cromwell Street
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Are you from Merthyr?
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
The Schwinn Mk 2 Jaguar looks the same shape as by first bike in about 1970 only it was a Puch, who used to make mopeds I believe from somewhere in Europe possibly Czechoslovakia ? It was a strong bike, judging by the times I fell off it. Never sure if it was a boys or girls bike as it had a curved top tube or tubes as I think there were two. My memory is a little hazy.
Just found out that Johann Puch was Austrian from Graz.
We used to see a few Puchs' thanks to the Sears catalog, which offered them, and the mopeds. Puch was a buy-up from their regular 3-speed. My Dad had a Raleigh 3-speed, but, when I was a kid, he was the only adult male I saw riding a bicycle regularly, and he rode, and trained us to ride, not on the sidewalk, but on the street. My mother also had a bicycle, as she sometimes had to go farther than she could walk. Driving a car never crossed her mind.
 
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