who has someone else service their bike?

MkyDPky

i've built both of the bikes that i have from their components (Planet X SRAM Rival, Cervelo S1 SRAM Force TT set up) and from this i have had a few people ask me if i could service their bikes for them. was just wondering how many people serviced their bikes themselves because i'm currently a student and was wondering if it would be a good idea to setting something up. any comments or ideas must appreciated, good or bad...

moonshine

its not hard.... do it yourself.

cheaper, satisfying & you get to know it better..

but make friends with the LBS and if you cant get something moved (e.g a stuck BB / replace a headset perhaps).... take it to them.

experience counts with tricky problems.....

use the Park tooks website for workshop tips -

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

maddog 2

I do all mine, all my wife's, all my kids' and all my mates' bikes

Smokin Joe

Bikes are simple devices.

Unless you have no feel for anything mechanical it is straightforward to do any job yourself. Any tools bought will pay for themselves many times over.

iain_j

The shop/my dad used to do all my bike fettling, but I've taken on more and more myself in the last year or so. As a self-confessed mechanophobe I can say it's really not that hard. And quite rewarding especially when you think how much you'd have paid the bike shop to do something that took you 10 minutes.

antfly

If i`m not mistaken the op is asking because he is thinking of setting up some sort of bike servicing business...?

moonshine

antfly wrote:

If i`m not mistaken the op is asking because he is thinking of setting up some sort of bike servicing business...?

yes...

i didn't pick that up on first reading, but i think my comments are still applicible for anyone considering work on a bike.

They are not that difficult, unless there is something stuck. You can screw up, principally with threads (inserting / removing / siezed) but some people are never going to want to twiddle....

Identify your market and take it from there...

I personally don't think there is such a great market for setting up really nice kit, as those that buy it are likely to be enthusiasts and either know (or want to know) how to do it themselves. at the lower end of the market, there are people who don't care about the quality, bust just want cheap & working.....

my LBS does a roaring trade in minor repairs...changing innertubes for people... not exactly rocket science, but brings money in i suppose..

so what's the market fot the OP's business?

Heckler1974

There's a few pick up and fix companies in London for commuters (and a couple down here in London-on-Sea) where you pay a premium for not having to spend your lunch time queuing in a bike shop.

moonshine

Heckler1974 wrote:

There's a few pick up and fix companies in London for commuters (and a couple down here in London-on-Sea) where you pay a premium for not having to spend your lunch time queuing in a bike shop.

yip....thats what i mean..... there are markets for the service....but the OP needs to think of who is going to use the service...how much can he charge.......what services are going to be offered, what parts will be held? what is the turnaround time? Same day.... next week? parts suppiers? (CRC/wiggle/ distributers?)

it is possibe to make a go of it, but it will depend on a lot of factors.....the bottom line is market is only part of the business model.

ExeterSimon

Don't forget insurance...you damage someone's bike and you'll need it!

ride_whenever

It really isn't worth the hassle. People will be bringing stuff back and the bulk of what you'll end up doing is old sturmey archer 3-speed puncture repairs and hub rebuilds.

Stick doing it for your mates for a few pints/energy gels, you'll be happier in the long run.

Personally I do all my own servicing, my lbs show me how to do things i can't because i'm mates with all the mechanics/work there when they need a hand.

antfly

He could just do puncture repairs and charge eight quid a go like my LBS does, or did, it`s probably gone up now.

crankycrank

For a student offering a service of some type would be an excellent idea. I would guess you see many people with bikes on campus who need servicing and want an option (cheaper) than the LBS. Depending on how many bikes you'de like to take on you could make up some cards advertising your service and leave them on parked bikes. I sometimes fix my neighbors bikes for free. Most have old rubbish bikes that are rusted and need new everything but just want it to work without having to spend money on new parts. I think there is a market for that sort of thing as well since most LBS don't want to take on something like that without selling new parts.

zanes

crankycrank wrote:

Most have old rubbish bikes that are rusted and need new everything but just want it to work without having to spend money on new parts.

Just wait until you see some of the stuff that's in a typical Uni bike rack

MkyDPky

cheers for all of the replies guys
was thinking of doing it in 2 parts really;
one up at uni where it would just be those minor repairs cause even though there are some nice bikes scattered round there are still those who just use it for transport and don't know the first thing about how it works.
second part would be down in london, not really for the purpose of making any significant money, but it would be something to do in the holidays and it would put to use some of the business management skills i'm learning on my uni course, by setting up a small business, was possibly thinking of doing a similar thing as some of the people on here have mentioned of companies going to the customer, where i would offer to do a pick up and return service in my local area of SW london.