Be these monks, or Keepers?
We are presently in the calm eye of the Spring Classics typhoon. Last weekend the Ronde blew through leaving more questions than answers and now this Sunday, blowing in the opposite French direction with just as much power, Paris-Roubaix. Between storms let us gather our inner cyclist and meditate upon our ancient scrolls of The Rules. These scrolls were found deep in a pain cave, above the River Merckx, by, wait for it, a shepherd, no, a peripatetic innertube repair person.
@Blacktoolpower asks for enlightenment on a question as old as the bike itself.
FFS, Gianni
Every code, every philosophy, has its wrinkles; little contradictions and ambiguities that need solving, fudging, or avoiding with fancy logical footwork.
When The Keepers sit in their robes in the Velominati Star Chamber (they do that, right?) debating whether a ristretto coffee is allowed under Rule #56 or if listening to The Cycling Podcast with one earphone on a long steady ride round the park really contravenes Rule #62, they’re enacting cycling’s equivalent of the great debate in The Name of the Rose. That was the Dominicans versus the Franciscans on the motion “Did Christ, or did He not, own the clothes that He wore?” (translation: who’s more holy, the fatcats or the hobos? You don’t need a vatican tour to figure out who won). These small questions have far reaching implications.
So, here’s one for the Keepers: does appropriate support for my Local Bike Shop (Rule #58) allow me to contravene its adjacent Rule (#57 – No Stickers)?
The first time I had my beautiful titanium Enigma serviced by the always reliable, always friendly London Cycle Workshop, they put a cheeky green sticker on the down tube, saying “maintained with LCW”. Did I ask them to do it? No. Did the green match anything on my … excuse me titanium coloured bike? No. I took it off.
But when I returned a few weeks afterwards, to get my bike in top condition for the Dragon Ride – a hideously long cyclosportive in Wales – they checked everything, tightened some bearings, tuned the mech, pronounced it perfect … and didn’t charge me a penny.
I didn’t take off the sticker that time. Partly out of gratitude, partly because that “with” in the sticker’s wording (rather than “by”) struck me as appropriately respectful.
A bike shop that checks your machine for free and does other generous things like taking the time to explain the thread-count on Vittoria Open Corsas without ever trying to sell them to you and giving you maintenance tips that will result in less income for them … is a noble and life-affirming institution and worth bending a rule for, no?
I await the verdict …
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View Comments
@blackpooltower
If the +1 award was up to me, it would be yours for slipping "that would be an ecumenical matter" into your post. LOVE Father Ted.
Remove the offending adornment immediately. For penance perform 6 reps up the Die Oude Kwaremont on the big chainring and in the wet. Shame on you.
I have a shop sticker on my Felt that frankly i'm not sure I can get off.... I tried, and the pick marks are surely evident whenever I leave it there which is rarely. I am sad about the pick marks now because they are great, but it's a weird relationship.
Take bike in to have steerer cut, get free full tuneup including removal of dork disc behind freewheel. WIN.
Steerer is not cut as much as I requested because mechanic says he "doesn't believe in" slamming stems. LOSE.
Bring bike back with stem flipped to negative rise and same effective height, no comments. Detente achieved?
Show up with a spoke completely loose (but the nipple still in the rim, how in the heck? Get sent home with a nice wheel with bladed spokes WIN
Get "son"ned on checking spoke tension every ride... I probably deserved that
Bring them beer at new year's, get free gels and a bottle WIN
Get told "just go ahead and buy that online, we make like 4 dollars on that and it wouldn't be here for a week anyway" WIN
No, get rid of it. My LBS does same, but not on my bike. In the end, these stickers are great, but small and I reckon pretty limited in their advertising potential. You telling your friends about them is far better. If you want to reward them for their service by giving some advertising space away, buy a shop jersey (assuming it is suitable attractive). The logo on that will be far more effective and you can sleep better at night not trying to convince yourself that it's a decal, not a sticker.
I think an appropriate shop decal is totes fine, but then I would say that, wouldn't I?
(This is a large size one on my own bike - for clients I apply a more discreetly sized one...)
Also, I am a shocker for chucking on random extraneous decals anyway...
@Oli
Well played sir... well played.
I think they should ask first. I often ride in LBS gear, and send plenty of recommendations their way, and we have a great relationship.
I like to think that decals denote some sort of sponsorship. And those euros can decal the bejesus out of a bike on the pro scene.
The LBS, in providing you a free service, are effectively sponsoring your rides and as such it is not a sticker they apply but a decal to show their sponsorship of your steed. It is beholden on them to follow the rules, so that there decals maintain the style your Enigma deserves
@gilly
Ha! Christ knows why I didn't deploy that quote in the original post, since I say it practically daily ...