lbs woes
oblongomaculatus
Posts: 616
Anyone got a story about poor bike shop mechanics? Here's mine...
Took my Specialized tricross to the lbs rather than where I bought it, because I can leave it there and walk home, whereas my usual place is seven miles away and I don't drive (so I have to walk round the reservoir while the bike is seen to). I do a few basic things myself on my bikes, and I know I ought to be able to do more, but I'm a bit nervous of making something worse, so... The tricross had developed a bit of side to side play in the rear wheel, so I took it in to have the bearings tightened. Got the bike back the next day and the rear wheel was now running smoothly. However, on my next ride, I noticed that the rear wheel was off centre; within about 5mm of touching the frame on the non drive side, and that the gear indexing was out, so that the chain kept falling off when shifting to the highest sprocket.
It seemed to me that the quick release mechanism might be maladjusted, so I tried to get the wheel centred by fiddling about with that, with only partial success. I also found that the V brake calipers were off centre, and it seemed to me that the lbs had adjusted the tension screws so as to stop the pads touching the off centre wheel.
I gave up at that point and took it to my usual place, where I bought it originally. I explained what had been happening, and the mechanic took a brief glance and said "Oh, he's put the spacer back on the wrong side." He pointed at the spacer, which was between the cassette and the frame, and, I could now see, should have been on the non drive side of the wheel. It meant, of course, that the wheel was almost a cm off.
Now this is exactly the sort of error I might have made myself if I'd attempted the job myself, and I perhaps should have spotted it anyway, but as I said, I'm not very mechanically competent and wasn't expecting a lbs to do something like that. Maybe the lbs mechanic was just having an off day, but somehow I don't think I'll be going back there.
Took my Specialized tricross to the lbs rather than where I bought it, because I can leave it there and walk home, whereas my usual place is seven miles away and I don't drive (so I have to walk round the reservoir while the bike is seen to). I do a few basic things myself on my bikes, and I know I ought to be able to do more, but I'm a bit nervous of making something worse, so... The tricross had developed a bit of side to side play in the rear wheel, so I took it in to have the bearings tightened. Got the bike back the next day and the rear wheel was now running smoothly. However, on my next ride, I noticed that the rear wheel was off centre; within about 5mm of touching the frame on the non drive side, and that the gear indexing was out, so that the chain kept falling off when shifting to the highest sprocket.
It seemed to me that the quick release mechanism might be maladjusted, so I tried to get the wheel centred by fiddling about with that, with only partial success. I also found that the V brake calipers were off centre, and it seemed to me that the lbs had adjusted the tension screws so as to stop the pads touching the off centre wheel.
I gave up at that point and took it to my usual place, where I bought it originally. I explained what had been happening, and the mechanic took a brief glance and said "Oh, he's put the spacer back on the wrong side." He pointed at the spacer, which was between the cassette and the frame, and, I could now see, should have been on the non drive side of the wheel. It meant, of course, that the wheel was almost a cm off.
Now this is exactly the sort of error I might have made myself if I'd attempted the job myself, and I perhaps should have spotted it anyway, but as I said, I'm not very mechanically competent and wasn't expecting a lbs to do something like that. Maybe the lbs mechanic was just having an off day, but somehow I don't think I'll be going back there.
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Comments
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Why didn't you take it back to the shop that did the work? Too obvious?0
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I probably should have, but while I couldn't see what they'd done wrong, it was obvious that it had been messed up somehow and I was less than confident they would put it right, whereas the place I bought it has always been excellent.0
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Just put it down to experience and learn to do that job yourself for the next time it needs adjusting.0
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Did anyone else read this as IBS woes? I was going to suggest trying cutting certain foods out of your diet!www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes0
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DJ58 wrote:Just put it down to experience and learn to do that job yourself for the next time it needs adjusting.
Yep, that's how I look at it, put it down to experience. I know ought to be more hands on with maintenance, and when I do manage to fix something successfully, it's very satisfying.
The reason I mentioned this at all, though, was I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences, or even horror stories of shops leaving a bike in a dangerous state. Or on the other hand, bike shops who go the extra mile to fix a tricky problem?0 -
I bought 2 kids bikes at an lbs and asked if they would put stands on when setting them up as this would hopefully encourage them not to leave them on the ground. When I got the bikes home I just thought I would check everything before they rode them. For both bikes I couldn't get the rear derailleur to shift at all, I discovered that the rear cable was clamped between bottom bracket and the bike stand! Easily fixed but I've not been back with my bikes. I'm lucky that there are several other shops in the area.0
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I love this place. "I had problems with a bike I bought online" = "You should've bought it from your LBS!" "I had problems with my LBS!" = "You should've done it yourself."0
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Chris Bass wrote:Did anyone else read this as IBS woes? I was going to suggest trying cutting certain foods out of your diet!
Yep. Fats, cut out certain fats and never trust a fart.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
dilatory wrote:I love this place. "I had problems with a bike I bought online" = "You should've bought it from your LBS!" "I had problems with my LBS!" = "You should've done it yourself."
Both true, though...0 -
Not all LBS are the same. Find a bike shop you like and trust and stick with it. There are tons of bikeshops out there, and I reckon 50% are shit.0
