The Emperor’s New Clothes, or How a Biomechanic Can Give you a Fairy Tale Ending!
"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. Here is the summary from Wikipedia:
An emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new "clothes". During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, "the emperor is naked!" The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.
In many ways, buying a bike can be compared to the experience the emperor had with the two swindlers. You rely on the information from bike company's marketing and advertisements, enter the bike store and moments later you have a new bike! If anyone says anything other than fawning praise, you defend it vehemently. You heard that KGS Bikes was too expensive and chose not to go there. You have a bike and bring it into see me to "make it fit". You don't tell anyone, but quietly call me up and tell me your problems.
I know this may not have actually happened to you, but since I opened KGS Bikes over three years ago, this is the typical scenario with folks that do visit. To make matters worse, I am the one that has had to deliver the good news / bad news story, "Yes, you can be more comfortable, but no, your frame isn't capable of those adjustments." At the end of the day, you spent $375 more dollars to have me confirm what you knew all along but couldn't admit to yourself, much less your friends.
This problem has bothered me since I opened the doors of KGS Bikes. With a small boutique, having happy clients that tell their friends that I made a world of difference is the only way to grow. The rub has been, how do we turn a bad experience into a good one? It wasn't until the economy headed south last year that I realized that High End was a dirty word. I see the value but many folks didn't. What was funny was, they were spending the same or more at other bike shops and were buying bikes that didn't fit. I knew this because so many of you saw me after buying the bike, not before.
If you have a problem with a bike, you take it to the bike mechanic. If you have a problem with your positioning, you go to me...a BioMechanic! It is easy to spot the problems, the hard thing was to propose a solution that worked. No matter what I thought, many of you would just as soon suffer and ride your ill fitting bike until it wears out than to cut your losses and get another bike.
We finally broke the code with the FrameUp™ program. You don't need a new bike, but you may need a new frame. If you could get a new frame, recycle the existing parts, within reason, and have us sell your old frame on eBay, wouldn't that be cool? It is. By biomechanically positioning you so you are in fact comfortable and efficient, we can fix your bike. It requires at least one component, the frame. You get the best of both worlds.
Give me a call and let us show you how a custom bike that combines the best of what you have and what you need can transform your cycling, your fitness and of course, your performance.