Service Issues

GaryMLeader

Evening,

I had a service on my bike two weeks ago. Ended up costing £237 inclusive of parts and labour. When I went to collect the bike, the manager noticed that the front cassette was in a dire state and said had I left the shop with the part in that condition that “You’re maybe a couple of weeks away from a pretty serious accident” He was clearly frustrated by his mechanic and staff (the stem of the saddle had not been cleaned either) so much so that he replaced the cassette there and then free of charge.

Two weeks later I’m cycling down the Old Kent Road, I can hear a creaking every time I apply force to the left peddle, a few moments later I’m feeling a roll; quite odd, thought perhaps my cleat may have needed tightening so rode on for a bit. Got caught at some lights, as I was pulling away, the left spindle came away from the bike and was still attached to the cleat. Fortunately I was literally only just pulling away otherwise it could have been more serious. I didn’t have the tools on me to fix it at the side of the road so walked to Halfords where they spotted the problem; the thread was worn. Told them that I’d recently had it serviced and the mechanic seemed shocked that it had not been picked up on as it’s fundamental to the bikes safety. Apparently all their services cover this check and they would have thought an independent bike shop would also check this.

Basically what I’m wondering is are they just trying to steal my custom or is this a legitimate problem that I should take up with the bike shop as the consequences could have been far more severe and could still be if another customers bike is not checked diligently?

Monty Dog

Hard to tell from your description - did the pedal come unscrewed from the crank or the pedal spindle come adrift from the pedal body?

Any service should check that the pedal is screwed firmly into the crank as well as the bearings in the pedal itself. If the former, you've probably got a case against the shop if the crank thread has been damaged. Less so if the pedal's broken - this is more due to wear and tear.

GaryMLeader

Unfortunately I’m not so glued up on the mechanics of the bike but I think (after a bit of research) the pedal arm/lever came away from the crankset

I would post a picture to be more clear but can’t figure out how to

cooldad

Bone up on what's what (bikes don't have front cassettes the have cranksets/chain rings) and learn to DIY.

It's a bicycle, they don't need servicing, they need regular fettling. It's all pretty simple if you do a bit of homework.

And that way the only monkey messing with your bike is you.

cougie

Bike shops aren't there to clean your bike. You should take it in in a decent condition

What parts did you have replaced for £237 ?I've had cheaper car services.

Hard to say about your pedal without more information. Did they replace a pedal or crank ? If so then it looks suspicious. If not then not so much.

GaryMLeader

cooldad wrote:

Bone up on what's what (bikes don't have front cassettes the have cranksets/chain rings) and learn to DIY

I’m trying, I’m sure none of us were born with the knowledge or expertise we possess now; it’s a learning process. unfortunately when watching a YouTube video it feels as tho the whole thing is dubbed in Lithuanian and the subtitles are in Hebrew :? Small, simple fixes I’m grasping, but the more complex stuff will take me time to get my head around. Hence why I took the bike to someone with the knowledge and expertise to get it done the right way for me.

GaryMLeader

cougie wrote:

Bike shops aren't there to clean your bike. You should take it in in a decent condition

They offered this, I’d said to the shop that I’d clean it before bringing it back in as it was filthy and they said not to worry as that’s part of their service and one of the apprentices will do it. Admittedly I don’t take the best care of my bike, it gets abused as it’s a commuter, I don’t really have the time to give it the TLC it needs unfortunately.

What parts did you have replaced for £237 ?I've had cheaper car services.

You and me both I too have a car and also ride a moped and the service on those was a fraction of what I paid, my jaw nearly hit the floor when they quoted me the price. I had the rear chainring :roll: replaced, a new chain, new tyres, brakes replaced, new cables throughout and I think that’s about it, other than what a typical service includes. The service itself was £45 and then the parts whacked it right up, the tyres came in at £36 a pop, admittedly could have got them online for £22ish each and done it myself but figured it’s in the shop so might as well have the whole lot done by them...

cooldad

£75 in parts and an hour or so work. Plus a couple of tools. Often less time than dropping off and picking up.

Have a read of the Parktools link in my sig - Youtube is a bit hit and miss.

Obviously no one was born with vast knowledge, but it mostly pretty straightforward stuff. And quite satisfying when you get it right. Not so much when you get it wrong, and we've all been there.

Vino'sGhost

cooldad wrote:

£75 in parts and an hour or so work. Plus a couple of tools. Often less time than dropping off and picking up.

Have a read of the Parktools link in my sig - Youtube is a bit hit and miss.

Obviously no one was born with vast knowledge, but it mostly pretty straightforward stuff. And quite satisfying when you get it right. Not so much when you get it wrong, and we've all been there.

THIS

plus park tools do a printed book (the blue book??) which is a bit like one of the old haines manuals. i.e. a little thought and you can fix anything.

£100 should buy the tools you'll need to do all repairs that aren't frame related. the other tools like screw drivers most people have knocking about anyway

set of hex keys, tool for removing / refitting cassette. chain tool, chain wear checker, basic headset press and some drifts.
cable cutter, a couple of spoke keys.

Having said that my toolkit is somewhat more comprehensive..............

cougie

I think finding the time to give the bike a bit of a clean will help you. Sounds like the bike could have been in a dangerous condition of you had all that changed. Brakes and tyres certainly shouldn't be overlooked.

You'll save s lot of money.

cooldad

Vino'sGhost wrote:

cooldad wrote:

£75 in parts and an hour or so work. Plus a couple of tools. Often less time than dropping off and picking up.

Have a read of the Parktools link in my sig - Youtube is a bit hit and miss.

Obviously no one was born with vast knowledge, but it mostly pretty straightforward stuff. And quite satisfying when you get it right. Not so much when you get it wrong, and we've all been there.

THIS

plus park tools do a printed book (the blue book??) which is a bit like one of the old haines manuals. i.e. a little thought and you can fix anything.

£100 should buy the tools you'll need to do all repairs that aren't frame related. the other tools like screw drivers most people have knocking about anyway

set of hex keys, tool for removing / refitting cassette. chain tool, chain wear checker, basic headset press and some drifts.
cable cutter, a couple of spoke keys.

Having said that my toolkit is somewhat more comprehensive..............

90% of work can be done with a basic multitool, add in some tyre levers, chain whip and cassette tool, chain breaker and a bit of shopping around and you could easily have change out of £50, probably less. Although a decent set of Allen Keys etc can make it easier. Decent cutters are worthwhile.

On One, Wiggle etc often have decent fairly comprehensive too kits on special for around £25. Headset press and BB press (assuming press fit) can be made with a bit of threaded rod, couple of nuts and some big washers. Or a rubber mallet and a bit of wood.

Decent tool kit can be built up slowly as you try more things.

I buy 10m lengths of Shimano SP41 outer cable and stainless inners by the dozen but that's for quite a few bikes. I replace regularly but mainly muddy mountain bikes.

cooldad

And any technical questions, between the usual morons, there are normally a few semi intelligent people willing to offer help and advice.

nappyrash

GaryMleader as has been pointed out the cassette is on the rear and the front part is called the crankset. Your pedals are attached to the crankset arms. If it was the crankset that was replaced then the pedals would have to come off and be refitted to the new crankset.

Whenever you screw one component into another it is traditionally done in a clockwise direction, but on the left-hand pedal it is done in a anti-clockwise direction. Lots of people unfamiliar with bike mechanics are unaware of this and make the mistake of forcing a left-hand pedal on in the wrong direction (clockwise) and destroy the thread so that it eventually works loose and falls off.

You will need a new pedal and a new crank arm fitted to the left side.

Your right-hand pedal does go on in the traditional way, that is clockwise.

So who fitted the pedal you or the bike shop ?

If it was the bike shop then you should take it back and have it repaired under warranty.

crankycrank

GaryMLeader wrote:

I’m trying, I’m sure none of us were born with the knowledge or expertise we possess now; it’s a learning process. unfortunately when watching a YouTube video it feels as tho the whole thing is dubbed in Lithuanian and the subtitles are in Hebrew :? Small, simple fixes I’m grasping, but the more complex stuff will take me time to get my head around. Hence why I took the bike to someone with the knowledge and expertise to get it done the right way for me.

Hang in there. Fixing mechanical things is easy for me, about the only talent I have, everything else is a struggle so I can understand if none of this bike stuff makes sense...yet. From helping out other people to learn how to work on their bikes it I've found it helps to understand how each part works. Something that watching many of the videos and tutorials don't explain to you and not easy to explain in a forum. Here's an example. Park tools have great videos but something like this may still be confusing to someone who really doesn't have a good mechanical understanding already so don't feel bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQmmEvt0rxs If you have any bike maintenance classes offered by local shops or ?? go try them out and ask questions. Also local Co-Ops may have someone there willing to help you. And learning the correct names of parts helps all of us here to help you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_parts You only need to know the parts listed in the photo for most bike work. The list on the left is good to know but not necessary. Another, http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/bicycleparts.html
"front cassette" = Chainrings or Crankset-(for the entire assembly including crankarms and chainrings.)
"the stem of the saddle" (just guessing here) = Seatpost
"left spindle" (again just guessing) = Pedal
I've come across some professional car mechanics and mechanical engineers who struggle with bike repairs only because they haven't had the parts explained to them. Keep trying. It will save you many headaches and aggravation from having to have someone else mess up your bike and then charge you for it. Also may save you a walk or the dreaded call for a ride home if your bike breaks out on a ride.

kinioo

GaryMLeader wrote:

Evening,

I had a service on my bike two weeks ago. Ended up costing £237 inclusive of parts and labour. When I went to collect the bike, the manager noticed that the front cassette was in a dire state and said had I left the shop with the part in that condition that “You’re maybe a couple of weeks away from a pretty serious accident” He was clearly frustrated by his mechanic and staff (the stem of the saddle had not been cleaned either) so much so that he replaced the cassette there and then free of charge.

Two weeks later I’m cycling down the Old Kent Road, I can hear a creaking every time I apply force to the left peddle, a few moments later I’m feeling a roll; quite odd, thought perhaps my cleat may have needed tightening so rode on for a bit. Got caught at some lights, as I was pulling away, the left spindle came away from the bike and was still attached to the cleat. Fortunately I was literally only just pulling away otherwise it could have been more serious. I didn’t have the tools on me to fix it at the side of the road so walked to Halfords where they spotted the problem; the thread was worn. Told them that I’d recently had it serviced and the mechanic seemed shocked that it had not been picked up on as it’s fundamental to the bikes safety. Apparently all their services cover this check and they would have thought an independent bike shop would also check this.

Basically what I’m wondering is are they just trying to steal my custom or is this a legitimate problem that I should take up with the bike shop as the consequences could have been far more severe and could still be if another customers bike is not checked diligently?

Wow! 237...is this including oil & cam-belt change ??

noodleman

I'm still struggling to see how the bill came to 237 quid!! Even using middle of the road cassette, pads and cables it still seems to be the best part of £100.00 too expensive. Have you checked the price of the parts they fitted?

ayjaycee

As everybody says, learn how do it yourself. Apart from anything else, a bit of preventative maintenance every now and then saves a fortune in the long run and makes riding a bike a generally more pleasurable experience. I do all of my own maintenance nowadays and, trust me, if a mechanical numpty like me can do it, anybody can.

Also, from the sketchy details that you have given about work by the LBS, I would guess that you were ripped off.