HUMBLE BEGINNINGS (in a closet)
The Third Hand was born in the Los Angeles area in the mid 1970s and named for the Var Third Hand brake tool. Wayne Martin, a creative bike shop mechanic and budding entrepreneur, and his energetic partner, Pat Banks, began selling bicycle tools via mail order. Their catalog was small and simple, but it offered real bike shop tools to the common man. The business grew steadily during those years, despite relocation to Oregon and back to California in the early 1980s. Customers from that era will remember Wayne’s spicy, descriptive text and Pat’s warm and friendly manner on the telephone. Wayne and Pat had other things to accomplish in their lives, so…
THE MOUNT SHASTA YEARS (whoa, baby)
Jack Moore* acquired The Third Hand in the mid 1980s and relocated to Mt. Shasta, California. Jack had an extensive background in the ski and sports industry and an incandescent personality and hilarious sense of humor. He brought The Third Hand catalog to another dimension. Customers from that time will remember reading every new catalog cover to cover just to find new jokes. Jack’s knowledgeable staff handled the telephone with grace and aplomb, and the business continued to grow and prosper. In 1990 Jack added a “Loose Screws” bicycle parts section to his expanding catalog. He soon decided that small parts were more than he and his staff wanted to wrestle with, so…
THE ASHLAND YEARS (bicycle parts take over)
Jeff and Jean Gilmore acquired Loose Screws Bicycle Parts in the spring of 1992 and hit the ground running with a comprehensive bicycle parts catalog. Both had been employed with The Third Hand in the early 1980s, and Jeff had a solid background in the bicycle industry, starting as a bike shop mechanic and junior racer in the late 1960s. The telephone began to ring steadily as customers became aware of this niche business specializing in replacement parts for bicycle components. In the fall of 1994 Jeff and Jean also acquired The Third Hand (Bicycle Tools) from Jack Moore, a perfect companion to Loose Screws Bicycle Parts. They published three catalogs yearly, one for bicycle parts and spring and fall catalogs for bicycle tools. An online catalog was added in 1999. A competent staff handled three busy phone lines, and orders were shipped all over the world. After nine hectic years, however, Jeff and Jean’s fiftieth birthdays loomed, and…
THE GILMORES’ MIDLIFE MELTDOWN (time for a refocus)
We noticed that we were getting a little crabby and flabby from too many hours at our desks. In the beginning we had been grateful for so many referrals from all over the bicycle industry, but the telephone finally became an instrument of torture. In our early years we had jokingly referred to it as the “bicycle crisis line,” but the joke wasn’t funny anymore. We longed to be able to work at a task without interruption. We yearned for a simpler lifestyle, one that would allow us to be more physically active. After weighing many scenarios, including the sale of the business, we opted to publish a close out catalog in the fall of 2000 and bring 30 plus years in the bicycle industry to an end. We turned off the telephone in the spring of 2001, packed our bags and spent the summer bicycle touring in Europe. It was our first vacation in ten years. We enjoyed every minute of it, but…
BACK IN THE (bicycle) SADDLE AGAIN
We came back to sort through our warehouse (not entirely empty yet of the parts we had acquired over many years) and a host of emails from customers begging us to reconsider small parts sales via the Internet. We had mostly phased out of the tool business with our close out catalog, but we felt that niche was pretty well covered in the industry anyway. Since the fall of 2001, we have been operating a “scaled back” version of the old Loose Screws. We no longer publish a paper catalog, and we accept orders only via our web site, FAX and the post office, hoping to direct the constant calls for information back to the manufacturers (via a links page). Without the distraction of the telephone, we are able to concentrate on ordering product, fulfilling orders and keeping our web site current. Always a small business, Loose Screws Bicycle Parts is now being run as a micro business, a real “mom and pop” shop. There are just two people here to attend to all daily details. We believe that despite today’s rapidly changing marketplace, one ought to be able to find small replacement parts for a well loved 5, 6, 7 or 8 speed bicycle. We are committed to filling that role. We can’t bring you everything you want or need, but we think we do a pretty good job of covering some of the basic small stuff.
We are indebted to our customers, who have bought our merchandise, referred their friends and neighbors, thanked us, encouraged us and set us straight when necessary. Thanks to you all… because we wouldn’t be here without you!
* See what Jack does now at www.tognar.com
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