Question for DIY bike mechanics

[Drago]

What's the worst example of workmanship you've ever seen from a professional bike mechanic? (Thats not to say that many are not excellent and even walk on water, but its fair to say there are many from the less competent end of the spectrum.)

Having once been in charge of a fleet of bikes at work and having one particular bike come back from a service with both cranks pointing in the same direction I finally managed to convince the finance dept that the cheapest local option was cheapest for a very good reason.

 

[classic33]

I've seen the wheels mounted the wrong way round. Front on the rear, rear(including chain) fitted to a bike that was being collected that afternoon.

Pointing it out got the reply there's nothing wrong with it. I left them to it.

 

[presta]

When I had the frame on my Horizon replaced under guarantee, the bike shop ruined the threads on all the bolts by forcing them into holes that were choked with paint.

When I had a wheel built, they laced it up with the spoke pattern out of register with the rim, so that the dishing on the spoke holes was pointing the spokes in the wrong direction.

They're about the only occasions I've ever had any work done by someone else. When I needed crash repairs done at the expense of an insurance company I was ready to pay for the damage myself if they'd insisted on it being done by a 'professional'.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Not so much with work done on the bike, but ten years ago on my last trip back to Essex I accompanied a friend to a local "Pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap" outfit who had sold her a cycle computer that did not work.

We were told that it was probably because she was using the wrong type of magnet. A quick tutorial on magnet technology and we were on our way with a refund.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

When I first moved up here from North Wales I was looking for a bike shop to fix something on the ebike I had then

I opted for Halfords (yes - I know now but at the time I had not discovered the LBS here)

when I went to pick it up they said that they had not been able to clean the bike properly because they normamly use a pressure washer (!) and they coulnd;t find out how to take the rear wheel off
(not unreasonable - the power cable for the hub motor can only be detached by taking half the motor apart on that model)

anyway - all OK - they had done what I asked


but when I got it out of the shop the pedal assist just didn;t work
the throttle worked but not the pedal assist - which made it rather uselss
(Note - pre 2016 model - so throttle allowed and motor only 180W)

so I took it back and their excuse was
"well Greg wasn't in and he is the only ebike mechanic"

Hmm - well why take it on then??


anyway - I didn;t get it back for 2 WEEKS
apparently Greg didn;t know much either

when I picked it up he apologised and said he had learned a lot from it

when I needed something doing next the bloke in the LBS admitted he was just starting with ebike but was happy to give it a go

his first tasks was to contact Powacycle and get a wiring diagram and ask a friend to look at how it worked
which meant he did everything I asked and halved the price as he learned a lot but it took ages (nowhere near as much as Hallfords!)

 

[Vantage]

Not strictly workmanship but incompetence.
I once went into a local bike shop and asked for a length of outer gear cable to go from the rear derailleur to the frames cable stop. Shop owner disappears into the back and came back with some outer brake cable. When I mentioned the mix up he asked what the difference was.
I've never trusted a bike mechanic since.

 

[presta]

I once went into a local bike shop and asked for a length of outer gear cable to go from the rear derailleur to the frames cable stop. Shop owner disappears into the back and came back with some outer brake cable. When I mentioned the mix up he asked what the difference was.

I went into Cycles UK and asked for cable ferrules. Mindful of the episode of Call My Bluff when none of the panel knew what ferrule meant, I was very impressed when the guy asked "gear cable or brake cable" in a broad Polish accent.

On another occasion I asked an English guy for a Pozidrive screwdriver in the same shop:
"What's that?"
I explained
"Oh, a Phillips you mean"
I explained again
"Huh, they're all crossheads to me mate"

 

[Profpointy]

On another occasion I asked an English guy for a Pozidrive screwdriver in the same shop:
"What's that?"
I explained
"Oh, a Phillips you mean"
I explained again
"Huh, they're all crossheads to me mate"

Oh dear that is pretty bad !

It is perhaps even worse when some heads are actually the JIS variant which is different again. And the fasteners tend to be made of that metallic cheese too which is why I replace mine with stainless cap screws (Allen heads)

Admittedly JIS are less commonly known about, but bike mechanics really should know this too

 

[Punkawallah]

‘I thought JLS was a Korean Boy Band, until I discovered Smirnoff’.

Had a hybrid on Bike to Work that collected a Pringle’s front wheel (everything to do with me), and had to take it back to Halfords for repair. Was told by the chap it would cost £70 (?) for a replacement wheel, but when I went to collect I was not charged, because Big Tony was in and he had straightened it. I assume he’d put it in a stand and got the spoke key out, but with a name like ‘Big Tony’, you never know. . . .

 

[presta]

Oh dear that is pretty bad !

I'd much rather have someone who doesn't know the difference between Philips & Pozidriv than someone building wheels incorrectly or ruining all the bolt threads.

 

[Profpointy]

I'd much rather have someone who doesn't know the difference between Philips & Pozidriv than someone building wheels incorrectly or ruining all the bolt threads.

Whilst I concede it is theoretically possible that someone skilled in wheelbuilding lacks such basic knowledge but it is vanishingly unlikely

 

[presta]

Whilst I concede it is theoretically possible that someone skilled in wheelbuilding lacks such basic knowledge but it is vanishingly unlikely

When I had the frame on my Horizon replaced under guarantee, the bike shop ruined the threads on all the bolts by forcing them into holes that were choked with paint.

When I had a wheel built, they laced it up with the spoke pattern out of register with the rim, so that the dishing on the spoke holes was pointing the spokes in the wrong direction.

They're about the only occasions I've ever had any work done by someone else. When I needed crash repairs done at the expense of an insurance company I was ready to pay for the damage myself if they'd insisted on it being done by a 'professional'.

 

[numbnuts]

A few years ago I bought Pace forks £400 worth although I'm capable of cutting down the fork steerer
I thought I'd get the bike shop to do it.
Picked it up, job down, a couple months later I took the fork top cap off,
what a shock the said tube was cut on an angle by 30 degrees
I kid you not, so I had to file it square again and remove one spacer.
From that day on I have never gone to a bike shop again.

 

[presta]

Following the frame replacement under guarantee that I referred to above, when I came to replace a worn out BB a few years later, I found that they'd glued it in with something or other. It wasn't ordinary Loctite, it looked a bit like a cross between Araldite and David's Isopon, and I very nearly couldn't get the BB out at all. Because there'd been no grease, the threads were a mess and were almost rusted away. The new BB went in OK that time, but when I took the BB out next time, the threads stripped as I torqued it back in again. All because of a load of goons at the LBS. After 25 years, the frame's still in almost showroom condition apart from those threads.

 

[Punkawallah]

Following the frame replacement under guarantee that I referred to above, when I came to replace a worn out BB a few years later, I found that they'd glued it in with something or other. It wasn't ordinary Loctite, it looked a bit like a cross between Araldite and David's Isopon, and I very nearly couldn't get the BB out at all. Because there'd been no grease, the threads were a mess and were almost rusted away. The new BB went in OK that time, but when I took the BB out next time, the threads stripped as I torqued it back in again. All because of a load of goons at the LBS. After 25 years, the frame's still in almost showroom condition apart from those threads.

Can you not get it re-threaded?