Anyone used Wiggle's bike servicing service?
I've got an annual service for my road bike coming up and I could take it to my local Specialized store, but I've been considering using Wiggle's bike servicing service. This is done through their partner Havebike, and for £70 I get a reasonably comprehensive maintenance service which includes collection and delivery of my bike.
So, I was wondering if people have used this service and what their experiences have been.
So, I was wondering if people have used this service and what their experiences have been.
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£70 for a service seems a bit steep. I've always done my own and it costs nothing. What do they do for that money and could you do it yourself ?
It's only a bike - its not the space shuttle. It is pretty easy and if something happens out on the road - you really should know what to do.0 -
The £70 service is the cheapest service. It includes this (but any replacement parts that are required will cost extra):
- Full safety check & frame alignment test
- Spoke tension check & wheel true
- Brakes checked and set up/adjusted
- Gears checked and set up/adjusted
- Tyres inspected for wear and tear
- Mech hanger alignment & true
- Drivetrain degrease and lubricate
- Wheel hubs and bearings checked/adjusted
- Bottom bracket check/adjusted
- Headset checked/adjusted
- Frame wipe down and polish
I can do a lot of that myself. However, I don't have the expertise or the necessary tools to do the following:
- frame alignment test
- Spoke tension check & wheel true
- Mech hanger alignment & true
- Wheel hubs and bearings checked/adjusted
- Bottom bracket check/adjusted
- Headset checked/adjusted
I simply wouldn't know what I'm looking for with respect to these tasks. Plus, that £70 includes collection and delivery of the bike. It's just the no-hassle convenience that appeals to me. I spoke with someone at that company at length this morning and was very impressed with what he told me.
Of course, I wouldn't use this service for my budget hybrid bike, but my road bike is a lot more complex and I'm not comfortable doing some of those tasks on it.0 -
That really isn't much of a service IMO. The frame alignment and spoke tension/true check is nice but unless your bike is not working properly there isn't much need to just check the other various adjustments. A good "service" would also include lubing all your bearings and drivetrain and checking all fasteners/compnents for tightness. But as mentioned by Fenix it's all fairly simple stuff that you can learn through help from this and other forums, videos from YouTube, Park Tool, etc., etc. and knowing how to service everything on your bike may help you get back home after a breakdown rather than calling for a rescue ride.0
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The person you spoke to won't be the person doing the work. The quality will be very much dependent on the person doing the job. Honestly it's not difficult and nobody cares about your bike more than you do so you will take more care over the job. I really do believe it's worth learning to do these things yourself, then you get a bit of quiet time to yourself to do a bit of tinkering. Radio on and a cup of tea and you may even enjoy it.rumbataz wrote:I can do a lot of that myself. However, I don't have the expertise or the necessary tools to do the following:
- frame alignment test - Just look at it a bit more closely than usual, are the wheels in line? If no heavy impact it should be fine.
- Spoke tension check & wheel true - squeeze pairs of spokes to see if any fell loose, if all are much the same it's probably ok. Spin the wheel in the frame to see if it's true.
- Mech hanger alignment & true - Does it look straight? If so and you haven't dropped the bike on that side should be ok. Tool to check properly is a lot cheaper than the service.
- Wheel hubs and bearings checked/adjusted - when spinning the wheel did it spin freely? Is there any play? Adjusting cups and cones is not difficult there will be YouTube tutorials. if you have cartridge bearings they don't need adjustment
- Bottom bracket check/adjusted - Most nowadays are not adjustable. Check for free play and does it spin freely.
- Headset checked/adjusted - Check for play and if it turns freely. Not hard to adjust wether quill or aheadset.0 -
rumbataz wrote:
I can do a lot of that myself. However, I don't have the expertise or the necessary tools to do the following:
- frame alignment test
- Spoke tension check & wheel true
- Mech hanger alignment & true
- Wheel hubs and bearings checked/adjusted
- Bottom bracket check/adjusted
- Headset checked/adjusted
Unless you've recently thrown your bike off the top of a multi-storey car park, or a tank has run over it, or you've just ridden into the sea over a very sandy beach, then none of the above is going to be of any use whatsoever.0 -
£70.00 will be the starting point, don't forget to add in the price of the new brake blocks, tyres, chain, cassette, bearings and windscreen wash (they all charge for windscreen wash whether you need it or not) Then you will need to factor in the price of fitting all the 'necessary' required parts.
Learn to do it yourself and not only will you save yourself a load of cash but you will also have the satisfaction of having serviced it yourself0 -
Assuming your bike is performing as well as it did when you bought it-and if it is a 2016 Roubaix Comp SL4 disc then it will be- then unless you have done some sort of freakish high mileage they will literally do next to b*gger all for your 70 stripes.
Here is the truth:
1)They won't need to adjust the brakes-they are self-adjusting and I am guessing you haven't worn the pads right down yet so nothing for them to do there.
2) Unless you have been playing around with your headset it will most probably not need any adjustment. If it does it will take them 60 seconds to sort that out.
3)They are unlikely to remove your rear mech to check for hanger alignment. A simple test on the stand to check that gear changes are all working fine will save them the need to do this.
4)Frame alignment?-Really? Rather they will just check to see it hasn't been crashed.
5)Wheel hubs and bearings- they will just check for play-you can do this yourself without any tools-will take you ten seconds.
6)Spoke tension?-if the wheels are still true and there are no obvious loose spokes they won't be doing anything to them.Again something you can check yourself in about 60 seconds.
7) Bottom bracket is sealed cartridge bearings so there is nothing for them to adjust. have you got any play down there? No,thought not. So, nothing for them to do there either.
8) check tyres for wear?- can't you do this yourself/ -yes,thought so.
So the net gain you will ACTUALLY see is you will get a clean and lubed chain and your frame will be wiped down. Oh, and they might tweek the barrel adjuster on your front r rear mech if they are feeling conscientious.
Guess what?- most of your £70 is going on the cost of picking up your bike and dropping it off again. You are actually getting about a tenner's worth of actual bike work here.
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY MAN!0 -
I forgot to mention that for 70 quid you can buy most of the tools needed to do a complete overhaul yourself and which will last a lifetime (or until they make them obsolete in 2 years :evil: ).0
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Save your money.
Your frame is unlikely to be misaliged unless it was involved in a big crash. And would you really want to pay somebody to tell you your frame is a right off ? im sure you could figure that out.
If your wheels are out of true they will wobble. Very easy to visually check that while spinning it. Spoke tension can be check by hand. If they seem low tensioned they can be re-tensioned for way less than £70.
If there is any problem of the bearings, It will present itself in the form of clicking,screeching, noise, side play. Giving them a 'check and adjustment' could mean anything and seems to entail only a visual inspection which seems kinda fruitless as a full re-grease (cup and cone) or replacement (cartridge bearing) would be alot more worthwile. a pre bike check is a definitely a good idea but to pay £70 for them to say you need to pay more leaves a sour taste.
Cleaning out any grime,dirt,mud,stones on a regular basis will help keep them lasting longer and prevent problems. Rather than leaving it to a yearly service.0 -
So I used this service recently and it was okay - the only slight downside was that the driver was late to collect the bike and late to deliver it back a couple of days later.
I wasn't charged any extra over and above the £70.
You get a checklist back and I can see that a few adjustments were actually made. For example the wheels were 'trued' via the spoke tension and several adjustments to the gears were made.
So I'm happy with the service for the price, simply for the convenience it offered. I haven't gone out for a ride yet so I won't know if it's in perfect condition but I can't imagine it won't be.0 -
i was under the impression that adjusting your gears and lubing your drivetrain were part of owining a bike?
thats a bit like paying someone to take your car and fill the tank up.... for twice the price...
wheels can be trued at your LBS, for about £10, and at your own convenience... you dont have to wait for a 'driver'... this also helps to keep your LBS going.
pretty much the only other tools they will have used to 'service' that bike will have been a bike stand and a pen to check the list off.
like has been said... for £70 you can buy most of the tools you need to service your bike to a good standard yourself.0 -
My LBS charges £18 per wheel for truing according to their website.
Comparing it to filling the tank on your car is maybe going a bit extreme, perhaps comparing it to filling up the washer fluid or checking the oil level would be about right. But plenty of folk dont do those things either.0 -
I wouldn't trust my LBS to sort out my gears. They've messed up the gears on my hybrid in the past. They also charge similar prices for servicing anyway and I have to cycle down to them and then walk back home. The only thing they've ever done properly is a rear cassette and chain replacement.
However, I'm becoming more self-sufficient at doing stuff on my hybrid now. But the bike I sent away for a service was the road bike. It's quite new and I wanted it done properly. My local Specialized store charges similar prices and I, again, have the issue of getting the bike to them and then collecting it a few days later.0 -
If you don't trust your LBS what makes you think Wiggle would be any better? If you can do stuff on your hybrid you can do it on your road bike. Unless you have di2 the principles are the same. If you do have di2 you only have to press a couple of buttons to sort the indexing.rumbataz wrote:I wouldn't trust my LBS to sort out my gears. They've messed up the gears on my hybrid in the past.0 -
I was riding my MTB about for about a year fighting with the gears, jumping, not engaging, making a god awful racket ... then the brakes started making pinging noises ... thought it was a bout time I learnt to maintain a bike.
Turns out to adjust and re-index the rear gears you need two fingers on one hand to turn a barrel adjuster and one hand to rotate pedals
to adjust the front mech I needed an torx screwdriver + eyeballs to look at where the deurailier was hanging then the method above
To sort the brakes I needed the same tool I used for the rear gears but instead of a rotating movement you do a pincing movement, pull the pad out and replace with a new one
when you go over to your bike and kneel down next to it and look at these parts ..... you realise that each part only has a couple of screws in it ...... it limits the amount you can actually do to them .... setting up and adjusting will comedown to tightening or loosening, or a bit of both, the screws ... bikes are remarkably simple things
bleeding brakes however is voodoo magic that relies on fairies and deamons0 -
FTFY. Get a bleed kit from Epic bleed solutions and follow the instructions. Watch a couple of tutorials so you know what to do. It's really not difficult, just be thorough and methodical. If using DOT fluid make sure you clean up any spills.fat daddy wrote:bleeding brakes isn't as hard as people think, just requires a bit of patience and care.0 -
Does the bleed kit come with magic fairies ?0
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A quick update - been out on the road bike and it goes great. The gear changes are sublime now - they weren't that bad before but I can actually tell the difference. For a yearly overhaul I feel it was worth it. Obviously I can do the basic stuff in between.
I have a chain wear gauge and I checked the chain before the bike was collected and it was fine. I was half expecting to be told that the chain needs replacing but it was marked as fine on the checklist. So that has given me confidence in Wiggle's bike servicing service (run through Havebike).
I realise it was a fair amount of money at £70 but that did include the convenience of having the bike collected and returned. Once a year at £70 isn't too bad, I feel.
I would recommend this service for anyone who wants the bike checked over thoroughly and isn't confident in tackling a full bike service themselves.0 -
Just reviving this thread - I had the top of the range service done by Havebike on my hybrid bike this year. It cost nearly half of what I paid for the bike - £180. However, that included a full strip down, clean, replace as necessary, re-align, etc. I also had the brake fluid replaced.
Yes, it was expensive but the bike feels better than when it was new. Of course, the bike is worth quite a bit more these days as almost everything on it has been upgraded over the years.
Just the convenience factor cannot be underestimated. You know at all times what stage the service is at and the drivers call you prior to collection and delivery. I know much of a full strip and rebuild can be done at home if you have all of the necessary tools and time. I just don't have all of the skills, tools or time.
Havebike: highly recommended by me.0 -
apreading wrote:My LBS charges £18 per wheel for truing according to their website.
Comparing it to filling the tank on your car is maybe going a bit extreme, perhaps comparing it to filling up the washer fluid or checking the oil level would be about right. But plenty of folk dont do those things either.
I've always done my own wheel truing - all you need is a spoke key. It's a two minute job unless you've really smashed the wheel.0
