Dubious cycle shops and why I do it myself

[Alison]

We have an LBS, which I would not trust with a Raleigh Shopper never mind a real bike.

My husband went in a lunch yesterday to get an inner tube and the shop owner was talking to a man who, my husband thought, did not know a great deal, he was saying his chain was slipping on the middle ring.

The shopkeeper said to him that he would need to replace all his chainrings, his chain, his cassette and most likely his whole crankset too, to cure the problem. It was a crankset with removable rings. He quoted £70 + depending on whether he went for a whole new crankset or not.

I mean all that for worn teeth on one ring :shock:

Fortunately the chap said he'd think about it, I hope he thought sensibly.

That is why I started doing it myself

 

[tintin40]

Please 'name and shame' this shop. I know 'Evens' have been good for this type of deal. Unless you know some body who works there.

 

[tintin40]

Alas 'Name an Shame' may get the site in trouble if the company didn't like what was said. So much for 'Freedon of Speech' Lets say i've know people have bad advice from Evens.

 

[gump]

thats prolly worst case advice, but aside from the new chainset, may be right. Would think min would be new chain/cassette/middle ring.

Looking at the price of rings and new chainsets - actually cheaper to buy the whole lot in many cases.

But know what you mean.. without even seeing bike its a bit rich.

 

[kase1983]

sounds about rite really

shop i work in we get people whose block, chain are so worn they cant understand why it slips etc , usually that means the middle or top ring are completely worn aswell and as it seems chepaer to buy a whole chianset these days than rings it's less labour time and easyer to fit it,

if that was a 8 speed set up, our shop would charge

* 8 speed cassette (nice shimano drilled one not xt) £29.99
* 8 speed chain £12.99
* the only square taper crank shimano offer, £34.99
+ the labour charge.

so seems all fine, obviously if it was an old heap with 7 speed screw on block it would be cheaper.

cycle shops do need to charge as online firms have killed majourity off local shops, you mention chain reaction in our shop and its like a swear word..

 

[Alison]

The bike was a Claud Butler and the rider said he had had the bike a while and had spent a lot buying it and it was obviously a well looked after bike. The owner was quite an old bloke. Judging from what my husband says it would need a chainring and little more.

To describe the shop, it is run buy chaps who might have been working for Halfords ( I went to halfords to ask if they could supply a 10 speed Ultegra rear derailleur, the chap on sales laughed and said I think someone’s taking you for a ride there love there is no such thing as a ten speed derailleur and I don't know of a company called Ultegra).

Had it been a halford special I imagine buying a new bike would be sage advise bit I think this guy was taking an old man for an ride with the chance to make a bit of cash.

My experience with LBS's is they replace quality kit, which they had not been asked to with crap and then have the audacity to say it was never there in the first place, a crap respray after the bike was supposedly sent to M Steel, I only have the bike shops word for this and the same bike shop claimed that there was no such thing as an XT cassette.

The only good thing about bike shops is putting me off going to them has taught me the joy of doing it myself and the satisfaction of the end result J

Sorry about that kase1983 but I have a lot of repressed anger at bike shops.

 

[kase1983]

lol

im guessing that, but not all bike shops are the same as each other, yes you do get morons but we also get moron customers we have to deal with every day and espically the ones who want to arge with what they have read on the net.

oddly enough yeah poeple are doing there own work but its cool as weve sold loads off park tools, lol

yeah halfords is a joke we had a customer come in last week due to massive halfods in out town didnt have tubes in stock..

hopefully you can venture back in the locals , if ya down this way pop in, and bring something retro so i can have a butchers at it,

 

[THWANG-666]

bloody bike shops i,ve one for you the other day i needed a 90 deg banjo and hose for a hopew mono mini. so off i went to my lbs spoke to the mechanic ::::
mechanic: is it a mono mini
me: yes mk 1 6mm hope
mechanic: no mono,s are 5mm
me: no def 6mm 9pointing at the banjou
mechanic :no you need 5mm thatds what they come with

anyways he sold me the 5mm hose and banjo got home it bloody dont fit this was saturday went back sunday
me: its the wrong hose and banjo
mechanic:it can not be a mini mono
me: yes it is its a first gen mk1
mechanic: i will have to talk to the main mechanic
5 mins later
mechanic: i,ve sorted it for you you have a mk1 mono and he seamd quit chuffed he had sorted the problem out WHAT THE HELL I NEW WHAt i was ON ABOUT

 

[gump]

trust no one..

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

Bike shops need to make money.

They will sell you as much as they can. Again, selling that chap a whoel groupset probbaly made sense to the bike mechanic (as Kase said - less labour and easier all round)

They are probbaly no different than a car garage (and we ALL know what a rip off garages can be - I have some CLASSIC stories...)

DIY all the way if you want to avoid all of these potentially expensive pitfalls.











(Thats why half my bikes fall apart, chainlines are wrong and dont shift properly...)