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Read the post and decide for yourself what you think of their service ... I am just telling the sad story because I am somewhat annoyed and maybe I can save some people some money and trouble .. On the 16th of August I ordered "CASTELLI Free Aero Race 4 Men's 2021 Bibshort" Large for R2770 all in. Bib arrived, fits well, all good. On the 25th of September I ordered "CASTELLI Free Aero Race 4 Bibshort Team" Large and some other stuff for R3837. Stuff arrived, I checked the product and size and tossed it in the cupboard. A few days later I decided to wear the new bib. Way too small in-spite of also being a "Large" and also "Free Aero Race 4 Bibshort". Thats annoying as I thought I was getting the same bib. I emailed them and paid R220 to send the bib back for a credit. Paying R220 for a return is little annoying but it is in the T&C's so ok. They said they would have more of the original bib I ordered in Nov. Popped the bib with all tags attached into a ziplock back and gave it to the courier. Response: "I am sorry but we will unfortunately not be able to accept the return if you don’t have the original packaging, as per our terms and my original email. We will courier the return back to you tomorrow." It seems if you don't keep the original plastic bag you can't do a return. Thats also in the T&C's but really? Radically different sizing for "Large" of the "same" product and they reject the return on a technicality? I queried this, response: "Again thanks for the reply. No we do not have Castelli bags lying around as each Castelli bag has a bar code and label specific to the model and size of the particular item." They have offered to refund my R220 but thats it. Now I need to find somewhere else to buy cycling clothing online and am stuck with an expensive bib I can't use.

Hi Guys Just want to add another good note for Finish Line Cycles in Kempton Park. Took my road bike in for a service on Monday afternoon and was told that it would be ready by Wednesday (busy time of year due to 947). Got a call after the bike was looked at stating issues that have been found and to confirm costs before starting the service. All was confirmed and Bike was ready on Wednesday for pick up. I went for a ride this morning with one of the local bike groups and the bike was amazing, with gear changes being very smooth. Thanks Finish Line. You have my full support for future bike services.

I got a new xd drive in December for my hope 4 pro and the green seal that is meant to protect the teeth isn’t sitting flat. When I spin my wheel one sided the seal always just shows and then go away on the rotation, is this normal or not? I’m just worried dirt gets in and damages the teeth and hub. If you can help it would be very appreciated. Francois

Last nite, I parked in the last available parking bay, next to this interesting work-station, some of you may well know about it, but it was 1st for me...! Pictures are self-evident, but basically tools attached to a central work station, with ARMS to place the bike upon (off the ground, for ease-of-servicing), else the cables are plenty long enough to reach a bike or two, even if they are a few feet away from the station... the service-station uses PARK tools, so that's good, floor-bolted track-style pump, basically, SUPER innovative, and gave me a smile! Anyone know where any OTHERS are located; could be useful to know? THIS one is at Ladies Mile, in the new Checkers/Woolworths parking lot, in the South-West corner. (and lockable bike racks right next to it) Cheers Chris

Hi, Advice please. Anyone know who can help service my Tacx smart trainer. No help from Garmin SA. Thanks Dean

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Hi, Does anyone know where I can have a Tacx indoor trainer serviced? I'm unable to correctly calibrate the trainer - no matter how tight I set the roller against the tyre, it still says it's too loose, and it severely under-reads power (it's a Bushido Smart wheel-on). It seems since Garmin bought Tacx in Feb, no-one is (officially) supporting the Tacx trainers in SA... ???? Thanks

Hi, Everyone Recently bought a kit off the hub from a guy in Cape Town. Only to discover he has a bike shop, IN my HOOD.. How AWESOME is that!! BTW. my hood is Edgemead in Cape Town Any rate the kit was Superb Condition at a really Great price. I'm almost sure it made me faster Subsequently had a repair done as well. GREAT SERVICE, with a SMILE and a Speedy turn around. I've recommended him to AAAAAALLLLLLLL my Mates. Look him up guys, his name is.....Glen de Goede

I just wanted to say thanks very much to Frank from bike addict who went out of his way to help me at Hoogies on Sunday. Saved me a long walk, saved my tyre, new valve 4 bombs, I slashed my tyre - sealant was low, broke my valve bombing the tyre. Frank and his mates whom i had never met before stopped and assisted as i started my walk out. Frank replaced my valve, bombed the tyre onto the rim, bounced the sealant into place, used all his mates bombs to get the tyre hard, gave us valve locker gadgets and spent 20 minutes riding time getting me sorted. Then still let us overtake them on the way out ..... Wouldnt accept a thing, Thanks a stack nice to know there are some good folk on the trails, especially good folk who can fix a relatively big mess ... Cheers Anton

On the 10/8/19 I left my brand new Shimano Saint pedals at CWC for a warranty replacement. Shane the warranty and claims lady explained to me that they needed to be sent to JHB. 3 days later I followed up and was told that the pedals would be shipped back for collection at CWC. It is now 23/8/19 and my bike cannot be ridden because it does not have pedals. I have had to repeatedly phone and follow up about my pedals every 3 days. I am tired of being told Shane is busy with a customer and would I like to leave a message and then not hearing anything from her. I have been given different stories about waiting times and Dawn Wing has now been thrown under the bus by Shane today saying that there has been a mix up with the deliveries. Things do go wrong but I expect to be kept up to date with phone calls, sms or email and clarification given by a customer facing employee. Shane has shown she needs training and she does not know how to do her job as a customer service person. I hope that CWC will provide the correct training to their employees and also note these instances in their performance reviews! This is absolutely the last time I buy anything from CWC.

Good Afternoon A bit of a rant / sharing post Just thought I'd share a negative experience at a bike shop this morning... I need to shorten a brake hose, so popped into a store to purchase a brake hose barb and olive. I have bought these elsewhere, so was didn't foresee any issue.. I guess I was wrong, I was dismissively informed by the owner that while they carry these items, they are kept for the workshop only! I am flabbergasted by the shortsightedness of this individual, clearly more interested in the revenue derived from a brake bleed through his workshop (which was closed by the looks of it anyway), than assisting a customer / member of the cycling community in need. I definitely will not be spending a cent there going forward.

Hey ya'all..... Any recommendations for bike service in Durbanville area? Some bad experiences at LBS in the area. Please help!

Hope someone can assist. I have a RockShox Reba RL fork that needs servicing. Who would be the best to send it to (preferably in the Gauteng South area).

I've just had the most brilliant #service with a #smile from the #sales! I'd recommend them...

I don't normaly create topics, and have a primary post focus for technical input. And stay away from the yif yaf discussions. However I feel compelled to give a huge shutout / Rave / plug whatever it is refereed as, to Lyne Components. I am by no means affiliated to them in any way but just appreciate their commitment, excellent service and products. I currently use their dropper posts, AMP wheel-sets, bars and stems, and in my opinion the products exceed performance, style and bang for buck in today's trends and market. Their service by far exceeds expectations from sales to returns and more... Yes, I have returned a dropper before for some issues. Not so much a return as a no questions asked overnight door to door swap for a new unit.... Dayle even went to extra lengths, sourcing not for sale spare pits for a personal faux pas on a dropper post. Leading the way in service delivery....Thank you! So big up's to them!

Deliveries from Buycycle are often done in less than 24 hours and that is to the Wilderness! Amazing! And on the phone is friendly Trudie, always ready to help and advise. Good value, excellent service, what more do you need?

Just moved from Blouwberg to Vredehoek and am looking for advice or opinions on where the best place ti get my Titan Skyrim serviced?

As bike (and accessory) owners we are all probably guilty of jumping on the back of our LBS or the distributor if things break and we aren't serviced immediately (or its our fault or the thing is out of warranty). Over the last week to 10 days, I stripped an internal bearing on my Kickr 3 (a first apparently) and wasn't looking forward to the 7-10 day working process of having the device swopped out and/or repaired, given the opinions of some folk on the Hub, resulting from their dealings with the guys at Wahoo ZA (BuyCycle/Ikhambi). I have to say though, I had nothing but fantastic service from Sean and all the folk at Wahoo ZA, from my first interaction on the phone yesterday, with Sean calmly talking (a bloody irritated) me through the process, to his efforts at their offices to troubleshoot the problem and then sending me on my way with a new unit within an hour of getting there. We've all spent a lot of money on our toys but we should also remember that these guys have a business to run and as much as they are cyclists themselves and want to keep everyone happy, that the reality of business does get in the way - we should cut them as much slack as they give us a great product (and remember that we bought in the first place). Happy trails folks S.

HI All This is not a rant, but an effort to understand whether my expectations of Bike Shop work on my bicycle are not to high. Here is a summary of my experience over the last 2 years 1 - Full Service to get a Bike 70.3 Race Ready (this fact was stated at check in) > Chain never re-lubed. I was still a bit of a bike novice and only realized this when the umpteenth person told me to urgently get that lubed as I struggled up the hill in East London (Stellenbosch Shop) 2 - Ceased Rear Mountain Bike Disc (my doing) > Advice was to replace rear caliper. This was done and I was called to come and collect. But as I walked out of the shop the rear wheel dragged behind me, worst than when dropped off (different Stellenbosch shop) 3 - Loose Handle Bar Bolts > Quick Pop In into a Cycle Lab before closing the day before 94.7. I flew in and wanted a cycle shop to check all nuts and bolts as I took some of it apart for flying. I observed how they quickly went over all of the bolts, without a torque wrench. I specifically said I was here for it to be done correctly as I could have done it by hand as well (I did not own a torque wrench then). Manager said his guys can feel the torque. I insisted on the wrench, which they then did, only to discover that 2 of the 4 handle bar bolts was not fastened at all back home 4 - Fit new Tyres to Mountain Bike (Tubeless) - R375. > Due to injury I did not ride immediately. A month or so later, discovered that I cannot even pump the wheels beyond 2 bar before they explode of the rims with Stans all over the show. Take bike to 4th Stellenbosch shop only to be pointed out how extremely wavy the rim type was fixed to the rim, prevented proper seating. 5 - Last shop in Stellenbosch fixing the above problem, put tyre on in wrong rotational direction (but this guy did the job for me for free, so I am not to disappointing) Is this just normal and the level of quality I should expect from bike shops, or what? I went to 5 shops! I am trying to understand what expectations I should have? PS, I went back to Shop 1 and 2 and they just blamed the guy working in the back. That why I did not take the bike back as I hate owners who do that

Hi Who can suggest a good shop to service my bike in the Westrand? Booked in my bike for a service and repairs at Cajees Cycle Corner at Retail Crossing Strubens Valley. Including rear breaks squealing to be fixed. When arriving to collect and spending almost an hour and being told it has been fixed, it wasn’t. They also replaced my steering wheel grips which I didn’t ask for. Next day went back to collect again, to be informed they have replaced my front break pads which I didn’t ask for. When confronting them, store manager swore at me in front of customers and my kids. Such a pity that Cycle Lab closed down the road. Any suggestions?

BikeHub we need your help! My friend and I are opening a bike workshop, to cater to people who need maintenance, replacing, upgrades etc etc done on their bikes but without the full bike shop attached. The aim is to cater to post purchase customers. We are in a town that has a bike shop but it has a reputation with a lot of the local cycling fraternity as not being all that great. The next option is a 30min+ drive to a decent bike shop. We already have some ideas of what we want to offer to customers starting from basic maintenance servicing, individual jobs (bleeds, gear indexing, wash and lube etc.) and full major services. We are also considering a call, collect and drop off service after hours (for the people with a little less time). We do not want to get involved with dealers at this point and for major parts we would order online with no mark up or the option to bring your own parts and only pay for labour. What we would like to find out from you is: -What jobs/ service packages suit us cyclists? -Would a labour only shop apeal to you? -Would you trust a workshop not associated with a cycling brand?

Unfortunately I get to see the worst of the worst! What is the worst you have ever seen. Thought I would share a couple of photos to illustrate the effect of not servicing your equipment on a regular basis! All that dirt, grit, grime and fine dust creates a very fantastic sanding paper effect!

What is your requirements for a good bikeshop? And why is your LBS - your LBS? For me it is not free parts or massive discounts; for me it is good conversation (I want to talk bikes, parts and riding when I go to a shop), knowledgeable staff that does not try to force parts or services on you ( we all hate when a bikeshop knows only one term answer to any question: "buy a 29er"), one that has reasonable prices (I'm not saying cheap, I know they have to pay rent and make some money, but reasonable prices), and one with a solid service department / workshop; where the mechies firstly looks at service and repair, before they look at replacement and upgrades. Oh yes, and upfront courtesy calls with estimated prices, if anything is bust. What else?

Recently rebuilt my XT SPD's, and was wondering why Shimano never used sealed bearings in the design. Is there a reason for this that anyone knows of? Unless they thought having the average home mechanic trying to locate 24 3mm bearings on the kitchen floor would result in more new pedal sales..

I was wondering if any hubbers could tell me what their Lefty shock service cost was more a less? I understand it depends on quite a lot, I just need a ball park figure. I'm not talking about the shock reset, I'm talking about the major service done by Omnico. Thanks!