LBS services

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
U

User16625

Guest
I need a new chain and sprockets for my bike so I checked out a few shops in the Swansea area. My experience in Schmoos Cycles was totally unexpected. I explained what I wanted to this fat guy but he refused to work on the parts coz they were dirty (why clean parts that are gonna get binned anyway). He also explained that I should go with tiagra rather than 105 because I "clearly dont look after" my bike. He also said my front sprockets are ok even tho the big chainring reminded me of pointy things I would find in a sharks mouth. Now why would someone running a business go out of his way to put people off using him? I certainly wasnt gonna downgrade my parts. I also disagree with his claim that I dont look after my bike. Isnt that the reason I intended giving this man money in return for new parts? I fail to understand the logic with some people. Anyway my money will be spent at Tredz, if they do a good enough job I will stick with them.
Think I dodged a bullet with Schmoos, so any of you had particularly bad or great experiences with local LBS?
 
fossala

fossala

Guru
Location
Cornwall
Yes, when I first got into bikes I tightened my stem bolts before my compression bolt. This meant wobbly forks. They told me my headset was shot and it would cost 20 quid plus parts. I went home and did a little research and found out it was just loose because of the order I tightened it.

Number 2 (same shop) had an insurance claim for a wrote off bike. They said the frame was in rideable condition. When I tried to rebuild it afterwards it turned out the rear hanger was bent by 12mm.

I no longer use them. for anyone intrested they are http://pavevelo.cc/home/ To make it worse, the older guy is so far up his own arse it's unbearable.
 
Ciar

Ciar

Veteran
Location
London
My LBS are brilliant, last time my gears were playing up they said drop it in we will have a shufty, low and behold it was all sorted out, no charge as i had already bought some bits the previous week.. they get my return business infact i bought my new hardtail from them, very happy i found a decent LBS.

as for tredz even though I am in London i bought my hybrid from them, very helpful shop due to not being able to source the correct bike and a 3 week wait, they ended up giving me the 2013 for the price of the 2012 but a better model :smile:
 
BSRU

BSRU

A Human Being
Location
Swindon
I took my less than one year old steel tourer into an LBS and the guy who served me, stated that he was not sure they worked on bikes that old, he thought new bikes were never made of steel.
 
MaxInc

MaxInc

Senior Member
Location
Kent
Just because they are local and small business does not guarantee great customer service. I've lost more time and money than my problems were worth. They replaced damaged components on a brand new bike with cheap second hand leftovers and argued that they solved the problem. The only way to make them honour the warranty was via a threatening letter written by a solicitor. Was impressed at first as they seem really friendly when I purchased the bike first but really disappointed in the end.

Servicing a bike is not that much of a deal anyways with a few tools. It is a skill worth learning that may proove useful one day when you are far away from home.
 
fossala

fossala

Guru
Location
Cornwall
Yeah, I've just given up with LBS. Do all my own work now. I do still buy the odd thing from Clive Mitchels in Truro. But that is only for selfish reasons (so they don't close down if I need a part quickly).
 
Rob3rt

Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
Many bike shops will stipulate the bike is clean and if not, they will either refuse to work on it, or charge an additional fee. I think this is a fair policy.

I don't blame him for suggesting you go with something more economic if you brought the bike to him in a state that suggests or gives the impression that your maintenance schedule is poor.

What has him being fat got to do with anything?
 
sickboyblue

sickboyblue

Senior Member
Location
Manchester
Sounds like this guy..

comic-book-guy-the-simpsons.jpg
 
ianrauk

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Rob3rt said:
Many bike shops will stipulate the bike is clean and if not, they will either refuse to work on it, or charge an additional fee. I think this is a fair policy.

I don't blame him for suggesting you go with something more economic if you brought the bike to him in a state that suggests or gives the impression that your maintenance schedule is poor.

What has him being fat got to do with anything?
Click to expand...



Agreed. It's pretty disrespectful & lazy if you haven't given your bike even a little bit of a clean before taking it in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom