6 Surprising Lessons I Learned Opening a Bike Shop in 2024 | Go Grava Bicycles

[@benb9876]

Interesting to hear these perspectives from a new shop owner in 2024. IMO there is no reason to unmount a tubeless tire to remove/clean out old sealant on tubeless tires. Just add the new sealant, injected through the valve, and keep riding for the life of the tire. I never remove a tubeless tire once mounted unless necessary as it is much harder to remount the tire and get it to hold tubeless. You also run the risk of pulling up the tubeless tape which will add time and money to the repair. There is no need to remove old sealant as you will have to add fresh sealant that will just redo what the old stuff was already doing. It's a waste of time and money. I add sealant every 3-5 months depending. Best of luck with business.

[@gabrielcarlothomas]

That's how I do it as well most of the time. I just look into the notes on the account and see how many times we have done it. I usually tell people I'll do it that way about 5 times before I need to probably unmount the ture and make sure there is no large debris from dried sealant. What do you guys charge? @benb9876

[@WSBR707]

I'm thoroughly enjoying watching you slow emerge from a place of ignorance and assumptions into a place of experience and some authority. Brave of you to be so open about all this. I will remind you that having to replace worn out components shouldn't be framed as a "negative experience at the bike shop," because it's a two way street. It's also about YOUR experience dealing with clients. Your thoroughness and attention to detail is crucial to your success and reputation so, more often than not, the client is going to appreciate being made aware of this stuff. A "positive bike shop experience" does not and should not hinge completely on your being able to do something cheaply for someone. There's a lot here which the rest of us already knew, or take for granted, and already have plenty of ways to deal with each.

[@gograva]

I’ve paid a lot of ignorance tax in 2024

[@adammackenzie]

Still rideable in southern Ontario Canada.. ride safe every one

[@jayb.6685]

I'm was surprised that a lot of people don't know how bikes work or even simple maintenance, a lot don't even ride with spares and basic tools. I've rescued so many strangers on the road when their bikes break down. But then I realized it's normal because I drive an SUV but all I know is how to change tires in case of a flat.

[@BruceChastain]

the thing is, people think that bikes are or should be sort of like cars, which is to say you can just ride them without any real maintenance for long periods. I wish it were like that, but the reality is, for the vast majority of bikes, they need constant upkeep and work to keep working right.

[@steveschurr5967]

Whenever I'm at a big box store I always look at what bikes they have. What I see frequently is forks that are backwards (like most arrive in the box) and headsets that are too loose of too tight. The bikes in these stores are assembled by any available employee rather than someone with experience.

[@gograva]

That’s exactly what I see coming in to my store. It’s more than I thought.

[@JohnJohn-xb1sn]

There is amazing bikes all over marketplace for $50-$200 all day long. I love 90s MB. Most of the big names are very similar in construction and components. I live out in the country and have had to be mechanically inclined most of my life working on equipment so for me I would rather buy a whole other bike similar to one already have if I need just a part. now I have a parts bike for the price of typically what that part cost new. Plus the older bike don't require a lot of pricey tools. I see a lot of people on very expensive bikes that buy them more as a fashion statement and do very little on them that they can be doing on a good used $200 bike

[@gograva]

I don't think people buy bicycles as a fashion statement. Like me, they just love the new technology and the way a new bicycle rides. There is a drastic difference in ride quality and performance from 90's MTB and the new technology out today. Not to say there is anything wrong with the older bicycles... I love looking at the older bicycles, but I enjoy the new technology that is out today.

[@BruceChastain]

I want to get into e-bike and scooters, they're fun and I think it's smart to pivot into ebikes.

[@gograva]

They are more fun than I initially thought. I could do a video about that.

[@mariogarridopt]

Dry rusty chains are the most common thing. The craziest are people riding on flat tires as it is nothing...

[@RideShareJS]

Yep! People will complain about China’s cheap labor sweat shops, but then also complain when they can’t buy a cheap item or have to pay more for quality labor and components.

[@gograva]

What I found out during this Journey is… nobody cares where their stuff is made. Some do, but 99.9% do not care. That’s just the way it is.

[@AdventuresWithDaniel]

Interesting! I think it's a wise idea to be a "mobility store" and not just a bike store. There's far too little demand for acoustic bikes alone. Especially outside of major metro areas!

[@villuarak]

Acoustic bikes?

[@KenHinkle-o9o]

How are the GoTrax selling?

[@gograva]

I just got them in and already sold the high end one I made this video with.

[@TheCyclingConquistador]

Great video, i need to stop by and grab a Christmas tree chain ornament.

[@gograva]

You should!

[@BruceChastain]

I just redid my tubeless tires yesterday, it took me a good hour to clean both tires and get them set again. As I was doing it I was thinking to myself, am I the only one doing this? I don't really feel like most people have the willingness to sit here and do this.

[@gograva]

No, most people don’t do it, but I think that’s great. It gives me another service to sell. I will literally clean tubeless tires all day if everyone pays for it.

[@BruceChastain]

@@gograva I would be glad to see what technique you're using.

[@RideShareJS]

@@BruceChastain I bought a block of a natural rubber eraser after watching a GCN video several months ago. Just switched to tubeless in the spring and did my first cleaning a couple months ago. Didn’t do a real thorough job, but it was just my first application. Had a heck of a time getting the new tire seated again, though. Tried the soapy spray thing and changing out rim tape until it finally took. Almost brought it into Aaron’s shops but finally got it! 😅

[@gograva]

I could do a video about it. Basically, I use an old inner tube to rub off the dried up sealant on the inside and lip of the tire. Then you use some plastic tire levers to get the stubborn stuff off the metal or carbon rims. From there, it depends on your wheel to seat it back on. MTB and Gravel wheels are fairly easy to get on with a compressor but I have a few methods. The other shortcut is to use a tube to seat the tire, then only release one side of the tire to take the tube out, then add sealant and you only have to seat the one side.

[@iknowzeverything2740]

If you ride your bike enough you go through tires so quickly that this is never a problem.

[@Hobbot72]

grava shall pass, too. Road is king.

[@gograva]

I started on road but Go Camino didn’t sound as cool

[@kennethward9530]

Some of us slightly obsessed afficianados would probably be slow learners in bike shop environment. Good stuff is expensive, which is why I wipe my GP 5000s with a microfiber after each ride (amazing how many tiny bits of grit, glass and wire come off) and wax chains to keep drivetrain parts from wearing. I also wipe the frame with wet rag fairly often, imagining salty energy drinks aren't good for frames. Takes almost no time, but not common practice. Cleaning is the cheapest form of maintenance. Something people may not be aware of (I'm talking to gravel riders) is that many parts of the US Midwest use chloride spray on the road to control dust in the summer, that's just as bad for your bike as salt on the road in winter. I used to live down three miles of dirt road, learned that the hard way. As far as your lessons learned, brake pads surprised me a little - while dirt wears out MTB brake pads, I get plenty of life out of road bike pads (still on rim brakes). I imagine the twist wrist e-bike crowd will be wearing out pads quickly. 1x set up with huge ca$$ette$ I can see making for difficult conversations with folks who've let the chain go too long.Haven't the patience for tubeless set ups

[@gograva]

The more mud and dirt, the quicker those brake pads go. The road is cleaner so they last longer.

[@BruceChastain]

man for a long time I had a habit of pulling box store bikes off the trash, fixing them and reselling them, man they are horrible. Just everything, headsets, crank bearings, everything is soft and bent, it's just so bad. And the worst part is, I bet 90% of bikes sold overall are box store bikes, so there are a ton of them.

[@gograva]

Yes, and I tried that for two months. However, the cost of all new parts were more expensive than the original price of the bicycle. So, I got out of the refurbished bike business quickly.

[@BruceChastain]

@@gograva I just got back from a little walk around the block and there is actually a ozone MTB bike someone is tossing out, it took some will power on my part to not grab it. But honestly it's not worth the time. Looks to be hardly used but in sorry shape. I was thinking of getting it just for a set of cheap tires, but no I don't need to get into this right now.

[@daniellarson3068]

Aren't some of them improving their quality? I've heard lots of good things about this new Walmart Ozark Trail G1 gravel bike.

[@gograva]

@@daniellarson3068 to be fair, the Ozark hasn’t showed up at my bike shop yet.

[@steveschurr5967]

@@daniellarson3068 The Ozarks gravel and mountain actually are excellent value for the money but, beware of the assembly. Check everything.

[@fid420]

Seems like the moral of the story is that you’re shocked people do things differently than you? Crazy.