No comment.......just a shake of the head.......silent rant

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I can take STI's apart.... can't put them back together though.... OK - sometimes I can and sometimes I can't...

 

I've done it as well. Doesn't mean I can replace the part that was broken (ratchet on a Sora shifter) but I put it back together again after a temporary fix with my little friend, 372..

[V12man]

I've done it as well. Doesn't mean I can replace the part that was broken (ratchet on a Sora shifter) but I put it back together again after a temporary fix with my little friend, 372..

 

I would not have tried on a Sora shifter.... not worth the effort...

 

I might well have put it in my big vice and given it an attitude adjusting love hug.... just a cuddle....

[NixM]

You might ! but some don't even know what that thingy at the back is.

 

They take it to their LBS

 

I know someone who has never even removed a wheel - serias - has bike rack and punctures done by LBS

 

Sounds like my mom: 23 Argus cycle tours - has never changed a tube. She just phones my dad to come out and do it !

[Wil6]

Sounds like my mom: 23 Argus cycle tours - has never changed a tube. She just phones my dad to come out and do it !

Haha, mine is the same. Showed her about 30 times but still when she gets a flat she says she does not know how

[fandacious]

people who are saying that you should do your own hardware are missing the point. Its cheaper for me to have the LBS do it, than to do it myself. Doing it myself means an hour or 2 off work, and I get paid (in dollars) per hour

 

Secondly, not everyone can/wants to do their own hardware. Sure, I can probably resleeve my cars engine if I wanted to. But I dont want to. I want to pay a reputable shop to do it, and expect to received good service in return for my hard earned money.

 

Making excuses like "Oh well do it yourself" is utter BS. We take bad service too easily in south africa, and it will never change unless we start making a noise when things like this happen

[Spinnekop]

people who are saying that you should do your own hardware are missing the point. Its cheaper for me to have the LBS do it, than to do it myself. Doing it myself means an hour or 2 off work, and I get paid (in dollars) per hour

 

Secondly, not everyone can/wants to do their own hardware. Sure, I can probably resleeve my cars engine if I wanted to. But I dont want to. I want to pay a reputable shop to do it, and expect to received good service in return for my hard earned money.

 

Making excuses like "Oh well do it yourself" is utter BS. We take bad service too easily in south africa, and it will never change unless we start making a noise when things like this happen

 

To that point.

 

I have let bike shops do the work....I have SAVED money in doing so (their rate is cheaper than my rate)

But I have ALWAYS been disappointed. ALWAYS.

 

If you want something done RIGHT the first time, you have to do it yourself.

 

That is the sad reality of the situation.

[fandacious]

To that point.

 

I have let bike shops do the work....I have SAVED money in doing so (their rate is cheaper than my rate)

But I have ALWAYS been disappointed. ALWAYS.

 

If you want something done RIGHT the first time, you have to do it yourself.

 

That is the sad reality of the situation.

 

100% - but the point is that the bike shops are in the wrong. If you take your sports car in to be serviced, you expect good work to be done. Some of us have bicycle equivalent of sports cars, and expect good work to be done.

 

If the shop isnt going to do the work, then just throwing up hands and saying "oh well" isnt good enough. speak to the owners, write online articles, but make damn sure they know its not acceptable

[kosmonooit]

Checking brake pads should be part of any pre-flight check, even if you get someone else to put new ones if worn down like that. And lets face it, basic skills in most bike shops leave a lot to be desired, if you are relying on them for simple matters like this, its inevitably going to end in tears.

 

And if you are doing multi-day events, you should really be prepared with spares, esp. if its wet and muddy.

Edited November 11, 2013 by kosmonooit

[Jewbacca]

haha... The pads issue is not cool. That should have been picked up when they removed the brake pads to bleed the brakes? (surely? to put in the plastic piston pressure stopper?)

 

But sometimes people do miss things. The LBS also relies on info given and a level of honesty from the client. If you say you havent had this issue before he isnt going to strip and rebuild. He will bleed and check. The turnaround time often isnt long enough to see a slow leak or a loss of pressure over time if there is a seal gone.

 

The LBS should say cool, test this. If it isnt fixed from the bleed then something else is the problem and we can figure it out. A level of openness needs to be achieved. If you know nothing, admit you know nothing. If its the 3rd time its happened recently and you have taken it to 2 other bike shops to fix the problem then there is something wrong, not just a bleed.

 

Im not defending THIS occasion, merely pointing out that things do work both ways in some circumstances.

 

But still agree with the general idea that basics must be covered and these pads are a disgrace!

[droo]

But sometimes people do miss things. The LBS also relies on info given and a level of honesty from the client. If you say you havent had this issue before he isnt going to strip and rebuild. He will bleed and check. The turnaround time often isnt long enough to see a slow leak or a loss of pressure over time if there is a seal gone.

 

I'll agree with you up to a point - don't take a bike in to get the brakes sorted and expect them to pick up that your shifting's out.

 

In this case though, the brakes were the issue - the whole system should have been checked. Especially the obvious, because it's the easiest to miss.

Edited November 11, 2013 by droo

[kosmonooit]

people who are saying that you should do your own hardware are missing the point. Its cheaper for me to have the LBS do it, than to do it myself. Doing it myself means an hour or 2 off work, and I get paid (in dollars) per hour

 

Secondly, not everyone can/wants to do their own hardware. Sure, I can probably resleeve my cars engine if I wanted to. But I dont want to. I want to pay a reputable shop to do it, and expect to received good service in return for my hard earned money.

 

Making excuses like "Oh well do it yourself" is utter BS. We take bad service too easily in south africa, and it will never change unless we start making a noise when things like this happen

 

Its good therapy working on your own bike, even if you are loaded, or its not "economical". Developing the skills and know-how really connects you with your bike, and empowers you to deal with problems out there in the bush or on a mountain when you need to sort a problem out.

[Wil6]

Its good therapy working on your own bike, even if you are loaded, or its not "economical". Developing the skills and know-how really connects you with your bike, and empowers you to deal with problems out there in the bush or on a mountain when you need to sort a problem out.

Totally agree, but sometimes you just don't have the time if you know it is going to take you longer than a hour to fix. Most of my problems happens in the week and then I just quickly drop my bike of at my LBS on my way to work, and pick it up after work and so I don't have to loose valuable training time.

[kosmonooit]

Totally agree, but sometimes you just don't have the time if you know it is going to take you longer than a hour to fix. Most of my problems happens in the week and then I just quickly drop my bike of at my LBS on my way to work, and pick it up after work and so I don't have to loose valuable training time.

 

Sure but you should at least know how to gauge worn brake pads with a quik skwiz before a ride and action accordingly.

[Wil6]

Sure but you should at least know how to gauge worn brake pads with a quik skwiz before a ride and action accordingly.

Yes I would. But some people don't. That's why we have lbs

[Greybeard]

sorry, just a dumb question, but aren't the pads the first thing you (not your LBS) should check if your brakes are not working too well. Not to excuse the bike shop incompetence though.

That's a fact but all the ranting about doing own maintenance is compounded by this incompetence. Anything to do with brakes start with a check of the brake pads. If they clamed they bled your wife's brakes(and charged you for it) then I would demand a refund. How do you bleed brakes properly without compressing the pistons?

[kosmonooit]

Yes I would. But some people don't. That's why we have lbs

 

Hard to swallow that you can see a worn brake pad on the point of metal-to-metal contact in the open top end of the calliper, but each to their own I guess.