# Evans Servicing - Worth it?



## sabian92 (25 Jan 2012)

I'm looking at getting the full whack, which is £110. They do everything, take it apart, clean, regrease everything put it all back etc.

Is it worth it though? I'm not exactly what you'd call mechanically minded.


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## Beebo (25 Jan 2012)

It's a time V money issue. If you are cash rich and time poor then go for it.

For that price you could buy a decent basic bike tool kit and a manual, and do all future servicing yourself. It's what I did. Bike servicing is fairly easy, and everyone on here will help you with questions.

The one issue I have is that I dont have a workshed or garage so all my servicing is done on the patio in the garden, which is not ideal at this time of year.


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## mattobrien (25 Jan 2012)

Looking at their price list my LBS would charge £100 for this, so not much of an Evans premium - see if they will price match


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## sabian92 (25 Jan 2012)

Beebo said:


> It's a time V money issue. If you are cash rich and time poor then go for it.
> 
> For that price you could buy a decent basic bike tool kit and a manual, and do all future servicing yourself. It's what I did. Bike servicing is fairly easy, and everyone on here will help you with questions.
> 
> The one issue I have is that I dont have a workshed or garage so all my servicing is done on the patio in the garden, which is not ideal at this time of year.


 
I'm not really cash rich, but i'm definitely time poor! I can clean/relube a chain and that's about it. Not really mechanically minded, really not my thing and I'd rather pay to have it done properly, I just wondered if this was about the going rate or expensive. The last time I tried to do any sort of maintenance on anything I blew something up (seriously - cleaned out the computer and tidied some wires up, plugged the wrong plug into our router and blew it up).



mattobrien said:


> Looking at their price list my LBS would charge £100 for this, so not much of an Evans premium - see if they will price match


I don't really have a local bike shop (My town of 60K doesn't have one - seriously) but the tenner or so difference doesn't matter. I've got to save up for it anyway.


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## rollinstok (25 Jan 2012)

I,m appalled at the servicing fees that are often quoted. Like another comment.. spend the money on tools and a decent book. Its fairly easy to do almost any job on the bike and once you,ve serviced the bike you may agree that the vast amount of that £110 is sheer profit for Evans PLC..the poor guy doing the actual servicing gets peanuts.


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## SpokeyDokey (25 Jan 2012)

rollinstok said:


> I,m appalled at the servicing fees that are often quoted. Like another comment.. spend the money on tools and a decent book. Its fairly easy to do almost any job on the bike and once you,ve serviced the bike you may agree that the vast amount of that £110 is sheer profit for Evans PLC..the poor guy doing the actual servicing gets peanuts.


 
Depends on how long a full service takes I guess - £110 doesn't sound too bad to me.


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## rollinstok (25 Jan 2012)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Depends on how long a full service takes I guess - £110 doesn't sound too bad to me.


 
About 90 mins. Wages £15 ( if they are lucky ), Lubricants and other fluids £1.


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## Dusty.com (25 Jan 2012)

I know halfords arn't the best but you can get a years servise plan with them for £19,99 that means all labour is for free and you only pay for parts.


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## Andrew_P (25 Jan 2012)

I do not live in Runcorn, but I have found Mobile Cycle repairs really good value.

There seems to be few near you, I like them as they are normally one man bands and care about keeping customers, always worth asking them if they will do you a deal as well.

I won't put the links up but this is a great site to find them http://www.thecyclingexperts.co.uk/...=runcorn&radius=&searchterms=&filter-cytech=1 or any cycle related business!


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## oldfatfool (25 Jan 2012)

Blimey I've just had swmbos car serviced by a main plate glass dealer and it was only £120.


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## sabian92 (25 Jan 2012)

Halfords near me (Widnes, not far from the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge for you LEJOGers) are awful. I watched one of their 16 year old scally "experts" try to remove my back wheel without removing the chain from the cassette. As you can imagine... didn't end well.

I'd rather pay to have it done properly than arse it up and spend even more having it fixed. The work is definitely well done though, right?


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jan 2012)

Rather than taking it to halfords and get charged £19.99 just take it to a descent bike shop then you will save £19.99 as it will probably end up there anyway if they touch it


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## zizou (25 Jan 2012)

If you are needing a full service then you are likely going to need replacing some things too - cassette, chain maybe a new bb and other bits too. It could get expensive pretty quick.

Think my LBS does a full service for about £70


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## skudupnorth (25 Jan 2012)

Not used Evans for servicing but i have used them for wheel truing and a stuck bottom bracket and i have been more than happy with the service they provide.
What does a service include ??? It cannot be that hard on a bike un-like a piggin car !


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jan 2012)

skudupnorth said:


> Not used Evans for servicing but i have used them for wheel truing and a stuck bottom bracket and i have been more than happy with the service they provide.
> What does a service include ??? It cannot be that hard on a bike un-like a piggin car !


 
They get a nubile wench to caress it with mink gloves on ............. at least I hope they do for £110


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## skudupnorth (25 Jan 2012)

phil_hg_uk said:


> They get a nubile wench to caress it with mink gloves on ............. at least I hope they do for £110


 Fantastic,i'm booking all three bikes in !


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## kishan (25 Jan 2012)

price is high but for the quality of service they do it is worth it but if money is tight see your local bike shops see how much they will charge.


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jan 2012)

skudupnorth said:


> Fantastic,i'm booking all three bikes in !


 
Well I am sure that for £330 you could probably find somewhere that would offer such a service however your bicycle may not see much of an improvement


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## Pedal pusher (25 Jan 2012)

Dusty.com said:


> I know halfords arn't the best but you can get a years servise plan with them for £19,99 that means all labour is for free and you only pay for parts.


Do not take your bike under any circumstances to Halfords for a service. I stood and watched a couple of Saturday lads trying to run the shop and put a customers bike together and to be honest they really didn't have a clue. Not their fault but the whole ethos behind Halford's and bikes. LBS every time even if you have to put the bike in the car and drive it to the nearest LBS


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## DCLane (25 Jan 2012)

Evans Leeds have done two of their Stage 1 services (£40) on mine; they've cleaned it, trued the wheels and made sure it's all OK.

I'm time poor with job and two young children plus SWMBO. Cash rich? That's debatable!


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## SpokeyDokey (25 Jan 2012)

rollinstok said:


> About 90 mins. Wages £15 ( if they are lucky ), Lubricants and other fluids £1.


 
Looks like their stage 2 service is very comprehensive - looks longer than 90 minutes to me.

I don't think that the £110 less £16 comparison reveals too much, that leaves out way too many other costs + taxes. There won't be a whole heap of profit in that.


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## Nebulous (26 Jan 2012)

It's very much a personal choice. I used to do a lot of work on my own cars- but gradually drifted away from it. Increasing complexity and computer controlled things, busy job, slightly more money, all contributed to that - though in some ways I miss it. On starting cycling I have been gradually building up my tools and knowledge, and I feel I'm getting back some of that satisfaction I used to get from tinkering with a car.

I have been blown away with the cost of bicycle work - an acquaintance put his best bike in for a service last spring and paid £280. I'm assuming there were a few parts included, but it still seems like a lot of money. Then again, last time my car was serviced labour charges were £70 an hour. Overheads for companies are much more than just wages.


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## rollinstok (26 Jan 2012)

I,m amazed there are a few who believe that the £110 is not excessive. We are known as rip-off Britain because too many people do not question prices. I was in business to business sales for 27 yrs and in all that time I can honestly say we never made more than 50% gp on any sale.. 35-40% was average. Retail is a totally different animal though. Massive profits are made on accessories and services in the bicycle industry by the giant retailers..they will tell you that wages are the highest cost but what they dont tell you is whose wages..its not the guy behind the counter or the guy who does the servicing. The gap between the rich and poor is growing nicely because of our reluctance to dispute. I,m getting all political now and I apologise for that, but because of my background I refuse point blank to be ripped off by anyone if I can help it.


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## 400bhp (26 Jan 2012)

oldfatfool said:


> Blimey I've just had swmbos car serviced by a main plate glass dealer and it was only £120.


 
And they did what for that, change the oil and filters.

Same arguments apply to basic car maintenence. Can be done yourself for a lot less.


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## 400bhp (26 Jan 2012)

skudupnorth said:


> Not used Evans for servicing but i have used them for wheel truing and a stuck bottom bracket and i have been more than happy with the service they provide.
> What does a service include ??? It cannot be that hard on a bike un-like a piggin car !


 
I think the main thing they do, perhaps above what a lot of us home mechanics do, is to strip parts and clean/lube.

IMO, for some people this kind of service is worth it. One way of looking at it is a "commute cost". If it means that your bike keeps running for longer then it is perhaps a good thing.

Do remember though that the cost of parts are on top.


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## 400bhp (26 Jan 2012)

Edit: I also believe that Evans may try it on with replacement parts (the old car mechanics) trick. They told me certain parts needed repalcing when they clearly didn't.

I have a friend that took his bike for one of their services-he ended up parting with a considerable amount more on top for parts that I suspect could have had plenty more life in them (a boardman £800 hybrid bike of less than a year old with perhaps 2000 miles under its belt).


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## oldfatfool (26 Jan 2012)

400bhp said:


> And they did what for that, change the oil and filters.
> 
> Same arguments apply to basic car maintenence. Can be done yourself for a lot less.


 
I agree but compared to a bike service I would say a car was more than £10 s worth, besides which I get a little stamp in a book :P


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## wbmkk (28 Jan 2012)

Another one promoting my local bike shop for any repairs / service.

Last year I needed a part for an old road bike, I could have bought it online, but would have needed some special tools etc (and know-how too) .. ended up bringing it tot a local shop (Tynemouth) and he supplied and fitted it, for not very much more than the purchase price alone. He would probably have got some discount on the purchase, but I was 100% happy with work done.

He has my business for life


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## User16625 (28 Jan 2012)

Pedal pusher said:


> *Do not take your bike under any circumstances to Halford*s for a service. I stood and watched a couple of Saturday lads trying to run the shop and put a customers bike together and to be honest they really didn't have a clue. Not their fault but the whole ethos behind Halford's and bikes. LBS every time even if you have to put the bike in the car and drive it to the nearest LBS


 

This. 
Dont even buy accessories from them. I purchased a duel piston footpump from halford and even that was useless!


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## xpc316e (28 Jan 2012)

I would echo the comments about Halfords; I have lost count of the number of Apollo bikes I see when training that have the forks fitted back to front, so letting them service a bike would just not do for me.

I'd buy the tools, study the video clips on Bicycle Tutor on youtube, get a book from the library, and DIY. Money saved, satisfaction gained, knowledge improved - it's a no-brainer.


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## Ticktockmy (29 Jan 2012)

To be honest, if you look at what skills are really required to service a bike other than wheel tuning, then do it yourself, a most jobs are just simple cleaning, greasing/oiling and a little spanner work, and if that fails hit it with a big hammer. You dont have evans or LBS out in the middle of the Oooluie do you, you just have your little tool kit, well some of us do, from experiance a lot dont.LLOOLL
.


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## BigTam (30 Jan 2012)

Evans do free maintenance classes, enrol on one of these, take your own bike, saved £110


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## thelawnet (1 Feb 2012)

I would avoid Evans, not for price, but because they are a chain and are likely to be worse at service than a proper LBS. Not keen on my local at all.


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