Manatee Mentors 2016 - Closed (Page 38)

Originally posted by DaveL

Originally posted by CRFTX2001 I'm back! What did I miss? I've been having some problems concerning switching bikes lately. On Thursday, I got a brand new Cervelo S5. It didn't come from a bike shop, the parts were ordered individually and one of my coaches put it together. At first, I saw a few minor problems: gears were slipping and the handlebars were loose. So, I took it to a shop to get it fixed and the guy working on my bike found a ton of extra problems. There was an extra spacer in the the back wheel, the ferrels looked like they were just jammed into their places, the brakes weren't working correctly, and even a few more problems. I had to leave my bike there overnight and am picking it up later today. This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together.

Well you do have an S5 so thats a huge positive and I am sure the bike shop will have the bike working as good as it should be. Building bikes is a skill so I would just suggest to your team mates that a final check and tune be done by a competent bike shop. Good luck with the new bike I am sure you will love it.

What Dave said, suggest that they have the bike inspected.  Another set of eyes is not a bad thing :-D

Thinking still on the DL since it's so limited. Even if it was nice outside, biking outside would be out of the question too. Still in therapy for another month or so and also looking at that long before picking it up some.

Nice to have a little something as the start of this year has been terrible. A colleague passed a couple days ago. I'd worked with her a fair amount the past 13 years and she'd gotten me into some nice projects to pick up on. Dad was very sick a week ago and in the hospital for a few days. Out of the hospital, but still sick and unsure what it is. He's terrible about getting in for care which emphasizes how bad it was by him missing the services for his own father (my grandpa) who had passed a few days before. I missed going in to see him one last time on the weekend a few days before his passing as I was quite sick at that time, bordering on going on in myself. None of these are related, just a series of rather unfortunate events.

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by DaveL

Originally posted by CRFTX2001 I'm back! What did I miss? I've been having some problems concerning switching bikes lately. On Thursday, I got a brand new Cervelo S5. It didn't come from a bike shop, the parts were ordered individually and one of my coaches put it together. At first, I saw a few minor problems: gears were slipping and the handlebars were loose. So, I took it to a shop to get it fixed and the guy working on my bike found a ton of extra problems. There was an extra spacer in the the back wheel, the ferrels looked like they were just jammed into their places, the brakes weren't working correctly, and even a few more problems. I had to leave my bike there overnight and am picking it up later today. This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together.

Well you do have an S5 so thats a huge positive and I am sure the bike shop will have the bike working as good as it should be. Building bikes is a skill so I would just suggest to your team mates that a final check and tune be done by a competent bike shop. Good luck with the new bike I am sure you will love it.

What Dave said, suggest that they have the bike inspected.  Another set of eyes is not a bad thing :-D

I'm thinking the coach needs to be informed of this somehow. I don't know all the agreements for how the bike was put together, but it sounds like more was expected than this. I mean, a little hiccup might be in there, but this is a number of things and especially since there are two major control components having issues in loose handlebars and brakes not working correctly. That sends up a flag for me. Those are pretty significant in controlling the bike. It'll probably have parental involvement since this is with kids, but someone needs to communicate with the coach that his work here is rather substandard and he needs to step it up somehow. Practice on his own, take classes or training, get into a bike shop and work as a mechanic. Something. The teammates having their bikes checked out after is ok for now. The coach needs to know this too. Even though he just started doing it, it on him as he has taken this responsibility. Since he is referred to as "coach" I'm taking it as he is a paid professional. He should know how to do the things he's pushing for doing. Not informing him is not  helping him. I know it's hard to say something back, but do believe it should be done. He needs to understand his limitations. It's great that it seems like he wants to know how to do everything, but also needs to understand that the athletes need to be taken care of even if that means deferring to someone else who is more knowledgeable at times. See how he responds to this situation and grows from it.

Also consider this line: "This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together." This type of doubt can creep into other aspects too. Especially when it's not addressed.

Do know that while it may seem that I'm being heavy against a coach, I have been on that side of things myself. Not as a tri or any of the 3 sports, but with basketball and soccer. Seen my Dad coach most of my lifetime and also coached 6-7 years with 6th graders, 8th graders, and varsity level athletes, both boys and girls. As strong as we were, we did want to know that people could come talk to us. We didn't have equipment like this, but other things could test our limitations. A kid gets hurt, they go see the trainer (varsity especially had this). Someone more qualified than either of us as this is what their college and training was for. Maybe go see the doctor too. We had the most basic suggestions for things like a sprained ankle or sore wrist, but were quick to send to better qualified care if there was any doubt.

Originally posted by CRFTX2001

Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by DaveL

Originally posted by CRFTX2001 I'm back! What did I miss? I've been having some problems concerning switching bikes lately. On Thursday, I got a brand new Cervelo S5. It didn't come from a bike shop, the parts were ordered individually and one of my coaches put it together. At first, I saw a few minor problems: gears were slipping and the handlebars were loose. So, I took it to a shop to get it fixed and the guy working on my bike found a ton of extra problems. There was an extra spacer in the the back wheel, the ferrels looked like they were just jammed into their places, the brakes weren't working correctly, and even a few more problems. I had to leave my bike there overnight and am picking it up later today. This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together.

Well you do have an S5 so thats a huge positive and I am sure the bike shop will have the bike working as good as it should be. Building bikes is a skill so I would just suggest to your team mates that a final check and tune be done by a competent bike shop. Good luck with the new bike I am sure you will love it.

What Dave said, suggest that they have the bike inspected.  Another set of eyes is not a bad thing :-D

I'm thinking the coach needs to be informed of this somehow. I don't know all the agreements for how the bike was put together, but it sounds like more was expected than this. I mean, a little hiccup might be in there, but this is a number of things and especially since there are two major control components having issues in loose handlebars and brakes not working correctly. That sends up a flag for me. Those are pretty significant in controlling the bike. It'll probably have parental involvement since this is with kids, but someone needs to communicate with the coach that his work here is rather substandard and he needs to step it up somehow. Practice on his own, take classes or training, get into a bike shop and work as a mechanic. Something. The teammates having their bikes checked out after is ok for now. The coach needs to know this too. Even though he just started doing it, it on him as he has taken this responsibility. Since he is referred to as "coach" I'm taking it as he is a paid professional. He should know how to do the things he's pushing for doing. Not informing him is not  helping him. I know it's hard to say something back, but do believe it should be done. He needs to understand his limitations. It's great that it seems like he wants to know how to do everything, but also needs to understand that the athletes need to be taken care of even if that means deferring to someone else who is more knowledgeable at times. See how he responds to this situation and grows from it.

Also consider this line: "This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together." This type of doubt can creep into other aspects too. Especially when it's not addressed.

Do know that while it may seem that I'm being heavy against a coach, I have been on that side of things myself. Not as a tri or any of the 3 sports, but with basketball and soccer. Seen my Dad coach most of my lifetime and also coached 6-7 years with 6th graders, 8th graders, and varsity level athletes, both boys and girls. As strong as we were, we did want to know that people could come talk to us. We didn't have equipment like this, but other things could test our limitations. A kid gets hurt, they go see the trainer (varsity especially had this). Someone more qualified than either of us as this is what their college and training was for. Maybe go see the doctor too. We had the most basic suggestions for things like a sprained ankle or sore wrist, but were quick to send to better qualified care if there was any doubt.

I did talk with one of my other coaches about the issue. I didn't want to tell him directly and hurt his confidence, but I do agree that he shouldn't be in charge of this task. My other coach I assuming will tell him that he has done a sub-par job, although he has done it correctly before. I don't think this is a fluke, though, because the other bikes he's put together have not been very professional. I'd also like to point out that he is not an elite, but he has done a few ironmans, and he definitely should be able to put a bike together as a coach. I think that from now on, whoever wants a bike put together will be told to go to the bicycle shop I went to to have mine tuned up.

It's nice to be mindful of his confidence, however, it's a safety issue for you and your teammates. I would follow up on the assumption about the other coach talking to him. It seems obvious that if something happens to any of you, it's their reputation on the line...but be on the safe side.

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by DaveL

Originally posted by CRFTX2001 I'm back! What did I miss? I've been having some problems concerning switching bikes lately. On Thursday, I got a brand new Cervelo S5. It didn't come from a bike shop, the parts were ordered individually and one of my coaches put it together. At first, I saw a few minor problems: gears were slipping and the handlebars were loose. So, I took it to a shop to get it fixed and the guy working on my bike found a ton of extra problems. There was an extra spacer in the the back wheel, the ferrels looked like they were just jammed into their places, the brakes weren't working correctly, and even a few more problems. I had to leave my bike there overnight and am picking it up later today. This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together.

Well you do have an S5 so thats a huge positive and I am sure the bike shop will have the bike working as good as it should be. Building bikes is a skill so I would just suggest to your team mates that a final check and tune be done by a competent bike shop. Good luck with the new bike I am sure you will love it.

What Dave said, suggest that they have the bike inspected.  Another set of eyes is not a bad thing :-D

I'm thinking the coach needs to be informed of this somehow. I don't know all the agreements for how the bike was put together, but it sounds like more was expected than this. I mean, a little hiccup might be in there, but this is a number of things and especially since there are two major control components having issues in loose handlebars and brakes not working correctly. That sends up a flag for me. Those are pretty significant in controlling the bike. It'll probably have parental involvement since this is with kids, but someone needs to communicate with the coach that his work here is rather substandard and he needs to step it up somehow. Practice on his own, take classes or training, get into a bike shop and work as a mechanic. Something. The teammates having their bikes checked out after is ok for now. The coach needs to know this too. Even though he just started doing it, it on him as he has taken this responsibility. Since he is referred to as "coach" I'm taking it as he is a paid professional. He should know how to do the things he's pushing for doing. Not informing him is not  helping him. I know it's hard to say something back, but do believe it should be done. He needs to understand his limitations. It's great that it seems like he wants to know how to do everything, but also needs to understand that the athletes need to be taken care of even if that means deferring to someone else who is more knowledgeable at times. See how he responds to this situation and grows from it.

Also consider this line: "This sort of makes me question my coach's ability to put a bike together from scratch. He just started doing it, so it's not his fault, but I'm just a little bit concerned for the other members of my team who are having him put their bikes together." This type of doubt can creep into other aspects too. Especially when it's not addressed.

Do know that while it may seem that I'm being heavy against a coach, I have been on that side of things myself. Not as a tri or any of the 3 sports, but with basketball and soccer. Seen my Dad coach most of my lifetime and also coached 6-7 years with 6th graders, 8th graders, and varsity level athletes, both boys and girls. As strong as we were, we did want to know that people could come talk to us. We didn't have equipment like this, but other things could test our limitations. A kid gets hurt, they go see the trainer (varsity especially had this). Someone more qualified than either of us as this is what their college and training was for. Maybe go see the doctor too. We had the most basic suggestions for things like a sprained ankle or sore wrist, but were quick to send to better qualified care if there was any doubt.