Ted,
Sounds like the same guys that came in my shop a month or so ago, Cross legged on our floor; not filthy as we sweep it once a month. The bike was a Gitane (used) for the same price. They were very worried the white cloth tape was a little dingy.
We had to start shortening our hours and number of days otherwise we would never be able to lock up.
Yours in Cycling,
Gilbert Anderson
North Road "Open every Tuesday thru Friday; noon till 6 PM." Bicycle Company 519 W North St Raleigh, NC 27603 USA toll free: 800-321-5511 local: 919-828-8999
http://www.northroadbicycle.com ---->New Website Improved Daily
e-mail: cyclestore@aol.com
On Aug 9, 2005, at 2:56 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org
wrote:
> Different topic:
>
> One time these two "Star Trek-esque" balding guys came
> in at about 11:00am with their back-packs, sandals,
> etc. They mused around the stored for a while until
> they found an old used Motobecane for sale. These
> Bozos parked themselves on the filthy, non-carpeted
> floor--one on each side of the Motobecane. They were
> speaking to each other through the main triangle of
> the frame. They started off by discussing the bike
> itself. When noon rolled around, they pulled out
> rice-cakes, bananas, and soy milk for "lunch on the
> bike store floor."
>
> They finished eating and continued discussion of the
> $80.- Motobecane. I clearly remember one remark
> regarding "how many times" the little leaded cable
> ends (on the derailleur and brake wire ends) had been
> crimped. At one point (about 3:00pm by now) one of
> the guys was laying on his back on the floor whilst
> the other continued with the nit-picking of the
> bicycle.
>
> We did ask them several times if they were interested
> in the bike, if they wanted to test ride the bike,
> etc. They kept saying, "No, we're fine."
>
> It's 5:30pm now and one guy is eating raisins and his
> partner is nibbling on trail-mix. We told them the
> shop would be closing in thirty minutes. They stayed
> 'till the bitter end. These two guys sat on a filthy
> shop floor discussing a Motobecane bicycle for 7 hours
> straight.
>
> If memory serves me right, I was "sent home" early for
> unruly behavior because I was hiding behind a wall and
> rolling 1/4" ball bearings out to where those guys
> were sitting. Some would actually lightly hit them
> and they would pick up the bearings and start
> discussing those!
>
> Ted E. Baer
> Palo Alto, CA