Ibanez basses are difficult to identify. They often have no specific model numbers written on the bass. After heavy use these model markings can wear off, making identification of vintage models difficult. Many sellers using Craigslist and Kijiji will also post poor photos of basses, making ID very difficult. This post will positively identify the Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, as well as provide related internet links. There is actually very little information about this Made in Japan, Fugigen factory 1987 model on the internet, so every little bit helps.

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: body finishes were black, pearl, red, fountain blue

The Ibanez RB800 has the model label on the bass body to the left of the strings and just above the neck pickup. This area is prone to heavy use and scratching with the thumb and pick. Over time the label will wear off. On the black version, you can tilt the bass and in the right light, you will still be able to read the “Ibanez RB800″ label as well as “Ultimate Expression of Craftsmanship” byline. Reading this is very difficult.

Putting the model label in this location was a mistake. While it might be Ok for a guitar, it is terrible for a bass. Most other Ibanez bass models do not use this location, thankfully.

Another interesting feature of the RB800 is the triangular headstock. I read somewhere that they were then sued by Hamer for the triangular headstock design, and therefore were not used in subsequent versions. The triangle tilts more to the right than the left. There is no make nor model marking on the headstock itself. The truss bar cover is plastic and is marked “Roadstar”, but because it is a black cover on black varnish, this will not be easily seen in a photo.

The fretboard has a full 2 octaves, 24 frets. Double dots are used on the 12th and 24th fret. The neck is bolted on the back using 4 bolts. Between the end of the fretboard and the neck pickups is a sloped piece of plastic that transitions the fretboard to the level of the body in one smooth curved surface. This plasic piece is glued to the fretboard and is part of the neck.

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: Label to left of strings on body a bad design

The neck is lovely. The bass is a 34″ scale. The neck is very slim, only 3.9cm/1.5″ at the top of the neck, making playing very easy. The neck cross dimensional shape fits the hand very nicely. I find the bass very easy to play.

The RB800 uses active EMG pickups that use a 9v battery. There are two pickups at the neck and one very wide pickup at the bridge. All are marked EMG in white uppercase lettering. There are 4 knobs, but I find it difficult to understand them. They are supposed to be 1 volume (nearest to pickups), 2 EQ (one for each pickup, cuts treble) and one balancer (nearest headstock). While I can identify the balancer, the others are not so clear to me. Maybe when I play more it will be more clear.

The back cover is held closed using 4 Philips head screws. The cover needs to be removed to change the batter and to service the electronics. The cover is made of plastic.

I do not know much about bass bridges. There are adjustments for intonation and string height, all individual to each string. I have not messed with this. The bridge is marked with an embossed Ibanez label.

There are four Ibanez labeled tuners. They are marked “Smooth Tuner BII”. Each tuner is held to the headstock with two Philips head screws. The tuners work very well and the bass does not easily go out of tune. The plastic truss rod cover is labeled “Roadstar”.

The finish is a deep black laquer, which seems very hard wearing. It is also very difficult to keep clean. Black seems to attract a lot of dust and I can never seem to keep it clean. I use Lemon Pledge, which gives the bass a lovely shine.

Links:
-RB800 bass on Youtube. He is really good.
-Used on Ankorage Craiglist: most likely out of date or removed
-comments from Big Al on Guitarsite
-Two photos of a black RB800
-specs: Dated to 1987

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: 1987 Ibanez catalogue

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: tuner labeled Ibanez Smooth Tuner BII

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: Truss rod cover labeled Roadstar

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: Active EMG pickups powered by a 9v battery

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: bridge labeled Ibanez

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: rear cover used 4 Philips head screws

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987: electronics use a 9v battery and no ICs. Click for larger photo

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987 in Fountain Blue

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987 in Fountain Blue: tuners

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987 in Fountain Blue: headstock

Ibanez Roadstar II RB800 electric bass, 1987 in Fountain Blue: back

Ibanez RB800 Roadstar II electric Bass, 1987 in black: front

Ibanez RB800 Roadstar II electric Bass, 1987 in black: front2

My friend bought this guitar and, due to lack of time, gave it to me. This acoustic guitar is a low end “Made in China” acoustic dreadnought, purchased here in Toronto, Canada. For the low price of $60CAD, this guitar is surprisingly high quality. It says in tune, sounds very good, is well finished and looks great. The neck is straight and intonation perfect. The action is high but can be somewhat lowered. I do hate the “Rocker” brand name. Whomever chose this name should be shot.

If you search for Rocker guitars on the internet you will find little information, even from the manufacturer. The full name of the company is “Rocker Music Tools”. The name “Rocker” is lame, as is the addition of “Music Tools”. Someone in China should be a little more creative. Rocker is imported into Canada by Audio One in Bolton, who also distributes Crate and Ampeg gear. The Rocker website is scarce on information but states the Rocker RA-200 has a spruce top, and rosewood fingerboard and bridge. I have no idea what wood they used for the body sides and back, and neck. I guess at this price point they don’t care, but I would like to know. All I can say is it is “brown wood”. How is that for specific technical information?

My friend purchased this guitar new for $60CAD from a no name music importer in Mississauga, suckered in on a supposed 50% off sale. They were lieing. The guitar comes wrapped in thin foam, encased in a cardboard box. An allen key for the truss rod was included.

Overall you can see that this guitar is not meant to compete with the higher end Epis and Fenders. The neck is thin, straight, feels smooth and is easy to play. The dreadnought size is a little large for me but acceptable. The guitar sounds pretty good and stays in tune. The wood is finished nicely with no defects, and shines up well. It is overall a nice looking guitar. The tuners do their job of keeping the guitar in tune. The intonation was checked with an electronic tuner and was perfect. The action was high and needed to be lowered.

Putting a capo on the first fret and pressing down on the 13th fret, height at the 6th fret was similar to the width of the high E, or 0.010″, so no change was required to the truss rod.

The frets are not jumbo and are skinny, forcing you to use extra hand force to get a note without buzzing, something quickly frowned upon my by eldest little weed. Still, she has gotten used to it. The ends of the frets are sharp and need sanding down. When running your hand up and down the neck you might scratch yourself. Varnish on the upper part of the fretboard, near the12th fret markers is prematurely chipping off, but is not sharp. The varnish is still wearing away. I know not why, because this is a brand new guitar with very little play time.

Rocker RA-200 dreadnought acoustic guitar, Made in China, surprisingly good quality

Rocker RA-200 acoustic guitar. Made in China. Soundhole rosette, macro 2.8x

The soundhole rosette is pleasant but not excellent quality. Looking at the macro photo the quality seems worse than in person. I like the blue colour of the rosette, as it reminds me of JingdeZhen Chinese pottery and tableware. The dentile is a nice design, but there are some quality issues that are evident.

At first glance the “Rocker Musical Tools” logo on the headstock looks like inlaid Mother of Pearl, but this is untrue. With some clever Chinese trickery and a high tech pattern that looks like a hollogram, the label can deceive the eye. No doubt it is a sticker of some kind, but nicely done and then varnished. One cannot feel the logo on the headstock. It does reflect light in a similar way to Mother of Pearl.

Rocker RA-200 acoustic guitar. Made in China. Logo is a high tech reflective material that looks like a hollogram. Definately not Mother of Pearl, but could trick you. Macro 2.8x

The action on the RA-200 was high enough to give me a hand cramp when playing a song of predominantly bar chords. The big weed also complained. I loosened the strings and removed the plastic bridge. The bridge was sanded down until the action was lowered. This did not take much time. Note that the bridge is not flat on the bottom and sanding it flat will quickly reduce the bridge height, so do this carefully. Action before sanding: Low E = 0.197″, high E = 0.164″. Action after lowering: Low E = 0.163″, high E = 0.135″, measured with a vernier caliper and a magnifying glass. There is a tiny bit of excess buzzing on the high E, 12th and 13th fret, so the action cannot be lowered any further.

The strings included were acceptable, though when I was lowering the action the high E broke as I was tuning it with my electronic tuner. For a new guitar this should not happen.

When your guitar costs less than the hard shell case that protects it, you cannot complain too much. The Rocker RA-200 plays well, sounds good and looks good. It is worth $60CAD but cannot be compared to the more famous name brands. Still, I would rather play the Rocker than some of the ultra low priced “Made in China” Epiphones and other name brands. These days, brand name alone is usually not indicative of high quality. Buyer beware.

Rocker RA-200 acoustic guitar. Made in China. Label in the sound hole.

Listerine, made by Johnston & Johnston Inc. are a reputable brand and company, so I was surprised at the fraudulent nature of their claim. Note that packaging and claims on the bottle in Canada are different from the USA. On the back of the bottle it claims:

“LISTERINE AGENT COOL BLUE Plaque Detecting Rinse is effective in highlighting plaque to improve tooth brushing effectiveness in children.” CANADIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION

Directions: Children age 6 years and older: Rinse twice daily before brushing showing you where to brush!

While the solution lightly tints the teeth and mouth, it insufficiently tints plaque and food buildup so that you see no difference between teeth that have no buildup and teeth that need to be brushed. If one looks incredibly hard with a magnifying glass, at the right angle of light I can see a shading difference between clean and dirty surfaces of the teeth, but I can do this without the solution as well. After two mouthfuls of rinse the tint is gone, or so light as to be indiscernible.

Listerine Agent Cool Blue does not tint sufficiently to identify plaque. It is totally ineffective and fraudulent as a dental diagnostic tool.

Woe is me that I did not research this product before purchase. I was looking for disclosing solution as directed by my dentist and could not find anything. When I found this solution I purchased it. There are others that have stated this product is fraudulent.

On the front of the bottle it says that it is a “tinting rinse.” As you will see below, I find it to be a very poor tinting rinse simply because it is not very noticeable and because it is so easily removed. I also believe most people are disappointed with it simply because most people assume that Agent Cool Blue dyes plaque, like traditional plaque disclosing solutions. source

Listerine Agent Cool Blue slightly tints the teeth, does not highlight plaque

This stuff does not do what I thought it does. I thought it stuck to plaque and showed the really nasty areas. My brother and I used some red disclosing solution as kids – I thought that’s what this was. Brush your teeth, use the red stuff, see how poor a job you did.

This just dyes everything pale blue. I guess in theory you have to brush everything to get all the blue off but it comes off very easily so it really doesn’t do much good. source

Initially I had my little weed squeeze 10ml from the bottle and swish for 30 seconds, before brushing. Other than the slight blue tint I saw no appreciable difference; I saw no plaque or stained food particles. I had him brush with toothpaste and the blue was gone. Undeterred I tried it on myself, with the same results: slight blue tint, no highlighted plaque, and the tint easily washes away. This product is ineffective.

Here are some contrasting photos of Agent Cool Blue. Before brushing I had my little weed swish for 30 seconds with 10ml of Agent Cool Blue, after which I took a photo. I had him rinse three times with water only and the tint was gone. No brushing is necessary. I then used half a tablet of GUM Red-cote dental disclosing tablet and had him chew and swish it around. I then took a photo. The difference is remarkable. The Agent Cool Blue is ineffective. The red disclosing tablet clearly shows plaque and food deposits. This is proof enough for me that I need red disclosing tablets.

Listerine Agent Cool Blue: Before brushing, swish 10ml for 30 seconds. The blue dye is slight and does not highlight plaque. Rinse 3 times with water and the blue dye is gone, no brushing necessary.

GUM Red-Cote dental disclosing tablets: Before brushing, chewed and swished half a tablet. Plaque and food are clearly stained. This is an excellent dental diagnostic tool I will use on my kids and myself to promote better brushing technique.

Listerine Agent Cool Blue clearly does not stand up to the clarity and quality of staining done by the GUM Red-Cote dental disclosing tablets. If you want to help your kids improve their tooth brushing and flossing technique you will chose the GUM Red-Cote.

I called up Johnston & Johnston’s consumer line here in Canada at 1-800-661-4659, as written on the bottle, and explained my dissatisfaction. They said they will mail me a refund. To their credit they took responsibility but should not be selling something that states “tints plaque”, when it clearly does not.

Kids need help with their toothbrushing and flossing technique. As parents teach them well and the rewards are less cavities, fewer dental issues and better gums and teeth for your kids. This is a worthy and attainable goal. Listerine Agent Cool Blue will not be part of my family’s dental plan.

Mary Ward's front door archway, a nice piece of steel and glass.

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School is a high school located in North Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, or TCDSB. These tips are primarily from a parent’s viewpoint and will cover uniform, student attitude, working with teacher adviser (TA) and a little on courses. I hope this helps new grade 9 students.

School Uniform

MW will have a uniform fitting day, where new students will be able to purchase their uniform. Uniforms are expensive, and a good fit is important. Note that not all uniform sizes will be available on the fitting day. If your kid is smaller or larger than the norm, it is much better to go to Halpern’s, the uniform store where they have all the options as well as sales folk who know what they are doing. Blouses come in xs as well as youth m and s, which were not available on uniform day. Long sleeve polo shirts can be lengthened or shortened without charge, but you’ll need to wait 2 months. Halpern’s is conveniently located on Consumer’s Road, east of Victoria Park and Sheppard, and is within 20 minutes drive of MW.

Halpern’s has an excellent guarantee policy for their clothing, though you will need to retain your receipt. If you have not worn your uniform yet you can exchange it for a different size. For worn clothing they warranty their clothing for one school year for wear and tear damages. When the serging of one polo shirt started to fray out we returned to the store for a straight exchange. There was no hassle.

MW’s physical education uniform will be given out in PE class. Students receive a “Property of Mary Ward” t-shirt and basketball shorts. The “small” t-shirt is massive. I don’t know if you get a t-shirt each year or one for 4 years.

School uniform adherence varies with the grade. Grade 9 students are monitored somewhat strictly. Some teachers will not allow you to attend class unless properly dressed, while others will give you a warning. Kilts are supposedly to be no more than 13cm from the knee, but due to height differences this reveals more for shorter students and less for taller students. Older students are not monitored as strictly. Older students may be able to get away with wearing non-monogrammed white shirts, for example. While there is no official school tie, some students do wear one, passed down from older students.

Monitoring Students and Teacher Advisor

MW is an alternative school that has no set classes. Students are given lessons and a schedule in which to complete them. It is up to the students to seek help when required. I was initially concerned about this arrangement, as it could allow a student to fail miserably. A Teacher Advisor (TA) is assigned to a group of 16 students. A TA is a regular teacher that also doubles as the overall “helper teacher” for the student’s 4 years at MW.

My fears proved to be unnecessary. Students need check in with their TA thrice a day at 8:30am, 12:45pm and at 3:00pm. There is no ability to surreptitiously skip school. In Grade 9 students are initially coached but are expected to mess up their schedules some time during the year. It is normal for a student to slack off and fall behind the schedule. The first early warning is from the TA to the student, followed by a letter home to the parents, and then a phone call from the TA to the parents. I find this system provides plenty of warning to parents. If parents are uninterested in their child’s progress then the student will fail the course. Summer school is available to those that have done at least some of the work.

There are 18 units in a course. Some units require the student to attend seminars, similar to a classroom lesson. I found it difficult to understand the importance and grading of each unit and how this affects the overall course grade. Instead I focused on ensuring that all units could be completed given the remaining time within the school year. If all units cannot be completed within the school year remedial summer school classes are required. Communication with the TA will help the parent assess if the student has the ability to complete the course within the remaining time.

If a student falls so far behind as to not be able to finish the course they may be told to attend “Student Success” classes, which are classroom taught classes that allow them to catch up. Students do less work and receive a lower mark but still pass.

I found dealing with the TA very friendly and effective. I found Mrs Holmes empathetic, reasonable and effective. She always returned my phone calls. I found it very helpful to cultivate a friendly relationship with the TA early in Grade 9 so that when an intervention is required it will be swiftly dealt with. Other teachers at MW may not return your call, as I found out.

Exams and Preparation

At the end of the year there are exams. Students have one week to prepare for exams but cannot normally start studying beforehand. This is because each unit is returned to the teacher for grading and not handed back to the student. Only a week before the exam, these units are returned. You may ask for your units early but may not receive them. A teacher may tell students to study certain units for the exam but this may not encompass all the exam’s content. There are a maximum of 2 exams per day and there is ample time given to prepare. Early exams are also available.

Extra Fees

The yearly school registration fee of $90 covers locker, lock, yearbook, gym uniform, school BBQ, etc. Almost all courses have extra fees. For us we were charged extra course fees of $60 at the beginning of the year. For music you are required to purchase a mouthpiece or reeds.

Gym had an extra $40 for rock and rope climbing and $20 for a CPR course. Activity day fees are up to $70, depending on the activity chosen.

Grade 9 Elective Courses

I do not have first hand knowledge of all grade 9 electives. It is best to talk to returning grade 9 students before choosing electives. Yes these are optional courses but are still learning opportunities that should not be squandered.

Instrumental Music seems to be elitist and geared to the development of the school band. Students with prior musical experience in Woodwinds and horns are given priority when selecting instruments. Other students will strings or no music experience will be given unpopular instruments that other students have rejected. It may be better to ask to switch courses rather than have a student play an instrument they detest. Instruments are assigned one month after school starts.

Vocal Music is a lot of work and practice. You will perform in the Christmas and Spring concerts as well as the annual play. For those who liked singing students found it interesting. You need to make a commitment to follow the separate schedule for the music department. The teacher can be overly critical of students.

Food & Nutrition actually does very little cooking. There is lots of information about nutrition, which is good. If your child is already somewhat familiar with your kitchen then this course will be boring. On the other hand if your child never helps you prepare a meal, then this course will be a good introduction.

Drama is a simple course where you participate in games in the classroom. This course is for those that detest work. Drama students participate in the annual play. Students really like this course as it is fun.

Visual Arts is a lot of fun. This is a course for people who enjoy art. There are field trips. There is sketching, water colour, sculpting and other aspects of art. Students plan the school art show. Students participate in an egg drop where you build a device to protect the egg as it is dropped off the top of the school.

Business is very technical with a lot of computer time. You are given all your units at once. There are presentations, excel spreadsheets, letter writing, Photoshop, etc. There were mixed reviews from students, who thought it was easy and somewhat boring.

Tech makes projects out of wood. You make a race car, cutting board and a quest project (student chosen project). Tech is very well received, as is the Mr Emer and Harrison, the teachers.

TTC to School, bicycle parking

There are three TTC bus routes to MW: 42 Cummer, 43 Kennedy, and 17C Birchmount (Short turns at Kennedy east of McNichol). 42B Cummer stops at Kennedy and returns westbound. 17C Birchmount can be unreliable and is infrequent. After school it passes the school only ONCE between 3:00 and 3:15, after which there are no other 17C buses. 43 Kennedy is extremely crowded. Leave home early if you rely on this bus.

When the weather is good you can ride your bicycle to school. There is bicycle parking at the school entrance as well as behind the community centre near the fitness centre. Not many kids ride bikes. It is reasonably safe to lock your bike to the bike rack.

Overall my experience as a parent has been positive and reassuring. Yes, there are issues that arise but they are dealt with accordingly. more importantly the feedback from students I have met has been decidedly positive, and they should know.

If you know me, you know that we cook almost everything from scratch. This includes pizza. When Delissio pizza went on sale at a local big box grocer, 2 x 900g pizzas for $6CAD, I thought I would give their Deluxe a try. Overall impressions were that they are far inferior to home made pizza, but to my Little Weed an inferior pizza is better than no pizza at all. Of note was the fact that the pizza was so salty. I know salt is cheap, but if this pizza was so tasty why not let the ingredients speak for themselves?

Our home-made pizzas start out with store bought dough, which we let sit on the counter for 4 hrs in order to rise. From then on it is all home made: pepperoni, Polish sausage, green peppers, onions, pineapple, tomatoe paste, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, all can be included. We form a congo line of ingredients. Set the oven at 425F and bake for 25 minutes. The results are excellent, and therefore out expectations of pizza are high.

Delissio Pizza: easy to bake but extremely salty. "If it's not delivery it's Delissio, Oh, D'salt!"

In terms of convenience the Delissio pizza is super easy: It comes shrink wrapped in plastic. Cut the plastic open, slide out the cardboard bottom, shove it into a 325F oven, and 25 minutes later you’re good to go. Instructions on the box are clear, highlighted, and easy to find. Even if you do not know a speck of English, there are large helpful pictures to assist you. Usability of the instructions were exceptional. It would be difficult to mess up this pizza.

Delissio Pizza: How can the Little Weed resist this? Ornamental cheddar cheese added.

The proof is in the tasting, and this is where the pizza has trouble. To my Little Weed, any pizza is better than no pizza at all, and the Delissio got his seal of approval. Then again, when asked in comparison to our home-made pizza, he preferred eating our stuff. I admit that these results are not scientific, not statistically valid, and could be construed as biased, but I reaffirmed one salient fact: Kids will eat anything that resembles fast food, and actually enjoy it. This is why we are called adults and they have a whole lot more learning to do. Due to their total lack of quality control, we adults need to be doubly on guard for the good of the family.

Delissio Pizza: Objet d'art up close and personal

No doubt that this Delissio round “objet d’art” is indeed an edible artifact more commonly called a pizza. In general the crust is thin and lacking in taste. The tomatoe paste is a tad excessive and the pizza is extremely salty. Eat enough and you’ll need to drink a lot of water, prompting you to visit the loo early into the next morning. Still, we did not get sick, and it did taste good, though not as good as home made. I rate this pizza a “B”.

The Little Weed can eat almost 1/2 the pizza, or 450g. The nutritional information on the package indicates that a slice (1/6 of the pizza, 155g) contains 970mg or 40% of the recommended daily intake of sodium. This means that the Little Weed will consume 2.82g of sodium, or 116% of the daily recommended daily intake of sodium for an adult by eating this meal alone. No wonder this pizza tastes so salty.

Recent studies have warned that Canadians are eating too much salt, most eaten in prepackaged foods.

…Canadians eat more salt than they need. Too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke.

Much of the salt we eat comes from processed food… source

This pizza is a prime example. I am sure that many people like salty foods, but we are not included. Less salt on the pizza and a salt packet for those that want more would be better for us.

As for Delissio Deluxe pizza, I think I will pass.

I have been meaning to get a bike rack for quite a number of years. When the kids were small this was not an issue because they could not ride far anyway, but they are growing. We don’t have a large car, so a bike rack is now a necessity. The Swagman 3 bike hitch bike rack seemed to be the strongest and lightest but well made bike rack I could find. It works very well but the experience of installing it provided some interesting surprises.

Before looking for a rack I asked various people what type of bike rack best suited our needs. Friends had a trunk mounted bike rack, which scratched their car up quite badly, which steered me away. They have since abandoned their trunk mounted racks. Since my car has no roof rack and no option to add a roof rack, this type of bike rack was not possible. The last option was the hitch mounted bike rack. Since I am not a trailer type guy and have no friends that are, I also had to research, purchase and install a trailer hitch, already documented in my blog. It’s all still good.

I am an avid internet researcher, so before looking for a rack brand name I scoured the internet. Mountain Equipment Co-op sold a couple types of bike racks. For a couple of decades now I have been using MEC as a trusted source of outdoor gear and they have not let me down. Now in the internet age I use them as a gold stamp of quality for potential purchases. They sold Swagman, so here is where I started my research.

It is clear that Swagman has a good reputation on the internet, with many happy customers. Robust design, strength of materials, good fit and finish and solid racks were all common remarks. Certain rack styles have issues with certain types of vehicles. You need to match your vehicle and needs to the many available rack on the market.

Swagman 3 bike rack installs 11.5 inches from my bumper, not a good fit

My requirements were pretty simple. I have a type I hitch, 1.25″ receiver, capable of holding dead weight of 100-200 lb, depending on who you talk to. Nissan says 100 lb. The U-haul hitch says 200 lbs, but then says 100 lbs for carrying bikes. The dead weight maximum also includes the bike rack, so if the rack weighted 30 lbs, this means there is less available weight for your bicycles. A lightweight but strong bike rack was in order. I settled on the Swagman single arm Original 3 bike rack, model 64121. It’s design is simple and therefore there is less to fail. It does not fold down because I have no need for this feature. Even with the bike rack installed I can still get to my trunk with ease. I would rather have a stronger rack with fewer possible points of failure. It does not have fancy locking mechanisms. Many people who purchase bike racks have said in hindsight that all the fancy locking mechanisms on their racks are ineffective against bike theft, so the upgrade is unnecessary. Why lock your bike to the bike rack, only to have the thief take both your bikes and bike rack? No, we would be using our rack to transport bikes to a park, then disconnect the rack and put it in the trunk. A simple but robust locking mechanism was best. Unfortunately MEC did not sell this type of rack, and the folding version that they did sell was out of stock in Toronto. I decided to order locally and picked up the rack.

S shaped bend creates a kink, does not allow the rack to seat deeply into the hitch receiver

Firstly, the Swagman bike rack came well packaged and finished in the box. Instructions were not too clear and seemed written for an older design version. Since there are few parts, it was not difficult to put it together. The rack materials are thick and seem extremely strong. Bolts, nuts and washers were all provided, and were heavy and strong. One issue that became evident was that the enclosed square stock that attaches to the hitch receiver was way too long, putting the bike rack upright a full 11.5″ away from the bumper. This stock also did not push all the way into my hitch receiver, resulting in a weaker connection. When the rack and bikes are so far from the hitch receiver, this provides a much longer lever arm, which greatly increases forces and vibration to the hitch receiver and therefore the car. Swagman had also designed in an “S” shaped curve in an attempt to raise the rack 2″, but these curves slightly kinked and fattened the square stock where it went into my hitch receiver. I was not too impressed.

Straight bar stock makes Swagman bike rack fit closer to bumber and deeper into hitch receiver

No matter, I had the Swagman web site, so I sent off an email from their “contact us” page, and got a confirmation email that stated an email was sent. I received no reply from the Vernon, BC company. I took some pictures, put up a web page outlining the issue, and sent this off to Swagman. Again no reply. Upon reading the instructions I could not find any warranty information. The store that sold me the rack suggested I email Swagman and ask. Again, for the third email sent, I received no reply. To this date, Swagman has not replied to any of my emails.

My solution was to not use the Swagman provided square stock and to find my own. I settled on a 10.5″ length piece of 1.25″ diameter square stock. I drilled the hole for the hitch pin and the holes to attach to the rest of the bike rack. Overall the rack is now 5.5″ away from my bumper, resulting in a much smaller lever arm and therefore force on the hitch receiver. There is now only 2″ between the bike rack and the hitch receiver. Though I could have reduced this residual 2″ I felt it was more than adequate.

Once installed I found the innermost bike would clang against the bike rack upright. My solution was to sew a long sleeve and attach to the bike rack, preventing metal on metal contact. It also covered up the Swagman logo.

Overall I am happy with the Swagman bike rack, but I had to do some work to make it fit properly. If you do not have the tools to cut heavy metal square stock and drill 3 holes, then maybe consider another type of bike rack. I almost returned this Swagman rack because of the very poor fit to my car and poor customer service.

Here are some pros and cons to the Swagman bike rack:

Pros:

• Strong construction, great fit and finish of bike rack
• Lighter in weight than other racks, but still heavy duty
• Came with all necessary components
• Does not excessively shake when carrying bikes (after I replaced the square stock with a shorter one)
• Inexpensive ($130CAD)
• Simple and relatively light (Original 3 bike version, model 64121)
• Comes with a hitch pin (does not say on the box)

Cons:

• No email or other support for their product
• No warranty. Not stated on box or instructions. No email reply about warranty. No warranty info on their web site. Other manufacturers offer at least a 1 year warranty on their products. Thule, Yakima and Saris all offer a limited lifetime warranty on their products. Even Canadian Tire bike racks (SportRack) have a 1 year warranty.
• Rack did not fit well into my hitch receiver and would have bounced a lot more and with a lot more force (due to 2 times longer lever arm) if I did not fabricate up a shorter piece of square stock.
• Instructions were for an earlier version of the rack
• Innermost bike will clang against the bike rack upright. I sewed up a cloth sleeve to protect my bike and the bike rack.

General Notes

Toronto has a varying climate with 4 distinct seasons and significant precipitation. In the winter we can get a snowfall of 20cm in one day. Copious amounts of rain can fall, as is the case today. It has been raining hard today. Toronto is expecting 10-20mm of rain, so much so that you still get very wet running from the car to the store.

___Both Price Chopper and NoFrills start new advertisement flyers today. Flyers are released on Thursday and take effect on the start of Friday. Unfortunately for both retailers, paper-based flyers are delivered to our house via the local newspaper at worst Saturday midday or at best very late Friday evening, after store close. There is, therefore, a loss of one day of exposure for their flyer due to the delivery schedule. Fortunately the internet-based flyers for both retailers are usually posted on Thursday noon. Price Chopper has been known to delay their internet-based flyer until Friday morning.

Price Chopper at Brimley/Huntingwood, Toronto, Ontario,Canada

___Price Chopper, Brimley/Huntingwood, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Objective: New flyer sale priced orange juice, potatoes and general weekly shopping. This Price Chopper is smaller in floor space, so product is at times squeezed together more than I would like. Though they carry the whole selection of products, it is a store geared to Chinese and Indian customers.

Today Price Chopper starts a new two week flyer. Normally the start of a flyer guarantees the purchase of sale items, but often shipments are late or the manufacturer has no product to ship. This week both my items were in stock.

It was raining cats and dogs outside, but the metal overhang of the store kept the shopping carts dry. My sons sits in these carts, so a wet shopping cart is unacceptable. We have been known to leave retail stores that have wet shopping carts for this reason, most notably Home Depot. Today the carts were neatly ordered in two rows, I put my money in and got a cart in good working order, just like I should. This fact surprised me at the time, which probably means it does not happen often enough.

My search for the advertised sale priced potatoes started, logically in the potatoe section, where there was no sign of the sale priced item. Hmmm, the next logical place to look is the front of the store near the entrance, and this is exactly where I found them. The potatoe section has large bins of their regularly sold brands, with no place for these sale priced potatoes. It would have been better to have at least a sign and some stock of the potatoes on sale.

Frozen orange juice should logically be found in the freezer section, and it was. There were three variations of the same orange juice,all available, well merchandised and priced.

Recently Old South frozen orange juice has changed its packaging from a cardboard sleeve with aluminum ends to an all plastic container, and in doing so decreased the volume of their product by 5% while increasing their price. Did you think I would not notice? We are not amused. This has not been competitive enough for me, so I have been avoiding the brand. When all your competitors are offering more juice for the same price, you should follow suit. I am also unsure of the safety of the all plastic container and prefer the cardboard and aluminum wrapper. Most other manufacturers still use the older packaging, so I need not change to the newer plastic container.

In following the orange juice market I have noticed that within the last year frozen orange juice has rarely gone on sale, while regular unfrozen orange juice from concentrate regularly goes on sale. Regular unfrozen orange juice from concentrate varies the most in price. Regular unfrozen orange juice not from concentrate is by far the most expensive but sometimes goes on sale. In a blind taste test of family members, we tested 1) unfrozen not from concentrate, from China, Huiyuan brand, 2) unfrozen not from concentrate, 3) unfrozen from concentrate, 4) frozen from concentrate. Overwhelmingly the favourite was regular unfrozen not from concentrate. The Chinese orange juice brand uses an orange that is tarter than we are used to here in North America, so it was called out by my kids. Personally I don’t mind it.

Testers found no difference in taste between unfrozen from concentrate and frozen from concentrate. We use tap water filtered with a Brita filter. Such simple tests can help you determine whether the extra cost of unfrozen orange juice is worthwhile. We no longer purchase unfrozen from concentrate orange juice.

Other items that we sought were easily found and purchased. There were no employees packing out merchandise during my shop. Checkout was quick and efficient.

___Experience Rating: A. A good shopping experience with merchandise well layed out and priced.

NoFrills, Kennedy/Sheppard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

___NoFrills, Kennedy/Sheppard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Objective: New flyer sale priced ice cream, cheese and general weekly shopping.

Again it was raining cats and dogs, so I was glad to get under the store’s large metal overhang. Unfortunately for me, the metal overhang was leaking more water than the Titanic, and if it could have sunk, would have. Unfortunately for both of us, almost all the shopping carts were wet. The first row of carts seemed driest, so I inserted my coin but could not dislodge a cart from its brethren. In trying to get a cart free, I got my finger stuck in the cart and pinched it quite badly. It continues to throb as I write, over an hour later. I am unamused. In order to get a dry cart I had to move a group of 10 carts away. These carts are heavy and I should not need to do this much work to get an appropriate cart. Please, NoFrills, keep your carts well maintained and dry. Is this too much to ask from your customers?

There were many employees packing out merchandise. Often they are sloppy with their boxes and skids and can block the aisle so that your cart cannot pass. Sometimes they will block access ways between fixtures, such that they create one long 20′ aisle with one way in and one way out. Today there were some blockages but I was able to get my cart through. One employee was concentrating so much on merchandising that he failed to see that customers wanted to pass. I had to wait for him to wake up, but be did apologize. Ok, fine.

I found one of my favourite cashiers putting on sale labels for products reduced in the new flyer. She is one of my favourites because on cash she is competent. At least I have confidence that she will put the proper labels on the right fixtures. I wondered why this repricing was not this done earlier?

The sale priced cheese was readily available, properly merchandised and priced. This brand of cheese is new to the store. About two months ago this cheese was also on sale, but I could not buy any because supposedly the manufacturer did not send any to the NoFrills warehouse, so none of the stores had product.

Huge skids of Coke-brand product that were on sale last week were still on the floor, unwanted and unpurchased. At least they were still at last week’s sale price. Is there nothing else worthy in the new sales flyer to replace Coke?

We bought eggs, canned pineapple and salt, all with no issues. Checkout was also without issue. Still, my finger was throbbing.

___Experience Rating: C. I should not get hurt while on a shopping trip. Physically harming your customers does not put them into a great shopping mood and pretty much spoils the shopping experience.

___Wet or dry, sun or snow, all grocery retails should be able to adapt to changing weather. Today Price Chopper did a great job and NoFrills did a poor job. Year in and out, the weather conditions are similar, so why was weather such a large issue today?

This is not Chung Hing, but has the same feel. Photo by Don Qua

While it might seem unfair to compare a local Chinese grocer to the large big box chains, our shopping experience spans both, so I feel I should review both. Chung Hing, or in Mandarin, Zhong Xing, is our local Chinese grocer. While it is an average sized Chinese grocer, it seems to serve our needs well. Trip Review: Chung Hing: A.

___Chung Hing Supermarket, Kennedy/Finch, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Objective: Minced pork, regular weekly shopping.

Chung Hing is decidedly lowbrow. Shopping carts are castoffs from all and sundry grocers, with no company logos printed on any carts. Carts are of various sizes and colours. The store is low budget, but is very popular with locals and can be quite crowded. The floor is at times uneven but serviceable

The butcher counter has 3 live butchers that will bag whatever meat you wish, provided you speak Chinese. Any type of Chinese will do. We usually get a whole chicken from them, but also buy minced pork, whole hunks of beef, pork bones and whatever else. The butchers usually give you more than you ask or, so if your pot cannot fit 5 lbs of pork, you better ask for 4 and you’ll get 4.7 lbs. They are nice butchers. The fresh fish counter is right beside them.

Vegetables and fruit are usually quite fresh, although at times one must be careful if the price of the fruit is low. This may mean that the fruit is past due and soft. I’ve often bought firm fruit only to find it was previously frozen or close to it, brought it home only to find it was mushy. Caveat Emptor. If you are not sure, don’t chance it, no matter how low the price. This store will open clamshells of strawberries and blueberries and repack them with somewhat fresher produce. They like to package ginger into 3 lb plastic bags but price ginger per lb, so we open these bags and take only what we need, which is certainly less than 3 lbs.

On this shopping day all the veggies and fruit were fresh. Fuji apples were $0.99/lb, matching the big box stores, but fresh. Florida oranges were $0.49/lb, a reasonable price considering it is out of season. From the time this store has opened the layout has not changed, so we were very familiar with the layout. This store consistently beats the big box stores on bananas, at $0.59/lb, $0.10 below the competition. The quality is also fresh. Grapes were also great at $0.99/lb

Other purchases ranged from frozen basa fillets, soya milk, to Chinese sausage were right on the money. All prices are clearly marked and products well displayed.

This is where we buy our phone cards we use to call China. The store always gives us a recommendation. If people are having a problem with a brand of card, the store will quickly switch. They recommended the Nengda Tong card, 274 minutes for $4.50 to anywhere in China. That’s $0.016/minute, cheaper than most Bell calling cards to Canada. We line up at the checkout with the phone cards and add one to our bill. No trouble at all.

It is this kind of friendly service and product knowledge, coupled with fresh produce and low prices that we find appealing. Though you cannot brag that this shop is fancy in any way, we’re not eating here, so we don’t mind.

___Experience Rating: A. We came in with our grocery list, found everything with no difficulties. All produce was clearly marked and priced. No issues with carts or negotiating around obstacles in stores. Checkout is very fast and non-eventful. You’re out the door in a hurry. While 95% of patrons are Chinese, you will see the odd Indian, European or black families shopping there. I’ve never seen them have any problems purchasing food, and frequently see them return. Still, while most signs are bilingual, invariably all products are geared towards a Chinese clientele.

___Nofrills, Kennedy/Finch, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Objective: Sale priced tetrapack apple juice and general weekly shopping.

This week Nofrills continues their two week flyer with an additional single page of specials. None of the products in the extra flyer were very appealing. I specifically searched for their advertised Allen’s apple juice in tetrapack, 24 x 200ml for $3.33. This sale product was not available in the juice aisle nor on the aisle ends, but was available in their overstock sales aisle. At least have a sign in the juice aisle to acknowledge that there is a sale on juice. Very little stock was left, so for sure they will run out before the weekend is over. The juice was well displayed with a price.

It took 3 tries to get a shopping cart that I could somewhat easily push. I’m tired of getting shopping carts that take great effort to push around the store. I find it a great waste of energy and distracts me from having a good shopping experience. Sure they have all wheels, but with a lack of maintenance the carts have cracked parts, some have wheels that lock up, or the wheels don’t turn easily. The one I chose badly needed oil. At least it did not squeak.

In general the store was merchandised very well and was clean. I was able to find all the products I wanted. Corned beef I usually buy was out of stock and has been this way for about two weeks. I still await regular or halal corned beef for $1.99.

Today there were no skids of stock waiting to be unpacked but blocking the aisles. I’m always amazed when staff block aisleways so cannot get my cart through. Once I was almost run into by a small electronic forklift. She was not looking as she backed up, but I was. Otherwise she would have flattened me. Her passing remark of “This machine is dangerous, please stay out of the way” was relayed to the store manager upon checkout. But today there were no theatrics.

Checkout was fast and efficient by my favourite cashier. I’ve been shopping here long enough to know who is good and who will work slowly, so I choose my cashier carefully. Some cashiers get flustered with vendor coupons, or store sales events. At $28 on a credit card, no signature was required. Cardboard boxes were readily available for customers, as expected and always appreciated from this store

___Experience Rating: B+ A good shopping experience with merchandise well layed out and priced. This is why I prefer shopping here.

Walmart, Kennedy/Sheppard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

___Walmart, Kennedy/Sheppard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Objective: 4 pack of “D” batteries, 4 pack of 9v batteries, apple juice.

Because it was early in the day there were few customers. There was no greeter. Shopping carts were plentiful and in good working order.

I have had terrible experiences with the electronic department of this Walmart. I found them on multiple occasions to be unhelpful at best and downright lazy at worst. On this occasion I found 3 associates yakking together, laughing out loud, with the main troublemaker in the middle. Is this coincidence? As such, I would never buy an expensive ANYTHING electronic from this store.

The battery aisle was clearly sorted by brand and then by battery type. I, however could not find a 4 pack “D” type in the brand I wanted. Other more expensive brands were available. As I walked the 15′ aisle I noticed that beside the battery display there was a separate and distinct “bulk” battery area, which happened to have my 4 pack. I don’t know why this bulk battery area was not merchandised with the rest of the batteries by brand and type, but if I was not such a particular shopper i would have missed it. At least all batteries were clearly priced.

As I walked to the cashier I noticed two additional battery displays. While most batteries displayed here were duplicates of the main battery area, an additional brand was not. I dropped the 4 pack I had previously chosen and picked up a different brand name.

Down the juice aisle I found my apple juice in can. The price was clearly marked, they had stock and the display was clean and tidy. To be sure I asked my daughter to price check a can. The nearby pole price scanner was broken and turned off, so she had to go to the kidswear area. This scanner has been out of order for some time. A vendor rep told me this was common, and from my observations I agree. At least the display of juice, unlike the last time I was here, had a clearly marked price.

I picked up 10 cans of apple juice. The cashier was fast end efficient, scanning one and doing a multiple to charge me for the 10 cans. In the past some cashiers insisted on me putting all 10 cans onto the conveyor belt so they could scan each and every can. This is such a waste of time. Thankfully this cashier realized that each and every can was identical. Payment was uneventful.

___Experience Rating: B. Walmart usually has very professional merchandising, allowing the shopper to conveniently find merchandise. I’m unsure why there’s this anomaly in the battery section. All wall scanners in the store should be in good working order. The pole of the nearest price scanner was only marked as having a scanner in the East-West direction, and not the North-south direction. No wonder I have problems finding scanners. Clearly marking scanners is inexpensive, so why not do it? And why has this scanner been broken for so many weeks?

___Shopping trips should not be gladiator style struggles between good and evil. A customer should be able to view a sales flyer at home, and along with his shopping list, find, select, purchase and pay for products with little difficulty. This is not much to ask, but seemingly very difficult to achieve.