Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Ollie Tee
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Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Ollie Tee » Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:15 pm

Just interested to know how many of you pay for a service at your LBS compared to servicing your own bike yourself?

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10speedsemiracer
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:47 am

Self since forever, taught by an uncle who worked at Steyr (then Steyr/Puch) as a design engineer.

Why?
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AUbicycles
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby AUbicycles » Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:22 am

From a few recent threads, a lot of the regular members do a fair bit but it depends on the tools and experience. A few jobs are giving to the bike shops when tools or experience is missing.

There are a lot of regular things that are more worthwhile for me to do myself.
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RonK
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby RonK » Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:45 am

To find out how many you need to create a poll.
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g-boaf
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby g-boaf » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:02 am

Ollie Tee wrote:Just interested to know how many of you pay for a service at your LBS compared to servicing your own bike yourself?


Only pay the LBS if it is something I can't do myself (ie, don't have the tools needed). Otherwise most work I do myself.

Neddysmith
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Neddysmith » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:57 am

As with most replies, ill give 90% of the maintenance or repairs a go myself, the rest will goto a LBS for and even be cheeky enough to try and learn from it.

Then again im the same with all my cars for repairs and maint as well.

Arbuckle23
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Arbuckle23 » Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:04 am

Until I retired from hard work to become an office worker ( :) ) I was a heavy equipment mechanic.
So do it all myself, any technique I am not sure on gets referred to the Google manual.

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bychosis
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby bychosis » Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:41 am

Probably a biased sample here. Most posters are enthusiasts and will mostly do their own work.

Why are you asking? 1st post, only just joined. It seems an unusual first question. Most first time posters are asking about which bike to buy, what is my 'found' bike worth or a specific mechanical question.

FWIW I do the vast majority of my own work and only venture to the LBS rarely. I will often purchase a new specialist tool and wait for O/S delivery if I'm likely to use it again in the future rather than head to the LBS.
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ValleyForge
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby ValleyForge » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:09 pm

bychosis wrote:Probably a biased sample here. Most posters are enthusiasts and will mostly do their own work.
Absolutely. Having worked in an LBS a long time ago I had my appetite whetted. I had one local workshop who was reliable and reasonable, but I still did most of my own work. Sadly they have now closed.

There are some things I do better than most shops - setting up gears & brakes - especially fiddly stuff. I can build wheels but I'm not doing enough to keep my skills up so I'll give wheel problems to a workshop across town who are DT Swiss experts. Frame resprays are better sourced out; finding components I'll do myself.

So - with the forum and some mechanical skill, you can take most things on.
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fergy1987
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby fergy1987 » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:13 pm

I do my own work....stuff it up and then take it to the bike shop to fix my error :) - Still cant seem to get indexing to not end up with my chain falling off constantly :P

Jmuzz
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Jmuzz » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:19 pm

Cars, motorbikes, bikes, I always prefer to DIY and spend a few hundred on tools than pay for a one-off service.
Exception is super expensive or impractical tools for my small garage, like hoisting an engine out. Which I have never needed to do anyway.

I have a free service coming up and frankly don't even want that since their mechanics made some mistakes in initial setup so I don't trust them.

There are good mechanics. But even good mechanics tend to have apprentices and employees who can be disasters.

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g-boaf
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby g-boaf » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:26 pm

fergy1987 wrote:I do my own work....stuff it up and then take it to the bike shop to fix my error :) - Still cant seem to get indexing to not end up with my chain falling off constantly :P
Just watch on Youtube, there are plenty of videos, including some good ones on GCN. It's fairly easy.

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outnabike
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby outnabike » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:29 pm

fergy1987 wrote:I do my own work....stuff it up and then take it to the bike shop to fix my error :) - Still cant seem to get indexing to not end up with my chain falling off constantly :P


Ditto, but I get most small stuff right.

Hi Ollie Tee and welcome.

I also do the grease and oil changes on two vehicles so I justify a bike mechanic doing the fine tuning.

I hate chain cleaning though...Separating all the links and that is just too boring. Used to do it every two weeks but settled on doing it monthly. :lol:
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kb
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby kb » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:55 pm

Pre-baby mostly myself, post- mostly shop. Otherwise, the bike spends more time half finished than finished.
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Tequestra
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Tequestra » Tue Feb 27, 2018 6:32 pm

Truing Wheels?

When I was young, back in the '80s, I remember someone whose opinion on mechanical things I respected once told me that only around one-quarter us have that 'knack' required to true a wheel properly. It was the one question that the manager of the bicycle factory asked me which I reckon got me my first job after leaving high school too, so that makes two respectable experts who have mentioned that 'knack' for truing spoked bicycle wheels.

It requires a lot more lateral precision than truing a spoked motorcycle wheel because, well, in the olden days, a bicycle's (caliper) brakes depend a great deal on a straight rim to brake smoothly, and this will affect the entire riding experience with regards vibrations under brakes, as well as that annoying 'clip-clip-clip' in motion if the wheel is not true.

Maybe my Dad was just pulling my leg back then and anyone can true wheels if they want to, but there is quite an art to it. if you can true wheels as well as the shop can, that's another reason in favour of the DIY option.
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Tim
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Tim » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:26 pm

I enjoy keeping my bike fleet in (near) perfect mechanical order. Do all my own service and repair, other than broken frames (2) and warranty stuff when they were new. Bikes haven’t been back to the shop in years.
I’m not very good at cosmetic cleaning, I just don’t care what they look like and refuse to point a garden hose at them. Water kills moving bike parts IMO. Drive lines and bearings and the like are kept clean, lubed and smooth running.

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bychosis
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby bychosis » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:01 pm

Tim wrote:I enjoy keeping my bike fleet in (near) perfect mechanical order.
I’m in the same boat. I enjoy fixing, upgrading, modifying as much as the riding. It’s not just bikes though I enjoy repairing, building and modifying all sorts of things.
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macca33
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby macca33 » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:23 pm

The only thing I've had the LBS do in the past 5 years is to replace a single spoke in my race wheels, as I don't have any spares to do it myself and I needed them that day for a race...
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Ollie Tee
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Ollie Tee » Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:04 pm

Thanks all for your insights. I've been riding for a while now and i've recently just built a bike up. For me sourcing parts and installing them is nearly as fun as riding!

Jmuzz
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Jmuzz » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:12 pm

Ollie Tee wrote:For me sourcing parts and installing them is nearly as fun as riding!
Yeah this is where bike shops who are unfriendly to internet parts will hurt themselves.
A lot of people like the hunt of selecting and choosing a good value source, finding a bargain new or secondhand is a big part of the consumerism. Scrolling through a wide range of options comparing the stats and reviews, you can't do that at a shop counter. It's all liked to that primal hunter gatherer instinct.

Some people can't install them and want a mechanic to do that part. A shop who turns those people away just completely ruined a customer, who may have been a very good wealthy customer giving the workshop hours of work a month and buying a new bike yearly, instead they want nothing due to not getting parts markup.

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P!N20
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby P!N20 » Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:11 pm

Tequestra wrote:Truing Wheels?

When I was young, back in the '80s, I remember someone whose opinion on mechanical things I respected once told me that only around one-quarter us have that 'knack' required to true a wheel properly. It was the one question that the manager of the bicycle factory asked me which I reckon got me my first job after leaving high school too, so that makes two respectable experts who have mentioned that 'knack' for truing spoked bicycle wheels.

It requires a lot more lateral precision than truing a spoked motorcycle wheel because, well, in the olden days, a bicycle's (caliper) brakes depend a great deal on a straight rim to brake smoothly, and this will affect the entire riding experience with regards vibrations under brakes, as well as that annoying 'clip-clip-clip' in motion if the wheel is not true.

Maybe my Dad was just pulling my leg back then and anyone can true wheels if they want to, but there is quite an art to it. if you can true wheels as well as the shop can, that's another reason in favour of the DIY option.
I'm not sure about knack, but patience, yes.

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Tequestra
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Re: Home mechanic or bike shop services?

Postby Tequestra » Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:37 pm

P!N20 wrote:I'm not sure about knack, but patience, yes.
I guess it's similar to playing guitar in some way, that the more time you put into the practice, the less patience you will need and the more you get the 'knack' of it. :wink:

You just brought a vision back to mind: the chipped enamel on the green bench-vise in the workshop out the back when I was a kid. That was what I started using to clamp the wheel-nut on the axle so the rim spun horizontally, and I had piece of wire coat-hangar stuck to an empty spray-can as the gauge. Hours & hours after school trying to work things out, and that would have required patience if not for that enthusiasm that ten year-old kids tend to have.

Eventually I worked out how to do it when the tyre was on the wheel and the wheel was on the bike, and a brake caliper makes a better gauge than a piece of old coat-hangar. The 'knack' is like a feeling which nipple needs the next tweak, and the whole job gets faster the more wheels you true. Just like lead guitar.

It's a pleasure to meet another member here on the second day since I joined. Thanks mate.
Viva le Tour Electrique' !!!

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