Is that good? Or a bit mince?
Did i want it that afternoon ? Because that changes the question and the answer.
If i said "need this for tomorrow, can you sort please" that's different to "here's my nice bike, make it right"
No, wanted it fixed properly. Wasn't bothered how long it would take.
To be honest if it was just a broken spoke (especially rear wheel), I'd be leaving it until the first opportunity after riding commitments to sort it. OK, so riding with a broken spoke cable tied to the one next to it is sub-optimal, but unlikely to be z massive issue. 🤷♂️
customers expect you to stop working on bikes that were booked in for service weeks in advance because they have broken something that no one keeps in stock and needs to be ordered….on a Friday at 4pm because they have a major ride* the next morning
True - but that's the industry, isnt it? Aren't most LBS service customers either commuters (who don't want to miss a commute) or people playing in the woods with their friends?
Isn't that a bit like working at Tui and then moaning "god, why does everyone make such a big deal about going on holiday in summer?"...?
To be honest if it was just a broken spoke (especially rear wheel), I’d be leaving it until the first opportunity after riding commitments to sort it. OK, so riding with a broken spoke cable tied to the one next to it is sub-optimal, but unlikely to be z massive issue
Right, OK. And then, once you take it to the mountain bike shop....
" if they bent a straight pull spoke into a j and used that as the permie replacement....."
Is that deemed good or bad?
I couldn't afford to go to the bike shop with problems - five of my own bikes then four family bikes (MrsF has two), never mind loads of spare wheels, some I've built myself.
@FunkyDunc: I've been using Nathan at Saltaire Cycles for about 5yrs. Top bloke & always a good job well done. Arrange the day, drop it off & pickup the same day. He's a lot busier now but will do a quick repair for his regulars to get them back riding
Isn’t that a bit like working at Tui and then moaning “god, why does everyone make such a big deal about going on holiday in summer?”…?
Not really, most people book their holiday in advance not the afternoon before
I used to use a 'mobile' mechanic someone recommended on here many years ago. Unfortunately he jacked it in about 6 years back cos of money etc. After that I was using NE Cycleworks who were a great bunch to deal with until that business seemed to fold. Real shame. Never did find out if any of them re-set up. Anyone local to Newcastle/Gateshead know? Must say I've usually experienced good things with mechanic stuff at Edinburgh Bikes in Byker, however, their retail stuff is eye-wateringly expensive and the range has reduced massively.
Can I also recommend: Sam at sett valley cycles in New Mills, Derbyshire, also Jon at The Bicycle Smithy, Hazel Grove (A6) Stockport (we mostly use him for our tandem and commuting bikes).
Some people don't have the time to fix, mend and replace bike bits, or they're totally inept (me).
"– A mechanic unable to remove a lock ring on a DT Swiss hub so he can’t replace the bearings."
Do you mean the drive ring? It took all of the strength of two people to crack one loose the other day. After me heating the hub shell for ages and then blasting the ring with cold air. It finally went with such a bang that I thought we'd snapped the tool in half.
Maybe they only had one mechanic?
In general there just isn't the money allocated to service departments to allow them to operate in the way that some customers want. Money from the sales budget isn't allocated to service to cover first free tune ups, warranty work, admin, shipping etc. Manufacturers generally don't pay for warranty work. Shops generally don't seem to charge for diagnostic work in the way that auto shops do. Customers generally put more money into making sure that their pedal colour matches their grips than into routine maintenance. Shops have to spend too much money on inventory otherwise people will moan on STW that their shop doesn't have a derailleur hanger for a 1998 Iron Horse.... That money would be better spent on the service shop these days. Blah blah blah 🙂
Not really the shops fault other than a delay sending them off the second time, more supplier but,
Bought some 160mm Zebs in 2021, rebound damper snapped at the bottom so took them back in, they sent off to their supplier who after 3 weeks says we have no parts or direct replacements but can send you some 190s with a 160 air spring fitted, I was fine with this
Fast forward a year, this second set the rebound damper breaks again, off they go, five weeks later with no updates from supplier to the shop they suddenly receive back another brand new set! Ok not bad I guess as at least new so I go down during my lunch to collect....
Open the box just to check, thats a lot of stanchion.......got a tape measure? 190.............
They could send back again to get a 160 spring fitted, probably take a month so I just rage quit and will sell these (#stealth, bound to be fine, just I have terrible luck with forks....) and buy a different make!
Browsing Winstanleys just now looking at DVO I thought hmm when did I last buy from them so I searched my emails to find that in 2015 I bought some Pikes which went back to be replaced under warrantly and then 5 months later replaced again when the second set broke, hilarious!
I'm definitely one of the "learn to do it yourself" crowd because I'm not very trusting of other people touching my precious stuff but over the years I have found some excellent "mechanic only" places which have been able to do the more complex stuff I haven't felt comfortable doing (Stuart Rider in Skipton is a standout example).
Tools can be expensive but ff you have a group of mates who are seriously into riding then one good suggestion is to start a "tool pool" where you all keep a list (Onedrive, Dropbox etc) of tools you have and jobs you can do.
Not my LBS unfortunately, but I had a Rohloff serviced and built onto a rim by SJS recently and they were brilliant
My actual LBS (Woodrup Cycles in Leeds) seem to be decent; they build their own frames afterall, so it'd be surprising if the mechanics weren't competent. I've not yet had enough work done there to form an opinion, but I've not had any major problems either
I certainly do empathise with the OP's concerns though, and that's a big reason I've just learnt to fix most things myself over the years/decades
Few local shops in Leamington
In my experience there's nothing much wrong with the Giant Store, or John Atkins. Would obviously avoid Evans.
I don't get stressed dealing with them, because 99% of the time when you go in they don't even lower themselves to greet you or engage in conversation to find out if you'd like to buy something or have some work done*. Which is a shame as before the MTB shop was moved into the same building as the Road side of the business they were absolutely great to deal with (and oddly, some of the staff are still the same people!).
Also is it odd that they're closed on Sunday? I appreciate staff and businesses want/need at least a day off per week, but closing for 50% of the time that most of your customers are able to visit you seems strange to me for a retail business.
*I did wonder if it was because I gave off "leave me alone" vibes or look like someone with no money to spend, but I've heard the same from everyone else that's mentioned visiting the shop too.
Only one person I'll use. Willy Bain, Glasgow south side(Eglington toll)
Its not a bike shop per say, he's a bike mechanic and his shop is for repairs - hence named Bicycle Repair.
He sponsors the younger road teams, does a lot of specialist work, and he's even willing to lend me his specialist tools if he's busy, and the way the shop is packed out with bikes to repair year round, thats much of the time.
I think he has every bike tool known to man.
Was the Shimano mechanic at the 2012 Olympics
Not really, most people book their holiday in advance not the afternoon before
How far in advance should I schedule my mechanical failures? 🤣
Fair enough, I get the other side of the coin that some customers can be arses.
It just seems to me that the current system leaves something to be desired. I’m sure that there’s a viable business model for making repairs near to a bike park.
I do most things myself but when we lived in Leicestershire I’d found a home mechanic that did a good job
Aww, thanks! Always welcome to drop back in ☺️
Decent mechanics are generally at least two of three things.
Expensive.
Busy and booked out until shortly after you need the work done.
Almost exclusively word of mouth only.
There are 3 local guys who i'd trust* two of them only take work on recommendation (it's a sideline) and are usually fairly busy, and only work when they can be bothered. Ones a shop mechanic, booked up weeks in advance and expensive.
*i don't actually get them to do any of my work beyond servicing forks and shocks, everything else i'm fully equipped to do. I can do suspension, but it's a time consuming pain in the arse.
Try a different bike shop OP? Whereabouts are you? Maybe some on here have recommendations.
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walleater
Full Member“– A mechanic unable to remove a lock ring on a DT Swiss hub so he can’t replace the bearings.”
Do you mean the drive ring? It took all of the strength of two people to crack one loose the other day.
Not tried it myself but I saw a YT video where they used an impact driver with a DT-Swiss adapter and it came straight off.
I'm tempted to build up a wheel around a DT-Swiss hub just as an excuse to get the adapter.
Seeing this from the other side we get customers who have broken something and want it fixed ASAP but we have a workshop booked up over a week in advance or more during the summer, simple stuff we can do but we just can't drop jobs that have been booked in. I've seen customers get pretty irate because we won't immediately spend a couple of hours fixing their bike over and above existing customers.
I’ve seen customers get pretty irate because we won’t immediately spend a couple of hours fixing their bike over and above existing customers.
One of the reasons I won't miss the bike trade.
One of the reasons I won’t miss the bike trade.
Can you just....?
It'll only be a 5 minute job...!
Seeing this from the other side we get customers who have broken something and want it fixed ASAP but we have a workshop booked up over a week in advance or more during the summer, simple stuff we can do but we just can’t drop jobs that have been booked in. I’ve seen customers get pretty irate because we won’t immediately spend a couple of hours fixing their bike over and above existing customers.
It's quite simple. You just don't book in enough jobs to keep the mechanics 100% busy and that way you have enough spare capacity to deal with the needy. Of course, you'll still need to pay the mechanics 100% of their wages but, hey, we all know that bike shop owners are minted.
The thing is, with any 'service' you have to pay. Your car, your bike, Time is money.
I take the cars to the local garage for any big jobs, like heavy or I don't have tools. It costs.
Rider rolls up to a bike shop with a few issues... it takes 3 hours to fix, rent/rates/pay - costs
Folk don't like paying to fix 'a bike'.
As someone that has too many bikes, I actually like fixing and maintaining them - they aren't hard to do.
PS, today was riding a bike, got home and two wheel bearings and two jockey wheels arrived by post. All changed, CX bike washed after a ride. Done. Cost at a shop would have been an hour or more.
PS bike maintenance is constant, its not like a 12 month service. Well worth learning it all.
Our preferred LBS have closed - folk moving on to other things. We've recently used Billy Bilsland, a bit pricey but their service was super - they fixed a long-running issue first time. I'd like to try Kinetics next time as and when i need to. Support LBS - you'll miss them when they are gone
Support LBS – you’ll miss them when they are gone
This.
It's why I take most of my stuff to him. Partly I want to support and help him - sole trader guy - partly I just can't be arsed and/or don't have the tools and partly he's a friend and he actually loves working on decent bikes.
While he'll happily take the piss out of it, he does appreciate that I bring my bikes in spotlessly clean and they are quality bikes, not some £99 catalogue special.
I also buy him coffee and biscuits and help out around the place occasionally.
What I do like doing is cleaning it - I'm very happy just sitting at home and giving it a thorough clean. It's quite therapeutic.
Support LBS – you’ll miss them when they are gone
Not the crap ones. Which is sort of the whole point of the thread.
Nope. My bike only goes to one of two places when required; Stif or Setchfield Cycles.
Once you find a good one (or two) don't stray from the path.
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">" don’t get stressed about it but after a couple of incidents of poor work I no longer let anyone but me touch my bikes. So thats my tip – learn to do stuff yourself"</span>
This^^^ for me x100. Other than sending the forks and shock away to someone like TF Tuned for the work I just don't have the tooling (like Nitrogen charging equipment), I do all my own spannering. Several reasons.
1- I'll do a better job.
2- I'll get it done in less days / weeks
3 - I don't have to cock around taking the bike to the shop and retrieving it at times that suit the shop rather than the times when I'm working myself
4 - if it's late being repaired it's my own fault
5 - if it subsequently fails on the road / trail, its my own fault.
6. It won't fail after the repair because I know I do the job right (See #1).
I've seen too many fhuckups from bike shops to scare you to death on mates bikes - inc. 2x loose brake calipers on a new Santa Cruz Bronson (FFS what a monumentally dangerous ballsup - one caliper detached after 75% of the 1st peaks downhill on a new bike. And the other was flopping about). And loose stem bolts on handlebars (yep the bars rotated around and down when 2 miles into the 1st ride - clearly not tightened correctly in the 1st place).
I’ve seen too many fhuckups from bike shops to scare you to death on mates bikes – inc. 2x loose brake calipers on a new Santa Cruz Bronson (FFS what a monumentally dangerous ballsup – one caliper detached after 75% of the 1st peaks downhill on a new bike. And the other was flopping about).
Just wait until you come across a bike shop that doesn't know there are two distinct types of brake fluid.
50% of their customers were happy with the work performed.
Only two jobs I wouldn’t take on myself, truing a wheel (always ends up worse) and bar tape (I can never do a neat job).
I used to use an LBS but stopped as I’ve found bikes are fiddly to adjust but mechanically simple to get set up (brakes, indexing etc.) you always need to adjust something after you ride for a few kms. This needs tools and you gain the skills so why take to the shop?
Couple of the people who service and repair, ride with us on a Sunday. I do try to do most jobs myself on my bike but for the more complex tasks I'd rather give the work to an expert.
I wonder if some of the issues raised are due to increasing complexity of bikes (internal routing, electronic gears, tubeless, e-bikes etc that require a bit more than just a spotty little oik* tightening a few bolts and that some bike shops have simply not adapted to this brave new world...?
After all, if your main trade is the kids bikes and basic BSO stuff, you're going to be somewhat confused when a £5000 e-bike with disc brakes and adjustable suspension shows up for service...
*stereotype alert!
So I may have been overly harsh about the hub service. Apparently DTswiss hubs can be an absolute bugger to service.
Sending my shock off for a service is all I'll trust others with, I don't want anyone else working on my bike, I simply don't trust any shop with my bike, knowing it's done right because I've done it myself gives so much peace of mind, I'm quite handy though and can turn my hand to a lot of things, I've made a few of my own tools and jigs, always been like that since I was a nipper, pulling things apart and putting them back together.
Topstone Lefty just back from Billy Bilslands, it was in for a fork service, all done in about 10 days ( they don’t service Lefty’s in house), a general bike look over and a very well priced overall deal.
Dropped my Synapse in a few weeks back for a gear tweak after they swopped it over to Ultegra 12 di2, again, no fuss, in for a day or so.
Cannae beat a good local shop…
EDIT, similar superb service from PedalPower with my Spesh e-bikes and supply and setup of my new Diverge,
Sending my shock off for a service is all I’ll trust others with, I don’t want anyone else working on my bike, I simply don’t trust any shop with my bike, knowing it’s done right because I’ve done it myself gives so much peace of mind, I’m quite handy though and can turn my hand to a lot of things, I’ve made a few of my own tools and jigs, always been like that since I was a nipper, pulling things apart and putting them back together.
Very Much this^^
It's half a point of honour, half a sense of personal security. I'm not sure I could deal with being utterly reliant on a bike shop to do everything for me.
That said I sort of understand why some folks need to rely on a good LBS, some people just aren't mechanically inclined and glaze over if you try to explain any of it to them... that's until it's costing them money. Then they fall into two camps those incredulous at the cost of new parts and other skilled people's time, and those very much focussed on the residual value of their (heavily financed and currently non-functional) asset. I tend to avoid assisting either sort now, unless it's a true emergency...
The complexity point above is a good one too, I despise internal routing, not because I don't see the (marginal) benefits, but because having it on the outside of the bike and thus completely accessible for maintenance was just so much simpler and faster. If you're on the boundary of able to do basic spannering and preferring to pay someone else and you're suddenly faced with a brake or gear line just disappearing into a hole in the side of the downtube, I can see why that might send you off to someone with a cyctec certificate...
