locktite

a guy came in today to ask if we sell locktite. i said no, but to check any hardware store. then i noticed he was riding a brakeless track bike, with only 1 toeclip and strap.

me: "why do you need it?"

guy: "to put on my lockring, it keeps coming loose. (loosens it by hand to show me. mind you, this is on a bike with no brakes)"

me: "you should never need locktite on a lockring. you should get another toeclip, too, if you ride brakeless."

guy: "i need locktite because i tried crazy glue and that didn't work! i'm not getting another toeclip."

me: "WTF?! you used crazy glue?! if its coming loose, its because it wasn't installed properly and may be stripped. where did you get the wheel, and who installed the cog and lockring?"

guy: "bikewheelsdirect.com."

me: "so you just pulled it outta the box and started using it? you never took it to a shop to get installed properly?"

guy: "no. but its on there tight. see? (pushing cranks to show lack of cog movement)"

me: "dude. any wheel with a cog pre-installed from the factory needs to be removed, greased, and reinstalled. many of the bikes we get from the factory have cogs that can be loosened with my bare hands. you shouldn't be riding a brakeless bike with one toeclip and a loose cog and lockring on there. you could die."

guy: "well, the guy at the bike kitchen told me to just use locktite on the lockring."

me: "OMG. WTF. is this guy a bike mechanic or just some dude?"

guy: "he knows what he's doing, he's there all the time."

me: "obviously he does NOT. does he work at a shop or anything? (guy seems like he thinks i'm full of BS) if you don't believe me, call any other bike shop in SF. you should never use locktite on a freakin cog or lockring. if you need it, you did it WRONG."

guy: "he works at sports basement. hmmm, maybe i won't ask for his advice anymore."


2 thoughts from this story:
1) darwinism.
2) my main personal gripe about bike kitchens- they are swarming with misinformation, which trickles its way out and spreads like a disease. i think the main problem is that bike dudes tend to be very know-it-all about stuff (i'm guilty too, i'm sure). if you tend to take advice from novice internet bike nerds, you might want to make sure they know what the hell they are doing first. you could die.