DIY or Bike Shop?

[Puddles]

My Daddy thoroughly approves & applauds my saving efforts towards Dutchie Bike & A Wee Hoo... so much so he said he will purchase the bike for me therefore decreasing my wait time

So is it a better idea to have the bike assembled at a bike shop or DIY?

How does one go about having such a thing done at the shop should I just call my lbs and ask if I can have it delivered direct to them and also how much should I be looking at them charging on average for assembly? It will arrive 95% assembled.

 

[AndyRM]

If you're having it delivered, all you should need to do is stick some pedals on and turn the bars. An allen key and a spanner is all you will need.

 

[Puddles]

Having peered further it is pedals & the front wheel and my lbs just said they would charge me £40 to do that AND as they were busy they would not be able to do it until a week after the bike arrived

 

[AndyRM]

£40 for a 5 minute job? No, ta.

If you're unsure about anything, there are plenty of helpful videos on Youtube.

 

[helston90]

Or someone on here could pop around to do it in exchange for a cup of tea- that is some serious cheek from the LBS- even if they were that busy and their lead in time is that long £40 is a lot for a few tweaks.

 

[Puddles]

Or someone on here could pop around to do it in exchange for a cup of tea- that is some serious cheek from the LBS- even if they were that busy and their lead in time is that long £40 is a lot for a few teaks.

The £40 did produce lots of coughing and spluttering from me and a "Can I get back to you response"

Hubby put my crappy first bike "I might not take to this" from Argos together and somethings were never quite right... the biggest pain is putting the hitch on the back wheel for the bike trailer and as the new bike is a "proper" one and to me (I know other costs lots lots more) v. expensive I thought I might go the lbs route but not at that price for not a lot of work.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

It isn't very hard to DIY. Have a go! Ask away on CC too. Lots of knowledgeable folks on CC

 

[Herr-B]

It's easy to DIY, just be careful not to cross - thread the pedals as it can be a very expensive mistake a few months down the line.

I'll certainly never do it again.

 

[Puddles]

Okay I manged to put pedals & the wheel on and do all the stuffs but now I think I do need a person what knows what they are doing as I am totally confused.

It says on the mail

All bikes have the gears set at the point of manufacture, however occasionally they may need to be set again after the journey over from the Netherlands. This a simple process, outlined in the XRD8 Hub Guide (Page 2, Section 4, Steps 1-4) attached to this email

I have peered and peered and read the whole pdf file but I cannot see what the cable adjuster is, and I have peered at the gear hub thingy (I am assuming the same side as the chain???) and can see bugger all there too.

They do need adjustment they don't change easily and clank a bit and stuff...

Simple process my bum!

 

[Over The Hill]

As you are going to be out and about and bikes do need the odd running repair along the way, you really would be better off using the opportunity to get to know how the bike works and how to take bits off and put them on.

I had my first puncture in about 5 years at the weekend (canal path) and it was an easy repair that took ten minutes. If you don't know how to take a wheel off then it becomes a ruined day.

 

[Puddles]

I would plan on getting the lovely man that comes to the house to do it and I plan to ask him to show me how to do all those things on this bike, I could do it on the old bike, this hub brake gear type thing just looks a bit to me and the manual is no help at all I can't identify half of what they are talking about

 

[alicat]

What gears has it got, Puddles?

As a general rule, put the bike in gear 4. Look for two yellow dots on the hub near the sprocket. If they are lined up the gears do not need to be adjusted. If they are not lined up, identify the cable that goes to the hub. It should have a barrel adjuster near the end. Turn the cable one way half a turn and see if it makes the cables closer together. If it doesn't, turn the cable one whole turn the other way. Repeat until the yellow dots are lined up.

Take the bike for a ride in gear 4, shift to gear 3 and back again and check the yellow dots are still lined up.

Alternatively google 'gear adjustment [and the name of your gears e.g. Shimano Alfine 8. With any luck there will be a YouTube video or a better Shimano Techs doc.

 

[Puddles]

It has 8 gears, it is a Sturmey Archer 8 speed XRD8 hub brake. The pdf Is from Sturmey Archer and to me, is worse than useless, see the Dutchie has stuff on it, which I know sounds silly but as a novice to these hub gear things, I am a bit ? about what to take off especially as it is all new and shiney and cost a lot of pennies to me I shall get brave and completely remove the chain guard, rather than just half of it and have a bit more of peer today to see yellow marks, I have now found a video on youtube so now at least I know what I am looking for to adjust the thing.