Re, Rscott. You’ll be doing it again next week for another 7 quid if they are shite bearings.

I dont think a Company dealing with ware heads, military plains commercial plains and most other things will be skimping on bearings. infact the last set lasted quite some time.

Gary the day i bought that one i won another on ebay, Sold it and kept yours somthing just wasnt right with the other.

Rscott – Member
did a 2004 specialized enduro for £7 the other day.
I used to have a bike just like that!

I still abuse one on a regular basis.

Why should you have to build relationship to get good service?

You shouldn’t. However, if you do you may find it reaps many great benefits. I’ve saved thousands and had (and accepted) job offers based on the relationships I’ve built at my lbs, as well as some things money can’t buy. that lbs has now shut and it’s staff (me included) are spread far and wide. I now have great relationships with 2 very well respected lbs’ and a (equally good) spesh concept store. All for a chat and the occasional bit of cake. And not using them as the internet’s shop window.

I want my bearings to last long enough to ride over a few thousand miles of planes. For this reason I buy the best I can afford.

and buying the best you can afford can be exactly the same ones as Rscott gets just not in a nice little bag with a tag on them.
Best and price are never that well aligned.

I buy my bikes and parts from the same shop and I get good attention. Too many people like to pick and choose based on price and convenience.

You have to build a relationship with a shop, I run a business myself and the regular customers get lots of attention.

I’m not suggesting OP is committing a retail crime as I don’t know all the facts but hand picking the bike from one place , the parts from another and service from another (by way of example) will not yield the best return. I have friends who do this to save a tenner, and they have poor judgement in my opinion as what goes around comes around.

And actually I sympathise a lot on the bearings situation. A cheap elusive product that never seems to exist.

Jaffa cakes as payment usually works.

Anyone in Birmingham is quite lucky. Some excellent bike shops about. Venture, bike pro, two wheels only, Dave’s cycles have even mostly been fairly helpful and they have loads of obscure bit lying around. Was desperate for some stans the other day and 2 wheels gave me half a bottle of the stans they had in the workshop for nothing. Because I try and buy loads of stuff from them.

I recently bought some second hand bonty wheels, the rear having a noisy hub that did not spin for long.
Took the wheel to a bike shop recommend by bonty to be told the mechanic needed to see the wheel in the bike, and would not look at it otherwise.

Despite being slightly narked by this I politely agreed to get the bike so the mechanic could see it spin in my bikes frame as requested, but would then like to take frame home after diagnosis so I could use with original wheel while replacement was being repaired.

No, you have to leave the whole bike here I was told.
And despite my my question ing the reasoning behind this and repeatedly stating there is a problem with the hub pleases just look at the wheel as I will not be leaving my bike here for the sale of a sticky bearing.
The mechanic refused to evan look at it.

I went away amazed, drove to my nearest lbs which was very much roadie based explained the problem to the bloke behind the counter who immediatly took the wheel from me, pulled an old spindle from a draw dropped through the hub tightened up nut and then span the wheel in his hands. Oh that’s not wright he said leave it with me.

20 minutes after my faith in common sense was restored I get a phone call saying your wheels done come and get it, which I do along with a very seized bearing cage, being the root of the problem.

I will never use that first shop again, they advatise bike maintenance/repair courses yet refused to even look at the wheel on its own.

rone – Member
You have to build a relationship with a shop,

but why?

I can walk into any other shop on the high street* and get fast reliable service, bike shops seem to be incredibly hit and miss ime

* recently had to get my SLR serviced, the guy was fast, honest and very helpful, I didnt have to ring 3 times about the camera or wait weeks to get it back
Id never been in the shop before, but id go back

If a shop wants my money they have to prove that they are decent, not the other way round!

Great, you found a good camera shop!
I had to have my phone fixed recently and the phone shop I took it too were hopeless, kept getting put back, no communication – should I infer from that that ALL phone shops are useless?
Or just suck it up that I found a bad one, after all not all businesses are created equal.

I had to have my phone fixed recently and the phone shop I took it too were hopeless

Did you try paying them in biscuits? They probably didn’t like that.

Hahahaha, I used the biscuits I get paid in!

botanybay – Member
Jaffa cakes as payment usually works.

Only for high end stuff, Aldi Rich Tea will do for most work.

We don’t have rent to pay or anything.

but why?

I can walk into any other shop on the high street* and get fast reliable service, bike shops seem to be incredibly hit and miss ime

Quite – it should be the other way round.

My LBS has tried to build a relationship with me, by offering free training advice, a hire bike when mine’s in for repair, etc.

As a result, it’s the first place I go to for anything I can’t do myself, and I always recommend it to others.