Quality of Bike Service from Bike Shops

[daniemare]

Ok. So from the comments, my experience appears par for the course

 

I have over the past 2 years “ramped up” my home tool box, and I do all my own regular services etc. Thanks for youtube and parktool videos, I have now done my own 1x conversion and full recabling of my road bike.

 

And it is exactly due to this that I find it so frustrating that the shops are so bad. I mean I have no training and an accountant to boot.

 

My it is like one of the posters said, I will always love my bike more than any other.

 

Now to get also “lus” to do my own tubeless maintenance.

[daniemare]

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[ChrisF]

Sadly also recently been let down by a well known "maintenance bike shop" ... twice.

 

 

Take the bike in because of glazed brakes .... go to pick it up, test it in the parking lot .... not sure they even touched the bike !!  Quick spray of brake cleaner and it feels better ... two stops later no braking !  Drove to another bike shop, bought the brake pads and took a few minutes to replace, still working good.  Owner knows.

 

Next month I took the bike in and asked them to give the bike a full check up, let me know if anything needs attention/replacement .... 10km later the rear bearing seized up !!  And I did ask them if they checked the bike, and was assured the bike is in good condition ....

 

 

 

I have since had work done at another bike shop where both the owner and his team are VERY good !!  Pity I have to drive past 4 bike shops to get to one where the bike is actually serviced !  Was there on Friday, owner at the Epic, and still his team was delivering excellent service !!

 

 

At least there a few good workshops out there

[Headshot]

Do it yourself - slowly build up a tool collection. The money and time you'll save is incredible. If you feel that the job is a bit beyond you, at least try and identify the problem yourself. This is key to not being ripped off by a shop. 

 

Front suspension is easy enough, as are brakes and drive train repairs. 

 

As far as torque wrenches are concerned, I've not been using one for 20 years and have stripped one thread in that period. You can and do learn to tighten bolts properly without one. 

 

My shop experiences were never that bad - rode away once and the stem wasn't tight (could have endoed badly) rather the fun of being self sufficient and seeing how things work that got me into it. Als nobody but yourself to blame if you forget something eg. not tightening a crank arm...

[Hairy]

and if you can do it yourself, you can also fix something in the middle of nowhere .... thereby saving yourself a long and lonely walk back to civilization 

[Patchelicious]

So what do we do.... Support our LBS' like we get told to do regularly, or do we do it ourselves?

[Odinson]

So what do we do.... Support our LBS' like we get told to do regularly, or do we do it ourselves?

 

Do it yourself. 

 

It's a bike. Not a fusion reactor. It doesn't take a lot of effort or skill to work on it. 

 

The only tricky bits can be certain suspension products. Take my RS Vivid Air. I guarantee you that most LBSs in Gauteng wouldn't have the tools/clamps/etc. to properly service it. So, I'll send it to a suspension specialist when the time comes. 

[daniemare]

So what do we do.... Support our LBS' like we get told to do regularly, or do we do it ourselves?

I wonder too

 

For me, given the Canyon-like model for actual bikes. Online shopping (local or global) for parts and consumables, I would have thought quality service is what will be the lifeblood of an LBS.

 

Sadly, not the case it seems.

 

Although I know this thread is not even close to a representative sample of bike consumers

[Hairy]

So what do we do.... Support our LBS' like we get told to do regularly, or do we do it ourselves?

entirely a personal matter.

 

does one have the time and aptitude/passion to do the repairs ... then yes ... if not, then support a good LBS and form a relationship with them.

 

and if a LBS messes up, it is how they make good to the matter what is important

[InSearchofUP]

I've trusted my LBS for quite a few years now, but I have recently experienced and seen a decrease in their quality of work (almost lazy, and not just on my bike other customers too). I know the mechanics well but I have to stand and watch them work on my bike if i want it done correctly. I have slowly learnt how to work on my bikes myself, but its sad that my LBS is no longer consistent and I have lost trust and confidence in their work and service. 

[Cat2forLife]

 

 

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

 

 

Perhaps you would've gotten better service if you didn't rock up just before closing time, the day before the 94.7 insisting that they check every single bolt on your bike with a torque wrench, because you couldn't be bothered to do it yourself or make the time to bring the bike in at a decent time. Just my opinion.

[Hairy]

Perhaps you would've gotten better service if you didn't rock up just before closing time, the day before the 94.7 insisting that they check every single bolt on your bike with a torque wrench, because you couldn't be bothered to do it yourself or make the time to bring the bike in at a decent time. Just my opinion.

fair comment this

[The Ouzo]

playing devils advocate here along the lines of what Patch said.

 

We all want to support our LBS. Most (if not all) of the time these non franchise shops make their money from the service and repair side of things and the margins are small on retail. (Very much like car dealers).

 

We start to do the maintenance our self, LBS revenue goes down and they employ less experienced mechanics because they are cheaper, we get more p'vd off, do more maintenance our selves and the cycles continues.

 

Dont get me wrong, I have done and will continue to do most of the maintenance myself, expect every now and then I get lazy and take the bike in.

But I enjoy fiddling with the bike and generall DIY.

[karma]

So what do we do.... Support our LBS' like we get told to do regularly, or do we do it ourselves?

 

Well, if they did a good job all the time, we'd support them no problem.

I am all for supporting a LBS to keep them going, but not at the expense of my own pocket, when the trade is not equal. 

 

Same goes for any industry, they do a bad job, we stop supporting them (if possible).

[Amberdrake]

I support the shops for stuff I can't do (tools and skill lacking).

I do however refuse to pay for services I can perform to the same or better quality.

 

I do have a problem with almost all the shops ability to contact the customer. 

I have not had one go the extra mile for product inquiry or response on ordered parts.

[Dirkitech]

Sadly also recently been let down by a well known "maintenance bike shop" ... twice.

 

 

Take the bike in because of glazed brakes .... go to pick it up, test it in the parking lot .... not sure they even touched the bike !!  Quick spray of brake cleaner and it feels better ... two stops later no braking !  Drove to another bike shop, bought the brake pads and took a few minutes to replace, still working good.  Owner knows.

 

Next month I took the bike in and asked them to give the bike a full check up, let me know if anything needs attention/replacement .... 10km later the rear bearing seized up !!  And I did ask them if they checked the bike, and was assured the bike is in good condition ....

 

 

 

I have since had work done at another bike shop where both the owner and his team are VERY good !!  Pity I have to drive past 4 bike shops to get to one where the bike is actually serviced !  Was there on Friday, owner at the Epic, and still his team was delivering excellent service !!

 

 

At least there a few good workshops out there

I can relate to the tragedy of passing several shop en route to one thats fair work for fair value, in fact, I actually drive in the range of 40km from jhb south towards kyalami for the "l"bs I have faith in!

 

While on the topic of quality service for bikes- if I wanted to learn to work on coil and air forks, rear fox suspension, proper hydraulic brake bleeding and if remotely possible, fox brains, where would I go about learning these skills having a full time week job and minimal funds to purchase experimentation parts?