Check out the guys at the end of the table:
Curtis, Steve, and Cary were in Philadelphia recently for some hands on tech training to learn about cool new products. They also stopped in Bedford PA for some hands on training with Cannondale's Tech Gurus, Steve and Derek.
MB NEWS: Park Tool Tech Summit
Wrenches unite in Philly, help Team Fatty and win a limited edition Gary Fisher Superfly, and Marin adds Andrew Taylor to its stable of freeride pros.
Members of the brotherhood of professional bike mechanics convened in Philadelphia on January 12 and 13, for the inaugural Park Tool Tech Summit. Over 200 mechanics and shop owners from up and down the eastern seaboard, the Midwest, and as far away as Puerto Rico, Alaska and Nova Scotia came to do some hands on work with many of the trick new products they are seeing on their shop floors and clamped into their work stands. Manufacturers like Hayes, RockShox, Avid, Fox, TruVativ, and, of course, Park Tool, sent its top tech guys to provide instruction, troubleshoot problems and talk with the group about new shocks, forks, brakes, and drivetrains.
"This is a great way for us to talk with the guys on the front lines," said Fox Racing Shox's service supervisor Brian Lindsey. "A lot of times we get things sent back to us that could be repaired in the shop. So not only is it better for the consumer, who will get their repairs done faster, it keeps the revenue in the shops."
That was a sentiment we heard from just about everyone there. "Although the technology behind many of the new parts evolves and changes every year, it's not the kind of stuff that a good wrench can't get his head around with the proper training," said SRAM's David Meadows, there to talk about rebuilding and servicing the new RockShox SID and Pike.
The mechanics we spoke with all agreed the hands-on approach worked well, and helped take a lot of the mystery out of some of the more complicated repairs they see on a weekly basis.
"Fox was a really good session, and the guys were really well versed in the product," said Jason Fenton, the owner of central New Jersey's Halter's Cycles. "After working with their forks and RockShox though, I'd say that RockShox are easier to repair."
The highlight of the sold-out, two-day summit, was the frame repair presentation put on by Park's director of education Calvin Jones. He implored wrenches in each of his sessions to, "be a mechanic," not just a guy who works on bikes. "You look at problems and ask, 'why did this happen and how can I fix it?'" said Jones. "There is no magical trick to getting good at this. The best mechanics are the people who have turned a thousand limit screws."
