# Halfords or local bike shop?



## allterrain (20 May 2010)

Hi,

I'm sort of newish to cycling. I need to have some repairs done to my mountain bike. Where would people advise me to go (price and service), my local bike shop, or Halfords?

Thanks


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## jayonabike (20 May 2010)

Personally i would steer clear of Halfords


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## mickle (20 May 2010)

Hello allterrain and welcome to Cycle Chat.

There are some good Halfords and there are plenty of sh!t independant cycle shops but on the whole it's safe to say that Halfords are pretty effing useless.


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## Globalti (20 May 2010)

Build a relationship with your local bike shop, take along some biscuits for the mechanics and you will always get good service.


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## mickle (20 May 2010)

Globalti said:


> Build a relationship with your local bike shop, take along some biscuits for the mechanics and you will always get good service.


Though, to be fair, they do prefer cash.


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## gavintc (20 May 2010)

I was sure they worked for peanuts. At least that was what the mechanic at my LBS assured me.


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## Moodyman (20 May 2010)

Most, if not all, local bike shops are run by cycling enthusiasts and you'll generally get good advice and one-to-one service. But some can be a bit snobby. 

LBS labour pricing is generally a bit cheaper than the big chains.


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## Iainj837 (20 May 2010)

mickle said:


> Hello allterrain and welcome to Cycle Chat.
> 
> There are some good Halfords and there are plenty of sh!t independant cycle shops but on the whole it's safe to say that Halfords are pretty effing useless.


I will have to agree with Mickle, Halfords is pretty unless they put them together to be fair.
Like Globalti said build a good relationship with your LBS you can't go far wrong.
By the way Allterrian 

P.S Mickle that's the 3rd time someones agreed with you lol ''YOU ARE ON ROLL''


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## mickle (20 May 2010)

Blimey!

[swoons/]


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## xpc316e (20 May 2010)

Someone has to pay or all of Halfords prime sites, car parks, etc., and it's usually the customer. My local Halfords has a switched-on lad working there, but he is the exception rather than the rule. I'd rather go to a little LBS about 20 miles away for the free advice, ability to order in parts in double-quick time when I need them, and their really skillful mechanics. I also like supporting small businesses, as opposed to large faceless organisations.


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## Norm (20 May 2010)

allterrain, whilst I agree that many Halfords are staffed by monkeys, there are some good ones. It might help if we have some indication about which part of the country you are in.


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## NigC (20 May 2010)

I've learnt the hard way with Halfords:

We bought a bike for our daughter from Halfords. Firstly they made a hash of the order by not having the bike built when they said it would be. Then they did a rush job of putting it together and included stabilizers when I said they were not necessary. Finally after a few months, first one, then the other pedal fell off (obviously the first was reattached before she rode it). They refitted them each time (I didn't have a spanner that could do it  ) and it has been fine ever since, but I'll only go there for the odd accessory now, never any servicing.

Of course this is just one story of one shop, but it seems to be a common complaint.


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## Iainj837 (20 May 2010)

mickle said:


> Blimey!
> 
> [swoons/]


I thought you be impressed, just don't let it go to your head 
Sorry Allterrain sorry for hijacking your post


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## cyberknight (20 May 2010)

mickle said:


> Hello allterrain and welcome to Cycle Chat.
> 
> There are some good Halfords and there are plenty of sh!t independant cycle shops but on the whole it's safe to say that Halfords are pretty effing useless.



Yes my halfords is ok as they guy their is a MTBer but i would always go to the LBS they are likely to be quicker and cheaper and carry an assortment of odds and sods for a missing part instead of having to order a complete part in.
Most LBS will be run by enthusiasts rather than someone drawing a wage and they will care about their service.


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## allterrain (20 May 2010)

Ok thanks everyone. You've made my mind up for me, the local bike shop it is then. The thing is I took my bike to one several times before, and not been particularly happy with the result (the man there is an older guy). Think i'm gonna try another nearby shop where the man seems a bit younger and maybe more used to dealing with younger peoples' mountain bikes.

The problem is mine is an oldish Kona on which I'm gradually upgrading the parts, but it's developed an annoying crack/clink on the left pedal/crank on every rotation of the pedals, in addition to other less significant noises in various places. Also thinking of getting a new rear derailleur, as I want to improve the performance of the bike without having to spend much cash. Any ideas on what I could do?


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## mickle (20 May 2010)

Yeah, new cables and brake blocks. People are usually unaware of the deterioration of these components as it happens so slowly. Also true your wheels and get your rear hanger checked for alignment.


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## Norm (20 May 2010)

I'd be very surprised if it needed a new derailleur. New cables, outers and a few minutes tweaking will cure a number of ills.


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## decca234uk (22 May 2010)

It's my local bike shop for me. I bought a new road bike last year. I visited Halfords and they were only interested in selling me a bike, any bike would have done for them. I visited my local bike shop and the guy in there measured me for the right sized bike and even talked me out of buying an expensive bike I'd took a shine to because he said it was too big for me.
I ended up buying an Allez Specialized and I've got to say i love it. It fits perfectly and feels great to ride.

The3 bike shop was genuinely interested in ensuring I got the right bike for my size.


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## spandex (22 May 2010)

mickle said:


> Yeah, new cables and brake blocks. People are usually unaware of the deterioration of these components as it happens so slowly. Also true your wheels and get your rear hanger checked for alignment.




+1 on that one

+ as Mickle said before cash works well in bike shops but Ive found in all the bike shops around the world that ive been too. That if you have been in once or twice and turn up with some cold ones and cash they work and your on a roll.

The be all and end all of it all is be nice to your local bike shop (LBS) and they will be nice to you.


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## Helly79 (22 May 2010)

I Brought my bike from Halfords, whilst im very happy with it, I wasn't happy with how they built it as in the first week my crank (i hope thats the term)fell of as I was going around a roundabout. Also the gears were not set properly.


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## Debian (24 May 2010)

So bloomin' expensive at the LBS though, well at my local one it is.

They quoted me £140 to replace front & rear pads + bleed the brakes.


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## Ludwig (25 May 2010)

Most repairs and servicing are quite easy to do if you apply a bit of common sense. There is lots of video tutorials and manuals out there. It is a good excercise completely stripping down a bike to see how it all goes together and works. You need a few specialist tools and some components can be tricky to remove and some servicing-tuning etc can take a bit of practice but it is not rocket science. LC


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## allterrain (25 May 2010)

Well, I took it to my LBS for a service and he said it's very old, and not safe to ride (it's around 15 years old), and told me I need to get nearly everything replaced (wheels, cassette, chainset, derailleur etc etc). Cost £260. Is he ripping me off? I'm in South Manchester btw.


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## guitarpete247 (25 May 2010)

How does it feel? 
Does the chain seem to slip when you stand on pedals? 
Does it go into gear accurately or does it slip out of gear and into another when you pedal hard. 
How true are the wheels? Do they catch on the brakes as they go round or are the rims damaged (dints, kinks etc.). Do wheels spin freely or do they feel like they have sand in the bearings or slop side to side on the axle? 
If it is an old bike (15 aint that old unless it's been mistreated, mines 30 and still going well) it should be easy to fettle without too many overly specialised tools. 
Try another bike shop. Second opinions are always good to have (or even a third).


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## Moodyman (25 May 2010)

*Most repairs and servicing are quite easy to do if you apply a bit of common sense.*

Can't disagree Ludwig. I was terribly frightened of bikes until I started commuting. Less than 12 months later, thanks to Cycle Chat and various online video tutorials, I can do all my own maintenance down to cleaning hubs and truing wheels. The only thing I've not tried yet, is building my own wheels, though I know how to do this in principle.

The benefit, money aside, of doing your own maintenance is flexibility. You can work on your bike at 11pm on a Tuesday evening to go for ride on Wednesday morning. Your LBS will not be open on an evening or be able to fit you in at short notice.


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## HeyWayne (25 May 2010)

I'm ashamed to admit I don't even know where my local bike shop is.


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## Moodyman (25 May 2010)

*Cost £260. Is he ripping me off?*

Doesn't sound like it. Local bike shops, unlike second hand car dealerships, are usually run by bike enthusiasts who'd rather have a happy returning customer than a one-time rip off.

Component pricing has gone up dramatically in the last 12-18 months and £260 is not unusually high.


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## summerdays (25 May 2010)

You could ask for a break down of the cost...


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## Debian (25 May 2010)

summerdays said:


> You could ask for a break down of the cost...



For my quote, referenced above it's:

Front and rear pads - £44
Labour + splash of brake fluid - £96

Now, I can buy perfectly serviceable pads for £12, or £30 tops if I go OE and I reckon fitting them and bleeding the brakes is what - 2 hours max? Add in say a fiver for brake fluid and they're charging me at least £52 an hour, probably more as I'm pretty sure they won't take two hours to change the pads and bleed the brakes, it's probably more like £100 an hour. So how is that good value, or encouraging returning customers?

Oh, and they won't fit my own pads, they'll only supply and fit.


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## Debian (25 May 2010)

allterrain said:


> Well, I took it to my LBS for a service and he said it's very old, and not safe to ride (it's around 15 years old), and told me I need to get nearly everything replaced (wheels, cassette, chainset, derailleur etc etc). Cost £260. Is he ripping me off? I'm in South Manchester btw.



I took my old Peugeot to a lbs three or so years ago to have it serviced and I got told much the same thing - basically my bike was scrap. I knew he was talking b*****ks and walked out.

Three years later it's had nothing major replaced and it's still going strong and is used regularly. No chain slippage or anything. I think it's had the axles repacked and new cables since then.

I do sometimes think that LBS' are sometimes no better than backstreet car dealers.


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## shippers (25 May 2010)

It's like everything else in the world- there are good guys and bad guys.

My local Halfords is OK as long as you avoid the weekend monkeys. I have a branch of Evans a few miles away and they've always been excellent, and the couple of times I've been to EBC in Leeds they've been good too.


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## Cedric (25 May 2010)

Am I hearing this wrong, *£260* for changing your brake pads and lubing your brakes????? That's 100% bollocks mate, sounds more like a £25 job to me. 

My mate just replaced his brake cables at a place called "The Bike Station", it's a place where you pay a fiver for a workspace and tools and free, on the spot, expert advice. This is a far more difficult job than yours is. My mate's a great guy, but a total spaz mechanically, but he did a grand job.

I have to ask, what the freak price is your bike to warrant a £260 repair? You could buy a new revolution hybrid for that price


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## Norm (25 May 2010)

allterrain said:


> Well, I took it to my LBS for a service and he said it's very old, and not safe to ride (it's around 15 years old), and told me I need to get nearly everything replaced (wheels, cassette, chainset, derailleur etc etc). Cost £260. Is he ripping me off? I'm in South Manchester btw.





Debian said:


> I took my old Peugeot to a lbs three or so years ago to have it serviced and I got told much the same thing - basically my bike was scrap. I knew he was talking b*****ks and walked out.
> 
> Three years later it's had nothing major replaced and it's still going strong and is used regularly. No chain slippage or anything. I think it's had the axles repacked and new cables since then.


Yeah, I had an LBS try that one on my with my old Viking. 

I changed LBS and the Viking and I have been happy ever since. 



Cedric said:


> Am I hearing this wrong, *£260* for changing your brake pads and lubing your brakes????? That's 100% bollocks mate, sounds more like a £25 job to me.


Yes, you are reading that wrong. The £260 discussion was "_to get nearly everything replaced (wheels, cassette, chainset, derailleur etc etc)._"

The brake job was "only" £140.


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## Cedric (25 May 2010)

Norm said:


> The brake job was "only" £140



Oops, but bl00dy he11, £140 for changeing your brake pads? 

I'd put my bike on Gumtree "Great bike, might need new brake pads £90", and take my £230 and buy six Raleigh vintage racers, keep the one that rides best and practice stripping the others. Eventually you could build at least three great bikes and also learn how to fix your own bl00dy bikes.


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## Debian (25 May 2010)

Cedric said:


> Oops, but bl00dy he11, £140 for changeing your brake pads?
> 
> I'd put my bike on Gumtree "Great bike, might need new brake pads £90", and take my £230 and buy six Raleigh vintage racers, keep the one that rides best and practice stripping the others. Eventually you could build at least three great bikes and also learn how to fix your own bl00dy bikes.



Oh I'm quite capable of changing my brake pads old boy but I don't own the Juicy brake bleeding kit so my thinking was that if the lbs would do the whole job at a reasonable price then a) it saves my time and  it saves me forking out £35 for the bleed kit. I was sort of thinking maybe £75 quid including parts which to me would have been worth it. But £140? Rip off.

Oh, and the bike is worth just tad more than £90


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## Debian (25 May 2010)

Norm said:


> The brake job was "only" £140.



The more I think about this the more cross I become. I mean, my local car mechanic shop charges me less than that to replace the pads on my Landcruiser! The last time they changed my pads it was £80 labour + £50 for the pads.


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## Cedric (25 May 2010)

Sorry mate, I was flipping through threads and had you mistaken for a novice. Still, I think you have to look at repairs in terms of the total value of your bike, even if your bike is £1000ish, if your average repair is around 20% of your bikes value.....c'mon! Sounds like a sellers market to me.


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## Debian (26 May 2010)

Cedric said:


> Sorry mate, I was flipping through threads and had you mistaken for a novice. Still, I think you have to look at repairs in terms of the total value of your bike, even if your bike is £1000ish, if your average repair is around 20% of your bikes value.....c'mon! Sounds like a sellers market to me.



So what do you expect people to do then? Sell their bike every time a new set of pads is needed??

I repeat that I'm quite capable of doing most jobs on the bike, just like I'm quite capable of doing most repairs on my cars. Whether or not I choose to do them or whether my time is more valuable is my choice. I'm merely saying that, IMO, my lbs is trying to rip me off.


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## Cedric (26 May 2010)

> So what do you expect people to do then? Sell their bike every time a new set of pads is needed??
> 
> I repeat that I'm quite capable of doing most jobs on the bike, just like I'm quite capable of doing most repairs on my cars. Whether or not I choose to do them or whether my time is more valuable is my choice. I'm merely saying that, IMO, my lbs is trying to rip me off



What's your problem? You don't need to repeat anything to me, I'm agreeing with you and expressing a general point about the cost of repairs relative to the cost of bikes, and yes, using hyperbole, I am kind of saying that if you have a more budget range bike, repairs in that price range would mean that actually buying a new bike might just be a better option. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder about your ability to do your own repairs. If you have thing about being mistaken for a beginner, I'd stop posting personal gripes in the beginners section mate. You should notice that I apologised for ruffling your feathers about this, and let me also apologise for assuming that you might have a bike that cost a normal price. I'm quite sure you are also great in the sack and can level tall buildings with laser beams from your eyes and you ride a gold plated bike with a mink saddle.


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## Moodyman (26 May 2010)

*I don't own the Juicy brake bleeding kit*

Debian, as this is a Halfords vs LBS thread, might I recommend Halfords on this one.

I like to do my own maintenance, but the cost of the bleed kit, plus the fact that you can't bleed on your own - you need a second pair of hands - I decided to pay Halfords £17.99 for their annual maintenance service which includes the bleed service. 

They charge around £40 for the bleed service as a one-off charge.

In that £17.99 they will do the usual stuff like cables, wheel truing.


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## Moodyman (26 May 2010)

Cedric,

I don't think that Debian has a chip on his shoulder. He made a valid point. You can't sell your bike everytime a bit of maintenance is needed. Debian does a lot of commuting mileage and if he followed this philosophy he'd be buying a new bike every month.

Regarding the bit about repeating your statement, it's what most people do on forums to be clear about which post they're responding to.


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## Cedric (26 May 2010)

Well that's fine Moodyman, you're entitled to interpret his response as you see it. I disagree with you.


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## Norm (26 May 2010)

Cedric said:


> ... and you ride a gold plated bike with a mink saddle.


I think he actually went for fox rather than mink, although I might be wrong.


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## Debian (26 May 2010)

Cedric said:


> What's your problem? You don't need to repeat anything to me, I'm agreeing with you and expressing a general point about the cost of repairs relative to the cost of bikes, and yes, using hyperbole, I am kind of saying that if you have a more budget range bike, repairs in that price range would mean that actually buying a new bike might just be a better option. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder about your ability to do your own repairs. If you have thing about being mistaken for a beginner, I'd stop posting personal gripes in the beginners section mate. You should notice that I apologised for ruffling your feathers about this, and let me also apologise for assuming that you might have a bike that cost a normal price. *I'm quite sure you are also great in the sack and can level tall buildings with laser beams from your eyes and you ride a gold plated bike with a mink saddle*.



lol, no, well maybe for the first one! 

Sorry, I didn't mean it to come across like it did, tetchy day at work. Sorry again.


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## Debian (26 May 2010)

Moodyman said:


> *I don't own the Juicy brake bleeding kit*
> 
> Debian, as this is a Halfords vs LBS thread, might I recommend Halfords on this one.
> 
> ...



Interesting. Thanks for that.


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## Debian (26 May 2010)

Norm said:


> I think he actually went for fox rather than mink, although I might be wrong.



I prefer saddles designed for real men!:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html




.


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## Bandini (26 May 2010)

I wanted to take my bike in. I was quoted £25 at my LBS for a service. I rang Halfords and was told it would be £17.99 for a years cover and any labour required in that year, and that I can take it in next week for a service. our local Halfords is staffed by bike enthusiasts who seem to know what they are doing, so it seems a bit of a no brainer?


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## Debian (26 May 2010)

Well I've just changed my pads, front and rear. First time I've ever changed disc pads and it took me 20 minutes. So how long would it have taken my lbs mechanics? Five minutes? Add on, what, 20 minutes to bleed the brakes so they're wanting to charge me about £200 / hour labour!


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## Cedric (27 May 2010)

Debian, your chilled out response to my nippy post, makes me think that in retrospect I might just well have been a bit of a dick. Sorry mate!


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## Debian (27 May 2010)

Cedric said:


> Debian, your chilled out response to my nippy post, makes me think that in retrospect I might just well have been a bit of a dick. Sorry mate!



Is no problem.

Most of us sometimes speak / write before engaging brain, including me. But thanks for this post anyway.

Now we must stop before this develops into a version of:

"I'm sorry"

"I'm sorry too"

"Well, I'm sorrier than you are"

"No, I'm just as sorry as you if not more so" ........

.......... 

[With thanks and apologies for the paraphrasing of a bit of dialogue from Dr Strangelove]


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