LBS Bad Quality Work

[Cassie]

Guys guys guys....

 

like with lost things in SA...there are shaisters...and good honest guys....same with LBS.

 

some are great in every aspect - others mediocre to say the least...

 

let your feet do the deciding.....it's a global village remember?

 

just don't support them (whoever you have an issue with)...pick the next one!

 

 

[meckie101]

Flame on

 

to avoid all these issues,

 

1: explain the problem and what it does, not "it doesnt work" try saying for eg: "when i pedal my gears slip" just saying it does not work just gives an idea so one of 2 things happen, they replace everything that could be a problem or the mechanic misses the problem by trouble shooting everything at one(they do make mistakes)

 

2: never pay or leave the shop unless you are 100% everything was done(eg a derailer can get knocked out in your car then its automaticaly the lbs,)

 

3:take the bike back BEFORE posting stuff on the hub because for all you know there may have been an ACCIDENTAL mixup as to whether your bike was done or not.

 

4:buy some basic tools and learn the basics of bike setup.

 

please dont just blame the lbs straight away if there may be a chance a mixup happened or you accidently without knowing knocked it yourself, also if its not right and you have no idea how to fix it just take it to your lbs and dont fiddle EVER.

 

your lbs wants your business so im sure 9 out of ten it wasnt just stupidity but just a booboo.

 

and dont generalize that mechanics get pissed every weekend because alot of bike mechanics are athletes themselves and are not alcoholics

 

Flame off

 

 

[Tumbleweed]

and dont generalize that mechanics get pissed every weekend because alot of bike mechanics are athletes themselves and are not alcoholics

 

?

 

 

 

 

i offered to buy my fave mechanic a coupla beers after he sorted out stuff for me late yesterday. it was bits and pieces i just had no time to get to during the week. he said no, cos he's not a big drinker at all!

 

 

 

like cassie said, you get get good and bad. and sometimes the good guys even get it wrong sometimes. there is a hubber who used a wrencher i know and had one bad experience after a number of good ones. he pm-ed me about it and told me that he wouldn't post about it here because he thought it was unfair to let one mistake overcloud the good service he'd gotten before that.

 

 

 

on pinkbike there is a thread where the wrenchers relate woeful tales about customers and the chances they take. here's one i think is worth telling here. the lbs i help out at on saturdays does a bike-wash service for the weekend warriors who are too lazy to clean their own bikes. guy drops his mud-caked bikes off on tuesday to be washed, picks them up on thursday, then comes back on friday with a littany of problems about the bike. "this hasn't worked since the bikes were at your shop..." what a chancer! i mean, how would he know that they didn't work before he brought them in if he couldn't even be bothered to wash them before he brought them in?

[Cassie]

I'm actually all for a thread that relates mechanics experiences with stooopid clients.....

 

I will make for good reading - and show us all what the techies have to deal with each day!!

 

So, how about it?

 

[GLuvsMtb]

I spent R3000 on supplementing my tool kit with everything I need to work on my own bike. The only thing that I need the shop for is rebuilding and tru-ing wheels and servicing my fork.

So I ordered new shifters, cables and a new dereulleur online and did the work myself on Saturday. Total cost = R1900. My LBS quoted me R2800 3 months back for the same job. I learnt a few things about the shifters and dereulleur by doing it myself and actually reading through the instruction and care manual. So they will be lasting longer as well.

[Rocket-Boy]

First time I have seen this thread...

I had a build done about a month and a half ago and this is my horror story.

 

I wanted to do a road build so I bought a spez s-works E5 frame and all the bits and pieces for an ultegra 10spd group off the hub (except for a new chain and casette)

Took my bike in to the longest standing LBS in my town and asked them to do the build. I told them at the time that the headset would need to be replaced as the bearings were close to collapsing. After two weeks they finally let me know it was done.

 

First ride on the bike I start climbing a hill about 2km into the ride and my left crank arm comes off (all this while standing and pushing like a madman) I almost come off.

Check on the hub with all the experts and find they put some good old spacers on the BB.

So I take it back and they argue with me that they are supposed to be there!!! after explaining that shimano and the whole hub disagrees they eventually take them off and all is well on that side.

 

Next ride I notice that my bartape is busy forming great big gaps on the bends. Check some tutorials on youtube and find that they wrapped it the wrong way around.

 

Ride after that I can feel my brakes are rubbing on the rims, so I stop to check them and low and behold they havnt actually tightened the calipers to the frame and the whole caliper is moving from side to side everytime I break. Fix with multitool and carry on.

During the same ride I hear a weird sound from the cluster area, this one is because they didnt actually tighten the retainer ring on the cluster and its bouncing around on the quick release. I swear alot and go home.

 

Next ride I can feel my fork feels a little loose every bump that i hit in the road. I get a little worried about this so I head home again!!!!!

I went out and bought myself an integrated headset and did some research on the net about my frame. Turns out it has some proprietary cups in the headtube that need to knocked out and then any old headset will fit. I fit the headset having never even seen one in my life and although its still a little loose its not doing what theirs was.

Here is the real kicker for me. The fork is all carbon with carbon steerer and because they couldnt find the correct headset they instead stuck whichever bearings would more or less fit in the headset and it was one of those wire cages with bearings it. Its has now chewed such a massive gauge in the steerer of the fork that im fairly sure its going to break at some point. just because they were too lazy to actually find the information and get the right parts.

 

In that same last ride I noticed that my brake hoods are loose and moving side to side aswell.

 

 

So in total I have managed to do just over 40km on my new bike built up with good quality bits.

 

so I ask you, could anyone be more crap at building bikes?

I THINK NOT!!!!!

 

 

[techguy]

I'm actually all for a thread that relates mechanics experiences with stooopid clients.....

 

I will make for good reading - and show us all what the techies have to deal with each day!!

 

So' date=' how about it?

 

[/quote']

 

So where do I start? Having been in this industry since '97 I have forgotten half the stuff and JRA (just riding along) stories...

[Rocket-Boy]

Im sure there are alot of clients at fault, it happens in every industry.

If I had the know how and the tools to do it myself then I would but like most peeps I dont so I say the LBS to do it for me!

 

[Guest Big H]

First time I have seen this thread...
I had a build done about a month and a half ago and this is my horror story.

I wanted to do a road build so I bought a spez s-works E5 frame and all the bits and pieces for an ultegra 10spd group off the hub (except for a new chain and casette)
Took my bike in to the longest standing LBS in my town and asked them to do the build. I told them at the time that the headset would need to be replaced as the bearings were close to collapsing. After two weeks they finally let me know it was done.

First ride on the bike I start climbing a hill about 2km into the ride and my left crank arm comes off (all this while standing and pushing like a madman) I almost come off.
Check on the hub with all the experts and find they put some good old spacers on the BB.
So I take it back and they argue with me that they are supposed to be there!!! after explaining that shimano and the whole hub disagrees they eventually take them off and all is well on that side.

Next ride I notice that my bartape is busy forming great big gaps on the bends. Check some tutorials on youtube and find that they wrapped it the wrong way around.

Ride after that I can feel my brakes are rubbing on the rims' date=' so I stop to check them and low and behold they havnt actually tightened the calipers to the frame and the whole caliper is moving from side to side everytime I break. Fix with multitool and carry on.
During the same ride I hear a weird sound from the cluster area, this one is because they didnt actually tighten the retainer ring on the cluster and its bouncing around on the quick release. I swear alot and go home.

Next ride I can feel my fork feels a little loose every bump that i hit in the road. I get a little worried about this so I head home again!!!!!
I went out and bought myself an integrated headset and did some research on the net about my frame. Turns out it has some proprietary cups in the headtube that need to knocked out and then any old headset will fit. I fit the headset having never even seen one in my life and although its still a little loose its not doing what theirs was.
Here is the real kicker for me. The fork is all carbon with carbon steerer and because they couldnt find the correct headset they instead stuck whichever bearings would more or less fit in the headset and it was one of those wire cages with bearings it. Its has now chewed such a massive gauge in the steerer of the fork that im fairly sure its going to break at some point. just because they were too lazy to actually find the information and get the right parts.

In that same last ride I noticed that my brake hoods are loose and moving side to side aswell.


So in total I have managed to do just over 40km on my new bike built up with good quality bits.

so I ask you, could anyone be more crap at building bikes?
I THINK NOT!!!!!

 

 
[/quote']

 

Rocket Boy, what you have written here are bordering on it being a criminal case. Did you contact the LBS about this work..... or lack of work. If not do it....... tell them about the Hub and what you have written. Ask them to respond and also tell them if they do not do it you will name them with FULL contact details including email address.

 

If all you wrote is true they may not get away with shoddy work like this!!!!!!!

 

NB HAVE THE DAMAGED STEERER ON YOU FORK CHECKED OUT BY SOMEBODY COMPETENT!!!!!!!! ...... you can hurt yourself terribly if that steerer breaks while cycling!!!!!!!!

Big H2010-02-01 04:47:38

[NotSoBigBen]

Ai Oom H ekke en Kleinben se elke nou en dan 'n ekstra dankie vir daie CD wat Oom gestuur het!

[Mutt]

I spent R3000 on supplementing my tool kit with everything I need to work on my own bike. The only thing that I need the shop for is rebuilding and tru-ing wheels and servicing my fork.

 

So I ordered new shifters' date=' cables and a new dereulleur online and did the work myself on Saturday. Total cost = R1900. My LBS quoted me R2800 3 months back for the same job. I learnt a few things about the shifters and dereulleur by doing it myself and actually reading through the instruction and care manual. So they will be lasting longer as well.

[/quote']

 

 

 

And if it, or a friends, or even someone you may find on a trail, gives you any problems in future you know exactly how it works and that is the best thing about it.

[Rocket-Boy]

I have told them about the problems with the build but after taking it back the second time and other problems popping up I vowed never to take it back to them.

 

Im pretty worried about the steerer on the fork so the bike is going in on Thursday to another LBS that I have only heard good things from.

 

It really managed to kill the joy I felt when I first picked the bike up