Post-purchase check

h i r 0

I'm almost definitely going to get a Carrera Fury from Halfords. General opinion (barring a few lucky souls) seems to be that the mechanics there often aren't up to much.

As this is my first 'serious' bike, and stuff like disk brakes and lock-out suspension forks and trigger shifters are all new to me can you give me some guidance as to what I should check before going off for a ride on the new bike? I don't want to go out on an incorrectly set up bike and break something first time out (on me or the bike.)

supersonic

Best thing you can do is buy a book such as Zinn and some basic tools. Also follow the Halfords PDI checklist.

[Admin] Sonic don't forget to recommed the parktools webby![/Admin]

Jon

You're still wanting to buy a bike from a shop that you suspect has crap mechanics?

Would you buy a car from someone you thought had no idea what they were talking about?

There are plenty of good bike shops, usually independant, staffed by people who know their stuff, and plenty of equally good, if not better bikes for your money away from hafords.

h i r 0

Jon wrote:

You're still wanting to buy a bike from a shop that you suspect has crap mechanics?

Would you buy a car from someone you thought had no idea what they were talking about?

There are plenty of good bike shops, usually independant, staffed by people who know their stuff, and plenty of equally good, if not better bikes for your money away from hafords.

Well, yes. I've met very few car salesmen who knew anything about fixing cars.

The Fury has had some very very good reviews and is currently available for £100 less than the bikes it's usually reviewed against.

Given that the bike itself is sound, I'm prepared to buy it knowing that it might need a post-purchase check-up.

Dangerous Dave

No, not many car salesmen know how to service a car but they aren't there for that. Bike sales staff will more than likely know how to do most things though, and besides, it wont be them that set it up anyway, it will be the mechanics! Who, unlike the ones you often get at Halfords, are JUST bike mechanics, and really know their stuff... probably even Cyctech trained.
Best thing you can do is get yourself Zinn (book covers all aspects of maintenance) or look on Parktools. The park tools website is VERY comprehensive, with diagrams on most articles.

For specific instructions on setting up suspension/servicing brakes, refer to the manual you should get, and the manufacturers website; most of these have service guides as well, telling you step by step how to strip them down and service them.
Things like rebound damping is something you'll want to set up yourself, as it depends on the terrain you ride and your riding "Style".

Set up for yourself:

Bars
The angle of the Handlebars can make quite a big difference on the feel of the bike. Tilting them further forward gives you more leverage and more control for me, but you may find that another position suits you. Undo the stem bolts, then grip the bars (ignore brake/shifter lever position) and tilt them until they feel comfortable.

Shifters and Brake Levers
Again, something very personal, if you have the levers facing down a lot you'll find your riding position will naturally be more over the front wheel. Again, experiment with the angle. It's also worth setting the lever reach too (sets how far out from the bar the lever is initially) If you have small hands, having the lever too far out is going to make it hard work for you, you'll get more hand fatigue and the ride will be uncomfortable. I found moving mine in a lot a great help when I was out in the Alps and on the brakes a lot.
Same deal with shifters, twiddle them around on the bars until you get them into the position that feels most comfortable for your finger/thumb to operate, and of course easy to reach when you need, but not in the way.

Saddle/ Seatpost Height
It's very tempting to set saddles too low, you see so many kids, and adults riding around with their knees bashing their chins (almost) because they are too low.
You want to have it so that when your pedals are in a vertical position (say a half past 12 position) your knee should have a slight bend in it - you don't want your leg to overstretch.
Putting your saddle height up can make it sooo much easier to pedal and will reduce leg fatigue, and problems with your knees later in life.

Saddle angle/postion
Another thing worth sorting out: slide it back and forwards on the rails until it feels best, too far back and you'll be stretched out - back troubles, too far forward and you'll get cramped - also back troubles.
Angle wise, usually want it flat.

Forks:
SAG: This is how much the fork can compress under your weight, you want this to be around 20%. This is basically there to allow the fork to extend out into ruts/holes rather than just pitching you into them... adjust the coil preload or air preload pressure depending on what your fork has. For coil, if you are finding that you cannot get the correct set up with the adjustment available, you may need a firmer or softer spring.
With air, look in the manual for the reccommended settings, and then play around +/- as sometimes the recommendations are a little on the high side.
REBOUND: this is controlling the speed the fork re-extends after absorbing a hit. You want it fast enough to be able to re-extend ready for the next hit, or it'll just "pack down" (compress until there is no more travel left), but you don't want it too fast that it throws itself back at you too much.

RE Gears and brakes These should be set up by the mechanic, basically you want to be able to change into all gears from new with no problems, and for the discs to not rub. You can hear when a disc is rubbing from a "ching, ching" noise as the rotor hits the pads. You'll not be able to spin the wheel freely, without it stopping. Check these when you have collected the bike, prob worth doing it in the carpark. If it isn't right, take it back in straight away. If you go away and come back, they could call the "you must have touched it" card.
Basically it's their responsibility to get everything working mechanically, and tighten all the bolts. If something breaks because of poor mechanics, they are liable.

h i r 0

Brilliant, thanks Dave. That's exactly what I needed.

I've already ordered Zinn (thanks to Supersonic's advice) and bookmarked Parktools.

Dangerous Dave

Very welcome mate. Hope you get on with your new bike - not sure if Halfords let you carpark-test their stuff before buying, worth doing if only just to make sure you get the right size.

Good choice on the book - you'll find being able to do your own repairs/maintanence is very rewarding, and it's satisfiying riding something you know that you yourself are responsible for it's smooth running!!!

It'll save you on expensive bike shop labour charges, too!!!!

Happy er, pedalling!!!!