LBS Prices ***UPDATED***

[vickster]

Mmmmmmm Skum (foam mushrooms)

 

[WozzaTT]

Be careful going round tightening things up if you've bought a carbon frame as you can damage the frame over -tightening.
The bolts will have a torque figure so you don't risk this happening, I bought a small torque wrench with my carbon bike for this reason
Personally I went the boxed route and had the bike built/set up by a trusted bike mech on my Boardman and it's been faultless so far. However the first bike they sold me had a bent front drop out which my mech immediately saw on taking it out the box and I returned it for another immediately, gawd knows what the Halfords guy would of done if he'd even noticed it....probably got the mole grips out!!
There's all sorts of horror stories about stripped pedal threads, handlebars not fitted properly, loose wheel skewers and such re Halfords bike building so I'd take it to a bike shop first. Also if there is something wrong the bike shop mech will highlight it straight away to you

Thank you - really glad I've taken it to to be checked over now.

I was looking at torque wrenches for bikes earlier - looks like a decent enough one can be had for about £40 or so. I wonder if they're used much in bike shops - a quick search earlier suggests they're not very often, but I guess experience is all. I'd be nervous tightening on carbon without one.

 

[Big Nick]

Thank you - really glad I've taken it to to be checked over now.

I was looking at torque wrenches for bikes earlier - looks like a decent enough one can be had for about £40 or so. I wonder if they're used much in bike shops - a quick search earlier suggests they're not very often, but I guess experience is all. I'd be nervous tightening on carbon without one.

When you know your way around bike fettling you probably get a feel for how tight bolts need to be but I think for newbies such as you and I a small torque wrench is definitely worth using

 

[WozzaTT]

LBS has just phoned - bike is ready to collect so I might actually get to ride it for the first time.

Better change - I don't suppose flip-flops are recommended footwear.

 

[vickster]

I got scalped by a bloke on a hybrid in flipflops, so they may be a performance enhancer - he was about 6 inches taller than me, slimmer and about half my age but I am sure it was flip flop power alone!

 

[WozzaTT]

In that case I shall keep them on!

I'm feeling energised today - started a diet 3 weeks ago and I've lost a stone already so quite chuffed with that. One more to go and then I'm at my optimum 'fighting weight'.

 

[vickster]

Well done, how have you lost a stone in 3 weeks?!

 

[Cubist]

Just a thought @WozzaTT , if you have the dosh to treat yourself to a decent pair of shorts, then it may be best spent in the LBS. Think of it as a bit of an investment for the future. For a start, many brands like Altura and Endura don't like their products being discounted much, so you won't find them much cheaper online. Secondly, you can try them on in the shop so you'll be certain of a good fit. Thirdly, your description of the LBS so far is that the guy is a cyclist, has done your build check in quick time in comparison with many LBS, and has given you good advice to date. He's also done it for a good price... many would have charged you 35-40 quid. Buying the shorts may well show a level of appreciation and loyalty, and fostering a good relationship with a LBS is a great way to make sure you can get a quick repair done on a Saturday afternoon etc etc. Certainly worth more than the fiver you'll save buying a pair of shorts that may or may not fit from an online retailer.

 

[WozzaTT]

Well done, how have you lost a stone in 3 weeks?!

Thank you! It's called The Harcombe Diet - the basics are no bread, no potatoes and no processed food. What I like about it is that it's not calorie controlled so I eat bacon and eggs every morning, chicken salad at lunchtime, for example, (they even encourage you to eat the skin of the chicken) and then in the evening I'll have a big steak or pork chop or whatever with loads of fresh vegetables. I imagine it's similar to Atkins. I eat large portions of everything they say you can and never feel hungry but still the weight drops off. I lost 2.5 stone in 3 months on that diet a couple of years ago.

 

[vickster]

My innards don't like high meat diets so wouldn't work...and I have to have my porridge for breakfast!

 

[WozzaTT]

Just a thought @WozzaTT , if you have the dosh to treat yourself to a decent pair of shorts, then it may be best spent in the LBS. Think of it as a bit of an investment for the future. For a start, many brands like Altura and Endura don't like their products being discounted much, so you won't find them much cheaper online. Secondly, you can try them on in the shop so you'll be certain of a good fit. Thirdly, your description of the LBS so far is that the guy is a cyclist, has done your build check in quick time in comparison with many LBS, and has given you good advice to date. He's also done it for a good price... many would have charged you 35-40 quid. Buying the shorts may well show a level of appreciation and loyalty, and fostering a good relationship with a LBS is a great way to make sure you can get a quick repair done on a Saturday afternoon etc etc. Certainly worth more than the fiver you'll save buying a pair of shorts that may or may not fit from an online retailer.

Thank you! Yes - I think you're absolutely right. He is a cyclist but he's also something of a miserablist - he's given me one or two bits of good advice already but he's quite difficult to talk to really. This morning for example, there was no-one else in the shop and I tried to engage him in conversation about the rides he leads from the shop every Saturday morning, I told him I now follow the shop twitter account, asked him a couple of things about the bike but I barely got more than grunts out of him. Quite funny when the shop website bangs on and on about customer service! Maybe he just sees me as yet another newbie who will come and go quickly but, as you say, I could easily have spent a fair bit of money there today (I told him yesterday I haven't got any gear yet) so he's missed a trick really. I may go back, it's out in the sticks but only about a 15 minute drive, or I may go to the more local LBS which couldn't book me in for a check over for over a week. Suggests they are good I guess.

 

[WozzaTT]

My innards don't like high meat diets so wouldn't work...and I have to have my porridge for breakfast!

Ah! You could probably adapt it though. I'm not following it as seriously this time - I had a couple of beers last night, a bag of crisps now and then etc. Main thing for me is the bread and potatoes.

 

[vickster]

I don't eat much bread or potatoes actually, more likely to have rice, pasta or durum wheat or ryvita. I think I just eat too much, sweets are my real downfall especially when I am stuck at home

 

[WozzaTT]

If it's of any use to anyone considering allowing Halfords to build their bike, he reported:-

Brake pads re-aligned
Front mech adjusted
LH crank loose - tightened

Not too bad then - he said he's seen far worse.

 

[Cubist]

Indeed. I've just fettled an old Trax MTB that my Cubester's girlfriend's sister rides. It is a dreadful thing to start with, but when I first sat on it the front end felt very steep, and I had a massive foot overlap. You guessed it, the fork was the wrong way round.