Bicycle Shop issues

[Mamil]

You okes are all going to the wrong bike shops. 

Edited November 14, 2025 by Mamil

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Sjoe tough crowd .... I fortunately have an LBS that is everything and more than I would ever need!

Grumpy at The Workshop in Alberhoughton, pedantic AND his ability to solve problems make him an exception in this humdrum cycling industry

 

We have two good options in our area.

. Mark's Workshop

. Knipe_Racing

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

You okes are all going to the wrong bike shops. 

 

Jokes aside .... around here the two best WORKSHOPS are just that.

 

Go buy where you get a good deal .... then go where it will get proper service.

 

 

Actually very sad 

[droo]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

You okes are all going to the wrong bike shops. 

Preach.

Also, there's a difference between a bike shop and a workshop. Occasionally you'll find one that can do both, but they're very different things to manage.

[Chrisjanopsyfiets]

1 hour ago, droo said:

Preach.

Also, there's a difference between a bike shop and a workshop. Occasionally you'll find one that can do both, but they're very different things to manage.

What I tried to say….thanks!

[babse]

Not everyone has the technical abilities, time and patience to be their own wrench boys.

Point is, if you pay for a service (hourly rates are significant in the industry) you expect to get a certain level of service.

As said above, respectfully advise the shop of their below par service and move on. 

 

If you feel you need to warn your fellow cyclists about an incident, I have no issue in the shop being mentioned here.

[droo]

18 hours ago, Chrisjanopsyfiets said:

What I tried to say….thanks!

I've had 13 years to formulate this opinion...

2 hours ago, babse said:

Not everyone has the technical abilities, time and patience to be their own wrench boys.

Point is, if you pay for a service (hourly rates are significant in the industry) you expect to get a certain level of service.

As said above, respectfully advise the shop of their below par service and move on. 

 

If you feel you need to warn your fellow cyclists about an incident, I have no issue in the shop being mentioned here.

As much as I'd like to say anyone can learn, experience tells me otherwise. I've seen some horrendous home mechanic fixes, a lot of which are a result of just not knowing how to do research and just trusting the first kook they find with a Youtube channel.

The most valuable thing to learn is that nobody knows everything, so you need to know how to identify when you're about to irreparably cock something up - and who to call at that point. This counts for the seasoned pro as much as it does the complete rookie, and I reckon it's the cause of a lot of issues in workshops - okes overestimating their abilities and / or not having a master mechanic to call on when they run out of talent. 

[Mamil]

17 hours ago, droo said:

I've had 13 years to formulate this opinion...

As much as I'd like to say anyone can learn, experience tells me otherwise. I've seen some horrendous home mechanic fixes, a lot of which are a result of just not knowing how to do research and just trusting the first kook they find with a Youtube channel.

The most valuable thing to learn is that nobody knows everything, so you need to know how to identify when you're about to irreparably cock something up - and who to call at that point. This counts for the seasoned pro as much as it does the complete rookie, and I reckon it's the cause of a lot of issues in workshops - okes overestimating their abilities and / or not having a master mechanic to call on when they run out of talent. 

My LBS has threatened to confiscate my hex wrenches....  Although why they'd curtail the revenue stream my optimism, incompetence and severe lack of visual spatial reasoning brings them is beyond me. 

[Jaco Steyn]

In my opinion, the best bicycle mechanic is when that person is also a seasoned cyclist. And we are lucky to have someone like that at my closest bike shop. He has many podium finishes in road, mountain biking, track and gravel racing. He also is a UCI Level 1 coach and a certified bike mechanic.

[Ozzie NL]

On 11/14/2025 at 3:11 PM, Paul Ruinaard said:

I think you need to build a relationship with a shop and then set your expectations. Josh @cyclists workshop knew i wanted it a certain way and always would call and check with me. I miss him down her in Paarl but you do need to be consistent.

 

This ^^^^. Find a shop where you can talk to the oke doing the actual wrenching, make sure he is more anal than you are and build a relationship.

Over time, that person knows what is important to you and which part of the bike you tend to destroy (yes that is different per bike / model . riding conditions and rider). AND .... don't change shops after the first couple of sub par performance but rather give feedback so as to allow them to improve. I acknowledge there is a limit on this tolerance.

Disclaimer: the above typically only works for smaller shops. Not the bigger cash and carry outfits where you'll get a great price on parts but that is where it stops

[Anthony MTB]

I've found also at my local shop here in the Klein Karoo, they do a service but I have to tune all my gears afterwards. Last time, the gears were so messed up, I couldn't even shift. I'm not going back, and that for me is poor service. I've noticed it's quite common too. I have a friend who's a mechanic, and he's good. He used to work there and also criticizes them for a lack of professional servicing, and he also says that there are so many other shops out there who are the same. The problem is, there aren't a lot of shops around here, so it's not so easy to just move on. I do think it's something shops should be held accountable for though, cause people can say just move on, but what about beginners who don't know better? Or those who can't? You go to a bike shop trusting them as professionals. So yeah, I think It's quite a problem actually.

[Hendrick Banda]

In future try Cape mobile bicycle technician he comes to your house no call out fee WhatsApp number 0839256648

[DJR]

On 11/14/2025 at 5:32 PM, droo said:

Preach.

Also, there's a difference between a bike shop and a workshop. Occasionally you'll find one that can do both, but they're very different things to manage.

I do NOT go to a bikeshop for mechanical work after having learnt that lesson a good few painful times. I either do it myself or I take it to one of 3 places, all specialist workshop near me:

1. Suspension goes to Stoke (the same Droo above!)

2. Mechanicals and servicing to Woodstock Cycle Works and Nils Hansen (now in Observatory) 

3. Painting and restoration to Bicycle Maintenance Company (and Paint by Jared Mahaffey)

There are many other good ones out there, but these 3 are all close to where I live and so convenient, that I tend to send them work I really can and should do myself ....... life and laziness! 

[Old and Slow]

It's all very well and good to say you must find the right bike shop, but that inevitably means finding all the wrong ones first. 

I always attempt to build relationships with the bike shops I support, but I have still had too many bad experiences to count. 

Sometimes people just work in the wrong field and other times they just don't realise what they don't know. 

I once watched a mechanic use a meter long allen wrench on my crank bolt, strip it in front of me, and then blame me for the work I had done.

Also had a very reputable bike shop refuse to sell me "the wrong BB" when I built a custom BMX that used a MTB BB, at a time that BMX still used the old oversize standard.

Even after bringing the frame in, there was lots of confusion.

[Paul Ruinaard]

I think if I had the time I would happily do the wrenching on my normal bikes, and i have, in that I  built many a road bike from bits I collected. But at a point in the new regime of bikes with in frame cable routings etc it has got ahead of my abilities and patience. In fact some of the bike shops I have used would have maintained that I reached that point long ago when i have arrived with my partial DIY project and been hoping they can salvage my cock ups.

There is a cerain saisfaction in bringing a project bike to life, but the final tuning, truing and adjusting I would take to the shops.

I wouldn't consider myself a technical guru but I know my way around bikes however BB sizes and standards, headsets etc just start getitng in to an arcane area. Suspension services as well. Best left to the experts. Wheel building is another one - its truly a black art and done correctly by an expert its a world of difference.

You dont expect the large chain shops like you get in the big cities or the specialist shops with single brand franchises to be interetsed in your project bikes built out of spares you had lying around and needing machined adapters to get your non standard items to fit. You may see it as fun but for them the costs are higher than the returns they get so often they are helping you because you are a good customer and they hope your next big upgrades will go through them.

But their formula is not designed to do this so their staff arent really going to be interetsed or equipped to deal with your requests and therefore arent really going to pay it the attention it would require to address your unique technical challenges. Go to a specialist or boutique shop as mentioned. And be willing to pay for their knowledge.

We all seem to fancy ourselves as experts in bike maintenance because we ride over weekends but truth be told I have quickly run in to my limits and also BEEN THE CAUSE of many of the technical cock ups I have needed fixed by someone with the right tools and the KNOWLEdge OF HOW TO USE THEM. Caps intended.

 

 

[Jimmy 2.0]

Talking from a bicycle workshop/Service center perspective. We run a workshop only setup, we don't sell bikes only items and parts related to servicing and bike upgrades.

From past experiences at other shops there is often a communication barrier between the salesman that take your bike in and the mechanic that services your bike, you have the customer giving his description of what's wrong to the guy at the front who then tries to describe the same thing to workshop manager and then to the mechanic. this leaves room for error, with us the you will be speaking to the available mechanic who will be working on your bike, if there isn't one available it gets booked in and he will phone you just before getting started with the bike.

Next problem that often occurs is the customer using incorrect terminology in his descriptions not cause he's stupid its just that he doesn't know, the shop then needs to decipher what they actually mean.

Now my favourite one the ones that come in and say "I only ever support you" or comes in on a friday afternoon wanting the job done in the next hours so that they can ride tomorrow morning and put pressure on the workshop to get it right.

 

So how do you find the best mechanic?

Easy!

• Listen to your riding friends that have been around, take advice from the right people.
• Start by 1st being lekker! Everyone likes helping out a good customer.
• Support your local bike shop. Create a relationship as latter on down the line when you need a favour they've got you.
• A bikeshop should warranty their work! Not 100% happy with your gears? Give them a call and ask if they can just have another look. This they should do ant no labour charge but if a part is needed then they should charge for the part.
• Be honest, don't tell us that the bike was last with us 2 months ago then we get the bike and see that something was done at another shop a month ago. We are mechanic's bikes can tell us a lot about their owner.
• Don't like the service youre getting? Quietly move on to the next shop.