Category Archives: Shop news

News about Chain Reaction Bicycles

The Next Big Thing

Shop news

All the talk about tariffs and the post-Covid bike industry tailspin can distract from what a great business it is, putting people on bikes, changing lives, and finding the Next Big Thing. And I think I have. Electric mini-pumps. I’ve followed their progress on YouTube videos for a while, and done research ordering direct from China. Curiously this is a category that the conventional bike companies have steered clear of, despite them creating a bit of a buzz in the on-line world. Eventually I’m sure they’re going to pop up all over the place, but why not find something for our bike shop (Chain Reaction) and create some buzz ourselves?

It’s actually a bit of a tough ask. Lots of issues dealing direct, including testing them out, lead times, what happens with warranty issues and liability. Liability because it is a lithium-ion battery device and I’ve had more than my share of products with lithium-ion batteries that went bad, puffing up and forcing screens apart from their case (bike computers and iPhones I’ve replaced the original dead batteries in).

Thankfully, a week ago a rep from Rock Bros dropped by the shop and we were able to work out a deal where we can sell their product in the store for the same price you can find them on-line. And I was able to put one to the test, doing everything possible to try and make it fail while learning as much as I could about it- how long it takes to charge, how many tires it can inflate.

An awful lot of work for a single-item SKU! But the payoff, if it happened, is having a bleeding-edge cool product that customers have heard about and would, hopefully, come into the store to buy. Would it work?

In a word, yes. I brought in a small number initially, blew through them quickly, and just got another 20 in today. Unfortunately it’s made in China (as all such items are) and the second batch is affected by the new anti-China tariffs, but it’s still pretty darned reasonable, going from $83.99 to $89.99. Still a great deal and still cheaper than the $99.99 they sell them for direct to customers.

I’m stoked. A nice diversion from wondering what’s going to happen next with tariffs.

Covid update

Personal stuff, Shop news

Not fun; we’ll be closed through Tuesday for sure, and don’t yet know if we’ll be re-opening Wednesday or Thursday. The quarantine period is 5 days from onset of symptoms, and that’s a pretty tough call. When did it actually start? What was Covid and what was a cold, or allergies?

My wife, daughter and I have all started taking Paxlovid, which is known to both lessen and shorten the severity of Covid. In my case, it’s simply a precaution, based on age and that I’ve theoretically got a compromised immune system due to my mild bone marrow cancer. The reality is that I get sick less often than most, so my immune system is mostly likely intact.

The funny feeling that I had Saturday morning, and caused me a bit of issue sleeping the prior night, has gone completely away. The 1 degree “fever” is gone (in my case, that means 98.8; I tend to run about 97.8). But what I’ve learned is that nothing matters but time. Time from symptom onset. It used to be 10 days; now it’s five. You’re not looking for a negative test result because you can test positive for 3 weeks after you’re over it and no longer contagious. If you *do* get a negative test, which is repeatable, well in that event, you apparently are in the clear.

What a mess. Customers with their bikes at the shop, needing to pick them up. That’s really the biggest problem right now.