What Would You Do? Turned Over By LBS content!!

If you post on here and have a go at the OP because he is an engineer and doesn’t fix his own bike you are a complete idiot. There is no argument you are an idiot and these kinds of posts are not helpful. My advice to all those with comments about not fixing your own bike is: keep your stupid comments to yourselves, you completely miss the point.

More an more often I am seeing people post really rude and unhelpful comments on this forum which do not contribute positively to such a community.

Anyone venting or airing a complaint should be allowed to do so without fear of being shot down and abused. Maybe they are a bit upset and post in haste, perhaps they are a bit emotional and just need a reality check and to be put straight by some friendly comments.

what they don’t need is for some fool to quickly check how many posts they have made and then judge them on that basis and follow up with ridicule. More and more comments I’m seeing would have been met with a punch in the face if they had been made in a pub or face to face. Just because you are hiding behind a keyboard does not make it acceptable.

Be nice to your fellow bikers, make this a nice place to contribute to and promote a positive and respectful attitude to the posts of others.

these kinds of posts are not helpful

You’ll need to point out the part of your post that is

😉

That’s us told.

To elaborate on the above my frame is a BB30.The original slx chainset and BB was fitted to a BB30 to shimano adaptor.
My new chainset is BB30 although came with external cups (larger ID for the BB30 axle).
It was suggested that I utilise the BB30 frame with my new chainset which made sense…
So the old one was removed, BB30 bearings fitted to the frame, the guy then realised the axle was slightly longer and would require a couple of spacers which he didnt have.

I do have genuine symapthy with the OP. But I’m also not surprised that end was great when I read the above.

I think taking a bike to a shop and saying up grade my chainset and BB you expect a perfect job

Take them all the parts needed again you expect the job done

Take them most of the parts needed, well that’s much harder on the shop.

I think the line “I’d have whipped them up on a lathe” is intresting. I for one would be surprised that a bike shop contacted me asking if I
fancied creating some parts for a job I’d asked them to do…

Any way I’m glad the stem thing didn’t result in injury

I doubt the OP will take the bike back to ‘that’ shop, he’ll probably do a bit more himself, and even when there’s a big rush he’ll give it a once over. Think that’s a forgone conclusion, and we’ve all agreed. Quite helpful I think.

My first boss always told me to leave the stem very much on te piss if no front wheel has been suplied
That way when a wheel is put in its obvious that it need putting right.

I’d be a little concerd as to why they have taken a dremel to the inside of the frame
And would be having a little look inside the shell

Blimey STW, you’ve got some time on your hands tonight. Nothing on the telly? This has got to rank as the dullest most repetitive thread I’ve ever been silly enough to wade through. And I’ve got a really high boredom threshold. I even read the OP.

Not as dull as cars, watches or things that burn wood 🙂

Can’t be arsed to read past ‘I’m an engineer & it would take me 5 minutes’

Although I may have seen the post about no real engineer giving their P&J to a kid in a bike shop 😉

So to reiterate, we have an engineer that either doesn’t have the time to fix their own bike or the knowledge to fix a very simple bit of kit, or maybe it’s because they are to busy (presumably) earning money to fix their own bike. The latter assumes the OP’s time is worth more than the bike shops, I wonder what an engineer with a bricks & mortar workshop (probably not high street with silly rates) charges per hour?

I won’t bother with the box of bits & a bike brought from elsewhere as I’m sure it has been covered 😉

Cheers.

No reason to think a shop would not be happy with fitting stuff they have not supplied
It’s all money in the till

orangeboy – Member
No reason to think a shop would not be happy with fitting stuff they have not supplied
It’s all money in the till

Fitting used parts is never as easy, all the spacers, adapters etc are missing, getting used stuff to run like new is tough. Condition is never guaranteed, neither is compatibility.

You will need to drop into the spares box more than you want to for the missing/not quite right bits.

Why does being an engineer mean you should be doing your own bike spannering? I’m an engineer with a full time job and two kids, I like to ride my bike on the rare occasion I get to play, not fix and build. However my lbs is fantastic for this, if they’re good enough for Steve Peat…

Though I’d buy parts I couldn’t fit myself from them as well…

Nothing pisses off bike shops more than people bringing in piles of new and S/H kit and asking them to build it

Yeah, how dare we offer to pay bike shops to fix bikes!
It disgusts me, it really does.
About time we put a stop to this blatant exchange of money for services.

And to the OP – you bought a secondhand frame?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?
I smelted the steel, made the tubing and brazed my own.
It’s the kind of basic skills I’d expect from every ‘proper’ cyclist.
Sorry if that a bit patronising, but it makes me feel awesome.
AWESOME, I TELL YOU!

See?

Yeah, how dare we offer to pay bike shops to fix bikes!
It disgusts me, it really does.
About time we put a stop to this blatant exchange of money for services.

It’s probably more to do with the much higher chance of poor outcomes, hard to explain why the sum of all the used parts doesn’t quite work “Like it did on my old bike” and why you needed more time/effort & bits to fit. Usually followed by LBS ripped me off by charging for their time to make it as good as possible. I could have done better myself (if I owned the tools, workshop, spares and knew what I was doing).

Intresting responses from the bike shop bods, which don’t really improve on the image painted by the op.

I would have to say repeated similar experiences and bike maintanace being simpler than breathing means I generally look after my own bikes and buy stuff off the net.

It’s probably more to do with the much higher chance of poor outcomes, hard to explain why the sum of all the used parts doesn’t quite work “Like it did on my old bike” and why you needed more time/effort & bits to fit. Usually followed by LBS ripped me off by charging for their time to make it as good as possible. I could have done better myself (if I owned the tools, workshop, spares and knew what I was doing).

They could always have said ‘no’.
Or insisted he didn’t mix and match new and old drivetrain parts.
Or they could have maybe phoned him up, explained the problem and come to a mutually beneficial conclusion (which is what my excellent LBS have done in the past).

But they didn’t.

Yeah, how dare we offer to pay bike shops to fix bikes!
It disgusts me, it really does.
About time we put a stop to this blatant exchange of money for services.

It’s more that it’s quite a lot of messing about – and comeback when it doesn’t work – to fit stuff that came from somewhere else. I wouldn’t even take on that job, it might be money in the till but it’s not worth the hassle.

Why does being an engineer mean you should be doing your own bike spannering?

It doesn’t. However the phrase “I’m an engineer” is a running joke in the bike industry, because it’s often used by people who have no idea what they’re talking about, and what they really mean is they once changed the wheel on their car.

It’s more that it’s quite a lot of messing about – and comeback when it doesn’t work – to fit stuff that came from somewhere else. I wouldn’t even take on that job, it might be money in the till but it’s not worth the hassle.

I’m not saying it isn’t – but surely they should have told him this?

Yup, I’m not defending the LBS at all. I’ve taken on some daft jobs before, you learn not to next time 😉

I bought a bike from Merlin about 6 years ago.
It went back about a dozen times because the post kept slipping.

They replaced the seat collar with a Hope one. Still slipped.
They replaced the seatpost with a Thomson. It still slipped.
They blamed me repeatedly for running the saddle too far back and not knowing how to use a QR.
They insisted there was nothing wrong with the bike.
Guess what? It still slipped.

I just gave up on Merlin because of it.

Last year the Hope collar broke & I bought a new one from On-One.
Eventually, after six years, the post doesn’t slip anymore.

Strange things, bikes. 😐

I had a Koga that kept doing that – tried several posts, double and triple checked diameters, tried several clamps. Turned out it was the extra-shiny anodising on the posts Koga specified – ran it through a knurling tool and problem solved.

The repair problems I hate are the ones I can’t replicate – “it makes a funny creaking noise when I go uphill on wet days” – that kind of thing.

“it makes a funny creaking noise when I go uphill on wet days” – that kind of thing.

I’ve got knees like that. 🙂

The repair problems I hate are the ones I can’t replicate – “it makes a funny creaking noise when I go uphill on wet days” – that kind of thing.

My favorite 😕

“usually starts after 5 or 6 miles of hard pedalling around Weston…you’ll have to do that to test it”

or

“I think my speedo is coming up slow:- can you ride alongside me so I can compare speedos?”

And the Op…..

Majorly crap LBS. Letting a bike out with a loose bar/stem/levers (not clear from the post) is unforgivable. Possible they don’t have a torque wrench and were scared of crushing the bars, although the matchmaker torx clamp jobbies are absolute shit.
They should’ve phoned about the BB, although I would steer clear of any homemade spacers the customer offered – who would be at fault if the collapsed/broke/exploded? I’ll get the proper WheelsMFG ones fanks.

Dremel – If he went at the frame without asking he’s a bloody idiot

No gear cable – just bloody weird

We get the “I’m an engineer/astrophysicist/architect(!)” a lot. It’ll get you nowhere. Not out of spite, but I’ve seen a lot of engineers who’ve tried to tighten a headset without undoing the stem bolts…

LBS spanner wiggler for 12 years and counting FWIW

I can strip, repair and rebuild Campagnolo Ergo levers.

Can I upgrade?

The repair problems I hate are the ones I can’t replicate – “it makes a funny creaking noise when I go uphill on wet days” – that kind of thing.

Yet that’s what I went into my LBS with at the end of summer with my road bike. 5 mins chatting about what/how/where and they took the bike in and fixed it. Maybe my LBS are a little more happy to do what customers need without making it sound like a chore though.

What crank is it? Surely one of the points of BB30 is that it’s really simple. Just press in a couple of bearings, slide the axle through, slide the bearing cap and spring washer on, install crank, tighten to 40Nm and ride….Why has someone come up with something more complicated?? And why is that the LBS’s fault? All the comments about loose stuff if fair enough though. And I’d love to know what they were Dremelling…. Sounds like a big clusterfork trying to get a daft crank on to a ‘standard’ BB30 frame?

Eventually, after six years, the post doesn’t slip anymore.

Has it seized in place?

There is something worse than a customer bringing a load of 2nd hand bike parts and new bits in.

The guys that come in claiming to be “engineers” telling you how the Canyon they bought is way better designed than the brands you stock. Then hand you a wiggle bottle and ask you to fill it up. Good job they can’t see the tap 😈

Or just people who walk in and start a conversation with “i’m an engineer…..”

He took his bike and parts to the shop to make use of a service they offer. This bike shop provided a poor level of service by not getting in touch with him when they encountered problems and failed to deliver what he asked for.

Poor show on the LBS side IMO

And if they’d dremmel’d my frame without asking I’d be furious

I don’t know why people are prattling on about being ‘engineers’ etc; the simple fact is that the bike shop undertook the work, and should have completed it to an acceptable standard. Which they didn’t. They then left the bike in an unroadworthy condition, by the sounds of things, leaving themselves liable for any damage or injuries caused by their negligence. Not sure how anyone can attack the OP in this instance; you don’t know his situation or circumstances, so to blether on about ‘should have fixed it yourself then if you’re so clever’ is neither relevant nor helpful.

The onus is on the bike shop to rectify the poor standard of their work, to the customer’s satisfaction. I had a bit of an issue with a bike shop a few years ago, who didn’t do what I’d asked them to, and wasted my time. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, we agreed that the fee for the work would go to a charity. Maybe one possible option for the OP and his bike shop.

As for the dremelling of the frame; that could well be a whole other, more serious matter, especially as the bike shop did so without the permission of the OP. Such an action could potentially cause a safety issue with the structure of the frame (I’m not saying it is in this case specifically, just in general).

And if they’d dremmel’d my frame without asking I’d be furious

Too right. The bike shop could potentially be liable for damages there, and and be legally obliged to replace the frame completely. I’d be seeking legal advice at this stage anyway. It doesn’t sound like a good situation at all.

Why are bike shops apparently so precious about assembling stuff you bought yourself? Either take the work and do it properly and with good grace or refuse the work. If I want to pay for the work why do I also have to pay RRP on all the parts?

Difficult to imagine a shop turning down a perfectly easy job due to weird arsey protectionism but that’s their prerogative I suppose.

I’m happy to fit anything for anyone, regardless of where they brought it. I’m not happy to do it for peanuts though. I will do it as quickly and as professionally as I possibly can and hopefully the customer is happy with the service and the resultant charge. I always tell people a ballpark figure of the cost of the work and will call them if it goes higher for whatever reason or if there is a delay/problem.
Buy it from me and I will fit it for free/nominal charge depending on the complexity of the job.
I know of a couple of shops locally who will not fit anything they haven’t sold, one of which won’t work on any bike they didn’t sell which is just crackers to me but its their business.

I know of a couple of shops locally who will not fit anything they haven’t sold, one of which won’t work on any bike they didn’t sell which is just crackers to me but its their business.

I do that – officially at least. Unofficially if I like you or it’s an interesting bike I’ll repair it. I have that policy for several reasons:

– I’m not an expert in “normal stuff” – MTB suspension, disc brakes etc.
– I’m pretty busy with my custom building and framebuilding.
– I think my own customers should have priority on my workshop time.
– I don’t like mucky bikes cluttering up my lovely workshop.
– I got tired of the Costco specials that many people think are decent bikes, especially when brought in on the back of a Lexus.

Strikes me that regardless of the shoddy work and/or the OPs requests, if the LBS had just phoned him a couple of times with updates on the issues – the whole thing would have been avoided and the post would have read….’Lots of issues, but great customer care’.

It’s all about comms

*also pet hate, if you think the OP is too long, don’t read it or bother to comment, no one is forcing you

My wife was once charged £180 or something, to rectify a buckled front wheel. What happened was that the shop, without her knowledge or permission, decided both her wheels were ‘worn out’, and replaced both with brand new ones. They then had to replace the gear cogs (cassette?), as they couldn’t get the old ones off the old wheel. And the chain. Fair enough the front may well have been ‘beyond economic repair’, but that would have been sorted with just replacing it; something like £60 or so (which she’d been quoted). When she asked to see the original wheels, the shop had ‘disposed’ of them. Unfortunately for the shop, my wife is a solicitor. Fortunately for my wife, she only paid what she’d been quoted for the work she’d agreed to.

We still use that shop though; they’ve been much better since that debacle.

I only read the first page so forgive me any mistakes…

You say you bought an FRM stem? Well that should be the first hint you were going to die 😀

Regardless of experience or reputation of a bike workshop why do people not check the work out before they leave the shop (or do it just around the corner)? How do you let something go wrong in a race after the work? Maybe it is just my OCD which means I would check every bolt torque and every new component was working the way I think it should.

This is all of course an aside to customer service, shoddy work, whatever.

Regardless of experience or reputation of a bike workshop why do people not check the work out before they leave the shop (or do it just around the corner)?

If you took your car to a garage to have the brakes/whatever serviced, would you then jack the car up yourself, remove the wheels and check the work has been done properly? Or would you simply trust the mechanics to do the job properly?

If you took your car to a garage to have the brakes/whatever serviced, would you then jack the car up yourself, remove the wheels and check the work has been done properly?

pointless comparison. The answer is obviously no, because I dont have the jacks, space, tools etc. Most people are capable of picking up a bicycle and giving a handlebar a tug, or turning an allen key though. Turn it around; if you had a mechanical such as a rotated stem mid-ride would you fix it with a trail tool, or walk 3 hours to the nearest professional bike mechanic? If you can do it mid-ride you can do it before a ride, and after someone else has worked on your bike.

I agree with your earlier post and arent defending the actions of the shop BTW, but I cant imagine not giving a bike the once-over.

pointless comparison.

In what way? Maybe the OP didn’t have the tools/space/time to check everything (the bike shop were supposed to have done to a reasonable standard) with him. Checking before the race itself would be the OP’s responsibility though I agree. But if he’d picked up the bike then ridden it from the shop, maybe he’d have discovered the problem there and then. Possibly on a public road, with motor vehicle traffic.

So it’s not a ‘pointless comparison’ at all, but a perfectly valid one. The bottom line is, the shop should have ensured the bike was in a safe and roadworthy condition before they handed it back to the customer. That’s their minimum legal responsibility. They failed in that.

If you took your car to a garage to have the brakes/whatever serviced, would you then jack the car up yourself, remove the wheels and check the work has been done properly?

As crashtestmonkey says the comparison of a quick run through everything on a bike can be done in a matter of minutes with basic tools and basic knowledge to that of a car is not valid. That being said if I owned a car I would want to know it inside out too. Maybe it is because “I am an Engineer” 😉