More fool me...

So I was needing new jocky wheels for the Deore DX rear derailleur on my Clockwork Orange. Sitting in my office yesterday lunchtime, I suddenly felt the need to go and see if I could get some.

Now not too far from where I work is a branch of a well known national car accessories shop that also sells some bikes and bike bits, shouldn't say their name but they are to be found in most UK towns.

I still don't know why, but I decided to go look there. While generally browsing, the obligatory spotty herbert of an assistant came up and asked if I needed help.

"I need some jocky wheels for my derailleur" says I

"Whats the make and model"? he says, which sounds promising.

"Shimano Deore DX circa 1993" says I

"????????" Says he

he then goes to the cabinet an fishes out a new Deore derailleur

"Is this what you are looking for?, Maybe you can replaced your old one"?

"I'd rather keep the original as I'm trying to re-build the bike to it's original spec" I reply

"Well how about you buy this one ( the whole derailleur!) and fit the jocky wheels to your old one" he says

At that point, after a flat stare from me and an embaressing silence, I turned and left...

Epilogue
10 minutes later, bloke in LBS reaches under counter and sells me a set of jocky wheels for a fiver.

Why doesnt that supprise me!

I remember a couple of months back I was in the same certain national car accessories shop that also sells some bikes and bike bits, buying my son a bike (I'm sorry, but it was half price, and he is only a 9 year old!), and I found myself gazing at their range of GT's. Anyway, the muppet, sorry, assistant wanders over:
Mup: 'can I help you sir'
Me: 'no, your ok, I'm just looking'
Mup: 'They're a good brand GT, have a good heritage'
Me: 'I know, but they dont make like they used to, the good old days of Xizang's and RTS's seem to have passed'
Mup: 'I'm sorry, what'
Me: 'never mind'

Promptly pay. Leave.

I have had the reverse once. Was in a Kingston shop called ReCycle and asked for spare parts for an xt hub.......
"No we aint got nuttinn like that in here".
20 min later it dawned on me he probably thought that I was after parts for a new hub and not a 93 Xt 135mm axle.

In all fairness to the same national car spares shop the car side isnt to bad. A few years ago i had an escort RS and one of the flexi pipes on the brakes snapped off so i drove it home, rang up my local branch explained what i wanted and that it was'nt a standard part, no problem he says took my number and said he'd phone me back. Later that day i gets a call of him saying he had managed to get me one and it was there ready for collection, i told him i would be there shortly just waiting on a taxi. Bloke then says if i could pay over the phone with my cc he would drop it off on his way home which he did.

Still if im after a bit for the bike i would probably go to my lbs as its nearer and better equipped.

Without wishing to stand up for the people generally employed by the store in question, if you went into a Mercedes showroom and asked them if they had any spare doors from on old Gullwing out the back you'd probably get a funny look... i know it's not quite the same but we are a rather niche market so to have a go at the spotty youfs for not knowing the history of all major brands of bikes and componentry is a bit harsh....

Hilts":2ubqutgi said:

so to have a go at the spotty youfs for not knowing the history of all major brands of bikes and componentry is a bit harsh....

Click to expand...

Yea, I agree......but its still funny though.....

(Hilts is defensive... something about his past maybe - tetchy...)

I'm proud of that orange shirt and grey apron... or was that my Easyjet hostess outfit ??

lol.... thats what I meant.

(by the way you left it here when you stayed over last)