Quote:
Originally Posted by SegNerd
Did you really have good results with this? My authorized Segway dealer is a bit of a long trip for me, but there are tire places all over the place. I've been wondering if I could just buy Segway tires (when the time comes) and bring my Segway to a local tire place, but I wasn't sure if I would get a response along the lines of "I don't know what the heck that is, so get it outta here!"
I certainly don't mind paying them for their service, but I'm just not sure if they would even be willing to try.
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Your mileage may vary, of course. It wasn't too long ago that I owned a nice little flooring business here and had several vehicles I was buying wheels and tires for, not to mention the other maintenance and repairs. I started doing business with this tire company long before they were a Les Schwab store. Today's owner was a part-timer grunt when I first met him back then.
Other advantages are that I have the only Segway within 80 miles in any direction, so it's an oddity. Me and my Seg have made the local papers a couple times, once a couple winters ago in the snow, climbing the hill that separates Quincy from East Quincy. It's a small community of 5,500, surrounded by even smaller communities. People don't lock their cars or front doors very often and it is not unusual to get waved at by people in passing cars even when not on a Segway.
Most tire shops have the equipment. They do worry that they might break something they are ill prepared to fix or replace. The stock wheel is plastic and most people don't realize just how tough that wheel is. I don't know anyone who's broken it (maybe there's a discussion here somewhere, but I don't recall any). My tire shop has had my plastic wheels on the machine a number of times. Not even a scratch. In fact, the last time, I had just painted my rims and was fully prepared to touch up the paint. I didn't have to.
I think it might be more difficult in larger metropolitan areas. Tire shop owners and workers aren't as inclined to get to know their customers as well. But I think you would find a natural curiosity in those people and this is a great opportunity to make friends. Friends are more apt to want to help you out, even if they have to charge for it. I'm pretty handy, but I'm not mechanically inclined in that way. So a good auto mechanic is important to me and I have some I trust with my Segway wheels and tires.
Jim