Conference noted::bicycle

    	In Nashua, you can try:
    
    		Goodale's - On Main St., north end of town, east
    			    side of street.
    
    		Tony's - On 101A westbound. Take Exit 7 or 8 off
    			 Everett Turnpike and go west. Tony's is
    			 on the north (right) side of 101A.
    
    	Scott

    Repacking of all the bearings (headset, bottom bracket, hubs), cleaning
    brakes, replacing necessary parts, clean/change chain, and cleaning 
    derailleurs is what should be done in a winter "tune-up".  Pricewise
    I believe it is significantly more than $30.00.  Labor wise, good
    thorough work would take 2 to 3 hours...
    
    steve

    I would vote for Tony's in Nashua.  They even run classes to teach you
    how to do it yourself.  And their prices seem very resonable.  Spending
    some lunch hours in there and being a former motocycle mechanic I
    believe that they are good at what they do.
    
    Guy and Pat are real friendly.  Tell them you work at DEC and heard
    about them in here.
    

    I can also recommend Wheel Power in Exeter, NH if you're closer to the
    coast. I've always been satisfied with their work, their ethics, and
    their prices.
    
    	/Harry

    I won't make any comments on WheelPower, but I would recommend
    Exeter Cycles.  John Gromac (proprietor) was in the '68 olympics
    and has done nothing BUT cycling his entire life.  He's built up
    both my bikes and three sets of rims - everything has worked fine
    and held up to my serious abuse [my sick mountain biking techniques
    don't seem to translate as well to the road-bike - but I do them
    anyway].  btw - John was the chief (only?) mechanic at WheelPower
    for years until he opened his own shop about 4 years ago.
    
    mark

    
    Thanks for the recommendations folks. I live in Londonderry, so I
    geuss Nashua, Salem, Manchester any of those would be fine. Exeter is
    a little furthur but I might consider. Actually I would like to go to 
    a shop with a good reputation 'cause aside from the wheels, what 
    I would like is a front supension. I would need an experienced,
    trustworthy opinion on whether I should do it to my existing frame or
    start with a new bike. I have an IBOC Pro with DX group, although it 
    is not top of the line, it has been a real comfortable and hassle free
    bike so far. My only gripe was the last time I went real mountain
    biking, I wished I had front suspensions. I know I would ride a lot 
    faster with suspensions. 
    
    Shaw
    

    Pat and Guy at Tony's both are experianced mtn bikers and can let you
    know what will work and will work hard to fit your needs.  They special
    order parts and strive to make sure the customer is satisfied.

    SHAW,
    
    I worked for hours trying to true my front wheel once.  I know that the
    first priority in trueing is equal tension on the spokes.  I could get
    the wheel to run pretty straight thru the pads but the tension was way
    off in places.  This is a no no.
    
    The moral of my story is that your rim may be shot like mine was.  No
    amount of "PROPER" trueing can ever correct it.  I went to Ultrasports
    in Manchester, gave them my old hub and had him build me a new front
    wheel.  If you give them a hub it costs about $45.
    
    Mike
    

    
    RE:-1
    
    Thanks Mike, I will check into that. I don't not see any visible
    evidence of the rims being shot. If that is visible by any means. 
    I am hoping that a trueing will correct the problem. This local
    bike shop that I got the bike from I know only the owner does 
    wheels, and none of the boys that work there will touch it. As far
    as I know the owner went to a clinic last summer. 
    
    The guys in Nashua sound decent though. I will check up on them.
    
    Happy riding ya all :-)
    
    Shaw

Truing and building wheels are indeed an art. Especially the back wheel since
you have different spoke angles from one side to the other. Most bike shop have
a tension gauge and they should be able to check out your wheel for correct
tension. A experience wheel builder can just pluck the spoke and listen to the
tune to get all the spoke to the correct tension. You should see these guys
build one, they make it look so easy.

Most production bike wheels are laced up by machine and probably checked by a
mechanic or some kind of quality person. But after riding the bike a few time,
most production bike wheel will go out of true if you have a hard rider on it. 
That is why the shop usually ask you to bring the bike back for a 30 day check
up. The truing that is done here is usually with the wheel left on the bike 
or on a truing stand depending on how untrue the wheel is. 

If you had to bring the wheel back twice already, tell the owner to take off
the tire and tube and loosen all the spokes a few turns and put some spoke
compound on the ends of the spoked and retrue the thing. It might take the guy
an hour but you just brought a $900 bike and am planning to dish another $300
to put on shocks. I would rather have a guy spending that kind of money in my
store then another store. 

Dave 

    
    Hi Dave, I don't think I am going to bring the bike back to the 
    original person anymore. They are just a small commercial bike
    shop in Derry catering to families. 
    As much as I like the bike, it is realy nothing special, I have had
    my eye on those V900 Canondale's. I wish there was a way to compare
    the shocks preformance with the regular rock shocks. 
    Here is how I'm thinking, 300 buckaroos plus some for labor to add
    to my current bike that has been drop a few times, just paint scrapes
    nothing major. Well if you haven't dropped your mountain bike yet 
    you are not riding hard enough. 
    Second choice would be a Canondale V900 or V700. Isn't the only
    difference in the shifter/derailures?  I think its is sufficient 
    (to me anyways) to test ride a road bike in the area and get a good
    feel of whether I like it or not. But to try a suspension mountain
    bike, I beleive the only way I could justify spending my money is
    to actualy ride a downhill. Is that too much to ask. Are there places
    that you can actualy test ride them? Do they have demo days :-)
    
    With my MTB currently weighing around 29 lbs. I guess the rock shocks
    might make it a little too heavy for my taste.
    
    Shaw

Shaw,

Pete who work there has Delta V900 frameset and he is about your size.  He
brought the frame and put the lightest stuff as possible on it so is more of a
custom. Several of the guys usually will go out to ride with anybody and Pete
usually takes group rides for the store one day a week during the summer. Call
the store and ask when he is working to see if he will go out on a ride with
you. Just tell him your intention and see if it he will do it.
                                                               
He is a good rider and goes out a ide few days a week so be prepare to be
in pain if you have not be out there much. If you want me to ask him just drop
me a line. 

Dave

    one more time.
    
    go to tony's in nashua,  they have a hill out back, they have
    cannondales, they have off road, bianchi, etc.  they even have a bike
    with rock shock.  they let you test ride.
    
    go.

    
    re: Dave's note, 
    
    Dave thanks for the info. I will check with Pete when it's time to ride
    right now I am too involved in skiing still. 
    
    RE: -1 
    
    I will go see Tony's, having a hill behind the shop and being able to
    demoe several different bikes sounds like a great deal!
    I did demo a Bianchi MTB couple of years ago before I bought my IBOC 
    and did not like the Bianchi, maybe it was the model I tried which
    I can't remeber what it was. But if felt like a bike made for a 
    department store. Fancy paint job, mid range components and not 
    enough muscle. 
    
    Cheers, 
    
    Shaw

	Shaw,

	If you go to Tony's, try out a Rocky Mountain.  My husband has one
	and loves it.  A friend of ours has a nice Paramount Series 70 with
	XT, but as soon as he got on Mark's Equipe he had to have one.  He
	got one at Tony's and now the Paramount is for sale %^) 

	I second (or third) the recommendation to try Tony's.  Though the
	name sounds like a pizza joint, they know their stuff and they're
	really fun to talk to.  They have a signup sheet for Wed and Sun
	mtn bike rides lead by a guy named Carl.  I might try one out 
	pretty soon.

	Good luck!
	Sue	

    	One of the fellas at Tony's (Nashua) is named Guy Blanchard.
    	He used to be a pretty good racers some years ago. Nice fella
    	and interesting to talk to.
    
    	Scott

    
    
    I don't know about Tony's prices on bikes, but their tools and
    accessories seem to be way out of line with the rest of the civilized
    world.
    
    I bought a Park allen wrench there.  Anywhere else, it would have been
    $6 or $7.  At Tony's...$10.
    
    I went there the other day for one of those on-the-bike chain cleaners
    (Park).  Tony wanted $26.  Performance and Nashbar have it listed for
    around $15.
    
    It's too bad, because Tony's is located about a mile down the street
    from where I work (at NQO).
    
    
    
    
    Steve
    

it's too bad. i'm in a similar situation in needham (ma.) i live near the west
newton "mom and pop" bike store called "Harris's Cyclery". i try to patronize
their store jsut because i believe in supporting the little guy but it's hard
when the prices at the "mom and pop" places are soooo much higher. they wanted
$125 for a Giro "Air Attack" helmet when everyone else is $100. they want $50+
bucks for a conti "Sprinter" tire where everyone else is ~$35.

    re: tony's tool prices.
    
    we were in there the other day and talked about this.  Seems the owner
    wants the tool prices high so you won't buy them to do your own work. 
    It's not the manager's idea and not a reflection on how they price
    anything else.
    
    But you're right, it's not a good thing he has done.  People are going
    to buy tools and Guy wants to sell them.  In fact he even runs classes
    to show people how to do thier own work.

    "You'll make more money giving away spoke wrenches than selling them."
    
    				-- Ole Mr. Goodale

    I recommend Goodales, especially for wheel rebuilds.  Three seasons
    back I was breaking spokes too frequently (I am 6'9' and weigh 245 lbs
    and ride road bikes).  Took the rear wheel into Goodale's for a rebuild
    and have not broken a spoke in two seasons.  In fact, have only needed
    minor truing at the start of last season.  They also have been
    successful at keeping my bottom bracket in good shape where I used to
    have many problems.
    
    Tony's seems good also, but I've only had minimal experience with them
    so far.  I agree their tools are priced a bit high.
    
    
    ...Tom

    	Well, I can't believe there's actually someone in this
    	notesfile that taller than me. Well, he's 3 inches taller
    	but I'm 50 pounds heavier, so I guess it's past time for
    	a serious diet.
    
    	Scott

Has anyone had experience with Cycles Etcetera on route 28 in
Windham, NH?  (Actually, I think the full name is "Cycles Etcetera
of Salem," so the Windham location may be new.  The owner's name
is Mark.)

I haven't ridden much in years, and never anything but
a very cheap bike.  Now I want to buy a bike for fitness
and fun, probably a hybrid in the $350-400 range.  I know
little about bikes, though I've read some.

I'd like to buy from Cycles Etcetera because it's near home and
I like to give business to people in our town.  I'd like to
buy and have maintenence done at the same place.

Do you think I should just buy from this shop, or should I
look at other shops too?

Thanks!
Tina

    It's nice that you're trying to support your commmunity, but don't let
    yourself miss out on good deals.  Especially this time of the year, and
    later as Summer comes to a close, theres a lot of sales going on.  If you 
    have the time and the patience, shopping around can do you a lot of good. 
    Well, thats just my $.02, take it for what it worth...
    
    	Mike

    
    Point of information,
    
    There is going to be a "SUPERSALE" at Goodales in Nashua starting
    tommorrow and going thru the week-end. The sale includes bikes and all
    accessories. 10%-50% off.........
    
    Haggett's in Manchester is having a Summer Bike sale also.......
    
    Bob
    

    Nault's or Manchester [NH!] and Concord [also, NH] is also
    having a supersale, as, I imagine are the usual pariticipants.
    
    They often have many other things in the shop on sale.
    
    ed

    
    Bob,  Do you know what brands they carry?
    
    Shaw, who-is-considering-a-TREK-5200-or-5500
    

    I think Nault's carries Trek but I don't think they would have
    a special price on a 5x00.  Goodale's does not carry Trek.
    
    Call 'em.  Better yet, drop by and buy something, anything.
    
    :-)
    
    ed

    
    RE:-2  Ed if I recall you have a Trek or two in the 5x00. 
    I have a 2300 how do you compare them? Would it be worth my while
    to upgrade. The nearest decent cycleshop near my house is CycleRama
    in Plaistow, (I live in E. Hampstead) the above mentioned carries
    Trek and Gaint. I could not test ride the Trek as the only available
    size was a 58 and I ride a 54. They can order the bike for me within
    a week, however, I don't want to order something I didn't ride yet. 
    Are the frame for the 5500 and 5200 same? I prefer the color on the 
    5200 but would love to go with Dura Ace. I am not a racer or anything
    just  appreciate nice toys and ride the hell out of my bikes too.
    
    Shaw

    the 5200 and the 5500 and the 5900 :-) are the smae frame just the 
    components are different.  Linda has a 5200 which was upgraded to
    Dura-Ace.  The latest 5500's are in yet another purple.
    
    I like the 5500 better than the 2300 but our 2300 is Linda's and I
    cannot ride it but Linda likes her 5200 better than the 2300 if that's
    any consolation.
    
    At the moment I would recommend waiting for next years 5500 or whatever
    will be comparable because Dura-Ace is supposed to be a better
    (lighter) group next year.
    
    ed

    
    Thanks Ed, if there's going to be some imporvements for next season
    I quess I could wait. I think max road riding time I have left is 
    about three months, and then there's snow and only the mountain bike
    gets ridden. 
    
    Shaw

A couple of months ago they were closing out 92's in both the 5200 and 5500.
Seemed to be a pretty good deal ($1300 for the 5200, and $1800? for the 5500).

At the time I was shopping on the slippery slope from:
                                 $800 for a 92 2100 to
				 $900 for a 93 2100 to 
				 $1000 for a 93 2200 to
				 $1250 for a 93 2300 to 
				 $1300 for a 92 5200

The 92 5200 is one of those purple shades while the 5500 is black.  Seems
that TREK alternates colors between purple/black in the 5X series every year.

Same thing appears to happen with black/red in the 2100-2200 line.
				

    RE.27
    
    As mentioned, Goodale's does not carry TREK. They carry GT, GIANT,
    SPECIALIZE and I've seen some Diamondbacks there as well. 
    
    I ended up getting some things thru their SUPERSALE! 
    
    some bikes on sale were discounted more than 20-25%.
    
    
    Bob