What makes the difference?
Updated Campy SRAM Shimano Components and Wheels
Parts/Accessories and Clothing
Miscellaneous Mechanical Ramblings
These hands make the difference.
The Bike Stand Hours of Operation
Bike News
Many name brand bikes are sold
today, including some brands which we sell from our site and our shop. These bikes are outsourced from a few large
factories in Asia. So what, then, makes the difference? The hands do. Almost every day I am asked these two
questions: 1) Why do you sell only Raleigh and Diamond Back bikes, and 2) Why should I buy a bike from you
and not from Mega Mart? The answer to the first question is that all of the big brand name bikes are the same.
They are all the same. Sorry to burst your bubble, but these companies just source their bikes from big manufacturers
all over the world. I choose Raleigh and Diamond Back because they are less expensive. Because
Raleigh and Diamond Back do not advertise, their prices are lower. The big four companies advertise
heavily, so their prices are higher. It is not magic; it is just good business.
The answer to the second question (the one about the Mega Mart) is a whole
different story. I will try to minimize my ranting about these bikes, but the truth is that these questions evoke
lengthy responses. I understand buying a toy car from these Mega Mart places. Your little angel goes into
his/her room and safely plays with it. Or maybe you buy them a small airplane and they go out in the yard and toss
it up into the air. What I cannot get past is the part where you would allow your child to ride a bicycle from a
Mega Mart in the street along side a 4000 pound all-wheel-drive vehicle driven by a distracted person talking
on a cell phone. There is more than one thing wrong with this picture. First of all, this Mega Mart bike
is the cheapest thing that a fat, cigar-smoking suit can get his hands on. Secondly, the bike was assembled by a
kid with no proper tools or training. Then to add insult to any person that has dedicated their life to proper,
safe assemblage of bikes, the owner of the Mega Mart bike brings it into the shop for service only to get
angry at me for pointing out that the bike is not safe, is falling apart, and will need extensive repair work.
A bike built by a talented mechanic is in fact greater than the sum of its parts.
The fact is that most shops and mail-order companies try to maximize profits by skimping out on the quality of
assemblies and repairs. We, however, have Steve Willis. Steve is a veteran bike mechanic and former racer
who has been building, racing, and loving bikes since the early seventies. For those of you who are wondering why
you should buy a bike at a shop instead of a Mega Mart-type-store, take a look at this
comparison page. Thank you.
SRAM's ‘Red’ road groups
are available! They are nice, and you can pop over to the
SRAM page to look and learn. Also, SRAM has issued a voluntary recall to some front brakes, so pop over
to see if the recall applies to you.
Not bike related, but I opened
up a web page for my art work. If you are interested, pop over here for a peek!
We are putting together an
E-Newsletter. If you would like to get regular updates and special offers on labor or parts sent right to your
computer, click on this link E-Newsletter.
Come visit our Miscellaneous
Mechanical Ramblings. I will be posting problems and events that have happened here at The Bike Stand with some
answers and insights to what we did to solve the problem with out getting too preachy in the meantime. I will be updating
these from time to time. If any thing I mention on the page seems to pertain to any problem you are having, feel free to
e-mail me at The Bike Stand.
When you get a chance, take a
look at the assembly page and take a look at your bike. Pull out the brake cable pinch bolt and see
if there is any grease on it. If not, take some time to go over your bike or bring it down for me to go over it with you.
I have been in this field for a
little over thirty years now so, as you can guess, I have acquired a lot of NOS and used older bikes and bike parts. I
started to list some of the older parts we have under the heading Vintage. Feel free to e-mail
me with any needs you have, and I may have the answer. Keep checking back. I will be adding to the list every few days
or so, and if you have some free time take a look at the new page of component weights.
We are trying something different
here. Quality labor has a value. I will try and do it right or not do it at all.
The Bike Stand
1778 East Second Street
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
Phone-908-322-3330
fax-908-322-5321
map
Quick Bio
The Bike Stand has been in Scotch Plains New Jersey now since 1982. Steven Willis has been the ower since it started. We are surrounded by Westfield, Plainfield, Berkely Heights, Clark, North Plainfield, and South Plainfield. I have been selling and working on bicycles for all those years. I have built wheels that have been ridden in the Olympics and by national team members both USA and Canada. I have built frames that were ridden to victory in NJ. The bikes we sell are Aegis-a carbon frame, Raleigh, Redline, BMX and freestyle, Biria from Germany, Landshark-a custom frame made by John, Coppi, aluminum carbon and steel Ciocc and Dahon. We sell both Campagnolo Record Chorus Shimano Dura-Ace Ultegra and Mavic and have a lot of small replacement parts in stock.
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What makes the difference?
|
Updated Campy SRAM Shimano Components and Wheels Parts/Accessories and Clothing Miscellaneous Mechanical Ramblings |
Bike News Many name brand bikes are sold
today, including some brands which we sell from our site and our shop. These bikes are outsourced from a few large
factories in Asia. So what, then, makes the difference? The hands do. Almost every day I am asked these two
questions: 1) Why do you sell only Raleigh and Diamond Back bikes, and 2) Why should I buy a bike from you
and not from Mega Mart? The answer to the first question is that all of the big brand name bikes are the same.
They are all the same. Sorry to burst your bubble, but these companies just source their bikes from big manufacturers
all over the world. I choose Raleigh and Diamond Back because they are less expensive. Because
Raleigh and Diamond Back do not advertise, their prices are lower. The big four companies advertise
heavily, so their prices are higher. It is not magic; it is just good business. SRAM's ‘Red’ road groups
are available! They are nice, and you can pop over to the
SRAM page to look and learn. Also, SRAM has issued a voluntary recall to some front brakes, so pop over
to see if the recall applies to you. Not bike related, but I opened
up a web page for my art work. If you are interested, pop over here for a peek! We are putting together an
E-Newsletter. If you would like to get regular updates and special offers on labor or parts sent right to your
computer, click on this link E-Newsletter. Come visit our Miscellaneous
Mechanical Ramblings. I will be posting problems and events that have happened here at The Bike Stand with some
answers and insights to what we did to solve the problem with out getting too preachy in the meantime. I will be updating
these from time to time. If any thing I mention on the page seems to pertain to any problem you are having, feel free to
e-mail me at The Bike Stand. When you get a chance, take a
look at the assembly page and take a look at your bike. Pull out the brake cable pinch bolt and see
if there is any grease on it. If not, take some time to go over your bike or bring it down for me to go over it with you. I have been in this field for a
little over thirty years now so, as you can guess, I have acquired a lot of NOS and used older bikes and bike parts. I
started to list some of the older parts we have under the heading Vintage. Feel free to e-mail
me with any needs you have, and I may have the answer. Keep checking back. I will be adding to the list every few days
or so, and if you have some free time take a look at the new page of component weights. We are trying something different
here. Quality labor has a value. I will try and do it right or not do it at all. Quick BioThe Bike Stand has been in Scotch Plains New Jersey now since 1982. Steven Willis has been the ower since it started. We are surrounded by Westfield, Plainfield, Berkely Heights, Clark, North Plainfield, and South Plainfield. I have been selling and working on bicycles for all those years. I have built wheels that have been ridden in the Olympics and by national team members both USA and Canada. I have built frames that were ridden to victory in NJ. The bikes we sell are Aegis-a carbon frame, Raleigh, Redline, BMX and freestyle, Biria from Germany, Landshark-a custom frame made by John, Coppi, aluminum carbon and steel Ciocc and Dahon. We sell both Campagnolo Record Chorus Shimano Dura-Ace Ultegra and Mavic and have a lot of small replacement parts in stock. Top of Page |
