Chancers in bike shops

fat bloke

Fixed price service "packages" - bronze/silver/gold are a pet hate of mine. Check what needs to be checked, fix what needs to be fixed, charge me for that.

Dr_Colossus

"I told them to service it, ie. quick tune up for the €75 i was quoted and new pads. €109 in total. I didnt get the other work done that was suggested and low and behold the bike is fine and has never been better."

Nothing to add as I've never brought a bike to a shop electing to do any work/repairs myself with parts bought online but based on above account I think it was a mistake getting them to service it at all. I would have thanked them for the call and told them not to do anything and you'd collect the bike immediately. Then in person ask for an explanation about the unnecessary items and give the custom to your usual bike shop instead. Since only a tune up or service required it was hardly an emergency so reward the good bike shops of which there are plenty but customers shouldn't reward blatant attempts at rip offs and vote with their bikes.

byrnem31

Mechanics in these shops must be on a commission similar to bike sales. The more they sell you, they make a little commission on.

Anyway, lesson learned. I have 2 kids with disabilities and she works weekends and nights so time is extremely limited which is why i could not get into the city centre shop. The pads did need replacing so at least i have it ready for the morning for a quick spin. But i wont be back to that shop again.

beggars_bush

Nothing worse than a LBS knowing they've a monopoly on bike servicing in the area and taking the piss.

The LBS has begun to swing that way. I'm not impressed

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805443#Comment_118805443

The last time I had a puncture the repair kit cost 7 or 8 euro and then when I realised that the tube was like a sieve I had to retube anyway. Would have happily paid the €14 to get it sorted in the first place.

jimbobaloobob

Don’t forget to add in their rent /rates/ wages/ electricity/ insurance and countless other overheads that are unavoidable. Not saying it is or isn’t a fair price but don’t be little the work as a drop of oil here and there if you haven’t the skill set to do it. Would you not take it on yourself to learn how to service your own bikes?

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805443#Comment_118805443

100%.

There is nobody in bike maintenance running a viable business off the back of fixing punctures at €14.

If you haven't been able to learn the basic skills to do the job yourself, unfortunately you have to pay those who can what they want to do the job

monkeyslayer

Similar experience here, I can do a lot of my own maintenance but do enjoy having a good pro do the work once a year. Like having an expert guitar tuner or something. But after similar nonsense as the above re bb, chain etc one shop then charged me 30 euro just to find/Google new headset bearings for me online, and they only found one of the two components. They couldn't source the other which I then quite easily found after some enquiries and they still charged me for it. Was a good shop, nice guys etc but I felt a bit ripped off and taken for a mug. They scratched the **** of some of the parts too, like they'd tried to unscrew it in the dark.

byrnem31

Ive no problem changing punctures.

I think some people are missing the point of the thread and its started to drift into a discussion about overheads and punctures.

The issue i have with the shop is trying to tell me i needed €100s worth of parts and labour which the bike did not. Ie, rear hub is lose, no its not, new cassette and chain needed, no it doesn't etc.

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118808888#Comment_118808888

I think the conversation moved on because nobody here is going to to argue about a bike shop misleading customers in order to upsell parts.

As a result, the €75 you paid to have fasteners tightened and the chain oiled became the more interesting point

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118808888#Comment_118808888

I thought the exact same thing while reading the thread. Gone totally off the point.

I'm a bit like the OP, I have three very young kids and don't have the time (or the tools in some cases) to do jobs that go beyond basic maintenance and am happy to get this work done by a good bike mechanic. Any spare time I have is spent riding my bike rather than fixing it. I can fix punctures, replace a chain, swap out a cassette and sort out rim brakes but anything else and I'm wasting time I don't have.

I had a similar experience to the OP last year when I couldn't get to my LBS and had to use a new place, which attempted to replace a load of parts that were in perfect condition and then to charge me a fortune for not doing a whole pile else. They got short shrift and I have never been back. I can only imagine how much these people rip off those who don't have a clue about bikes.

My last trip to my LBS, they located and fixed a creak in the BB, replaced a gear cable, fixed an issue with the chain dropping off while in the smallest cog of the rear cassette and re-centred my disc rotor after I accidentally pulled the brake while on the turbo. Only noticed later that he greased a good few parts and tuned up other bits while at it. All for 67e by a super mechanic.

He got a tip and a five star review for his trouble and the bike rides like a dream now. I only go to him with specific jobs and he usually gives me a quote when dropping off and a call if he finds anything else.

Wildly Boaring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805385#Comment_118805385

Used live in north Cork, almost Tip.

Some great LBSs about down there.

Was always very happy with Roches in Mitchelstown. Very similar pricing to you and never pushed parts on me.

Do most stuff myself these days. But need to sort a shop near Drogheda for future stuff if I dont have time

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804825#Comment_118804825

That's not the real world though, the LBS have to buy the stock, hold it, run the risk of the cost if damaged, pay for holding all the bare minimum stock they may need etc. As others have said, €14 is fine if you can't do it. I think Harrys used to have the price for fitting the tube on it. I went in thinking the place was extortionate for €14 a tube but when I told them I'd fit it myself they only charged me half. I realised then they were probably sick of people giving out for the fitting charge. Wait till people find out how much a bottle of coke costs and how much they charge in a pub for one.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805163#Comment_118805163

You probably dropped one of them on your commute and they were trying to slow you down a bit.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805385#Comment_118805385

People will miss them when they are gone. None near me but my local lawn mower repair guy is big into bikes so I use him if I can't do it myself. It's great as not only does he do a good job, you always get a great story from the road racing scene 40 years ago.

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118809276#Comment_118809276

Word is you always had a mechanical on Good Fridays☺️

New Square

https://maps.app.goo.gl/JuUftzTdpw7e8HDZ8

Wildly Boaring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118810166#Comment_118810166

Great setup alright

Weepsie

OP, you previously had a thread about the wheels which basically said they were a problem (themselves being pretty new). You said in that too that the rear hub had a common problem.

The warranty replacement wheels could be equally crap? And they could be eagle eyed enough to know this too, rather than just pulling a fast one.

A friend today sent me a video of his Giant PR2 wheels that sounded awful and they don't have an awful lot of use.

Rest of the stuff, doesn't sound great in fairness though. Though replacing cables after 2 years isn't remotely outrageous.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118811199#Comment_118811199

PR2s are useless from the day they leave the factory, most places would save time if they instantly returned them as warranty repairs before they sold them

byrnem31

The rear pr2 was replaced for a brand new one that was checked by giant and the shop. I took it home and put the bike on a turbo over the winter so it was not used. I had it out today and it was fine.

Pr2s are crap as they are notorious for giving trouble. However, when they do work fine, guys have put 20k on them with no issues. They are very hit and miss though. They either work very well or very bad. My original wheel was bad from factory. The rear hub was over tightened on a batch of defy and liv models which giant admitted. There was an intermittent banging noise coming from it, particularly when stopped and taking off. The giant warranty claim was an excellent service in fairness. I emailed giant and they sent a replacement with no issues at all. It took months though due to pandemic and supply shortages.

When somone is trying to sell you a load of crap you dont need and try to tell you a wheel that was checked by a bike shop is faulty when its not, i go with my gut instinct and think its fine. And today the wheel worked perfect.

I have an agree c62 mechanical ultegra ordered for june with a lovely set of hunt aero 33s carbon waiting to go onto it sitting in the wardrobe. So the pr2s will hopefully be a distant memory.

Macy0161

Well I replaced the rear hub on my PR2's (with Cliff, so trust the mechanic) and it wasn't long being ropey again (far quicker than it should've been). Accelerated my purchase of new (to me) wheels. Basically, I wouldn't necessarily rule out the PR2's. And yes, I've put thousands into them, and have the hubs go quick - it seems to be pot luck.

@8valve I'd hazard a guess rent is significantly more in Dublin than where you are, so that really has to be factored in.

Over the winter I did a full service on one of my bikes. Seems to have gone ok, but at the same time the hours it took me v dropping into Harry's in the morning and collecting in the evening wasn't worth it really. I've moved job, so even though back in the office, so Harry's not that convenient unfortunately! Cliff is brilliant, but I was using them before and found them fine. I'll give the caveat that chain and cassette is one of the jobs I generally have always done myself, and then dropped in for the rest of the service and saying that they're done.

Wanderer78

just finished doing my own brakes and gears, disk and pad replacement with bleeding, new rear gear cable(internal routing), new dropper post(internal routing), made a bags of replacing bottom bracket, tis massed into the frame(press fit), one bearing exposed, it ll seize eventually. took my time at it, wasnt too bad at all, recommend giving it a good, some good resources on youtube

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058237936/chancers-in-bike-shops

Shure seeing as you are such an expert and everything on the bike was brand new why did you bring it in at all.

byrnem31

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118813083#Comment_118813083

I never said i was an expert. Thats people's experience of the pr2s on the giant defy page on Facebook. The bike needed a general service and the pads changed which i dont have the time to do myself if you bothered reading the thread properly instead of being a smart arse about it. As i mentioned, i have two disabled children and she works nights and weekend. Id love to potter about with bikes in the shed but i dont have the time as im raising kids.

byrnem31

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812909#Comment_118812909

My go to bike shop is in the city centre of dublin where rents are high. The shop i used is in the surburds of dublin where rent would be cheaper. That is no excuse to try to do work on a bike that's not needed costing 100s of euro. Regarding the new pr2, it has been checked by giant and my go to shop in the city centre and its perfect. Thanks for heads up about harrys.

FCB1899

Brought a 15 month old bike into a southside LBS for a couple of small adjustments. Was immediately told I was using my gears incorrectly, you'll need a full service at 75 euros. Told him no need for a full service can you just do the adjustments.Rang me later and said disc rotors were dangerously thin and needed replacing so I told him to leave it and I would pick the bike up.When I went in mechanic told me the rotors were 1.1mm and that it was hazardous to to ride the bike,also told me all the drive train needed replacing.Went into work on Monday and checked rotor thickness with digital caliper=1.67mm. First time using this shop ,obviously won't be back. There are good bike shops out there so if you if you find one stick with it and be loyal to it.

plodder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805709#Comment_118805709

We're probably talking about the same place. I bought a bike there and they've been okay with servicing before, but this time I see they have a gold, silver and bronze service, and they say "oh the bronze service will probably fix that". That should have been a red flag first off - thinking some standard treatment will always fix a specific problem, but they fixed the exact same issue before. Three visits later, the problem was not fixed, nor even tested by getting on the bike and cycling it. Second lesson from the same experience. You need to talk directly to the person that's going to fix your bike. Bike repair shops are like restaurants. They are only as good as the chef they have on duty the day you call in. I won't be going back there.

Macy0161

I kinda see the bike shops point of the service levels, even if it's to offer clarity. "Service" can mean different things to different people, so I have them as the minimum expectations of cost works both ways tbh.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118845709#Comment_118845709

Same here, its on the board what they are going to do, and just like a car service, if you need more they should ring and tell you. For most here it is unnecessary, as we either know the issue and don't have the tools or the time, so getting the specific job done makes more sense. For the good LBS, people who know what they want and the specifics are far better customers in terms of no messing although likely far less frequent. I won't use a service package as most of what they do I have the time to do, I like pottering and can just buy the cables and whatever else straight of them. They still get the business without clogging up the system. The other thing to remember is that not all LBS are the same all the time, some unfortunately get a bad rap for a bad choice in staff on a given day. Teammates of mine love *************, they have a great mechanic and the owner seems nice but I won't touch them. The shop in ******** charged me for a tube that was split when I took it out of the packet in front of the owners partner, the one in ******** lied to my face about a helmet I bought, the younger guy, not sure if he is a nephew or the manager, lied another time I was in, more fool me for going back. I think as I was in a shirt and slacks, he thought I probably wouldn't know any better. But I know people who think they are great but I won't touch them.

Shops in South Dublin I would recommend:

The Bike Rack, Joe Dalys, Bee Cycles

Shops I won't: the one above

fat bloke

Pity we can't learn from others' experiences and reveal what shops gave a poor customer experience. I thought that was allowed before?

CramCycle

I only blanked mine because I don't know anyone else who has had a bad experience there and there mechanic is supposedly decent, but for me, I did not have a good experience in there premises. It was only two people, but one of them, I caught him out on lies, twice and heard him spinning lies to other customers. Some will say that is business, and they are probably right but it grinded my gears and he even tried to worm his way out when I called him on one of them. My own fault for ever going back, but like I said, several people in my club have went there for longer than I have been in the club without complaint.

Other bike shops I recommend but forgot to mention: Harrys Clonskeagh, and Everest Bray.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118846651#Comment_118846651

Its more that they deserve a right of reply. Google reviews, tripadvisor etc, you get that.