No cycling this weekend for 2 reasons!

[Dark46]

No1 On Thursday I spent most the head in bed with cough and hot head which started Wednesday afternoon.
I'm still suffering sat up in bed, head and chest still the same

No 2. I took the bike in Halfords for its first service . Well there was a queue in the bike section as there was only one member if staff on. He was putting together a little girls bike. He phoned for help but it was a good 5 mins before anyone came over. In the mean time while peeps where looking around for more staff a old guy pushed in and collected his bike . . Then finally peeps were seen to in order. Well it was my turn " I've brought in for first service for tomorrow ( Saturday ) and brought in as requested the day before" I said. Only to be told " we don't service bikes in weekends?" "That's just great" I said "we could do it Monday ?" Said the assistant. I said ok " I will leave the bike here and collect it Monday afternoon"

I would love to be able to remember who I spoke to , who said they would do it on Saturday! Well I just hope that the bike comes back as it should. Being cynical I took the pump, lights and water bottle off just incase I got the bike back with something missing.

 

[Angry Blonde]

Get well soon mate. I have never had any bother at all with halfords, up here they cant do enough for you..... everyone slates them, but personally I love them. But to be fair a couple of days off will make you stronger haha

 

[Dark46]

I must admit I haven't had any issues till now. But as I'm not well it's not as bad as it could have been.

Mind you it will see how good the staff are to see how true my front wheel will be when I get it back . It had a buckle in it due to my off.

 

[Globalti]

Sorry but this idea of giving a bike a service is silly. A bike is a delicate mechanism that copes with huge stresses and it needs constant attention and maintenance if it is to perform its job well and safely. It doesn't suddenly reach a point where it needs a service, arguably by the time things like brakes and gears need adjusting it has already gone too long and expensive damage has been done.

If you learned to adjust and maintain your own bike you wouldn't be at the mercy of so called professional mechanics who really don't care a toss about your pride and joy. You would save money, avoid costly damage, develop the skills to repair your bike while out on the road and cycling would take on a whole new meaning as you rode along in harmony with your bike, alert for any worrying noises or play or movement that needed immediate attention.

In becoming a cyclist you have already asserted your independence of thought, attitude and lifestyle. Why then admit defeat at the final hurdle by handing your valued bike to some muppet who will charge you a fortune to do what you could enjoy doing for free?

 

[Dark46]

I not very good with my hands, I would rather trust people who work on bikes everyday. As I have a 12 month service available I'm going to use it . Then if anything goes wrong then I have come back . Plus I only have to pay for parts and not labour

 

[alicat]

Fair do, Dark46. It took me quite a few years of bike ownership and bike maintenance classes before I turned down the free first service when I bought a new bike. Mind you, I don't think I'd ever trust Halfords with one of mine not if the muppet I spoke to in my local branch today about mudguard fittings is typical.

 

[EltonFrog]

Sorry but this idea of giving a bike a service is silly. A bike is a delicate mechanism that copes with huge stresses and it needs constant attention and maintenance if it is to perform its job well and safely. It doesn't suddenly reach a point where it needs a service, arguably by the time things like brakes and gears need adjusting it has already gone too long and expensive damage has been done.

If you learned to adjust and maintain your own bike you wouldn't be at the mercy of so called professional mechanics who really don't care a toss about your pride and joy. You would save money, avoid costly damage, develop the skills to repair your bike while out on the road and cycling would take on a whole new meaning as you rode along in harmony with your bike, alert for any worrying noises or play or movement that needed immediate attention.

In becoming a cyclist you have already asserted your independence of thought, attitude and lifestyle. Why then admit defeat at the final hurdle by handing your valued bike to some muppet who will charge you a fortune to do what you could enjoy doing for free?

I've never really thought about it like that, but you make some very good points, in fact they are all good points.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Sorry but this idea of giving a bike a service is silly. A bike is a delicate mechanism that copes with huge stresses and it needs constant attention and maintenance if it is to perform its job well and safely. It doesn't suddenly reach a point where it needs a service, arguably by the time things like brakes and gears need adjusting it has already gone too long and expensive damage has been done.

If you learned to adjust and maintain your own bike you wouldn't be at the mercy of so called professional mechanics who really don't care a toss about your pride and joy. You would save money, avoid costly damage, develop the skills to repair your bike while out on the road and cycling would take on a whole new meaning as you rode along in harmony with your bike, alert for any worrying noises or play or movement that needed immediate attention.

In becoming a cyclist you have already asserted your independence of thought, attitude and lifestyle. Why then admit defeat at the final hurdle by handing your valued bike to some muppet who will charge you a fortune to do what you could enjoy doing for free?

Very well put - I agree completely. Example - recently I noticed a faint ticking when pedalling under load in the top 3 or 4 gears. I had done around 750 miles on this new bike. I put the bike on the workstand and soon diagnosed that this resulted from cable stretch just starting to allow the gears to go out of index. Easily and quickly remedied with a turn of the adjusters. Prior to this, in addition to the regular lubrication, inflation and inspection, I have sorted a squeak from the bottom bracket, centred the brake calipers, removed headset spacers and tightened up the headset - all very small issues, caught before they became a problem, all dealt with as and when required, in minutes, at home. I have never even thought of having a bike serviced at a LBS.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Sorry but this idea of giving a bike a service is silly. A bike is a delicate mechanism that copes with huge stresses and it needs constant attention and maintenance if it is to perform its job well and safely. It doesn't suddenly reach a point where it needs a service, arguably by the time things like brakes and gears need adjusting it has already gone too long and expensive damage has been done.

If you learned to adjust and maintain your own bike you wouldn't be at the mercy of so called professional mechanics who really don't care a toss about your pride and joy. You would save money, avoid costly damage, develop the skills to repair your bike while out on the road and cycling would take on a whole new meaning as you rode along in harmony with your bike, alert for any worrying noises or play or movement that needed immediate attention.

In becoming a cyclist you have already asserted your independence of thought, attitude and lifestyle. Why then admit defeat at the final hurdle by handing your valued bike to some muppet who will charge you a fortune to do what you could enjoy doing for free?

I agree with the general drift of your post but not everybody can suddenly acquire all the knowledge and tools overnight so I'd recommend a more gradual approach to bike maintenance. As long as the goal is that mastery of your own bike that you talk about. I must admit I'm still hesitant about working on contemporary bottom brackets and headsets. That free 3 month service, though, is mostly about dealing with cable stretch, which is something that really needs little skill or tools.

 

[cyberknight]

Worked saturday , fell off on return trip
Wife working today so i had kids all day as well as fitting in jobs round home/visiting my mum etc

 

[Donger]

I must admit I haven't had any issues till now. But as I'm not well it's not as bad as it could have been.

Mind you it will see how good the staff are to see how true my front wheel will be when I get it back . It had a buckle in it due to my off.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Try Striking Bikes, Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Rd, Gloucester. Paul Loosemore is a genius wheel builder and all round thoroughly competent and reasonable LBS repair man. If things go pear shaped at Halfords, give him a try. He still won't do repairs on a weekend, but once you use him, you'll never go anywhere else.

 

[Dark46]

Cheers Donger I have the bike back and the wherl is fine . I certainly wil bare that in mind for the future . Plus Moorland Trading estate is only 10-15 mins walk from work

 

[byegad]

Sorry but this idea of giving a bike a service is silly. A bike is a delicate mechanism that copes with huge stresses and it needs constant attention and maintenance if it is to perform its job well and safely. It doesn't suddenly reach a point where it needs a service, arguably by the time things like brakes and gears need adjusting it has already gone too long and expensive damage has been done.

If you learned to adjust and maintain your own bike you wouldn't be at the mercy of so called professional mechanics who really don't care a toss about your pride and joy. You would save money, avoid costly damage, develop the skills to repair your bike while out on the road and cycling would take on a whole new meaning as you rode along in harmony with your bike, alert for any worrying noises or play or movement that needed immediate attention.

In becoming a cyclist you have already asserted your independence of thought, attitude and lifestyle. Why then admit defeat at the final hurdle by handing your valued bike to some muppet who will charge you a fortune to do what you could enjoy doing for free?

Couldn't agree more. I do my own and have assembled several bikes from mail order too. The only thing I now leave to others is wheel building, I should get myself on a course to do this myself but keep stalling as building a new wheel is not a frequent need for me. I can and do replace broken spokes but starting a wheel from scratch is not something I'm likely to do more than a couple of times a decade!