In praise of my LBS

[Dogtrousers]

On my last ride I noticed a bit of wobbliness in my cranks which I correctly diagnosed as a fecked BB (It's a shimano RS500 outboard bearing thingy)

So Friday night I fitted the spare BB that I had. While I was at it I fitted a new chain. All went well until I found that the chainrings were sitting a couple of mm too far out and the chain wouldn't go into the big ring. Took it all to bits. Re-fitted it, gave it an extra whack with a mallet. No good. I've spent more than enough time on this. Time to give it to someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Took it to the LBS this morning. Got a phone call just as Pog is crossing the line. Picked it up 30 mins later. Turns out the top layer of bearing seal from the old BB had come off and stuck to the chainset so tightly that I thought it was actually part of the chainset and cleaned over it. So the mechanic just removed the chainset, removed the stuck old seal, and refitted it. Also checked my front indexing. £20

Everyone's happy. The shop gets £20 for 5 minutes work. The mechanic gets a tale to tell his mates about what a bunch of eejits his customers are. I learn a salutory lesson that I'm a mechanically inept clutz who shouldn't be allowed to mess with things. Oh, hang on, I already knew that.

So all praise to Compton's Cycles of Catford, who have sorted out innumerable problems for me.

 

[biggs682]

It's one of those jobs he more than likely spent ages doing the first time he came against it and then once you have experienced it once and remembered the remedy it's easy the next time .

But praise to the shop for being honest and telling you

 

[tinywheels]

On my last ride I noticed a bit of wobbliness in my cranks which I correctly diagnosed as a fecked BB (It's a shimano RS500 outboard bearing thingy)

So Friday night I fitted the spare BB that I had. While I was at it I fitted a new chain. All went well until I found that the chainrings were sitting a couple of mm too far out and the chain wouldn't go into the big ring. Took it all to bits. Re-fitted it, gave it an extra whack with a mallet. No good. I've spent more than enough time on this. Time to give it to someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Took it to the LBS this morning. Got a phone call just as Pog is crossing the line. Picked it up 30 mins later. Turns out the top layer of bearing seal from the old BB had come off and stuck to the chainset so tightly that I thought it was actually part of the chainset and cleaned over it. So the mechanic just removed the chainset, removed the stuck old seal, and refitted it. Also checked my front indexing. £20

Everyone's happy. The shop gets £20 for 5 minutes work. The mechanic gets a tale to tell his mates about what a bunch of eejits his customers are. I learn a salutory lesson that I'm a mechanically inept clutz who shouldn't be allowed to mess with things. Oh, hang on, I already knew that.

So all praise to Compton's Cycles of Catford, who have sorted out innumerable problems for me.

compton supplied my Brompton , they are truly amazing. I cannot praise them enough, top geezers.
They have been in Catford years and know their onions. Well worth travelling to in a world of dubious bike shops.

 

[Sharky]

I've used one of our local LBS's a few times over the years when faced with a technical issue that was a bit complex and didn't want to experiment and learn on the job. They always did an excellent job. But my usage, about once every 10 years, hasn't been enough to keep them running and now most of the LBS's have now closed.

There is one excellent mechanic about 20 miles away. Somebody who is/was a top rider in Kent. But again, it must be over 10 years since I used his skills.

 

[Dogtrousers]

But praise to the shop for being honest and telling you

His exact words were "You'll kick yourself when I tell you ..."

 

[presta]

It's one of those jobs he more than likely spent ages doing the first time he came against it and then once you have experienced it once and remembered the remedy it's easy the next time .

This is something that people don't understand when they expect me to fix their tellys for them. They see a repair man walk in, take one look at the TV, then hoick out the offending component, and think I can do the same because I'm an electronics engineer. It doesn't occur that the repair man knows which bit because he has done it scores of times before, but I'd have to analyse the symptoms to find it, and for that I'm likely to need circuit diagrams and test gear that I don't have.

Being an engineer is about analysing faults, not just memorising them parrot fashion.

 

[wiggydiggy]

> Time to give it to someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Yep. Had a positive experience with Sowerby Cycles in (not Sowerby) but Mirfield. I wanted to fit a chain guide as my chain kept slipping off, bought all the parts but it turned out 1 part that was sent (Crank Removal Tool) was in the right box, but the wrong part. After an hour of swearing and trying to remove a crank with a tool that would never work I went to the LBS and they diagnosed the issue in minutes, ordered the right parts and a better solution than a guide and the final cost was comparable to me buying the tools and parts myself. I've returned some of the parts I ordered too so some of my inital costs are being clawed back.