Awful bike shops...

Kieran_Burns

I got threadlock for my A5 from Homebase.

snooks

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I got threadlock for my A5 from Homebase.

So far I've tried:
B&Q, Various petrol stations, Evans, On yer bike, a local hardware store, a yacht chandlery

I thought£10 for 10ml from Chain Reactions was taking the P. All the time I've taken shopping around, it's starting to look like a bargain!! :?

I'll go to Homebase tonight, and if they don't have any I'm blaming you KB

rhext

I got Threadlock off the internet. But I don't use it much: I'd use anti-sieze instead on pedals/crank simply because they're threaded to tighten themselves up with use and you want to be able to get them off again. I know Threadlock helps avoid siezing, but getting pedals/cranks off is difficult enough at the best of times without using glue on them.

snooks

rhext wrote:

I know Threadlock helps avoid siezing, but getting pedals/cranks off is difficult enough at the best of times without using glue on them.

I'm using square taper BB and I wanted the thread lock to stop the hex bolt in the middle getting loose and my shiny shiny crank arms dropping off.

rhext

snooks wrote:

rhext wrote:

I know Threadlock helps avoid siezing, but getting pedals/cranks off is difficult enough at the best of times without using glue on them.

I'm using square taper BB and I wanted the thread lock to stop the hex bolt in the middle getting loose and my shiny shiny crank arms dropping off.

Fair point. If it helps, I too have square taper BB. I used anti-sieze on those bolts and they're not showing any sign of working loose. I was half-expecting to have to degrease them and refit using Threadlock, but they seem to have survived a couple of thosand miles so far. I'm still feeling my way a little bit, but that was one 'trial and error' where I got away with it.

snooks

rhext wrote:

Fair point. If it helps, I too have square taper BB. I used anti-sieze on those bolts and they're not showing any sign of working loose. I was half-expecting to have to degrease them and refit using Threadlock, but they seem to have survived a couple of thosand miles so far. I'm still feeling my way a little bit, but that was one 'trial and error' where I got away with it.

Thanks for that, it's reassuring to know

I'm still mentally scarred from the first (and last) time I removed my crank arms. As a young spotty teenager I thought a bit of cleaning would do my bike good. Of course I didn't have the right tools, like a crank arm extractor, instead I opted for the multitool of choice for any self respecting teenager....a hammer :shock: The cranks were never quite the same after that, the bolt holding the arms on would keep coming undone with alarming regularity. Since then I've steered clear of anything crank related until I decided to build my SS a month or so ago.

Hence my exhaustive search for Loctite to avoid a repeat of the mistake of my yoof :roll:

motopatter

rhext wrote:

snooks wrote:

rhext wrote:

I know Threadlock helps avoid siezing, but getting pedals/cranks off is difficult enough at the best of times without using glue on them.

I'm using square taper BB and I wanted the thread lock to stop the hex bolt in the middle getting loose and my shiny shiny crank arms dropping off.

Fair point. If it helps, I too have square taper BB. I used anti-sieze on those bolts and they're not showing any sign of working loose. I was half-expecting to have to degrease them and refit using Threadlock, but they seem to have survived a couple of thosand miles so far. I'm still feeling my way a little bit, but that was one 'trial and error' where I got away with it.

I do 'em up 'kin tight, and have a bigger breaker bar to get 'em off with

CiB

snooks wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I got threadlock for my A5 from Homebase.

So far I've tried:
B&Q, Various petrol stations, Evans, On yer bike, a local hardware store, a yacht chandlery

I thought£10 for 10ml from Chain Reactions was taking the P. All the time I've taken shopping around, it's starting to look like a bargain!! :?

I'll go to Homebase tonight, and if they don't have any I'm blaming you KB

Try those pokey little Motor Factors places found in side streets & usually run by people who know a book full of Girling part numbers off by heart and sell headlight bulbs at less than half what Halfords want for the same thing. Pretty safe bet that they'll have some Loctite on a shelf somewhere. Prob a good plan to have an idea of what type you want before you go in - Loctite comes a wide range of flavours all with different properties & uses.

rhext

snooks wrote:

rhext wrote:

Fair point. If it helps, I too have square taper BB. I used anti-sieze on those bolts and they're not showing any sign of working loose. I was half-expecting to have to degrease them and refit using Threadlock, but they seem to have survived a couple of thosand miles so far. I'm still feeling my way a little bit, but that was one 'trial and error' where I got away with it.

Thanks for that, it's reassuring to know

I'm still mentally scarred from the first (and last) time I removed my crank arms. As a young spotty teenager I thought a bit of cleaning would do my bike good. Of course I didn't have the right tools, like a crank arm extractor, instead I opted for the multitool of choice for any self respecting teenager....a hammer :shock: The cranks were never quite the same after that, the bolt holding the arms on would keep coming undone with alarming regularity. Since then I've steered clear of anything crank related until I decided to build my SS a month or so ago.

Hence my exhaustive search for Loctite to avoid a repeat of the mistake of my yoof :roll:

We're not long-lost twins by any chance are we? In my case, the joke was that I actually had a perfectly serviceable crank extractor. I just had no idea what it was let alone how to use it.

Blue Meanie

To clarify:
Spokey is a Spoke-Key (google it), however I am also a fan of Spokey-Dokeys and enjoy affixing them to mates' bikes outside pubs to see how long until they spot them

They're like using the Ring-Key end of a spanner, as apposed to the open C shaped end. Basically, better at moving stubborn nipples without ripping the corners off them.

I'm very precious about my Spokey, we've had a few good times: When the workshop had it's tools replenished the 'Bean-Counters' gave us Park C-Shaped spoke wrenches and I brought my own 'double-insert' Yellow Spokey in instead, but had to paint it red to disguise it as a Red Spokey and as we all know, red turns into yellow after about a thousand wheels

Also, I am the proud owner of the much rarer Black Spokey! Which is a dodgy East European Import and adorns my office key ring - it's a bit rough and only good for 'other people's wheels'

hangeron

+1 to the Bike Shed in Cardiff

It is quite good

chadders81

pastey_boy wrote:

so your basically saying that any bike shop that doesnt stock spoke keys is a terrible shop ????? as a new shop they are probably finding lots of items they have not got yet. opening any new business is hard and not everyone has the resources to buy everything in one go, a good business will grow and by asking customers what they want will enable the shop to cater for everyone eventually, very very sad that your slagging off a new shop just because they didnt have what you wanted. you come across as an utter fool and the shop will be better off without you as a customer.

They're not short of cash or a small business. Operated by the same franchisee who runs the Specialized concept store in the same building.

I wish them well but I don't think they'll get by just selling shiny things to novice cyclists.

Yeah - definitely better off without me as a customer. Who'd want a dickhead customer paying them money for stuff?

notsoblue

There should be an "Awesome Bike Shops" thread on this forum, and it should be stickied!

mudcow007

notsoblue wrote:

There should be an "Awesome Bike Shops" thread on this forum, and it should be stickied!

+1

good bikes shops should be given the recognition they deserve

secretsam

I hereby nomnate my LBS here in sunny Aylesbury

Always eager to sell rather than help, surly and:
- Bought wife a bike there and they tried to sell wrong size to her (too large) to shift old stock
- Bought two kids' bikes for their birthday (twins) and when they arrived, both were scratched. Rejected them and then demanded replacements, which were the ones from the shop floor. OK, said they, but then both turned up and also had marks/scratches on them. In a bit of a fix - it was the birthday that day - I asked for a discount (figuring that the bikes were going to get knocked about a bit and were otherwise OK)

Had to fight HARD for even a £10 (c.8%) discount

Have not bought so much as an innner tube there since

dm38

I nominate my LBC in South East London. Took my bike in at the beginning of the year as there was a clicking sound when I pedalled and I wanted a brake service.

In a nutshell and over the course of 4 weeks and £250 later plus the cost of 3 'overnight diagnosis clinics'

The brakes were done but still were not really braking properly
Was told the clicking was the free hub so that was changed.
Got it back and could barely pedal uphill and gears were not shifting and the clicking noise was still there, took it back
Was told the back hub was lose so he tightened. At the same time I got my handle bar grips changed
A week later the grips fell off and the clicking sound was still there and I still couldn't shift my gears properly.
I was told the clicking sound and gear shifting problem was now the cable - so he changed that
I got it back with both wheels misaligned so I had to fix that.
The clicking sound was STILL present

Finally took it to BC bikes in Feb (I know I always give people a million chances) and cost me £110 to sort out the damage

Free hub was put on incorrectly
Gear problem was actually the bracket
Brake pads were put on upside down (I kid you not)
Clicking sound was my pedals which needed replacing
There were other bits and pieces which also needed correcting

I haven't had to take my bike back since and it works like a dream. BC Bikes are brilliant and would recommend them to anyone who lives south of the river.

I've now enrolled on a maintenance course- finally :P so I can at least know what I'm talking about!

notsoblue

dm38 wrote:

In a nutshell and over the course of 4 weeks and £250 later plus the cost of 3 'overnight diagnosis clinics'

Oh dear :? Sorry to hear about what you went through, but my bullshit detector would have gone haywire if someone suggested an "overnight diagnosis clinic" for a clicky bike..

captain_chaos

bails87 wrote:

I went into my LBS (Red Kite in Shirley) after a saddle, a Spesh Romin. There was only the mechanic in the shop and he was pottering about in the workshop area, but didn't seem particularly engrossed in anything. There was only one other person in the shop, it didn't look like he'd been hassling the mechanic or anything.

They only had the widest size saddle out on display, so I (very politely, "excuse me"s, "please"s and "thankyou"s) asked if they had any more sizes.

He very grumpily replied "Look mate, I'm the mechanic, I don't go up there [where the saddles are], I don't deal with that stuff, if you want one you're gonna have to come back later, alright.". Properly rude and aggressive :roll:

If he can't help then that's fair enough, but he doesn't have to speak to me like that. I can see why he's the mechanic though, it's probably best for everyone if he's not allowed near the customers!

I agree about Red Kite - also my LBS although only ever bought a puncture repair kit - staff rather surly/snooty IF they'll talk to you in the first place. Clearly spent some money to attract the MAMIL and moved to shiny "Evans Like" premises, so people feel better about when handing over £1000s - just seem bad with the people skills.

But from some people I know, very reluctant to lend bikes for a test ride and more than one story of expensive and shoddy repairs

Also was in one and saw one of the staff (or a hanger on) bouncing up and down on the Trek Madone 6.something they were trying to sell at £5500 on almost flat tyres - so I wouldn't buy that bike - although it was down at about £4500 a few weeks ago I think

dilemna

You don't use threadlock on any bike component. Perhaps maybe to stop you helmet coming off?

nation

I use threadlock on jockey wheel bolts.

emaroid

Northfield cycles, cr*pest lbs in Birmingham, maybe the world. Just tries to sell new bikes or cheap giant components and doesn't fix anything and is super surly! Over tightened my middleburn square t cranks and they squeaked for weeks then fell off twice. Took it back blamed bolts then put on different set of chainring bolts and nicked my titanium ones. Again cranks fell off, spoke to Royce and he said remove grease and torque properly and has never fallen off in last two years!

For a good shop I now go to venture bikes in stirchley, the guy there is a top bloke and doesn't sell any bikes or components just fixes everything! Can order parts if you need them. On yer bike in town have been good too but venture is in a different league.

nation

Ooh, I haven't tried Venture yet.

Used Northfield Cycles all of once to get a seized BB out of a frame.

chadders81

emaroid wrote:

Northfield cycles, cr*pest lbs in Birmingham, maybe the world. Just tries to sell new bikes or cheap giant components and doesn't fix anything and is super surly! Over tightened my middleburn square t cranks and they squeaked for weeks then fell off twice. Took it back blamed bolts then put on different set of chainring bolts and nicked my titanium ones. Again cranks fell off, spoke to Royce and he said remove grease and torque properly and has never fallen off in last two years!

For a good shop I now go to venture bikes in stirchley, the guy there is a top bloke and doesn't sell any bikes or components just fixes everything! Can order parts if you need them. On yer bike in town have been good too but venture is in a different league.

Ben who runs Venture is an absolutely top lad. He worked at Specialized for years and properly knows his stuff about road, mountain and BMX bikes.

He's a done a few jobs for me while I waited and can't fault him.

He does sell tyres and tubes and lube etc and can build wheels too.

secretsam

Condor

Admittedly they were busy, but they were up themselves and frankly the assistant didn't have a clue (it was her first day) - I needed shoes and a jersey and they were pretty useless

Ended up going to my local CycleSurgery who could not have been more helpful.

rick_chasey

Excuse my ignorance, but why would you want threadlock for your bike?

*confused*

MonkeyMonster

Rick Chasey wrote:

Excuse my ignorance, but why would you want threadlock for your bike?

*confused*

For example me that has a perpetual self loosening stem bolt that needs tightened up every 2 journeys or the bars spin - which with gripshift isn't so much fun

homercles

Rick Chasey wrote:

Excuse my ignorance, but why would you want threadlock for your bike?

*confused*

Not a bad idea on brake disc bolts either.

hd264

emaroid wrote:

Northfield cycles, cr*pest lbs in Birmingham, maybe the world. Just tries to sell new bikes or cheap giant components and doesn't fix anything and is super surly! Over tightened my middleburn square t cranks and they squeaked for weeks then fell off twice. Took it back blamed bolts then put on different set of chainring bolts and nicked my titanium ones. Again cranks fell off, spoke to Royce and he said remove grease and torque properly and has never fallen off in last two years!

For a good shop I now go to venture bikes in stirchley, the guy there is a top bloke and doesn't sell any bikes or components just fixes everything! Can order parts if you need them. On yer bike in town have been good too but venture is in a different league.

Wow, I thought it was just me! I can vouch for the fact that Northfield Cycles is an absolute disgrace! AVOID at all costs! I tried to buy a bike off them with the cycle to work scheme and they refused to order in the bike before the took my voucher despite me showing them that it clearly says on the voucher "Do not hand over this voucher until you have receipt of the bike". In the end they made me pay a deposit and and were really arsey about the whole transaction. When i eventually picked it up they gave me the wrong helmet and when i told them this the guy said "that's what happens when you don't pay a deposit!"

Avoid unless you want to be treated like sh*t.

rick_chasey

homercles wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Excuse my ignorance, but why would you want threadlock for your bike?

*confused*

Not a bad idea on brake disc bolts either.

What happens when you want to undo the bolt?

edhornby

I have a bike shop less than fifty yards from my front door, you'd think this was a good thing

only it's full of old crappy bikes (second hand, really cheap heavy stuff) and I nearly fell over a load of broken bits of bike including a frame from a BSO that were lying on the floor

so I went in there for a brake cable to try it out, with a cane creek crosstop lever so they'd know what nipple end - the response was 'Is that off a bmx? that looks dodgy that...mmmf...'

if the League of Gentlemen had a bike shop, it would be that one

went to Cooksons - polar opposite