Paris bike shops, the horror continues
ila...@gmail.com
months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
components, which includes going to the nearby Parisian bike shops.
When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
as the acceptable ones in close Parisian suburbs:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/browse_frm/thread/f08fac1cb122563c/6f2a44c041004209?lnk=gst&q=paris+bike+shops&rnum=1&hl=en#6f2a44c041004209
Since I had a fairly good experience at the Cycles du Tourmalet in
Nogent-sur-Marne, I started there. However, the salesman who did a
good job there last time wasn't there this time, and it was a debacle.
I told them I was interested in getting a high end bike, but that I
wanted to test ride the bike, and the salesman looked at me as if I
was completely insane. It was the first time he had ever heard such a
request. I asked him how one was supposed to choose without a test
ride, and he said you had to look at magazines and read reviews.
Apparently, they don't believe that their customers are capable of
independent thought. He also looked at me with disbelief when I told
him that every US bike shop allows you to test bikes and even up to
hour long rides. The shop is also the French distributor for SRM
cranks, but they did not have a single one in stock. I asked them if
it would be possible to test cranks on a trainer to see if I could get
the ankle clearance I needed, they said that this would also be
impossible. The manager, who was older and was probably the owner,
told me that I should just get the Dura-Ace model, and when I said
that I wanted lower profile cranks, he said that they would fit me
with appropriate shoes and pedals so that there would be heel
clearance. When I said that I also wanted a low q-factor, the then
said: "OK, so don't get Dura-Ace then!" I realised I was wasting my
time there, and told them that anyway, I would be in the US the
following week, so would be able to test ride bikes there. The
manager's response was: "Say hi to Mr. Bush." which was supposed to be
funny according to him. Anyway, I don't see a single reason not to buy
mail order if you can't test ride the bike and if the shop is going to
treat you poorly anyway. This definitely convinced me not to buy a
bike in a French bike shop.
Today, I went to the Porte Maillot Velo and Oxygene bike shop to get
cycling socks since I don't have a single intact pair left. As usual
with that store, they did not greet me and left me completely alone to
find the stuff I needed. They had a large selection of socks, almost
all of them in size XXL, so I had a difficult time finding some my
size. After a while I found a couple of pairs and went to pay. The
salesman saw that I had left a number of socks in a pile and told me
to put them back. I said that it was his job to do that. He insisted
and I then said that in fact, a customer should not put articles back,
since he was not familiar with the store's sorting system and might
misplace things. He said that I was pretty good at removing stuff, so
I should be just as good at putting it back. At this point, I finally
realised that I was not going to get socks there. It was going to be
the last time I would ever go to that store. The strange thing about
this is that it is not at all typical French behavior, even for rude
Parisian salespeople. As a rule, salespeople are expected to put back
articles of clothing. It appears that this store and this salesman in
particular are particularly rude and incompetent. Since I really
needed cycling socks, I rode over to rue Ballard to the former Carnac
store but it turned out that it has gone out of business. Needless to
say, I was not too unhappy at the demise of a Paris shop. It looks
like I will have to buy my socks in the US. Just as well, I say.
Otherwise, Parisian cycling has taken a new turn with the start of
Velib, a public transportation initiative, where you can rent 22kg
bikes by the half hour and drop them off when you are done
http://www.velib.paris.fr/ They were very popular on Sunday, the
inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
lights, as opposed to the typical Paris "urban guerilla" cyclist who
yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
-ilan
Sandy
news:1184696171.8...@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com,
ila...@gmail.com <ila...@gmail.com> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :
True - most shops expect you to take their word for a frame on which you
will spend the next 75000 km. No test ride is typical, but try Cycles Jacky
in Rambouillet, which will let you ride what is built, providing they have
your size.
> Today, I went to the Porte Maillot Velo and Oxygene
You need say no more. I used to live 700 metres from that shop, and only
once bought a chain, Campy 9V, for 32 euros. They said I should be happy,
as it was on sale. Nothing would ever bring me back there, but I enjoy
annoying the help when I can.
> bike shop to get
> cycling socks since I don't have a single intact pair left. As usual
> with that store, they did not greet me and left me completely alone to
> find the stuff I needed. They had a large selection of socks, almost
> all of them in size XXL, so I had a difficult time finding some my
> size. After a while I found a couple of pairs and went to pay. The
> salesman saw that I had left a number of socks in a pile and told me
> to put them back. I said that it was his job to do that. He insisted
> and I then said that in fact, a customer should not put articles back,
> since he was not familiar with the store's sorting system and might
> misplace things. He said that I was pretty good at removing stuff, so
> I should be just as good at putting it back. At this point, I finally
> realised that I was not going to get socks there.
Truly a simple solution, and a perfect one. Décathlon - running socks
called Kenji - 3 pair for about 5-6 euros, and they wear long, wash clean,
stay up, et c. Can't recommend anything better at any price.
So why didn't you try for a bike at DKT ? Lack of snob appeal ? I had a
9.2 for a winter bike for a while, and the only thing to change (at once) is
the Truvativ crank and BB. Take a look - you could be surprised - and you
can ride the ones on display.
You may have a Districycle near you. Not the most helpful at all locations,
but OK. They do retail at their mail-order prices. Bon courage.
--
Sandy
--
S'endormir au volant, c'est très dangereux.
S'endormir à vélo, c'est très rare.
S'endormir à pied, c'est très con.
- Geluck, P.
Davey Crockett
>
> Truly a simple solution, and a perfect one. Décathlon - running socks
> called Kenji - 3 pair for about 5-6 euros, and they wear long, wash clean,
> stay up, et c. Can't recommend anything better at any price.
Decathlon is not really a top of the line shop, but I found their
service very good and actually bought a VTT there for a knockaround-go
shopping bike, mid range Rochrider 8 for 799 €, and am more than happy
barring the fact that it's the first time I had anything other than
French or Italian derailleurs
As for socks I don't have "cycling socks" but got a whole bagful of
great short Calvin Kline socks when the local CK shop was changing to
Von Dutch. And I mean a good big bagful for 20 € and in fact will
probably never have to buy socks again ;)
--
Davey Crockett - No 4Q to Reply
-
The best slaves are the ones that think they're free.
Right George?
Donald Munro
> As for socks I don't have "cycling socks" but got a whole bagful of
> great short Calvin Kline socks when the local CK shop was changing to
> Von Dutch. And I mean a good big bagful for 20 € and in fact will
> probably never have to buy socks again ;)
Alternatively won't have to wash socks for a long time.
Sandy
Donald Munro <fat-d...@hotmail.com> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :
> Davey Crockett wrote:
>> As for socks I don't have "cycling socks" but got a whole bagful of
>> great short Calvin Kline socks when the local CK shop was changing to
>> probably never have to buy socks again ;)
>
> Alternatively won't have to wash socks for a long time.
Another variant - black socks. Can you really tell if the're dirty, if they
don't walk away?
Davey Crockett
Used to be that Cycling Socks were White and Cycling Shorts Black
But now we seem to have the Cart before the Horse - or something
similar
--
Davey Crockett - No 4Q to Reply
-
On the 50th anniversary of their original unification, the EU powers
congratulated themselves on the way they had kept Europe free of war
ever since 1945. They did not seem even to notice how they had just
gone to war with a European nation called Serbia. Serbia was the one
European nation to resist Nazi German domination (the others either
surrendered or collaborated). Its capital, Belgrade, was viciously
bombed as a result. The next time it was bombed was by a NATO that
included Germany and many of the other former collaborator nations,
this time to force it to submit over Kosovo. Little wonder the Serbs
remain angry.
Tom Grosman
1184696171.8...@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
I had the same experience at VelOxy in porte Maillot. First visit was the
last. Bike shops in paris suck. I had a favorable experience at a shop in
Fontainbleu. Good service, high end stuff. But in general, I mail order or
buy stuff when I'm in the States.
Andrew Price
<d4Qavey...@azurservers.com> wrote:
>Decathlon is not really a top of the line shop,
Well, it's true that if you're after brands like Look, Colnago, Trek
or Orbea, you won't find them in Decathon.
>but I found their
>service very good and actually bought a VTT there for a knockaround-go
>shopping bike, mid range Rochrider 8 for 799 €, and am more than happy
But as you and Sandy point out, the value for money is probably hard
to beat.
Simon Brooke
('d4Qavey...@azurservers.com') wrote:
> "Sandy" <leu...@frree.fr> writes:
>
>> Dans le message de news:469dc702$0$9814$ec3e...@news.usenetmonster.com,
>> Donald Munro <fat-d...@hotmail.com> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :
>>> Davey Crockett wrote:
>>>> As for socks I don't have "cycling socks" but got a whole bagful of
>>>> great short Calvin Kline socks when the local CK shop was changing to
>>>> Von Dutch. And I mean a good big bagful for 20 ? and in fact will
>>>> probably never have to buy socks again ;)
>>>
>>> Alternatively won't have to wash socks for a long time.
>>
>> Another variant - black socks. Can you really tell if the're dirty, if
>> they don't walk away?
>>
> Used to be that Cycling Socks were White and Cycling Shorts Black
>
> But now we seem to have the Cart before the Horse - or something
> similar
A lad at last night's TT turned up in full - I mean full - Bettini strip,
down to rainbow flashes on his (white) shoes. You wouldn't want to ride
behind him in the rain...
--
si...@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Windows 95:
You, you, you! You make a grown man cry...
M. Jagger/K. Richards
Ewoud Dronkert
> A lad at last night's TT turned up in full - I mean full - Bettini strip,
> down to rainbow flashes on his (white) shoes.
Did he win? Or did he also match Bettini's TT abilities?
--
E. Dronkert
Tom Kunich
news:469e2520$0$11424$426a...@news.free.fr...
> <ila...@gmail.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
> 1184696171.8...@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> | as the acceptable ones in close Parisian suburbs:
> |
> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/browse_frm/thread/f08fac1cb122563c/6f2a44c041004209?lnk=gst&q=paris+bike+shops&rnum=1&hl=en#6f2a44c041004209
>
> last. Bike shops in paris suck. I had a favorable experience at a shop in
> Fontainbleu. Good service, high end stuff. But in general, I mail order or
> buy stuff when I'm in the States.
I had an amazingly hard time finding ANY bicycle shops in France. Many of
them I found were motorcycle shops that sold bicycles as well.
Bruce Gilbert
"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote in message
news:Xawni.8932$Od7....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
According to my cousins living there, Decathlon sells more bikes than
anyone. We used to shop at the one on Ave de Wagram, right near the Arc d'
Triomphe. The last time I was there was in 1996. They had a great cycling
department in the basement.
In Rome, many of the bicycle shops were mixed together with scooter places.
Bruce
Simon Brooke
('firs...@lastname.net.invalid') wrote:
He didn't win, but he did come second. Mind you, he came second behind a
fifteen-year-old.
--
si...@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
A message from our sponsor: This site is now in free fall
ila...@gmail.com
> <ilan...@gmail.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
> 1184696171.832868.280...@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> | Now that I am finally recovering from a back problem (I had to take
> | months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
> | components, which includes going to the nearby Parisian bike shops.
> | When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
> | as the acceptable ones in close Parisian suburbs:
> | inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
> | when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
> | bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
> | The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
> | responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
> | lights, as opposed to the typical Paris "urban guerilla" cyclist who
> | yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
> | pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
> |
> | -ilan
> |
>
> I had the same experience at VelOxy in porte Maillot. First visit was the
> last. Bike shops in paris suck. I had a favorable experience at a shop in
> Fontainbleu. Good service, high end stuff. But in general, I mail order or
> buy stuff when I'm in the States.
I think you mean "La Petite Reine", in Fontainebleau. It is a very
nice store, but not
too convenient for me in Paris. It is weird to see Merlin bikes in a
French bike shop.
By the way, the name of the store is due to the owner's
last name, which is "Reine".
Once again, I've had fairly good luck with shops outside the immediate
Paris area.
-ilan
ila...@gmail.com
> Dans le message denews:1184696171.8...@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com,
> ilan...@gmail.com <ilan...@gmail.com> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Now that I am finally recovering from a back problem (I had to take
> > months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
> > components, which includes going to the nearby Parisian bike shops.
> > When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
> > as the acceptable ones in close Parisian suburbs:
Well, I'm glad that Velo & Oxygene is democratic in their contempt for
customers, at least I know it's not a personal thing.
I ended up buying socks at GoSport, so pretty much like Decathlon.
They aren't that good,
but seemed about the same as what was available at Velo & Oxygene. I
don't go to Decathlon because it's not very convenient for me, I have
to change metro lines twice to get to the one near Ternes. The bikes I
saw at GoSport seemed like harsh aluminum models.
-ilan
Andrew Price
[---]
>I
>don't go to Decathlon because it's not very convenient for me, I have
>to change metro lines twice to get to the one near Ternes.
What about the Decathlon opposite the Madeleine ?
>The bikes I
>saw at GoSport seemed like harsh aluminum models.
Yes, they're crap, nowhere near the quality of the Decathlon bikes.
ila...@gmail.com
> On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:37:56 -0000, ilan...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> [---]
>
> >I
> >don't go to Decathlon because it's not very convenient for me, I have
> >to change metro lines twice to get to the one near Ternes.
>
> What about the Decathlon opposite the Madeleine ?
I've gone to the Madeleine at least 3 times for this exact purpose and
was never
able to find it. I guess I'm not good enough to go there.
-ilan
Andrew Price
>> What about the Decathlon opposite the Madeleine ?
>
>I've gone to the Madeleine at least 3 times for this exact purpose and
>was never able to find it.
Not so easy to find - it's in the *basement* of the old department
store "Les Trois Quartiers".
>I guess I'm not good enough to go there.
If you didn't know where to look, you could easily miss it. The
entrance is a flight of steps leading downwards, on the corner of the
bld de la Madeleine and rue Duphot.
ila...@gmail.com
> Now that I am finally recovering from a back problem (I had to take
> months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
> components, which includes going to the nearby Parisian bike shops.
> When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
> inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
> when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
> bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
> The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
> responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
> lights, as opposed to the typical Paris "urban guerilla" cyclist who
> yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
> pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
>
> -ilan
I finally made it to the USA, and got some cycling socks. They're a
new brand called Save Our Soles and they are very
good, I like them even more than Sock Guy. The price was good too. I
got 4 pairs, but will get some more, I think.
-ilan
Carl Sundquist
<ila...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185195211.8...@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> I finally made it to the USA, and got some cycling socks. They're a
> new brand called Save Our Soles and they are very
> good, I like them even more than Sock Guy. The price was good too. I
> got 4 pairs, but will get some more, I think.
You travel to the US to buy four pairs of socks and your concerned with
their price?
Sandy
Carl Sundquist <car...@cox.net> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :
Hincapie wears French socks. Do you understand NOW ???
ila...@gmail.com
> Now that I am finally recovering from a back problem (I had to take
> months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
> components, which includes going to the nearby Parisianbikeshops.
> When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
>
> Since I had a fairly good experience at the Cycles du Tourmalet in
> Nogent-sur-Marne, I started there. However, the salesman who did a
> good job there last time wasn't there this time, and it was a debacle.
> wanted to test ride thebike, and the salesman looked at me as if I
> was completely insane. It was the first time he had ever heard such a
> request. I asked him how one was supposed to choose without a test
> ride, and he said you had to look at magazines and read reviews.
> Apparently, they don't believe that their customers are capable of
> independent thought. He also looked at me with disbelief when I told
> hour long rides. The shop is also the French distributor for SRM
> cranks, but they did not have a single one in stock. I asked them if
> it would be possible to test cranks on a trainer to see if I could get
> the ankle clearance I needed, they said that this would also be
> impossible. The manager, who was older and was probably the owner,
> told me that I should just get the Dura-Ace model, and when I said
> that I wanted lower profile cranks, he said that they would fit me
> with appropriate shoes and pedals so that there would be heel
> clearance. When I said that I also wanted a low q-factor, the then
> said: "OK, so don't get Dura-Ace then!" I realised I was wasting my
> time there, and told them that anyway, I would be in the US the
> following week, so would be able to test ride bikes there. The
> manager's response was: "Say hi to Mr. Bush." which was supposed to be
> funny according to him. Anyway, I don't see a single reason not to buy
> treat you poorly anyway. This definitely convinced me not to buy abikein a Frenchbikeshop.
>
> cycling socks since I don't have a single intact pair left. As usual
> with that store, they did not greet me and left me completely alone to
> find the stuff I needed. They had a large selection of socks, almost
> all of them in size XXL, so I had a difficult time finding some my
> size. After a while I found a couple of pairs and went to pay. The
> salesman saw that I had left a number of socks in a pile and told me
> to put them back. I said that it was his job to do that. He insisted
> and I then said that in fact, a customer should not put articles back,
> since he was not familiar with the store's sorting system and might
> misplace things. He said that I was pretty good at removing stuff, so
> I should be just as good at putting it back. At this point, I finally
> realised that I was not going to get socks there. It was going to be
> the last time I would ever go to that store. The strange thing about
> this is that it is not at all typical French behavior, even for rude
> Parisian salespeople. As a rule, salespeople are expected to put back
> articles of clothing. It appears that this store and this salesman in
> particular are particularly rude and incompetent. Since I really
> needed cycling socks, I rode over to rue Ballard to the former Carnac
> store but it turned out that it has gone out of business. Needless to
> like I will have to buy my socks in the US. Just as well, I say.
>
> Otherwise, Parisian cycling has taken a new turn with the start of
> Velib, a public transportation initiative, where you can rent 22kg
> inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
> when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
> bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
> The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
> responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
> yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
> pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
>
> -ilan
Well, I just got back to Paris last week and yet another bike shop
experience. I needed a new chain fast, so I went to the closest bike
shop to my house, the Bouticycle St. Honore (the worst Paris shop, the
one owned by the guy who used to sell car stereos). When I got there,
they were trying to fix an old city bike which had some seized parts
by cutting them with a circular saw (like a drill but with a disk at
the end), they weren't wearing any eye protection despite the many
sparks, and I kept a safe distance making sure I was protected by the
counter. That was a good idea because the circular saw blade broke in
two with one half flying across the work area. Amazingly, they (the
mechanic, owner, and a hanger-on racer) all laughed it off despite the
obvious fact that it could have seriously maimed any one of them.
Frankly, I hadn't thought they were that stupid, but I wasn't too
surprised either. I wasn't surprised when I looked up the chain and
found that they had charged MSRP + 27%.
Otherwise, I went to an American shop when I was in Vermont, Fit Werx
http://www.fitwerx.com/ where I was treated royally. I ended up buying
a new bicycle there as well. I doubt that I could have had a better
experience, my wife had never seen such service (the fitting took 7
hours and lasted well after closing hours). I tried to buy every
possible cycling item when I was in Vermont (also due to the current
exchange rate) and went to other good shops in Burlington.
-ilan
Bret
> > inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
> > when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
> > bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
> > The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
> > responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
> > lights, as opposed to the typicalParis"urban guerilla" cyclist who
> > yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
> > pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
>
> > -ilan
>
> Well, I just got back to Paris last week and yet another bike shop
> experience. I needed a new chain fast, so I went to the closest bike
> shop to my house, the Bouticycle St. Honore (the worst Paris shop, the
> one owned by the guy who used to sell car stereos). When I got there,
> they were trying to fix an old city bike which had some seized parts
> by cutting them with a circular saw (like a drill but with a disk at
> the end), they weren't wearing any eye protection despite the many
> sparks, and I kept a safe distance making sure I was protected by the
> counter. That was a good idea because the circular saw blade broke in
> two with one half flying across the work area. Amazingly, they (the
> mechanic, owner, and a hanger-on racer) all laughed it off despite the
> obvious fact that it could have seriously maimed any one of them.
> Frankly, I hadn't thought they were that stupid, but I wasn't too
> surprised either. I wasn't surprised when I looked up the chain and
> found that they had charged MSRP + 27%.
>
> a new bicycle there as well. I doubt that I could have had a better
> experience, my wife had never seen such service (the fitting took 7
> hours and lasted well after closing hours). I tried to buy every
> possible cycling item when I was in Vermont (also due to the current
> exchange rate) and went to other good shops in Burlington.
>
> -ilan
As a recent Air France passenger, I don't think it's limited to bike
shops. The highlight of our misadventures (17 hours of travel turned
into 36) was when my wife was taken away from the boarding gate in
Paris to identify the contents of a bag that turned out not to be
hers. In the process, she was left standing alone on the tarmac next
to the plane long enough for a security patrol to challenge her.
Meanwhile, back at the gate they decided to ask me to spell her name.
Apparently they had paged the first passenger they could find named
Lisa and now realizing their mistake they decided to be angry at us
and misplace the boarding passes that they had taken from us. That was
only one of three times that our paperwork was mishandled on the
trip.
Cycling/Staying in the Basque county and then Provence was great.
Bret
Tom Kunich
news:1189719229.2...@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> Otherwise, I went to an American shop when I was in Vermont, Fit Werx
> http://www.fitwerx.com/ where I was treated royally. I ended up buying
> a new bicycle there as well. I doubt that I could have had a better
> experience, my wife had never seen such service (the fitting took 7
> hours and lasted well after closing hours). I tried to buy every
> possible cycling item when I was in Vermont (also due to the current
> exchange rate) and went to other good shops in Burlington.
Glad you did well here Ilan. We miss you over on the left coast.
Andrew Price
>Well, I just got back to Paris last week and yet another bike shop
>experience. I needed a new chain fast, so I went to the closest bike
>shop to my house, the Bouticycle St. Honore (the worst Paris shop, the
>one owned by the guy who used to sell car stereos).
Well duh ! Why didn't you just go to Decathlon, where you know you'll
find reasonable quality parts at prices which are not excessive?
Michael Press
<1189721711.9...@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com>,
Bret <bret...@gmail.com> wrote:
One defense tactic is to write down a running account of the incidents.
Ask people to spell their names, and give their titles and employers.
--
Michael Press
ila...@gmail.com
As I said, I needed it pronto. Going to Decathlon would have taken me
much longer. Actuall, the St. Honore store has great prices on Assos
clothing, about 20% less than in the US (even without adding US sales
tax).
-ilan
Tom Kunich
news:1189979512.3...@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> As I said, I needed it pronto. Going to Decathlon would have taken me
> much longer. Actuall, the St. Honore store has great prices on Assos
> clothing, about 20% less than in the US (even without adding US sales
> tax).
One of the things I found a bit strange was that normal clothing in France
was extraordinarily expensive. And yet cycling clothing was very reasonably
priced.
Keith
com> wrote:
><ila...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1189979512.3...@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> As I said, I needed it pronto. Going to Decathlon would have taken me
>> much longer. Actuall, the St. Honore store has great prices on Assos
>> clothing, about 20% less than in the US (even without adding US sales
>> tax).
>
>One of the things I found a bit strange was that normal clothing in France
>was extraordinarily expensive.
Please DEFINE normal clothing.
Donald Munro
> Please DEFINE normal clothing.
Pink lycra.
Andrew Price
>> >Well, I just got back to Paris last week and yet another bike shop
>> >experience. I needed a new chain fast, so I went to the closest bike
>> >shop to my house, the Bouticycle St. Honore (the worst Paris shop, the
>> >one owned by the guy who used to sell car stereos).
>>
>> Well duh ! Why didn't you just go to Decathlon, where you know you'll
>> find reasonable quality parts at prices which are not excessive?
>
>As I said, I needed it pronto. Going to Decathlon would have taken me
>much longer.
It must have been *really* urgent in that case, as it's only about 15
minutes on foot from Bouticycle to Décathlon Madeleine (or 10 mins for
a trained cyclist...)
>Actuall, the St. Honore store has great prices on Assos
>clothing, about 20% less than in the US (even without adding US sales
>tax).
That, I agree, would be a valid reason for going there.
rechungR...@gmail.com
> Otherwise, I went to an American shop when I was in Vermont, Fit Werxhttp://www.fitwerx.com/where I was treated royally. I ended up buying
> a new bicycle there as well.
1. What kind of bike?
2. Can it hold a full-size Zefal HPX?
Tom Kunich
news:6qtse3dqki75n4hg1...@4ax.com...
I bought a sweater at a cut rate clothing store in Picpus and a plain
ordinary sweater, one color with a single stripe, no closing at the wrists
or waist was $120 American. I could buy the same sort of sweater here for
probably $35 at that time (2001?).
Now I COULDN'T buy the same sweater here because they add all the frills
onto the sweaters here. So it is difficult to compare. But all of the
clothing I looked at such as slacks, dress shirts and the like were priced
about 2 to 3 times what they would cost in the US.
In comparison the cycling clothing at that time cost about half of what it
cost here. Now there's been a huge shift in prices and they cost roughly the
same. But I wonder if that's the case if you're actually in France and not
trying to mail order stuff.
Bret
I have to say, I really LIKE the idea of you being overcharged for
clothing in France. When I go to France I generally take clothes with
me. The wine is cheap which more than makes up for whatever faults
they may have.
Bret
Howard Kveck
Bret <bret...@gmail.com> wrote:
I guess it depends on where you went shopping for clothing. I got some shirts in
Paris and the prices were quite in line with what I'd expect to pay. And the wine is
relatively cheap but it's good and that helps a lot, too. Oh yeah, get shoes in Spain.
--
tanx,
Howard
Faberge eggs are elegant but I prefer Faberge bacon.
remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
Bret
> In article <1190178575.123071.326...@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
Now you tell me. I went to Spain and all I brought back was Pneumonia.
I think it was this night:
http://www.martyjemison.com/album/basque_2007_aug27/slides/P8310379.html
Bret
Howard Kveck
Bret <bret...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 18, 11:31 pm, Howard Kveck <YOURhow...@h-SHOESbomb.com> wrote:
> > In article <1190178575.123071.326...@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
> > Oh yeah, get shoes in Spain.
>
> Now you tell me. I went to Spain and all I brought back was Pneumonia.
> I think it was this night:
>
> http://www.martyjemison.com/album/basque_2007_aug27/slides/P8310379.html
That's a lot of people. Where was that taken? I liked the little almost-alley
sized streets like that up in Bilbao. Pick a tapas bar...
Bret
> In article <1190181005.349234.91...@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
>
> Bret <bret.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Sep 18, 11:31 pm, Howard Kveck <YOURhow...@h-SHOESbomb.com> wrote:
> > > In article <1190178575.123071.326...@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
> > > Oh yeah, get shoes in Spain.
>
> > Now you tell me. I went to Spain and all I brought back was Pneumonia.
> > I think it was this night:
>
> >http://www.martyjemison.com/album/basque_2007_aug27/slides/P8310379.html
>
> That's a lot of people. Where was that taken? I liked the little almost-alley
> sized streets like that up in Bilbao. Pick a tapas bar...
That's San Sebastien, not too far from the beach. The tapas bars were
great there.
Bret
Howard Kveck
Bret <bret...@gmail.com> wrote:
I didn't have time to get up to San Sebastian when I was there, even though it's a
very short bus ride from Bilbao. The food up there was phenomenal. Got to get back
again soon.
rechungR...@gmail.com
> Here is my review:
> http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/latest-bikes/road-bike/cervelo/PRD_366584_5668crx.aspx
Nice bike.
Since you now have a PowerTap, next time you're at Vincennes, try to
replicate this:
http://anonymous.coward.free.fr/wattage/cda/indirect-cda.pdf
> > 2. Can it hold a full-size Zefal HPX?
> Do you really care?
Not really. I use a Blackburn FP-1.
Dan Connelly
> On Sep 17, 9:27 pm, rechungREMOVET...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Sep 13, 2:33 pm, ilan...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> a new bicycle there as well.
>> 1. What kind of bike?
>
> review.
>
>> 2. Can it hold a full-size Zefal HPX?
>
>
> -ilan
>
>
That frame alone lists at least $3300 -- was that the referenced price?
Anyway, nice, although my concern on the "squoval" is wind drag. It would be interesting to see relative CdA of the Ritchey versus this bike, although differentiating the two would require consideration of relative position.
Dan
rechungR...@gmail.com
wrote:
> Anyway, nice, although my concern on the "squoval" is wind drag.
> It would be interesting to see relative CdA of the Ritchey versus this
> bike, although differentiating the two would require consideration
> of relative position.
Too bad there is no way to get a reasonable estimate of CdA without
visiting a wind tunnel.
ila...@gmail.com
wrote:
> ilan...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Sep 17, 9:27 pm, rechungREMOVET...@gmail.com wrote:
> >> On Sep 13, 2:33 pm, ilan...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >>> a new bicycle there as well.
> >> 1. What kind of bike?
>
> > It continues in the comments due to a size limitation in the main
> > review.
>
> >> 2. Can it hold a full-size Zefal HPX?
>
> > Do you really care?
>
> > -ilan
>
> That frame alone lists at least $3300 -- was that the referenced price?
>
> Anyway, nice, although my concern on the "squoval" is wind drag. It would be interesting to see relative CdA of the Ritchey versus this bike, although differentiating the two would require consideration of relative position.
>
> Dan
Yes, the frame was 3,300, which is very good with my Euros. My
position is so much higher now (I feel like I can chew leaves off of
trees as I ride) that the difference in tubing doesn't seem to count.
Actually, I don't feel so ashamed about my upright position since I
saw videos of Sean Kelly, he is pretty tall in the saddle when on the
tops (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvYcZvqPUJU between 4:30
and 4:40), and I have about the same arm bend when in the drops (they
used to be fairly straight with my previous position). By the way, the
Roubaix velodrome sure had a long straight section in those days.
-ilan
ila...@gmail.com
>
> Nice bike.
>
> Since you now have a PowerTap, next time you're at Vincennes, try to
> replicate this:http://anonymous.coward.free.fr/wattage/cda/indirect-cda.pdf
>
> > > 2. Can it hold a full-size Zefal HPX?
> > Do you really care?
>
> Not really. I use a Blackburn FP-1.
The bike velocity predictor http://austinimage.com/bp/velocityMetric/velocity.html
seems to work pretty well for my speed up the Montreal Grand Prix
hill. Apparently, I output about as much power as Genevieve Jeanson,
except that I weigh 15kg more and I don't take EPO, at least, I have
never tested positive. I should use your Cda figures to compare when I
finally lower my stem.
I actually rode in Vincennes last Thursday for the first time in 7
months. Pretty losing, as usual. The crows were there, they are able
to locate the guy who throws them peanuts and can catch them in the
air, which makes them smarter and more coordinated than most of the
riders there. In all my French rides, I have only seen one power
meter, a 60 year old guy with a Polar. Not one single racer or pseudo-
racer has one. However, the usually unbelievably non curious French
riders have been regularly asking me what that oversized rear hub is,
usually after spending some time staring at it when behind me in a
paceline. One guy actually thought it was a motor. The conversation
then becomes somewhat delicate, as they have a hard time understanding
the concept of power, most of them not having finished high school,
and power meters not being part of their culture. I am continually
amazed at how little they seem to know even about cycling, even though
they have been doing it all their life, and they are mostly not young.
I went out on 8:30 am Sunday rides the last two weeks when it was 12C
and only 4 of 30 riders had tights or leg warmers, and about half of
the riders had only one small bottle for the 80km fairly intense
ride.
The old Zefal pump does not fit. I got a Blackburn mini-pump which I
checked can do 90psi with 190 strokes. I also got a Topeak convertible
frame pump (folds out as a mini foot pump) for traveling which goes up
to 120psi fairly easily according to its gauge. I was unable to get a
straight answer from bike shops about how people inflate their tires
when traveling to races, but my solution seems pretty good.
-ilan
rechungR...@gmail.com
> I should use your Cda figures to compare when I
> finally lower my stem.
Well, that figure for Dede was just to show how it could be done -- I
expect that she used her brakes at some point so the profile and CdA
estimates should be taken as relative rather than absolute.
> I actually rode in Vincennes last Thursday for the first time in 7
> months. Pretty losing, as usual. The crows were there, they are able
> to locate the guy who throws them peanuts and can catch them in the
> air, which makes them smarter and more coordinated than most of the
> riders there.
That guy told me that they're corneilles, not corbeaux. He said
corneilles have a yellow beak, while corbeaux are black. He also said
the corneilles on the northbound side are different than the ones on
the southbound side.
> In all my French rides, I have only seen one power
> meter, a 60 year old guy with a Polar. Not one single racer or pseudo-
> racer has one. However, the usually unbelievably non curious French
> riders have been regularly asking me what that oversized rear hub is,
> usually after spending some time staring at it when behind me in a
> paceline. One guy actually thought it was a motor. The conversation
> then becomes somewhat delicate, as they have a hard time understanding
> the concept of power, most of them not having finished high school,
> and power meters not being part of their culture.
Just a couple of months ago was the first time I saw another PM at the
piste: a woman using an SRM.. I've only been asked about my PT once.
The guy didn't seem too clear on what was, but I usually attribute any
lack of understanding to my abominable French. Maybe I shouldn't.
> The old Zefal pump does not fit. I got a Blackburn mini-pump which I
> checked can do 90psi with 190 strokes.
Sometimes I thought I was the only guy at the piste who carried both a
full-size pump and a little seat bag with stuff to fix a flat. It's
pretty amusing watching a guy try to inflate a tire with a pump the
size of a fat fountain pen.
ila...@gmail.com
It turns out that the magazine Acheteur Cycliste isn't too bad after
all, compared to all the other French cycling magazines which have so
much incorrect information they make Bicycling look good (e.g., all
French cycling coaches seem to believe that it is bad to use a trainer
for more than 45 min workouts). In particular, they had the first
ever honest review of minipumps I'd ever seen. They tried the Topeak
minipump which actually does look like a fountain pen
http://www.topeak.com/2007/products/minipumps/microrocketcb.php and it
completely broke before they got to 4 bar. The only pumps able to get
to 6 bar were the Blackburn (as I verified independently with the same
number of strokes) and a similarly "bulky" Zefal, and that it was
impossible to get any higher pressure (for me as well). They had a
good time ridiculing the 10 bar numbers on the packaging of these
pumps including for the fountain pen pump.
Oh, and apparently a guy recently died on the Vincennes bike circuit.
Apparently, he came out of the 90 degree turn and clipped his front
wheel with someone's rear wheel and slammed his unhelmeted head on the
curb. There are signs posted there asking for witnesses. I don't find
it too surprising since beginners don't any help or advice while
riding in the group and don't ask for it either. I've gotten angry
responses a couple of times when I've tried helping someone, e.g.,
when suggesting they actually grip the bar tops when they're in the
middle of the bunch, though more often they're fairly grateful for
any advice.
-ilan
rechungR...@gmail.com
> Oh, and apparently a guy recently died on the Vincennes bike circuit.
> Apparently, he came out of the 90 degree turn and clipped his front
> wheel with someone's rear wheel and slammed his unhelmeted head on the
> curb. There are signs posted there asking for witnesses. I don't find
> it too surprising since beginners don't any help or advice while
> riding in the group and don't ask for it either. I've gotten angry
> responses a couple of times when I've tried helping someone, e.g.,
> when suggesting they actually grip the bar tops when they're in the
> middle of the bunch, though more often they're fairly grateful for
> any advice.
Ugh. I'm sorry to hear that. I've always been kinda surprised at how
willing guys are to jump onto some random guy's wheel without knowing
how sketchy he may be. Still, bad news.
Ewoud Dronkert
> pretty amusing watching a guy try to inflate a tire with a pump the
> size of a fat fountain pen.
My "Pocket Rocket" works fine, and I mean the Topeak minipump. Enough
pressure to complete the training round (that is not too technical and
understandably has no descents to speak of).
--
E. Dronkert
Michael Press
<1190491398.1...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>
,
ila...@gmail.com wrote:
> Oh, and apparently a guy recently died on the Vincennes bike circuit.
> Apparently, he came out of the 90 degree turn and clipped his front
> wheel with someone's rear wheel and slammed his unhelmeted head on the
> curb.
What do helmets have to do with this?
--
Michael Press
Donald Munro
>>What do helmets have to do with this?
Andrew Price wrote:
> He just slipped in below your troll radar ...
A Lockheed Stealth Troll.
Tom Kunich
news:1190480029.8...@50g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...
Too bad that CdA of a frame and any specific rider isn't applicable to the
same frame and any other rider.