Taking forever

[Joe24]

Ah, sorry Maz, wasnt sure.
Cant remember why i stopped going there, there was a reason though.
But a few people in the cycle club have said the same thing, theres no decent bike shops around. Even though i never wet in, Olympic Cycles was ment to be a good one, but that has closed down, in January sometime.

 

[mickle]

What on earth do they mean when they say they 'don't do fixed'? A fixed wheel is a merely a single speed without a freewheel. Do they do single speed? Do they do hub gears? The principles regarding chain line and BB axle length are the exactly the same. Idiots.

 

[Joe24]

What on earth do they mean when they say they 'don't do fixed'? A fixed wheel is a merely a single speed without a freewheel. Do they do single speed? Do they do hub gears? The principles regarding chain line and BB axle length are the exactly the same. Idiots.

Calm down
Anyway, been to LBS, tried it. Is 4mm too much to bring the drop-outs in? The guy was like "No, you cant bring it in 4mm" I said, "well its only 2mm each side, which is hardly any." So i decided to be quiet then. The hub will fit, but when putting the bolt on, you get about 1 turn. If the spacers were taken down to 124mm then it would fit, i can tell. Hes going to ring System ex to see if they can send a longer axle because its a sealed cartridge bairing. If not, then its back to square one. I'll go for the one SJS do that i was going to go for originally. Balls

 

[bobg]

I'm glad I read this thread, just off to Nottingham to see No 2 daughter who asked me to to fettle her bike while I was there and I was hoping to cheat and drop it round the nearest LBS but maybe not.... BTW Surely 2mm either side is no big deal on a 531 or any steel frame ?, for heavens sake I've pulled in that much on an ally one ( touches wood cos I still ride it)

 

[Joe24]

Bobg, what side of Nottingham is she on? Depending where she is, you might be near Pro Bikes. Have heard some good things about them, nice guy in there aswell.
I see it as 2mm either side, which isnt much, but he was seeing it as 4mm overall which he thought was a huge amount. I have squeezed the frame in that much and got a friend to measure it when he came to look at the frame. Bit annoying really.

 

[bobg]

Hi Joe, she's in Hyson Green so any recommendations welcome. Last time I went I was working on her bike all day!

 

[Joe24]

Hyson Green Apparently ladies stand on street courners alot there
To get parts, Evans. Any work you cant do, Pro Bikes is worth a try. Thats in Hucknall though.
Could give The Bike Shop a try if you really cant do the stuff yourself though. Still cant remember why i stopped going there, i know that to have a conversation with them is a hard thing to do.

 

[bobg]

Hyson Green Apparently ladies stand on street courners alot there
To get parts, Evans. Any work you cant do, Pro Bikes is worth a try. Thats in Hucknall though.
Could give The Bike Shop a try if you really cant do the stuff yourself though. Still cant remember why i stopped going there, i know that to have a conversation with them is a hard thing to do.

Thanks Joe, I'll make a note if I get stuck. Yup, it sure is bandit country out there, her car's held together with gaffer tape, 3 break ins in 12 months. I've only visited once before and lost my hubcaps. Its the £350 a month for a 3 bed house including council tax that helps! I dont think she stands on street corners though or at least she's not mentioned it...

 

[Fnaar]

Thanks Joe, I'll make a note if I get stuck. Yup, it sure is bandit country out there, her car's held together with gaffer tape, 3 break ins in 12 months. I've only visited once before and lost my hubcaps. Its the £350 a month for a 3 bed house including council tax that helps! I dont think she stands on street corners though or at least she's not mentioned it...

If she offers to "inflate your tube", it can only mean one thing!

 

[Joe24]

Yeh, if i'm near Hyson Green i dont actually stop. Or in Meadows, or St Anns or Sneinton for that matter
Hyson Green has another name, which i cannot put on here
Its cheap there for a reason though, but i would rather live in Sneinton then Hyson green i think. But on the outskirts of Sneinton.
Around here where i am its getting rougher, it used to be sort of posh when we first moved here aswell

 

[yenrod]

I hope your situation gets sorted.

Dont be taken for a ride Joe - your getting them to do the work and their are other bike shops if you feel they dont give a good deal.

I would though, start to do all jobs on the bike yourself. I find - if others do jobs on my bike then I dont feel good and the bike and 2; if it goes wrong then you may not have done the job AND your phuced.

Learn yourself.

Bike maintenance isnt rocket science its simple.

I learnt myself with hardly no tools, pliers and the likes....

Now I can do 95-100% of jobs on the bikes.

All the best.

 

[bonj2]

Used to go in there. But when i had the folder and didnt know how to set up the gears, they kept the bike in and charged £5 to set the gears up.
That was also the shop that when i said, "Hello, i'm looking for a fixed hub tha"
They said quickly "We dont do fixed hubs or fixed gear bikes"
Bunneys Bikes in town, i walked out of when a guy was in with a cheap MTB that he had fitted a new chain to. I looked at it while i was waiting and he had a weak link that had seperated the chain. He asked a guy in there to use a chai tool and he wanted the guy to book it in. The guy finily got lent a chain tool and he fixed the chain. The guy never told him anything about why the link was like that or anything. He walked out and then i followed and told him what he needed and to get it from Evans.
Never feel that welcome in Langdales, probably because they see me as not being full on roadie or whatever.
Freewheel in town is run by kids basicly. They had the London version of the Specilized Langster there that someone had tried to make look good. Still looked bad and didnt like my comment asking why they didnt have a better fixed there. They also said they would ring me back about the fixed hub, but never did.
Evans, only a few good people in there, but to get a fixed hub they wanted me to order it in and pay the stupid postage to get it to the shop. They are a bit expensive on repairs.
Off into LBS today to sort it out. After talking with a guy in the club that ran fixed for a few years, and him demonstrating how flexble the rear drop-outs are on 531 frames, i'm going to get the hub spacers down to 3.5mm and then just squeeze the frame in. Wont be squeezed in that much, only 1.5mm each side 3mm overall. Its then just the matter of the bottom bracket length to get the chain line right.
I've been to most local bike shops around here you see
Pro Bikes i've been to once, its a nice shop. The guy was more happy to sell me cheaper shoes or send me to Decathlon because he knew my feet will probably grow then sell me an expensive pair of shoes. Even gave advice for if we went to Decathlon. Unfortunatly, he is too far away, and it would be hard to get a lift there and back when i need to take a bike in.

Try Langdales or Freewheel again. I get the feeling you might be ending up with the numpties because you're being a bit picky: 'feeling unwelcome', and having them 'not like your comment about why they didn't have a better fixed' isn't important to you. (Anyhow, didn't you say you did 1,000 miles in a month? how many more do you need to do to be 'full on'? )
All you should care about is that they are capable of doing a good job and not ripping you off and keeping you waiting for ages. You don't have to fall in love with every single aspect of the shop to be satisfied with what it can do for you.

 

[Joe24]

Freewheel is run by numpties though, worse than Evans. Will have to try Langdales again, although it is slightly more expensive.

 

[longers]

Wouldn't it be easier to get the train to York and let Spandex help you do it?

Then ride back .

 

[fossyant]

It's a tricky one if you don't have the kit to do it.....I always bought the bits and tools, even put my Herety together at 21.... it will cost to get the bits but it's lots better than getting ripped off, and these days you do have forums....

When I was in a local club, we had a 'link' to a local shop, but the guy was rubbish - i.e. hammer job, so most of the club did their own maintenance....maybe find a local club and get physical help.... oh and you didn't get a discount......

For LBS's it's a bit hit and miss near me, i.e. proper ones - have one out in Handforth that are truly excellent - Rick Green - (had a number of their wheels) and what was Macclesfield Cycles, but haven't been that way for years - don't know if it's still going - my main problem is time...... I used to ride out to the shop, get my bits and ride back...no time for that now...internet orders, then fix/replace when the kids are in bed..........