Should I let Halfords build my bike?

snowden_88

So after much research and hassle, I have brought a 2011 Voodoo Bantu from...... Halfords. Bargain price of £316.99, the joys of Google voucher searching

Anyway, theres the problem. Halfords

When buying the bike the guy was enthusiastic enough, but he told me that the bike was designed by "some famous, urm, Australian mountain biker". Well I know Joe Murray is American, heck Iv been emailing him all week! I kid you not. Email the address on the Voodoo website and Joe will reply!

Anyway, the guy rides a Vulcan and he seemed to know a little about bikes but do I trust him to build mine? I'm not sure.

I googled "Halfords bike hut reviews Dereham" and it turns out they are advertising for a bike mechanic now, so does that mean they dont have one already? Theyre not busy enough to need 2.

So Iv heard some horror stories (not about this store but Halfords in general) and was wondering if I would be better to get "Pauls Cycles" to build it? As they are located 10 yards from this particular Halfords store. Would this then affect any warranty though? If something went wrong, would Halfords reject my proposal for new parts because they didn't build it?

I would build it myself, but Im new to this and wouldn't know where to start. So if Halfords have some experience with building, its better than my no experience surely?

Whats everyone elses experience with Halfords bike build? Good/ Bad?

Typerchris

Why don't you get halfords to build it and just take it into pauls cycles for a check over?

emerywd

Most bike shops will charge anything from £50 to to £130 to build a bike depending on the amount of work involved. Given the bike is only £300, I'd recommend spending some more on a Park Tools book and some half decent tools.

unixnerd

I would build it myself, but Im new to this and wouldn't know where to start.

This may be a good time to learn, seriously. If you can build it you can service it too.

Stoo61

I didnt and wouldnt.

snowden_88

I'm not sure if Pauls would check it over as I didn't opt for one of there bikes. Whats a decent tool kit then? Iv seen a Draper's one. Looks cheap and nasty though.

I saved £65 on the bike so can spend that on tools. Got most other things

Johnny Napalm

Mate, I'm no expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but I built two bikes last year...which was my first time ever building a bike.

I always thought that it is something that other people do, but once you realise all you need is the know-how and the tools, then it's not that hard. I did a bit of research on the 'net and asked the kind fellows on here, and managed two builds. There is stll a vast amount of knowledge to gain, but I suppose that'll come as the years go by.

I'd say 'have a go'...you might be surprised by what you can achieve.

cooldad

Firstly they are not going to give you a box of bits. Building a bike generally means putting the pedals on, straightening up the bars and fitting the wheels, then a bit of gear indexing.
Basic tools, probably just a multitool will do.
Just let them set it up and check it over when you get home, which is just sensible practice anyway, whoever builds it.

supersonic

Not knowing where the designer of a bike was built is no indication of the mechanics prowess with a spanner!

As for Paul's cycles, the bikes they sent me were built awfully. Great prices, crap build.

snowden_88

What about the disc breaks, there hydraulic? Ar they hard to fit? Are they already fitted?

edhornby

Halfords will probably 'build' it whether you want them to or not - as long as they don't screw up the bottom bracket or headset fitting, just about all of it can be remedied

get pauls to give it a check over

snowden_88

I do agree with you there Sonic but my thinking was that if he doesn't know where the bike came from or who designed it then would he know how to put it together? I mean it says Joe Murray on the frame. Another staff member said they had only stocked the bike for about 3 weeks now and hadn't sold many. So that tells me they havent built many.

Typerchris

A bike out the box generally needs as the post above says from the box. Wheels and pedals on. Bars straightening and brakes setting up etc. Personally I would just let them do it then check it yourself or as I said just ask pauls cycles can't see why they wouldn't check it over for £30 or so

cooldad

I bet my local BMW mechanic doesn't know who designed my car.
For that matter neither do I, nor any of my current four bikes.
Silly worry IMO

snowden_88

probably

Just want to get it right though.

I think this is the most expensive thing Iv ever brought after the house and car

supersonic

I don't know where he came from. Would you trust me with your bike?

snowden_88

damn right I would

supersonic

;-)

Don't worry. Remember to take it back for its check as parts bed in and need readjusting.

snowden_88

Will do,

I think its just a gripe of mine when I deal with big chains.

So glad I found this forum. I would of brought a £99 deal from Tescos if it wasn't for the advice on here,

Thanks everyone

Anonymous

They're a bit hit and miss, but you could experience just as bad service in a poor branch of Evans as you can in Halfords.

I've heard stories of forks on backwards and the like, but as said they can be sorted out easily. I'd agree the concern would be if they screw on BB, headset, or even cranks. I had to use a breaker bar in the end to get my cranks off. Now they're fine to get off as I torque them up correctly.

But as said, it's more a case of you just need to assemble the bike rather than build it. Building a bike is when you buy the frame and all the parts and put it all together, some of which may need special tools. Assembling a complete bike from these kinds of places or even a off the net should be simple as most bits will already have been put together.

Would the "free check" be valid if you assembled it though? Not that I've ever bothered. I do my own checks and repairs.

blablablacksheep

let them build it as you need a good amount of tools to build it yourself and you need to consider this and the amount of money it going to cost to get all the tools not including grease ect to put the bike together, a good torque wrench alone will cost upwards of £70+

Hlafords dont charge you to build it so why not let them build it and see how it goes.

end of the day unless you buying a really exspencive bike from halfords i wouldnt worry too much about their quality control.

i seen much worse, given today i noticed JJB are selling and putting together bikes with a "safety test /look included" :shock: nearly told the family to re think their first bike for the kid after seeing JJB dude putting it together

paul_75

you should be able to get them to build the bike before you pay for it, that way you can give it a quick check over and see if anything has been scratched, the brakes work and the gears change, after paying for it ride around the car park to check it out, if something doesnt feel right take it back in and get them to fix it there and then, got my mrs carrera vulcan from ayr last week and it has been fine, the guy i delt with seems to know his bike stuff though

getonyourbike

blablablacksheep wrote:

a good torque wrench alone will cost upwards of £70

huh, like they even know what one is

cooldad

blablablacksheep wrote:

let them build it as you need a good amount of tools to build it yourself and you need to consider this and the amount of money it going to cost to get all the tools not including grease ect to put the bike together, a good torque wrench alone will cost upwards of £70+

Hlafords dont charge you to build it so why not let them build it and see how it goes.

end of the day unless you buying a really exspencive bike from halfords i wouldnt worry too much about their quality control.

i seen much worse, given today i noticed JJB are selling and putting together bikes with a "safety test /look included" :shock: nearly told the family to re think their first bike for the kid after seeing JJB dude putting it together

Stop talking cr4p. Bikes are assembled in factories and shipped to dealers in boxes, with some of the components (like pedals and wheels) removed so the boxes aren't huge.
The dealer fits a few bits and gives it a PDI.
Or you could do it, need a few allen keys and a spanner.
It's all stuff you need to be able to do anyway, routine maintenance and fettling - pre ride checks.
As I have said in other threads, it's a bike, not a rocket.

supersonic

The PDI though should include checking the torque of all parts as these boxed bikes vary wildly.

Anonymous

Got to consider a spotty 16 year old has to put it together, so it can't be too complicated.

cooldad

Fair enough, although but whether most shops actually do that is a moot point.
But I still think there's a bit of overreaction here on buying a bike.

Personally I've been fiddling with bikes and things since I was a kid, never used a torque wrench on anything except cars, and never had anything strip or fall off.

Yet anyway.

supersonic

I've built hundreds upon hundreds from boxes: some come out exceptional - others have needed 10 mins on each wheel truing and tensioning and the hubs readjusting!

Cornish1

paul_75 wrote:

you should be able to get them to build the bike before you pay for it, that way you can give it a quick check over and see if anything has been scratched, the brakes work and the gears change, after paying for it ride around the car park to check it out, if something doesnt feel right take it back in and get them to fix it there and then, got my mrs carrera vulcan from ayr last week and it has been fine, the guy i delt with seems to know his bike stuff though

But having worked in a bike shop you would have loads of bikes built up ready for people to turn up and try before they buy them and then dont turn up.

Wasting the staff time and having tons of bikes built up out the back taking up room with more chances of them getting damaged.

paul_75

Cornish1 wrote:

paul_75 wrote:

you should be able to get them to build the bike before you pay for it, that way you can give it a quick check over and see if anything has been scratched, the brakes work and the gears change, after paying for it ride around the car park to check it out, if something doesnt feel right take it back in and get them to fix it there and then, got my mrs carrera vulcan from ayr last week and it has been fine, the guy i delt with seems to know his bike stuff though

But having worked in a bike shop you would have loads of bikes built up ready for people to turn up and try before they buy them and then dont turn up.

Wasting the staff time and having tons of bikes built up out the back taking up room with more chances of them getting damaged.

i reserved my boardman online and had a call from the shop after about 30 mins saying my bike was ready to pick up or if i wanted they could build it for me and i pay for it when i collect the bike, they didnt ask for any money up front, i did tell them to build it for me but about 30 seconds after i hung up the phone i called back and told them i would collect it boxed but i am still happy with the job that was done on my mrs bike last week

Mental Mickey

supersonic wrote:

As for Paul's cycles, the bikes they sent me were built awfully. Great prices, crap build.

Same here, I bought a 2008 model and knew it would have been gathering dust a while at the time I purchased, so in that knowledge I 'specifically' asked the guy on the phone whether they would be giving the bike a thorough checking over before sending to me, I was assured they would.

The Juicy 3 brakes were spongier than a coral reef straight away and clearly needed a bleed, within 2 weeks of using the bike, the gears were struggling to change and I discovered this was due to all the bolts on the crankset being extremely loose.

Thorough build my ar*e. If I was the OP, I'd just get the free build from Halfords and just run a quick test on the basics, checking bolts are tightened, braked and gears all seem ticketyboo, even simple checks like QR skewers so the wheels don't fall off like mentioned in another thread on here ''lol''.

Only take it somewhere else if or when there's a problem after the initial build and the free tune up after 'X' amount of weeks IMO.