Evans Cycles

[mdvineng]

Just had a neighbour bring a three day old bike, bought with a ride to work scheme at the Uni. Bike is from Evans Cycles.
Problem was a wobbly crank, which turned out to be loose cups either side of the BB. Also found the crank arm bolts to be finger tight only. So I stripped and cleaned the axle and bearings, re lube and fit same and adjust. Torque crank arm bolts etc. Front axle was also loose
And they kept it a day to do a PDI before letting her pick it up from them.
Another CBA technician.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

You have to assume all new bikes are totally unsafe, that's why a shop must perform a PDI check. The PDI from this Evans store is clearly inadequate. Hardly a surprise tbh.
My local shop's workshop skills are pretty awful. I worked in the trade as a mechanic for almost 10 years, at a shop that had very high standards.

 

[W7Ford]

A lot of bigger/mass market chains don't want to invest in decent mechanics or much training in my experience, they'd rather pay someone minimum wage to work around school/college/uni, as a result it's a mixed bag, you get some people who have been tinkering with bikes since an early age who will probably go on to be the decent bike mechanics and bike shops owners of the future, and then you get others who havent got any interest and generally dont give a toss. The latter bunch are just ticking a sheet, they dont appreciate the safety aspect. If it comes back they will tighten it up, if it doesnt, not their problem. They'll be gone in a few months and working in Tesco instead.

 

[longun]

It was fine when it left my shop......





Haha

 

[mdvineng]

The bike did one journey, from Evans to home, 2.6 miles.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

A lot of bigger/mass market chains don't want to invest in decent mechanics or much training in my experience, they'd rather pay someone minimum wage to work around school/college/uni, as a result it's a mixed bag, you get some people who have been tinkering with bikes since an early age who will probably go on to be the decent bike mechanics and bike shops owners of the future, and then you get others who havent got any interest and generally dont give a toss. The latter bunch are just ticking a sheet, they dont appreciate the safety aspect. If it comes back they will tighten it up, if it doesnt, not their problem. They'll be gone in a few months and working in Tesco instead.

A friend of mine enquired at a Halfords cycle-desk if they sold replacement 'jockey wheels' (LOL) to which the lad told him, you can't buy them he'll need to purchase a new mech. Goes to show what masquerades as knowledge at the Uk's biggest cycle retailer.

 

[jonnyboy666]

we've had this conversation before, i think that for the most part the bigger shops/chains like halfords, evans etc don't have educated experienced staff. shop front guys in independent shops tend to be younger, as they gain experience they go on to work behind the scenes for importers etc, people who work in the chains are not usually that in to bikes in the same way that IDB staff are. IDB staff are lifers, bike shops are a sentence we are willing to endure, crap money, crap hours for discount on shiny bikes and bits. i should also point out that i have seen in bigger shops that all staff are "trained" to PDI a bike, but lets face it, you'll get one guy that does a perfectly fine job and probably a few others who just don't give a toss, which means it's pot luck on getting a bike set up properly.

so i am not surprised to hear of issues, multiple issues at that. i've said it before and i'll say it again, find a good mechanic in whatever shop you can find and stick with that guy, and pay him what he's worth. the front of house guys i think (and i know this is harsh) are not as important and they tend to move on more often than mechanics, the reason i say that is because they have to be salesman, and sometimes salesmen are bullshitters to get a sale, the amount of times i get e bikes come in for repair and the customer is gobsmacked the gearset is done after 3 to 9 months of use because no one told them that certain styles of riding combined with e bikes and 1 by whatever gearsets get destroyed easily, salesman concentrate of the good stuff and don't tell you the bad stuff as they are scared you'll not buy something if you know the truth.

 

[Sir Neil d'Menture]

IDB staff are lifers

What does IDB mean?
Independant???????

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

@benjabbi

 

[greencat]

I wonder what regulations exist around selling unsafe bikes compared to unsafe cars or even electrical appliances. Judging by some of the BSOs on sale by big retailers, little to none - it just isn't taken seriously. Add in what the average customer is willing to pay for maintenance, parts, bike itself - and its no wonder corners are cut. All, probably should be much higher than they are.

Like much of cycling, it feels like it lives in a grey zone of don't look too closely and keep your mouth shut. But on the other hand, there's a premium end of the market where expectations are understandably much higher - if you drop £6K+ on an ebike, you expect it to run well, and be able to maintained by a third party to a high standard. I wonder if there is room for separation in the market, and perhaps it's happen already. My local bike shop is unable to help with even supplying spokes, and struggles with bearings - but they will happily charge you nearly £100 to service and tune your suspension forks.

I'm guilty of the same myself. My cost structure for paying someone for repairs is baked into the 90s ie about a tenner feels right. That's clearly unrealistic - so I do my own.