Who the #%*& is Uncle Al?
FIFTY-YEAR-OLD BABY PICTURES show me on a trike, before I could walk. My folks must have known
something. I've been on a bike my entire life.
My cycling philosophy is one word: Freedom!
I started building bikes in 1965 in a Montgomery Wards
store in California, back when the bikes were pretty good Austrian-made ones.
I shudder to remember what tools I used to do that job.
For the last 20 years, I've owned Cascade Bicycles in
Montrose, Colorado. My wife Leslie works with me. RBR contributor
Fred Matheny lives in
town and is our greatest supporter/cheerleader. That is an honor.
Although I've had no formal mechanical training, I
rarely put a bike together and have parts left over. I've had the
pleasure of sharing and learning from some of the best mechanics in our
industry: Richard Hodge, Bill Woodul (RIP), Ray Glover, Rich Gangl, Harry
Spehar, Reed Pike, Ken Leroy, Tim Breen. These guys are the true Zen masters.
What I've learned from them is that mechanicing is black
or white, right or wrong, and the rest is just pretending. The highest
compliment ever paid to me was when Gerd Schraner, Wheelmaster of the
Universe, said: "We have no one that can certify your level of wheelbuilding."
I think he meant it as a compliment. He could have meant
I was a moron.
THE BEST BIKE SHOP CUSTOMERS possess one quality: Blind
faith. They have the intuition to recognize that I'm not here to bullshit
them. They're usually in the trades and craftsmen themselves. They work hard
at being superior at what they do, and they understand it's the same for me.
On the other hand, these are the customers who are hard to
take (notice the list is longer):
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People driven only by price.
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Someone bringing in
mailorder/Internet-purchased parts and expecting me to install them for a
nominal fee (or no fee).
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Dishonesty about how a bike,
a wheel, a derailleur was destroyed. I've heard all the JRA ( "just
riding along") stories. Like, "I was abducted by aliens and they shifted
into my spokes, on purpose. Bad aliens!"
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People who tell me how to fix
their bikes. They won't attempt it themselves, but I must look like an
idiot, drooling as I do.
THE WORST CUSTOMERS ARE retired "pro" racers. They seem
to think they deserve free stuff or huge discounts
because they've "done so much for cycling." I think that anyone who has made a
living riding a bike should count their lucky stars that they were born so
talented and had the chance to do something about it.
British ex-pro Sean Yates said it best:
"People go on about how hard cycling is, and sure it is
hard at certain points. But the riders don't know how lucky they are. It's a
bloody cushy number, really. The rewards are so great and the sacrifices so
miniscule. In the real world things are much harder -- having to make a living
from a job you hate for 40 years, for example."
I feel the same about my abilities. I'm lucky to follow
my heart and do what I do. And I'm happy to have had a chance to share some of what I know
during 15 months of answering reader questions for RBR. About 180 of my Q&A
are archived on the
premium site. Another
dozen are free by clicking here.
In early 2006 I returned to
RBR after two years away to tend to my business and realize how much I
missed this gig. This time I'm not answering reader questions but writing a
newsletter column about mechanical concerns roadies come up against. If
you're not yet a subscriber, join us by signing up
here.
Let me finish by giving you roadies one bit of advice:
Clean your bikes!
A dirty bike masks the cracks that will take you out, and
it's totally disrespectful to a machine that gives us so much joy.
Peace,
Uncle Al
Go to Uncle Al's Rants
