Jet Cycles
Colin Levitch sat down with Jose Rodriguez from Jet Cycles to talk about pressure mapping, ultrasonic cleaning, an finding the right bike.
What makes Jet Cyclse unique?
The first thing is that we are a Specialized concept store. Secondly our store encompasses everyone from the commuter to the high-end racer. We specialize in fitting and go one step past the standard Body Geometry fit, we now do pressure mapping. We measure the pressure points and the application of force through the pedals and the seat. So when we do a fit we are actually able to see the changes between the interface between the foot and how it is applying force into the shoe to get a more even distribution through the whole shoe. More importantly we are able to make changes to the saddle and positioning to put it in the best possible position. So we can say ‘right now pedalling at this cadence at this power you have this much pressure going into your soft tissue area and this much is being relived by putting pressure on the sits bones.’ The other thing we do, is we are the first shop in Sydney to use an ultrasonic cleaner, we actually ultrasound all our parts we don’t use degreasers. We have found that if you clean a chain with a degreaser through a chain cleaner, once you think its clean we take it out put it in the ultrasonic cleaner and the water goes completely black.
What would you say your best selling bike would be?
It’s hard to say the spread is pretty even. But if I had to choose a couple I would say from the road bikes the Specialized Robaix is a very popular model, for commuters the Sirrus, and for mountain bikes the Enduro and Stump Jumper. We have good guys out on the floor that really care about every bike rider and I think that is why it is pretty equal all around. A lot of bike shops are pretty snobby towards beginners and that is something that does fly in our shop.
What is the most frequently asked question?
That is a tough one because we find that most people don’t ask the question, so we have to get them to understand why they need to ask that question. We get a lot of people who are very focused on getting the cheapest bike, and have maybe been into another store and said ‘hey I can get a $399 bike.’ So we try to find out where they are riding and how many K’s they are doing, and explain why they should focus less on price and more on getting the right bike.
What is the best tip you can five to customers?
When it comes to bike maintenance, I would stress how important it is to keep your bike clean and regularly get you chain checked. That way all you we have to do is fit a new chain rather than a whole new drivetrain. That is the thing we find the most is when people ride for to long on the same chain they wear all their cogs out and they are looking a $300 rather then $50 for just a new chain.
What are you most proud of at Jet cycles?
I would say where we are heading and they way we differentiate ourselves as a shop. As well as caring for the customer, having a great work environment, and being around people who love bikes. We try to build a relationship with our customers, we even have people that come in just to and have a chat.
Jet Cycles
Address: 80 Clarence Street Sydney CBD
Website: jetcycles.com.au
Phone:02 9279 4200
Email: info@jetcycles.com.au