Taking the Cheap Way Out

Don't mess with me!

Dear formally well respected bike company:

Thank you for sending your bikes out with brake housing as opposed to index housing. I'm sure your product manager's house in the Cayman Islands is beautiful this time of year, but for us in the trenches, it makes our lives suck that much more.

I understand the drive to keep costs to a minimum but when you use non-compressible brake housing instead of index cable housing on bikes that have index shifting systems then maybe the only one who comes out ahead are brake housing salesmen because I tell you, it sure as hell isn't the customer.

If I were an independent bicycle dealer and I found that my distributor was doing that sort of thing I'd bill back my distributor for the time and material costs it would take to rectify this bungle, and if my distributor refuses to credit me back for my effort, they'd be getting a nasty phone call insisting that they remove all their products from my store.

C'mon...  brake housing doesn't accidentally make its way into an index system. Somewhere, some one, had to approve that decision, and as such I hope your bidet showers your nether regions with ice water.

Thank you,

Adam P. Hunt