Words of Caution

Message

buddhacide · Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:05 am

I'm a new rider that has about 1000 km under my belt. I bought my first bike at the start of the summer. The first thing I did as soon I was able to do so was bring the bike in for a tune up and its 13k maintainance (last month). There were a few issues, but otherwise I was given a clean ticket. So lately I've been noticing that my breaks arent working that great. I had a friend up north take it for a spin and he said that my front breaks are practically gone, and the pads are worn almost outright. He said he couldnt believe I didn't notice this sooner. I didnt because I had nothing to compare it to. I can still stop, so I guess I figured everything was ok. The fact this shop (in Toronto if anyones curious PM me) missed this is beyond belief. I specifically asked them about the breaks and they said they were fine. I can only imagine what else they didnt bother looking at even though they paid me.

Word to noobs. Get as many opinions and whatnot as possible, and as many people as possible that know what they're doing to look at your bike before you feel secure with anyone's advice. Its a terrible feeling needing to rely on people that are neglectful and incompetant.

So now I have to shell out even more money to get this fixed. Total drag.

Bachstrad37 · Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:32 am

It's intances like this that caused me to take repairs and maintenance work into my own hands. I figure no one cares for my bike as much as me, so I'll take it it upon myself to be on top of it.

I've taken this same mentality toward my car.

If you have the space and some funds to get basic tools, I think it's very much worthwhile to learn how. Sure, you'll pay more at the beginning for tools etc., but in the long run, it's sooooo much cheaper. I also get satisfaction in doing it myself. Yeah, you're going to make some mistakes along the way. That's the risk of learning anything.

There's plenty of people out there to take your money. I minimize their impact by stepping clear of automotive repair chains whenever possible. It's not to say that shops are rip-offs and incompetents. It is to say that in most cases, no one cares about your possessions more than you do.

OoJRod06oO · Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:07 am

I'd take your bill back in with the bike and show them. They may admit their sloppiness and give you some type of refund.

Like Bach, I tend to do most of my maintenance by myself if at all possible. Partly because of the same reason he mentioned and the fact that I like to know how what I'm riding is set up.

sharpmagna · Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:53 am

eh, I don't think you'll get that far with the shop on your bill. All they have to say is, "boy, you sure have ridden your bike pretty hard since you brought it in here..."

You're brake pads may have been able to pass inspection when you brought it in, but they do wear out. Have you looked at the pads themselves to see how much trhey have left? Brake pads are super easy to do and on most bikes, you don't even have to remove the caliper to change them. If you don't have one, get a service manual for your bike. It will tell you when to change your pads by the thickness so you know before someone has to tell you. Do the service yourself and you'll save a ton of money which you can throw right back into your bike with upgrades or better gear.

GrandGT · #5 Unread post by **GrandGT** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:25 am

ive been learning to do my own mechanical work from my uncle who knows his "poo poo". when i bought my bike there was a bolt missing from the front fork, the seller just had it serviced and had no idea it was missing. a lot of these shops employ young kids who dont know "poo poo" and who are careless, and get tasked with "simple" things they still manage to screw up.

oldschoolorange · Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:20 pm

Brakes on a BIke are usualy really easy to do. However a word of caution Up here I am almost positive that is is illegal to do brakes if you are not a liscenced mechanic or they are not inspected by one. This never seems to stop anyone though, I am usualy the guy who gets the phone calls from people and I have to fix their mess. Get the service manual (buy or Dload it) read it and understand what you are reading then you should be ok. just take your time and pay attention to what you are doing

ofblong · #7 Unread post by **ofblong** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:23 pm

the only thing I dont do myself is tires. I dont have the equipment nor the knowledge to balance them. then again I dont know how much bike tires cost especially for tires with drum brakes nor where to take them

.

*edit forgot my origional reason to reply to this was about the brakes. It is soooo much cheaper (at least for cars and I only have to assume bikes are the same way) to do them yourself. for most vehicles places that do brakes want around $350 to do 1 set of tires (either front or rear). So if you had all 4 brakes done on a car thats $700 to do brakes.

To do brakes myself
$20 for pads for front
$30 for pads for back
$50 for rotars for front (disk brakes)
$80 for drums on back.
2 hours of my time (30 min per tire) @ 20/hr (insert your wage here but I am just making a nice round number to work with) = $40.

total cost to do all 4 brakes myself = $220 comapred to $700 to have someone else do it. I can only imagine that brakes on a bike are the same price wise although I havent looked at how to replace drum brakes on like my bike but it looks like it may be a pain in the arse cause it looks like the whole tire has to come off.

sharpmagna · Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:35 pm

oldschoolorange wrote:Brakes on a BIke are usualy really easy to do. However a word of caution Up here I am almost positive that is is illegal to do brakes if you are not a liscenced mechanic or they are not inspected by one. This never seems to stop anyone though, I am usualy the guy who gets the phone calls from people and I have to fix their mess. Get the service manual (buy or Dload it) read it and understand what you are reading then you should be ok. just take your time and pay attention to what you are doing

Wow, illegal to do your own brakes? Hmmm, that sucks.

dieziege · #9 Unread post by **dieziege** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:37 pm

Can't do your own brakes? If true that's another good reason for not living in Ontario.

ofblong · #10 Unread post by **ofblong** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:48 pm

I should mention the prices I mentioned are USD not CDN or any other type of currency. as for the 2 posts above I didnt realize the post about being illegal. that would suck and a good reason why I will never live there lol.