First Service on road bike, should I take it to Halfords??

[Irishrich]

I bought my road bike about 5 weeks ago from a great bike shop in Belfast who were knowledgable and good value for money. I was going to buy from my LBS but he confused the hell out of me and talked for hours that I left bewildered, plus his prices were higher for the same bike I had seen in Belfast. Now that the bike needs its first service and I'm a complete beginner, should I just take it into the local Halfords who charge £14.99 as my LBS is so busy that he wont repair or service bikes not bought directly from him. BTW I live 50 miles from Belfast so am not driving all that way just for a bike service.

 

[Cheshire Celt]

Mines is due soon but it's free at my local bike shop

 

[MissTillyFlop]

I bought my road bike about 5 weeks ago from a great bike shop in Belfast who were knowledgable and good value for money. I was going to buy from my LBS but he confused the hell out of me and talked for hours that I left bewildered, plus his prices were higher for the same bike I had seen in Belfast. Now that the bike needs its first service and I'm a complete beginner, should I just take it into the local Halfords who charge £14.99 as my LBS is so busy that he wont repair or service bikes not bought directly from him. BTW I live 50 miles from Belfast so am not driving all that way just for a bike service.

Depends on whether you trust the staff in that particular branch of Halford's with your pride & Joy.

There are two Halford's near me; Croydon (where they know their salt) and Brixton (where they're all angry teenagers) and I would happily leave my bike with the former, but not the latter.

 

[jugglingphil]

Does your bike need a service? Are you noticing any problems?

 

[numbnuts]

Save your money and do it yourself
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

 

[Irishrich]

Thanks numbnuts for the guide, I'll take a look but I'm in no way technically minded and often prefer to get someone with expertise to do these types of things. My thinking is that I will have the peace of mind that it's done right when we're talking about something that cost more than my first car 15 years ago. I don't know enough about my local halfords to make a decision but I'll maybe call them to ask to speak to someone with bike know how.

PS I've done about 100 miles per week, so 500 miles approx since new and not noticing any problems, but bike shop said it would need a first service within 6 weeks.

 

[Rob3rt]

All they will do is check all bolts are still tight and haven't worked loose and will probably adjust the cable tension to account for any cable stretch. If you are lucky they might check the wheels are true and if not, true them for you.

 

[Pauluk]

Save your money and do it yourself

.... And then you know that its been done properly.

 

[4F]

Warning:- Halford's, expertise, peace of mind and know how used in the same post . As Miss Tillyflop says you may be lucky with your local halfords who may do a reasonable job however my experience with the 3 near me is that they are run by imbiciles.

 

[Globalti]

As above. Just go round and check that all nuts and bolts are snug and check the wheels spin freely, the bearings are not rough (check by spinning while holding the wheel in your hands) and the rims aren't wobbly, check that the brake blocks are wearing evenly and aren't running off the rims and check that the gears work OK. If anything worries you, come back on here and ask.

Serviced.

 

[User6179]

If your brakes and gears are working your basically paying £15 for getting your chain oiled and tyres pumped up ,i take it your not the type to run 2 chains on your bike so wouldnt imagine you need another chain at 500 miles .
Its not really a service they offer as they will not grease bearings or renew cables or swap chain over ,its basically a saftey check and if it was free I wouldnt trust halfords to do it correctly.

 

[Globalti]

Correct. Calling it a service is over-egging it a bit; if you keep on top of maintenance you will never need a service anyway. Example: you notice vibration when spinning the wheels so you remove them and discover that the bearings are dry and rough; you learn to strip them and grease them then readjust. You notice that the brake blocks are wearing unevenly so you take them off, pick out the embedded grit, trim off excess material then refit them correctly lined up with the rim. You notice a tiny amount of play in the headset so you undo the two clamp bolts, tighten the cap down a little and clamp up again. The chain looks dirty so you remove it, clean in white spirit, clean the sprockets, re-lube and replace. All of these are routine adjustments that you can be doing every weekend, not in one sudden 1000 mile or 6-monthly service.

 

[Peteaud]

Correct. Calling it a service is over-egging it a bit; if you keep on top of maintenance you will never need a service anyway. Example: you notice vibration when spinning the wheels so you remove them and discover that the bearings are dry and rough; you learn to strip them and grease them then readjust. You notice that the brake blocks are wearing unevenly so you take them off, pick out the embedded grit, trim off excess material then refit them correctly lined up with the rim. You notice a tiny amount of play in the headset so you undo the two clamp bolts, tighten the cap down a little and clamp up again. The chain looks dirty so you remove it, clean in white spirit, clean the sprockets, re-lube and replace. All of these are routine adjustments that you can be doing every weekend, not in one sudden 1000 mile or 6-monthly service.

100% yes apart from the bearings

Complete bl00dy mystery and when i last tried (several years ago) most of the ball bearings escaped all over the garden.

 

[Irishrich]

Cheers, I can check all points mentioned, so no need to waste 15 quid right now.

 

[Globalti]

Honestly, an experienced cyclist and bike fettler will pick up your bike and tell you within a few seconds which bits need attention. You don't need to pay good money to some half-awake kid in a bike warehouse with the radio blaring and his mind on the text his best mate has just sent him.