heh Grahame,
Have you got a date for a wheel building / repair masterclass?
I would like to come along with some cake and a few broken wheels.
Partly out of ignorance, laziness and lack of time doing repairs, I've spent loads of money by getting through several pairs of commuter wheels.
It tends to be the back wheel - maybe from the extra weight in my rucksack - change of clothes, keys, laptop, lunchbox blah blah loads of stuff blah blah.
During my 5 month career break in 2003, I worked at Evans for 2 months in Ludgate circus. Part of me was hoping I'd be up to speed with the black art of wheel building after a few weeks working at Evans so I could do all my own repairs.
Instead I was cashing up, cleaning the shopfloor, shifting bikes, mending punctures, changing the displays or justifying to a customer that really do need to spend £800 on a pair suspension forks