Although I've always sought to maintain my loyalty to Duff Cycles, sometimes the mind wanders, and thoughts of straying can creep in.
This had begun to happen to me lately in relation to City Cycles, the bicycle shop just next to the pedestrian overpass in Fairview. While maybe a teeny bit further from my house than Sean Duff's in Donaghmede, I pass City Cycles pretty much everyday on my way to town, so it would be so much more convenient if I could make them my local bicycle shop.
Luckily, this mental agony was cut short when my back tyre was running pretty flat when I was going through North Strand, thus making the decision for me. I went into City Cycles to borrow a pump.
Now, the etiquette of borrowing pumps in bicycle shops is meant to be very straight forward. If your tyre has a Schrader valve, they will often pump it up for you if they have a pressurised pump like wot garages do. If they don't, or if you have Pressta valves, they will still perhaps offer to do it for you, or more usually give you a stand pump to save your arms. It's the polite thing to do, and it follows that if they are willing to help you out with stuff like that, you'll be more likely to patronise them when you have a purchase to make rather than the fellas down the road.
When I made the request in City Cycles, a man dressed in beige chinos (why the f*ck would would you wear beige trousers working in a bicycle shop?) deigned to point behind me and said, "Pump's in the window there". I picked up the pump (small, hand pump) and set to.
Now, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but they must have had a stand pump for when they were pumping Pressta tyres themselves; why not extend that courtesy to me? And it seemed that when they realised that I wasn't going to make a purchase, i ceased to exist to them.
I'll be going to Little Sport in Marino Mart for all my bicycle needs in the Fairview area, thank you very much. read more