Shop owner banned me for saying his truing stand was garbage

I went to this fancy bike shop uptown last Wednesday to ask about using their stand for a quick wheel job. The guy had this Park Tool stand from the 90s held together with zip ties and acted like it was sacred. I said it wobbled like a shopping cart and he told me to leave. Has anyone else run into shops that refuse to upgrade their basic tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

allen.quinn17h ago

I mean, getting banned over a truing stand comment feels a little dramatic honestly. Idk, maybe it's just me but it's not like you insulted his mother or something. But at the same time, walking into someone's shop and calling their gear garbage is kind of a bad look no matter how true it is. Shop owners get weird about their tools, especially old Park Tool stuff, they think it's vintage or something. Like yeah it might wobble but if it gets the job done, does it really matter that much? You could have just asked if they had a newer one or something, instead of calling it a shopping cart. That said, banning you for one comment is still pretty soft, but idk, maybe he was having a bad day.

gavin46917h ago

Friend of mine said the same thing to a shop in Denver once. Got thrown out before he finished the sentence. @allen.quinn you're spot on about the vintage tool pride thing.