Re any mention of Evans…I worked there (between jobs, ahem) briefly last summer. Now I make no claim to be anywhere nearly qualified to set up or fix bikes for anybody, myself included. ..but whenever the mechanic was out for lunch (or late, or off that day), I was despatched downstairs to do any workshop job that would bring the company a profit. Central London mind.

Cannondaleking, have you got something against punctuation? 😯

Bike shops are there to make money. Or would people expect them to be like a mate, that does stuff for a beer or two?

Re most London shops; mechanicking generates bugger all useful profit; it’s all about sales. Does appear that it’s the smaller independents that are better for tricky jobs. Plus, a fair bit of their business is in sorting out bikes bought at yer Evans, Cycle Scurgery, Halfords, Argos etc. Scurgery used to be ok for repairs, but have gone the way of most Evans branches now.

Plus, most staff working in places like that are bods just filling in time, waiting for something better to come along, thinking they are above the job, and the customers that pay the money their wages come from. Very little motivation, and consideration for other people, quite often.