Subscribe now and choose from over 30 free gifts worth up to £49 - Plus get £25 to spend in our shop
I normally fix most things on my bike, I have happily built various bikes from scratch and feel happier taking the time and effort of doing it myself than paying for someone to do it for me.
However recently my brakes have slowly got worse and worse and needed a bleed. So as I could do with doing both, I looked at the cost of fluid and was about to do it myself when I thought, hmm wonder how much my LBS will charge to do them?
Well £10 over the cost of the fluid (proper Shimano stuff) I decided it wasn't worth the hassle and decided to get them to do it.
Felt really strange leaving my bike in the hands of someone else and trusting them to do a good job on it.
Do most people just get their LBS to do the work for them or are most MTB'ers home mechanics as well??
The only other thing I ever paid to have done was the threads on my BB taped as my BB wouldn't screw in on a SH frame I bought.
I've bled brakes myself but it was a right faff, have considered giving the LBS the headache, right up until I saw this on another forum.
[img] 
[/img]
Happened after an LBS service.
If I can do it myself I do, and in practice this is 95% of the stuff that needs doing. If the job needs an expensive, rarely needed tool, or a vice or something, or it's a particularly annoying one (like drilling out a rounded bolt or something 😳 ) then I'll take it to the shop.
only thing I ask a shop to do is service shocks - so I send them off to Mojo/TFTuned
this is because I'm tight, I love fiddling with bikes, and I don't know of a bike shop I'd trust
brake bleeding is a pain in the arse, but I like the challenge of not getting brake fluid up the living room walls
There isn't a lot that can't be done with a clear methodical approach and a bit of time.