Do you pay to have your bike serviced?

zippy483

the beauty of the deal I outlined is that I can take it in for a service whenever they like but they do insist on a minimum of 6 monthly or 1500 miles I aint arguing with that

supersonic

As an ex mechanic I do all my own work, but I still need the LBS from time to time as I cannot afford bottom bracket facers and chasers, seat reamers, disc mount facers and so on.

porlyworly

I fail to see how it falls down, do you service your car yourself more than once a year or do you get it done annualy by a professional like 99.9% of the population and only take it inbetween services if you notice something needs doing?

Hats off to you for servicing your bike yourself but there is definitely an undertone of snobbery (not just from you) towards those of us who are not confident in doing the job ourselves!

MrChuck

PorlyWorly wrote:

I fail to see how it falls down, do you service your car yourself more than once a year or do you get it done annualy by a professional like 99.9% of the population and only take it inbetween services if you notice something needs doing?

Maybe it depends what you mean by 'servicing'- my bikes would be in a right state if I didn't do anything to them for a year. I don't think the same is generally true for cars is it?

CiB

PorlyWorly wrote:

I fail to see how it falls down, do you service your car yourself more than once a year or do you get it done annualy by a professional like 99.9% of the population and only take it inbetween services if you notice something needs doing?

Hats off to you for servicing your bike yourself but there is definitely an undertone of snobbery (not just from you) towards those of us who are not confident in doing the job ourselves!

Oooh no no no. Cars are designed to go long distances between services and are fiendishly complicated these days. Bikes OTOH aren't. All the mechanical bits are exposed, and they are ridiculously simple to look after in most cases.

Snobbery? Far from it. Try satisfaction, self-sufficiency and the desire to shove newcomers to cycling away from the idea that bikes are mysterious affairs that require fixed interval professional maintenance. Bikes is easy.

clarkey cat

You aren't a proper cyclist unless you can fix it yourself !

Snobbery? Far from it.

CiB

clarkey cat wrote:

You aren't a proper cyclist unless you can fix it yourself !

Snobbery? Far from it.

That's a bit naughty, quoting two different people's contributions and removing the names to pass them off as one. Tut.

Whatever. Pay if you like paying, DIY if you want all the benefits already described. No-one comes round to your house to tell you off.

Drfabulous0

I am quite capable of doing all maintenance and repairs myself, have all but the most obscure of tools and access to those if I need them. But sometimes I really can't be arsed and would rather give it to a mechanic I know I can trust.

roger_merriman

rather depends on the shop, my local bike shop is very local, and a proper fixeruper some things I fix some I pay them to do as they have the tools and the skills to do it quicker.

I never pay for services bar on the MTB brakes, where I really can't be bothered to bleed etc.

siamon

I find it's essential to have a bit of knowledge so you can identify what the LBS has done wrong (or forgotten) when you collect the bike.

As I result of this PPP I started doing a few bits myself and have been amazed at how easy it is. Then again, can't ride my best bike at the minute because the headset keeps coming undone and an explanation/solution is deceiving me.