Halfords or local bike shop?

[mickle]

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.

 

[Norm]

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.

 

[decca234uk]

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.

 

[spandex]

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.

 

[Helly79]

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.

 

[Debian]

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.

 

[Ludwig]

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

 

[allterrain]

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.

 

[guitarpete247]

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).

 

[Moodyman]

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.

 

[HeyWayne]

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

 

[Moodyman]

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.

 

[summerdays]

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

 

[Debian]

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.

 

[Debian]

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.