My firm’s Cycle to Work scheme is an exclusive deal with Evans Cycles. “How bad could it be?” I thought. Ordered a nice new Trek Checkpoint SL5. They txt’d me to say it’d be ready in a couple of days. Then they called the next day to ask when I’d like to come and get it. So far, so good.

So I drive to pick it up, Thursday lunch time. It’s there, ready and waiting and the pleasant sales guy sort of sizes it up and makes sure I’m happy. It’s a cracking looking bike and I happily wheel it out of the shop to my car.

Then I pull the right-hand brake lever… and the rear brake comes on.

FFS.

I take it back. A different sales guy is very apologetic. Takes me round to a young mechanic who looked like he didn’t give a shit, but we agreed that it’d be sorted by 0900 the next morning. Inconvenient and not a great start, but solvable.

So I come back next day at 0900. Bike is ready. Brakes feel… OK at the front, a bit soft at the back. It’ll need a bleed but I couldn’t bear to leave the bike with them any more, so I take it home.

Saturday morning. Time to tweak the fit. Bars need to be lowered. Remove stem top cap, which screws into the top of the expander bung (the fork has a carbon steerer). But hold on, the bung’s bolt is just going round and round… Manage to get it out. The rest of the expander has fallen to the bottom of the steerer tube! So only the stem pinch bolts holding the steering together. FFS.

After fixing that and checking that every other bolt was tight, I go for a short ride. All good for a couple of miles, but then the front shifting is all over the place. On closer inspection, the cable isn’t routed correctly into the derailleur so I’ll need to have a go at that, too (and GRX front derailleurs are rather finicky, according to this: https://si.shimano.com/#/en/iDM/GAFD001

It’s one thing to pick up a new bike that needs a little TLC before it’s ready for you. It’s another that could have caused an accident. Unimpressed.

I don’t trust anyone with my bike tbh but even less so an evans/halfords etc mechanic. I’d have factored in the fact I needed to do a full check over of the bike when buying it from there. It shouldn’t be that way when buying from there but unfortunately it can be.

Hardly a horror story though.

Meh, disappointing but hardly ‘horror story’….I was expecting worse from the thread title

Tamest.
Horror.
Story.
Ever.

It is always the stem pinch bolts holding the steerer together. The top bolt is only to tension the bearing. That doesn’t excuse the incorrect fitting but you weren’t in danger.

I used to work at an Evans store and saw some pretty horrific practices going on by the mechanics. One time a mechanic scratched a carbon road fork and decided to colour it in with a felt tip. The customer noticed straight away and ended up getting a new bike as compensation. Both mechanics in the store had zero cytech qualifications.

I am assuming part 2 of the story has some horror in it. When will you be posting it, I can’t wait?

ive had about 7 norcos from Evans. Had a good run.

The rest of the expander has fallen to the bottom of the steerer tube!

Isn’t the expander there to stop the carbon steerer from being crushed by the stem, or is that being overly paranoid?

Both mechanics in the store had zero cytech qualifications.

Thats hardly a yard stick! Had a headset pressed in at the local shop, mechanic is apparently very good, I dont think the plastic bag the frame was wrapped in was supposed to be pressed in with the headset, then trimmed with a blunt knife!!!

On closer inspection, the cable isn’t routed correctly into the derailleur so I’ll need to have a go at that, too (and GRX front derailleurs are rather finicky, according to this

the 2x fans will be here shortly to tell you that front mechs are perfect, and the easiest thing in the world to set up.

1x for life

the 2x fans will be here shortly to tell you that front mechs are perfect, and the easiest thing in the world to set up.

Shut it you slag 🙂
3x for life 😉

I bought a Trek road bike from Evans Castleford about ten years ago – this was after Trek mandated store collection of their bikes so they would be built up safely and correctly…

I went to pick it up and rode off through the car park to my car and the stem to steerer bolts hadn’t been tightened. The first and last time I want to experience that on a bike!

I have since bought other bikes from them online and other stores, and they have been fine!

The basic build is done by Trek – all Evans do is unbox it and sort of turn bars, put wheel in, check gears, pump up tyres.

Guessing from the wrong-way-round brakes that it’s a European import that ended up in the UK by mistake. Although to be fair, the mechanics should have picked up on that and changed them – maybe they thought it was a specific request?

My mum bought a bike from Evans and has been riding it. Now I’m worried!

Guessing from the wrong-way-round brakes that it’s a European import that ended up in the UK by mistake.

Brought in due to crazy uk demand

I went to pick it up and rode off through the car park to my car and the stem to steerer bolts hadn’t been tightened. The first and last time I want to experience that on a bike!

OK, that’s worse.

That doesn’t excuse the incorrect fitting but you weren’t in danger.

You’re assuming those bolts were tight enough… They didn’t feel like 5NM when I loosed them…

If I’d titled the post “I have to share my Evans lax mechanic story” none of you would have read it.

3 bikes from Evans Nottingham, absolutely no problems, so I’m not exactly quaking as a result of this story.

Never had a problem with my localish Evans in Maidstone.👍

If I’d titled the post “I have to share my Evans lax mechanic story” none of you would have read it

Correct, and now there’s 5 mins of my life wasted.

Apologies to anyone who read this due to me bumping it back to the top of the forum.

Well I enjoyed it 👍🏼

I went into Halfords (everywhere else was shut) to see if I could get any olives/inserts for Tektro hydraulic brakes as I need to shorten/re-route a hose, there were none available online anywhere, and I know they sell a lot of bikes with Tektro brakes…

The ‘mechanic’, who was in the process of building/prepping a bike for sale, had no idea what I was on about, I had to pull the cover back on the brakes on a stock bike to show him the shroud nut and explain what the parts were. Needless to say, they didn’t have any.

I would only trust 2 local shops (out of several) to do any work for me.

3/10 for horror story.

Haha,

Similar happened to me previously at Evans – just said give me the damn bike and rode it down the street to mech I trusted.

I think the real problem is half the mechs at Evans are roadies – can’t MTB work like droppers / hydro brakes… Even in a store you can chat to a few people, once you find anyone into MTB properly you will find they are better than the mech. Sales guy in London once actually dialled my suspension pretty well 😂

May not be a horror story for most people on here but for a normal punter who knows nothing about bikes, these things should not be happening.

Guessing from the wrong-way-round brakes that it’s a European import that ended up in the UK by mistake.

Nope, probably half of the bikes we get from Trek need the brakes swapping before they go out.

Which is a real pain when you then need to redo cabling, retape bars and bleed brakes.

0Which is a real pain when you then need to redo cabling, retape bars and bleed brakes.

Yep!

I found that Halfords mechanics had decided to take off my Ck headset with a flat bladed screwdriver. Needless to say they snapped a bit off. Then expected me not to notice.

I don’t trust anyone with my bike tbh

Kind of feel that way too. With one exception, who has a number of cytech qualifications.

I trust Cyclopedia and Sunset in Cardiff. Or I would, if I needed them 🙂

I had shocking service from Evans 15 years ago and haven’t been back since.

Having said that I’ve worked in the trade and every so often someone makes a mistake somewhere, no matter how good they are. Just like the rest of life.

It may not be a horror story, according to the online experts, but it’s **** shocking!
They are hopeless, imagine how many non-experienced riders are going round on badly built bikes.
I had similar from Halfords a while ago, they gave me the checklist, with the (warranty replacement) bike, like everythings built and checked and the brake blocks rotated in the calipers! Shocking.
But yeah, horror story would involve actual injury according to STW experts, no doubt.

Agreed @DezB it’s why i’ve dropped my sub the mag/company doesn’t deserve it, the forums mostly an absolute cesspit of trolls, swinley elitists and racists

STW could follow Pinkbike who they claim to be bigger than and get rid of the trash but, that doesn’t drive traffic/ads

*edit and allowing titaniumtit back on here as Tdog after he’s scammed the shit out of people for 10+ years on here and Pinkbike (where he has a permanent ban) but, again its traffic

Blimey, I’m not sure I’m not the same forum as you mehr?

the forums mostly an absolute cesspit of trolls, swinley elitists and racists

And yet, here you are.

Shouldn’t say this as Evans sponsors my club. But after sending a new bike back with a dodgy rear triangle they organised a new frame and rebuilt it. Went to pick it up and when wheeling it out of the shop I realised the steering was very stiff, the headset wasn’t fitted properly.Took it straight back into the shop to show their mechanic. He said it was fine! Er, no! “Yeah, its fine, you just need to use the muscles in your arms to turn the bars”. His exact words. I couldn’t stop laughing, at his expense. Not really a stab at Evans, I’ve bought loads of stuff from them and been very happy, but they do seem to employ the odd random.

it’s why i’ve dropped my sub the mag/company doesn’t deserve it, the forums mostly an absolute cesspit of trolls, swinley elitists and racists

WTF is a Swinley elitist? As for cesspit and racists, this is the tamest place on the whole of the internets.

WTF is a Swinley elitist?

I was wondering that…

@mehr – wouldn’t worry about really, most of them think they’re comedians, much like most of the youtube commenters and Twitter bores… where they get their witty ideas from usually. Imagine if they could post an amusing gif along with their hilarious thoughts.

Swinleytist?

I’m also genuinely interested. As one of the only three trails that exist in the South East (along with Peaslake and the woods behind the Nationwide in Swindon, obviously) I’m wondering how Swinley won this accolade?

I got an Arkose from Evans. It was tiptop.