Guy brought in a bike with zip-tied brake cables and got mad at me for fixing them

Last Tuesday some dude rolls up with this old mountain bike, cables held together with like 4 zip ties and electrical tape. He said it was fine and just needed a tune up. I showed him the frayed cable end and how it was gonna snap on a hard stop, and he told me I was trying to upsell him. I fixed the rear brake cable for $12 just to prove a point, then let him test ride it down the hill by the shop. He came back pale and apologized, said he almost hit a mailbox. Anyone else get pushback from riders who dont realize how sketchy their own setup is?

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1 Comment

nathanking14d ago

Man, some people really treat safety stuff like it's a scam until they almost become a hood ornament. Did you happen to check if the zip ties were doing anything else, like holding the derailleur cable or something worse? Because I've seen people use those things to patch a frame crack and call it "temporary.