Here's a place to note things that are of note in the Service area.

• Harvey Stackpole called to say Milt is taping a couple of washers to the new seat to help space things out better.  Whatever that means.
• 11.7.08 -- Dan Strode's Calfee frame arrived.  The frame swap needs to be done.  JB
• 11.07.08 -- Mark Fordenbacher's replacement EZ-1 frame is here.  The frame swap needs to be done. JB
• 10/28/08 - Stephanie Pile dropped off her bike complaining that her chain is slipping. Earlier we had replaced her casette and chain. It's still slipping; it looks like the big and middle rings are pretty warn. Stephanie wants to talk to you about it and she wants to come in tomorrow at 2pm. I told her you would be here. I think she has 64/104, 4-bolt rings, 48-38-28. I think the 28 is OK. There aren't many options for the 48-38 but QBP has a few. She may also decide that now is the time for a new bike... I told her if you weren't going to be here at 2pm you would call her at 703-627-2700.
• 10/24/08 - Once again, we have to really make sure we check chains on bikes when they come in for a tuneup.  The black Tamara's black Trek MTB has a worn out chain and cassette, and has a 11-34 cassette, which we don't have in stock, so I have to order it and delay getting the bike done.
• 10/24/08 - On another note, on the same bike, it would be good if we could come up with some sort of system to note and highlight when a bike has something unusual or tricky on it.  Like, for example, Tamara's black Trek, with the hydraulic Hayes disc brakes, for which we don't have a bleed kit or replacement pads.  Not sure how best to address this, but in future, if something with hydraulics comes in, I need to know about it as soon as possible, so I can see what we need.  In this case, Adam is bringing his Hayes kit Sunday, and the bike's delayed due to the cassette anyway, but... Oh, and I'm ordering  a Hayes kit today.
• 10/24/08 - She came in and I looked at the bike and she settled on trying her drop bars with an adjustable stem to get them higher.  If that doesn't work, she'll be back for another solution.  I told her she could return the stem if it didn't work and she brought it back unmarred.  10/20/08 -  Well, I'm confused, as we've never had a true moustache bar in our shop in all the time I've worked here.  We've had some variations on "North Road" (old 3 speed style) bars, and some Nitto Albatross bars, but those would have been more like $40 -45.   I suspect that either she is confused or a well-meaning member of our staff misunderstood or something.   The only bars I'm aware of that would work with both drop bar brake levers and bar end shifters are the Nitto moustaches, but I'll see what else there might be.  10/20/08 - A woman with a white Bianchi wants to change from drop handlebars to moustache, reusing her bar end shifters and brake levers. She also would like to raise her stem. She said when she was here earlier we had a moustache bar for around $30, which must have been a Dimension bar and not a Nitto. I told her some options for a longer stem and the Dimension bar, and that Tim would be able to give her a better idea of her options. She will return when Tim is working. She says she only wants the parts and will do the work herself.
• Tim has boxes from Amazon, Peter White, McMaster-Carr, Pantour, next to his bench.
• Johanna van Oijen has an Amsterdam bike that has a broken rear spoke (ticket 367941). She uses it daily and will bring it in on Monday for repair during the day. BW
• Wayne Wakefield brought in his old black Schwinn Iticket no. 367943) that needs a new front derailleur that can accomodate a triple crankset. We (Tim) did some work on this bike in the Spring. Seat tube is 1". Wasn't sure which derailleur would work. Promise date is Friday.
• Eric Erickson bought a Tiagra FD from us (FD4422, $40) for his Barcroft Columbia. He couldn't get it to drop into the small ring, nor could John or I. The original was a Shimano 105. I used an inexpensive derailleur that worked but was not smooth (item no. 25881, $20). Eric kept the derailleur and will exchange it later. We will order a 105 replacement and call Bill Cook at  703-750-1945 to see what he thinks. We will apply $40 to the cost of the 105 (the Tiagra is back in the box in the drawer.) The box for the temp. derailleur (25881) is next to the coffee machine. The original 105 F derailleur is in the box. Ordered the 105 from J&B today, 10/16/08. BW
• Marc Stewart, 615-210-1899, from Nashville, is shipping his boxed bike to us for assembly by Sat. Oct. 18. Robert put the bike together on 10/16. Bruce looked it over and helped adjust the R derailleur. The derailleur hanger was bent, there were scratches in the F rim, the L brake lever was cracked but still works. Robert wrote up a ticket and bike is done. BW The bike is in the shop to be packed and shipped.
• The grey Colin Laing tandem (367863) that I'm assembling for Kevin Ogle is still in progress.  The frame has some alignment issues, so I'm going to address that when I get back. He's already been told it won't be done until the end of the week.
• The green Trek (367925) in the green workstand is in progress.  The chain and cassette have been replaced, and I've adjusted the shifting and put new brake pads on the rear, but DID NOT set their position or adjust the brakes.  Chris, the owner, had asked about changing to a double chain ring set up, but that would be really pricey, so I suggested we just remove the inner ring on the existing crankset.  Imagine my surprise when I found out the rings are spot welded together and therefore can't be separated.  I've emailed Chris and let him know that I think it makes the most sense to leave it as a triple.  I thought of using the limit screw to keep it to the middle and big rings, but when I tried that the shift got really, really bad.  So I think we should leave well enough alone and keep it a triple.  Chris was talking about replacing the bike next year anyway, so dropping a pile of money makes no sense. Done. BW.
• There's a Bridgestone XO-2 (tkt 367922)  that needs a new headset.  We have the Tange Levin CD model in both JIS and ISO diameters.  Please measure the fork crown race seat to see which is appropriate.  The headsets are in the grey drawers above the green bench.  This is a Bruce job, or Drew if he comes in. Done. BW.
• Greg Thies left two wheels (367893) from an old Raleigh Sprite 10 speed to be trued and to have the tension evened out.  I'd like Bruce to handle this, as Greg's particular enough that Robert or Al's skills would concern me. Both rims have dents. The rear rim dent appears to have been filed down, as have the spoke ends (they likely protruded through the nipples). About 7 or 8 front spoke ends protrude through the nipples. Called Greg and asked if he wanted us to replace the protruding F spokes. BW, 10/16.
• Dick DeMeester purchased a SpeedPro TT from us last winter, and brought it in a while back with what seemed to be excessive bearing play in the Pantour front suspention hub.  Dahon referred me to Pantour, who sent a bushing kit, which they say will solve the problem, based on what I've told them. Dick seems to be of the opinion that Dahon should make it right, preferably by replacing the wheel with whatever they are using this year on the bike, since they dropped the Pantour hub for this year (I suspect they had issues, based on reading the Dahon forum).  Monte told me they want me to do the bushing installation.  I've emailed this to Dick, and copied John and Bruce.  If Dick brings the bike in to have the work done, the kit is on the green bench in the envelope from Pantour.  I suspect Dick is going to push for a new wheel, as he was at one point asking me for the number of someone in Dahon who had power.  I have dodged that part of it so far, but we'll see if he presses, in which case I'm not sure what to do. He didn't show up. BW 10/16.
• NOTE -   TF - While I'm away, a friend of mine, Dawn Huss, might come by to pick up her bike, that I've been working on in my spare time.  It's a blue Bridgestone T500 touring road bike, hanging on the last hook in the basement, toward the back, with her name on a piece of paper around the top tube.  She'll be bringing a set of pedals for the bike, so if you could help her out by putting them on I'd appreciate it.  She and I will work out any money after I get back, so you don't need to worry about cash changing hands.  Please let other folks know. She didn't show up. BW 10/16.
• 10/4/08 - I stripped the wheels and parts off Glenn Geiger's Alpine frame (with the cracked seat tube), and it's hanging in the basement now, with his name on it.  I will email him and let him know he can pick it up any time we're open.  He and I spoke about the parts, and what he asked is that we hang onto the parts, and if someone has need of something, he'd like to see some money for it, and he's trusting me to be fair with him on that. He's not that concerned about making back much of what he put into the bike back in February, but if he could recoup some part of the nearly $600 he spent, he'd like that. I've already said I'd take the crankset off his hands, as he had bought that directly from me in the first place.  I will put the box of parts on a shelf downstairs, labeled appropriately, and hang the wheels down there as well.  There's a good chance over time I will negotiate with him for some of what's left.
• 10/4/08 - There are two tickets in the Monday slot for Teriesa Lamonica, #367867 and #367852.  There are issues with both bikes that were not caught on check in, so I called and left a message Saturday for approval. I have not heard back by closing, so please watch for a phone call from her.  The issues are written up on the tickets for both bikes.  We need to order a front brake for the white Scwhinn, and I've written that on the order sheet and the ticket.
• 9/20/08 - We are getting low on bulk chains agian.  I went to add them to our "cart" on Quality's site, and they are out of PC830s in bulk.  J&B doesn't even stock them, they have the more expensive PC850, at a higher price than Quality, so I put the PC850 in the cart on Quality's site instead of the 830.  When they come in, we need to make sure they don't get mixed in with the 830s, so don't even open the box until the 830s are gone.  The 850s should be priced at $16 instead of $13.  I will place the Quality order and a J&B order before I leave for Vegas.
• 9/19/08 - Mike Keelty's Bacchetta was due today, but we didn't get the big chain ring in we ordered from J&B.  It's apparently coming from NY, not PA, so should be here Monday.  I emailed Mike and copied John and Bruce on this.  We should put Mike at the top of the line on Monday.  I'll put the ticket in the Monday slot at the top.  Among the parts we ordered is a new plastic seat bracket, which I will zip tie to the bike.
• 9/19/08 - Recent issues with pre-built wheels from J&B have led me to two ideas I'd like us to consider.  First, I think we need to mark them up a bit more than usual, say $5 or so, and do a quick truing and stress relieving as soon as they arrive from J&B.  We've had several customers come to us lately with J&B wheels that had lost lots of tension and gone badly out of true pretty quickly. A quick truing and stress-relieving should cut down on that.  Also, I think it would be wise to choose replacement wheels with name brand rims.  The batch I got today with generic "alloy rims" were pretty crappy, honestly.  I think it's worth a few extra bucks for name brand.  For example, the wheels we got today (part 65121) were $20.99, and a wheel built with Weinmann ZAC19 rim would have been $22.99, wholesale. A small enough difference that in hindsight I wish I had ordered the ZACs.  Thoughts?
• 9/19/08 - Customer brought bike in today, said they need to take it to UVA next weekend, so I told them we'd try to have it done by Thursday end of day. Ticket in Thursday slot.  9.16.08 --  LandRider sent a Service Purchase Order for us to assemble a LandRider Bike for John Lamonica of McLean.  I do not know when or how the bike will arrive. I created a service ticket and put it in the Thursday slot  with the LandRider information attached. JB
• DONE 9/20/08 9/14/08 - Ticket 367813 is a red Wheeler, a hybrid. When the chain is in the middle ring and the small cog, the chain rubs on the outer ring and occasionally it catches the chain. I replaced the rings/cranks but the small ring rubbed on the chainstay. It may need a new BB with a longer R side and then the old cranks/rings might be OK.
• 9/14/08 - Ticket 367843, Dan Strode, Becky Strode's husband's Calfee; He was in a wreck. The motorist agreed to pay for the damages. We need to pack the frame and fork, keeping the other parts and ship it back to Calfee. When it returns we need to re-assemble bike and do work listed on the ticket (new front wheel, new L Record shifter, new chain and cassette, adj R hub). I noted that there are two badly bent spokes on the rear wheel, which was probably due to the crash but was not part of the settlement. If we can't replace the spokes and true the wheel, he needs an estimate for a new wheel to get the OK from the insurance company for payment. Pack job is due on Friday. I underestimated the labor but he's will to pay for what labor is involved.
• 09/13/08 - There's a cassette and other widget on the green bench in a bag marked "Ben".  It's from the new blue Sun trike Reed built, and it's defective.  The freewheeling action of the assembly doesn't consistently freewheel... so the chain keeps moving when you coast and you can't backpedal.  We need to remember to talk to Ben about it asap.
• 09/12/08 - A general reminder to everyone who checks in bicycles for service.  Please remember to include an allowance for small consummable parts, like cables, housing and brake pads, when you do your estimate.  I generally find that $20 is sufficient for a typical upright bike, a little more if it looks particularly grungy.  Something on the order of $30 - 35 is better for recumbents, crank forwards, and some folding bikes, as they use longer cables and more housing.  I'd rather tell a customer up front that we might need to spend that money and then suprise them pleasantly if we don't need to, rather than vice versa.
• 09/11/08 - The folks from the Hilton called and asked if we could come out and check over the British Air bikes.  We should try to do that Friday 9/12 I'm guessing.
• Monte told me on 9/8 that the light will ship "this week".  I would suggest that if we don't see it by Friday we go ahead and borrow one from another bike, but that's John's call.  I just hate to leave a guy waiting more than a week for that.  TF 09/06/08 Chris Thomas (ticket 367772)  brought his Dahon Speed TR in with a badly damaged rear light and rack.  Baggage handlers apparently whacked it hard.  The tail light is toast and the rack light bracket is bent.  I've emailed Monte to get a new light.  I believe we can bend the rack back into shape.  I've put it in the Friday slot, but if the light shows up sooner, great.
• UPDATED 9-9-08 We installed the stem from Phil's bike on the yellow Columbia. UPDATE 09-06-08 If someone gets the chance, we should go ahead and replace the stem on the yellow Columbia upstairs.  So we need to take that stem off Phil's bike (in the basement) and put it back on the yellow one. Terracycles will ship us a stem for Phil's bike.
• UPDATE 9-9-08 We installed the Terracycle stem and replaced shift cable housing F and R. UPDATE 09-05-08 Phil needs the Terracycle stem, because it allows the bars to fold flat to get into his pickup truck.  I have ordered one from TerraCycles.  Phil Romello's Barcroft had a snapped off tilt stop bolt on his Terrracycles stem.  I had no luck trying to drill it out for an easy out.  I took the Barcroft stem off the yellow Columbia upstairs, but I'm guessing Phil will ultimately want a Terracycles stem.  However, he has a ride coming up soon, and wanted the bike back Friday, so I figure the Barcroft stem will suffice for now.  Not sure what if anything I should charge for it at this point, as it may be on loan, rather than sold.  I'll talk to him Friday.  If I have to charge him for it, I don't know how much. Update 9-14-08 We received the suspension air cartridges from White Brothers for the RC-8 suspension fork. I installed them in the Yellow Columbia fork and inflated them to around 150psi, which is the recommended pressure for a 160lb rider. See the owners manual at: http://www.ekosport.com/wb_manuals/2005AirRC.8.pdf (John, I had previously been looking at the RC-80 maunal that recommends a lower psi). BW
• I'm working on a bike right now, where the chain is really rusty and crusty, and it makes me think we need to be a bit more hesitant to assume we can revive a rusty chain.  In the long run, by the time we slather it in lube and wiggle the tight links, etc, it's costing us time we aren't being paid for, unless we add a fee for that.  And a reasonable fee for that would probably be about the same as the cost of a new chain.  So let's tell folks up front that we will likely replace those.
• Julian Shepard brought his Mu in the other day to have the new crankset installed.  Whoever rang him up apparently didn't charge him for labor.  He owes us $25, he emailed me to inform me of this.  He will either call or come by to give us credit card info.  There is an invoice in the computer for the job.
• 8/30/08 - Greg Thies left a set of wheels for Tim to rebuild with new rims and spokes.  The wheels are now laced up and hanging over the catalogs.  Tim will come in before Tuesday to finish them up.  Greg specifically requested I do the work, so please leave them for me.  The original "concave" rims are hanging between the newly built wheels, and Greg does want those back, so please leave them there.  His tires and tubes are zip tied to the old rims and will be remounted on the new wheels.
• 8/30/08 - We have one more medium Tikit to upgrade to the new stem/cable design.  The parts are on the green bench.  If we want to wait until I'm in to do it, that's fine, but if someone else wants to do it, they need to read ALL THE DIRECTIONS first, including the last page or so where they describe drilling out the new stem via the fender bolt hole. Also, if someone else does this, we have NEW, METRIC drill bits to use for this.  Call and ask me where they are if you get to this.  I hesitate to have the bits out in the main tool box, for fear of them getting damaged or lost.
• 8/30/08 - Richard Hoye issues (doesn't that sound fun).  Adam opened up the hub on the wheel we've had for a while from Richard, and discovered that the spring that Richard thought was missing is in fact where it should be in the hub.  The hub itself looks fine inside, so without having the bike to test it on, Adam couldn't come up with what, if anything is wrong.  I put the ticket in the to be entered file.  Richard's Birdy is still with us as well, and while Mike had told me he had spoken to John about the need to order a replacement main frame pin and bushings, the word never got through.  So we need to call whoever it is we call for Birdy parts (David Black?) to get that part and at least one pair of tires for Richard's bike. John, I can't recall what they are listed as in our vendor file.  Bruce, could you call on Tuesday? Take a look at the bike and you should be able to see what it is... it's the main pivot on the back end, I believe.
• See also Challenges, 9-9-08. 8/30/08 - Easy Racers is recommending that Tour Easy owners replace their cranks forks after 5 years. There is info on their home page about the upgrade. They also state: If you have a fork that is not the current design, whatever that design happens to be at any given time, you can exchange you fork for the latest version for a minimal price. It's something to consider and an offer we highly advise you take us up on. They are offering the new fork for only $30. Customers need to know the length of their headtube, and there is a photo showing them what that means, also on their home page. I expect lots of Tour Easy owners will be doing the upgrade.
• 8/30/08 - Julian Shepard asked me to track down a 175mm crankset for his Mu P8.  I got in a Sugino XD500 double for this, and quoted him a price of $100 for the parts, $25 for labor.  The crankset is a match for the original, except for length, so it will work on the existing bb.  The new one came with two chain rings, but I will take those off and put the bare crankset in the Special Orders bin.  When he brings the bike in, we need to swap over the original chain ring and chainguard over to the new crank, using the original bolts from the Dahon.  It should be pretty straightforward.  I'm entering a new item in the computer, part number CR8847ARMS, with a price of $100, which is $24 less than the full set with rings.  Please use that part number when you ring him up.  I have emailed Julian that the part is in, so he may show up this weekend.  Julian came in Saturday and I did the work. 08/30/08
• 8/27/08 - Kip Howlett's Red Trek, 367704, needs new shifters. Sent her email asking for OK to do work. When I receive the OK I'll forward the message to Tim and John. Bruce.Kip OK'd the work. Sent email to Tim. 8/28. Bike is done and ready to pick up 8/29
• Sat. 08/23/08 - Also needed from Velocity, a 26" Aero Heat rim, 36 holes, in silver, for Paul Kent.  I'm building a wheel for him around a Nexus 8 speed hub.Bruce placed an order with Velocity for the 26" and 20" rims on 8/25/08. Also ordered one of two rims that Shawn needed, the Deep V, 32H.
• Sat, 08/23/08 - George Larson dropped off his Haluszak for a major servicing, including a wheel to be rebuilt. It needs a new Velocity Aero Heat 20" (406 mm) 32 hole rim in silver.  Neither J&B nor QBP have that in stock.  I've emailed Velocity USA and copied John and Bruce on the email.  We need to follow up on Monday with a phone call to them to see if they have one available.  If not, let me know and I'll find an alternative rim.  Adam completed the work on George's bike Saturday, and George will be coming for it Sunday.
• Okay, apparently the laptop at the shop was logged in to the wiki under Bruce's name.  How odd.
• Sat, 8/16/08 - Greg Thies dropped off his '72 chrome Schwinn Paramount frame and Campy headset so I could install them.  It's done.  The ticket is in the To Be Entered folder, the frame is up in the office, and I've emailed Greg to let him know it's done.  He'll be in sometime Sunday to pick it up. PLEASE treat it carefully... he just spent a big pile of money to have Waterford do the decals and pin striping, so we don't want to damage it in any way. DONE
• Sat, 8/16/08 - The medium Tikit that we did the stem swap to needs the fender installed and will need the cable replaced, once we get the cable.  BF is sending it, along with the stainless steel latches for both bikes. Done 8/22/08. We should order the knobs that are located on the stem and that fit in the new metal latch on the main tube. The one on the customer's Tikit was broken and we used one from the shop Tikit.  The second medium Tikit should have the kit installed.
• Sat, 8/16/08 - I'm waiting for a decision from Chris Marchetti on installing drop handlebars on his Schwinn.  8/28/08 Chris ok'ed work and bike is done and picked up.  He seemed to really like the new set up.
• Sat, 8/16/08 - I'm waiting to hear from Mike Sours on what he and Rochelle want to do about the blue Klein road bike.  Bruce, it's the one that had the cable stop issue... it's now been in a crash, and I did an estimate for the repair.  The ticket is in the waiting for customer approval slot.  We are mostly waiting to hear back on whether we should order and install a new front wheel (J&B #66069).  If they say go ahead, we also need to find a better fix for the cable stops, as they popped off again.  I think I have a solution for that, and since the bike's not due til next Friday, I'll take care of it.  The only thing to be watching for is word from them on whether we should order the wheel from J&B, and whether they want a pair or just the front.  LATER 8/16/08 - I COPIED JOHN AND BRUCE ON THE LATEST EMAIL... WE ARE GOING TO DO THE WORK, AND WE NEED TO ORDER A PAIR OF WHEELS FROM J&B, PART #66071.  THEIR WEBSITE SHOWS THEM AS IN STOCK I N PA.   08/28/08  Bike is done and back with customer.
• Sat, 8/16/08 - I can't figure out the shock cartridges for the Barcroft.  If you hold them  under water and try to pump them up, you'll see air comes out of the center hole on the bottom of the piston, which doesn't seem like it's caused by any of the seals we've replaced.  I'm stumped.  I think it would be good to call White Bros. on Monday and talk to them.  The number is on the manual I downloaded, which is sitting on the green bench, along with the cartridges.  The unused repair kits are in the drawer marked "suspension parts & shock pumps" to the right of the green bench. Which, by the way, is now where the two shock pumps I could find are, and where the missing silver shock pump should go if we find it. I sent the cartridges back to White Bros. They will attempt to rebuild them parts that we do not have. RA # 154. 8/20/08 BW. Talked to Eric of White Bros. today. He just received the cyclinders and will try to look at them tomorrow. The bolt on the bottom of the shock support fits onto the cylinders, which is why the bolt will not hold now. Once the cylinders are installed and holding air, they will line up with the bolt which can then be threaded onto the cylinder rod. BW 8/27/08