Bike Servicing for JoGLE

Tom*

This September I'm intending to cycle John o'Groats to Lands End with some uni mates and raise some money on the side for charity. I bought a second hand Pinarello Surprise frame with 10 speed derailleurs campag wheel set etc. which I've been cycling for a few months and I'm very happy with - I was aware gear changes aren't completely smooth, the bike is fairly worn and brakes definitely need changing (new pads and cables). Took it in to get an opinion and an estimate of a service as I thought it should be in good nick if I'm to do ~900 miles on it. Now I've only recently got into my cycling so really don't know a great deal but the advice I got from the bike shop was...

New brake pads and cables - knew I needed these
Chain is apparently very well worn (he dropped a tool into the chain and basically said the chain is "shot" - could last 900 miles, might break on you), he said because the chain and cassette are both old, in getting a new chain to run properly with the cassette I would need both a new chain and cassette (both campag - £££).
He also has a look at both wheels which have a little bit of give in them, I was aware of this but apparently its because both of the hubs are well worn so these would need to be serviced too.

I asked for an estimate on servicing cost and got "Well over £100," I'm pretty sure within 200 - i hope.

Just wanted opinions really:
- probably worth it?
- get a second opinion?
- cycle JoGLE anyway and it will probably hold?
- fix it yourself?
etc.

Thanks

juankerr

Haven't seen the bike of course but sounds about right and if the LBS are selling you the parts at RRP and charging you to fit and fettle then I guess you will be near £200.

Given that you are presumably a poor student I'd say do it yourself and either do the whole lot or just replace brake pads , lube cables and get a new chain. Shop around at CRC,Wiggle, Ribble, Planet X , Merlin etc to get cheap bits.

mroli

Tom - you should get it clarified whether or not this cost includes the parts. If you get the parts from the shop, they will charge you more than you could get them for online, but I'm guessing you don't know how to service a bike from your original post?

The tool that he dropped onto the chain is a chainchecker - it basically shows you how much the chain has "stretched" and therefore how old it is. If he is saying it is shot, it is probably because it has stretched a lot (chain manufacturers have a recommended replacement threshold). If the rear cogs are worn, then if you put a fresh chain on them, the fresh chain will wear quicker and not be as smooth a fit. You can usually get away with changing your chain and not the cogs if you don't wear your chains to the bone - but the recommendation is often to change the cassette with your chain.

Both of these jobs are relatively simple to do: if you have a chain breaker and a cassette remover.

Brake pads are an easy job. Cables are slightly trickier - threading them can be a bitch and I presume he's talking about changing your gear cables too - getting these running smoothly involves a little bit of knowledge and a lot of patience.

If you wanted to look at prices online - just google bike mechanic prices and you'll get a load of info: http://bicyclerepairs.org/Price_Menu_Fr ... b_2011.pdf for instance.

In relation to cycling JOGLE and hoping it'll last - well, you'd be pretty pissed off if it broke and you had to get yourself to a bike shop (by taxi),wait for it to open and pay them to sort it out for you. If you're doing 1000miles, you should make sure that you're doing it on something that is going to last you.

Learning enough bike mechanics to get you through the JOGLE is a must anyway - at the very least you should be able to tighten up everything on your bike, sort out your gears, adjust your brakes, use a quicklink on your chain and mend a puncture! Do any of your uni mates have bike knowledge?

Good luck.

Hoopdriver

mroli wrote:

Tom - you should get it clarified whether or not this cost includes the parts. If you get the parts from the shop, they will charge you more than you could get them for online, but I'm guessing you don't know how to service a bike from your original post?

The tool that he dropped onto the chain is a chainchecker - it basically shows you how much the chain has "stretched" and therefore how old it is. If he is saying it is shot, it is probably because it has stretched a lot (chain manufacturers have a recommended replacement threshold). If the rear cogs are worn, then if you put a fresh chain on them, the fresh chain will wear quicker and not be as smooth a fit. You can usually get away with changing your chain and not the cogs if you don't wear your chains to the bone - but the recommendation is often to change the cassette with your chain.

Both of these jobs are relatively simple to do: if you have a chain breaker and a cassette remover.

Brake pads are an easy job. Cables are slightly trickier - threading them can be a ***** and I presume he's talking about changing your gear cables too - getting these running smoothly involves a little bit of knowledge and a lot of patience.

If you wanted to look at prices online - just google bike mechanic prices and you'll get a load of info: http://bicyclerepairs.org/Price_Menu_Fr ... b_2011.pdf for instance.

In relation to cycling JOGLE and hoping it'll last - well, you'd be pretty pissed off if it broke and you had to get yourself to a bike shop (by taxi),wait for it to open and pay them to sort it out for you. If you're doing 1000miles, you should make sure that you're doing it on something that is going to last you.

Learning enough bike mechanics to get you through the JOGLE is a must anyway - at the very least you should be able to tighten up everything on your bike, sort out your gears, adjust your brakes, use a quicklink on your chain and mend a puncture! Do any of your uni mates have bike knowledge?

Good luck.

Very good advice.

Follow it.

Good luck with the ride. It's a wonderful journey.