so i’m rewinterising my winter road bike and i get to the mudguards and the yearly depression that is getting them not to rub, stay in line etc etc etc

so rather than fettle about i take said bike, chuck it into the van, take it to my lbs. sort it out i ask. sure they say. so off i go for coffee and cake and am now about to set off into the autumn sunshine for the afternoon.

i am caked up, going out on the bike and have done my bit to support local business. no stress was expended by anyone. is there a downside? should i have tried harder? plus these guys like fiddling about with bikes and i, at best, along with hating the whole process, am pitiful at it.

in short, is there such a thing as a fettling gene? does everyone have it and if so how come i’m missing the point?

You either want to DIY mechanic on your bike or you don’t – I’m not sure being any good at it is something most people consider given some of the posts on here.

ah I loved fettling with the bike. but two kids and a job higher up the tree has taken up a lot of my free time. so i get the lbs to do a lot of stuff for me and use all free time to ride not fix!!!

that and I cant index a front mech for toffee!!

Mud guards are a pain in the @rse, it’s my least favourite job in the workshop (apart from bleeding avid brakes). Although getting them to fit around pannier racks, disk brakes etc etc always brings out the bodgemister in me which can be fun.

What did the LBS charge? I bet it took them longer than they charged for, they always do.

avid brakes and mudguards? i sense a kindred spirit.

for the mudguards, which they did a far superior job on (nearly there they said, but no cigar. which, sadly, made me quite happy), a fiver.

stopped in to get my cx bike’s gears fiddled with at my other lbs and that cost nothing.

true, i don’t live in london town and yes, i do feel my minor maintenance costs may be affected by just how much i spend on other stuff i spend in these shops but, esp in the case of the first one (the road bike one), they know my face, like a blether and know i take all my trade to them.

lucky me, i say.