http://www.dropmachine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12[HTML_REMOVED]t=33634
o for those that didn't know, I've got a second child now, so for the last bit I've been a stay at home dad.
So I send the wife out to grab parts for me since she works downtown and can usually grab them on her way home.
So I gave her the basic info, 44 teeth, 3/32 chain width, 130mm bolt cricle, single speed use.
sighShe comes home upset wondering what she did wrong.
Seems the attendant at MEC's bike counter (she chose to go to MEC for some reason) listens to her reading off what I asked for.
He says "single speed, you mean fixie right?!", pulls out a box of chainrings labelled "fixie" and proceeds to tell her there's no such thing as a 3/32 fixed gear.
She tells him "it's a single speed but it's not a fixed gear, I know that for sure".
He "corrects" her and tells her that it must be a fixie.She tells me all this when she gets home, holding in her hand a very nice btw blackspire 44 tooth 1/8 chainring.
I chastise her for letting him walk all over her and sell her something that she knew wasn't right and remind her to believe in herself because she WAS right.So I return to said store myself, hoping to figure it all out, miscommunication maybe? couldn't possibly have staff working in the bike area that can't measure a chainring, right???
"oh you mean fixie"
no, I mean single speed, as in no shift ramps or pins.
"ummm, that's a fixie chainring man"
no… it's… ok, do you have a fixie chainring in 3/32?
"yeah right here"
no, that's 1/8th
"how do you know?!"
cause it says so on the packaging
"no it doesn't"
yes it does right here (point it out to him)
"oh… how about this one?"
(same manufacturer, same "fixie" box, same 1/8th on the packaging which I just pointed out to him but he didn't bother checking for possibly allowing him to NOT repeat his original mistake)
nope… that's 1/8th as well.
"well this is all we have so…"
ok, that's all you have in the fixie box, I get that, now do you have any 3/32 single speed chainrings for 130mm bolt circle?
"ummmmm…" (and he senses that I'm about to use those chainrings as ninja shurikens so he removes the box and wanders around the corner of the shop where I can't see him anymore)I wait a couple minutes, assuming he's looking for the box labelled "grumpy old fart who measures his stuff chainrings", peek around the corner and he's pulled a wrench off the wall and is working on someone's bike.
Copious quantities of swearing ensues (in 4 different languages)
Swear off ever being pleasant if I go to MEC again, go home, drink beers and wonder who I know who could use a 44 tooth 1/8th chainring.This isn't about "support your LBS" thread, although obviously it encourages you to at the least find someone who knows what the smeg they're doing (hint… they're probably at your LBS).
Nor is it a condemnation of MEC as a whole, although to be honest, I'm less likely to trust the staff in ANY department now.
But GODDAYUM… when you go to MEC to buy something make sure you know what you want, cause if MEC's using catchword boxes instead of actual measurements to sell their stuff… you're fukt!next: "sorry, that's a dj chainring, not a dh one"