No name and shame, prob a good thing i suppose

pineapplehead

Likes Dirt
Just jumped on here to grumble about a negative and expensive encounter with a lbs recently only to find no relevant place for it. Regardless, I'm feeling a bit better already.
 
Last edited:

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
While we feel your pain, many here have great relationships with LBS's... and good experiences with customer service and warranty.

The rest of us, got fed up long ago and buy 100% online, stock spares, service, build and tweak our own shit.
 

pineapplehead

Likes Dirt
As would I usually. This was a once-every-blue-moon thorough going over of every little pivot bolt, etc.. the kind of service that supposedly makes it 'like new again'.


...Needless to say :(
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
It wouldn't be so bad if they were half honest. Some of the things that the people I ride with get told, it makes me ponder whether some bike mechanics are plain stupid or ripoff con artists.

A lady buys a pretty newish Santa Cruz, takes it in for a service and gets told the whole bike is knackered, puts a new chain on it and tells her it needs a new cassette and front ring. I looked at the drive train and it looks near new and doesn't even slip, he couldn't even tell her how it would fail but tells her it needs to be replaced.

Another one I know of is a bloke I ride with just about every weekend, we ride together a lot so both our bikes have similar ks on them, gets sold two group sets to my one. Now, I ride harder than what he does and do other rides on top of what he rides, besides this he has had parts fall off on the trails, brand new chains have snapped and brakes failed after he had them bled WTF.

No thanks, I'll just keep on servicing my own gear. :suspicious:
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
It wouldn't be so bad if they were half honest. Some of the things that the people I ride with get told, it makes me ponder whether some bike mechanics are plain stupid or ripoff con artists.

A lady buys a pretty newish Santa Cruz, takes it in for a service and gets told the whole bike is knackered, puts a new chain on it and tells her it needs a new cassette and front ring. I looked at the drive train and it looks near new and doesn't even slip, he couldn't even tell her how it would fail but tells her it needs to be replaced.

Another one I know of is a bloke I ride with just about every weekend, we ride together a lot so both our bikes have similar ks on them, gets sold two group sets to my one. Now, I ride harder than what he does and do other rides on top of what he rides, besides this he has had parts fall off on the trails, brand new chains have snapped and brakes failed after he had them bled WTF.

No thanks, I'll just keep on servicing my own gear. :suspicious:
This behaviour is rife in any industry where training/licensing isn't compulsory, hell even the surgeons collage of Australia's members have been accused of price manipulation.

I've taken a few cross country racers on Epic's through proper suspension and bike setup, and the stories I hear are astounding. A mixture of NFI and price gouging.

Yelp, the online review website, really hasn't taken off here likes it has in the states. Many LBS live and die by their Yelp reviews.


A very reputable shop here in Melbourne had Redbruce's Epic apart, and on re-assembly stripped half of the thread out of the lower shock mount bolt thread in the seatstay.
 
Last edited:

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Similar story, son's mate saved all the money from his first job to buy a reasonable new hardtail. Took it back to the shop after whacking the RD with a stick. New RD which ate the rest of his cash and they stripped the thread in frame in the process.

So I fitted a helicoil and all good. Went to the shop and ranted and farted to be told it was like that when he dropped it off. Ah no it wasn't because I checked it out first and they had offered to fit the new RD and tune it for nothing so that is why the bike went to them.

I do all the work now. For nix.

On the plus side plenty of good news stories too...
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
I think it is more a city thing.
Males often assume that females are easy pickings.
Dog eat dog , scratching to pay the ridiculous mortgages and buy their smashed avocado.
Generally 2 of the bike shops in our local city are very fair and honest. Another one I avoid.
For complicated stuff I wouldnt hesitate to take my bikes to one in Albury.
 

pineapplehead

Likes Dirt
Yes, I'm sure there are plenty of good stories too. THat's worth remembering.
It's a bit like getting a car serviced, where often the necessary work isn't visible and so there's a high level of trust in what the store says to you so you go with it.

Perhaps the amount of trust invested in the lbs only compounds the sour taste when the experience turns out shit.


FWIW, I usually do all my own servicing, but on this occasion with a newish bike I wanted to take it to someone who I could trust to get the details right - seals, torquing, etc, without question. To be honest I no longer trust them and won't be going back there.

Yelp sounds like a positive resource. Most of the reviews on the facebook page of this particular lbs are suspiciously positive.
 

golden path

Banned
I think we've all been down the road of dodgy work done by shops.

It's also interesting how many folks with good bikes can't do so much as tune their gear shifting....
 

pineapplehead

Likes Dirt
I think we've all been down the road of dodgy work done by shops.

It's also interesting how many folks with good bikes can't do so much as tune their gear shifting....
Is that a dig at me? I'm not talking about gear tuning...

Let's not forget that as well as good wrenching, good service also includes a readiness to explain/demonstrate things, transparent communication, a welcoming attitude, readiness to admit mistakes, etc...
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
It's just like any other industry and people make mistakes, having a bad day or apprentices or new mechanics come abroad that aren't familiar with the general product sold in the store. If you make a mistake own up to it, learn from it and go out of your way to rectify the problem, not pretend like 'it wasn't me and no one saw me do it' kind of style BS.

Another problem I find in dealing with the LBS in buying a new bike is that they don't even know the product they sell, like differences in the models and then I get told things like "they are so rare you need to order them straight away because there's not many coming into the country" or "we have one those in the store" get there and they try to sell you another bike you don't want or the wrong size.

Unfortunately you don't often hear about the good mechanics or LBS because no body needs to complain about them, it's like bad news travels fast and good news travels slow.
 

golden path

Banned
Is that a dig at me? I'm not talking about gear tuning...
No, just a general observation.


I have mates whose bikes are toilets. Crappy shifting, frayed cables, creaks, one pumps his fork and shock rock hard, and maintenance consists of a good blast of WD40 over everything.

Keen, experienced riders, just seemingly not interested in the tools and so thdLBS gets paid to do everything. Or it doesn't get done.
 

moorey

call me Mia
My LBS is superb. 9/10 are shite, the 'mechanics' know nothing, and feed you bullshit.
When you find a good one, stick with it.....but still do everything possible yourself.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
Is that a dig at me? I'm not talking about gear tuning...

Let's not forget that as well as good wrenching, good service also includes a readiness to explain/demonstrate things, transparent communication, a welcoming attitude, readiness to admit mistakes, etc...
Don't think he was referring to you mate, it was just a general statement along the lines of "if you're going to spend considerable money on a bike, you should really know some basic maintainance stuff".
 

ForkinGreat

Knows his Brassica oleracea
I went to my LBS a while back to get them to check out my fork. it wasn't cycling smoothly, & I reckoned that there was bugger all oil in there and it needed a service and top-up.
The LBS mechanic told me that the fork was fine as well as the oil levels, maybe they smeared a bit of slicko on the stanchions and put it back together. was ok for a couple of rides, then same problem. (on the plus side they only charged me about $30, but they didn't fix it properly).

A mate helped me service the fork, we pulled the lowers off and there was a thimble full of oil at best. Must have been the small amount they put in at the factory.

I used to give that LBS more service work, but now I try to do everything myself or phone a friend to help.
 

pineapplehead

Likes Dirt
My LBS is superb. 9/10 are shite, the 'mechanics' know nothing, and feed you bullshit.
When you find a good one, stick with it.....but still do everything possible yourself.
Which one is that moorey? Worth a shout out to the good ones

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk
 

yuley95

soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
Good ol' Bunny! I used to live next door to the servo there, opposite the pub, above a tax joint!
Looks like you are in Melbourne so try Astroboy Racer in Collingwood. Years of experience and will take the time to walk you through the work if you like.

There is a shop in the inner north suburbs that is pretty well known around as being a bit shit. They sell top spec bikes and talk a lot of shit about how good they are but have been known to leave loose bolts, new chains with too many links and a whole lot more.
 
Top