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Do You Trust LBS Mechanics?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway
View Poll Results: Do You Trust LBS Mechanics?
My local mechs are the best! I trust them 100%
17
25.76%
I would NEVER trust my bike with a shop mechanic
14
21.21%
Only for the most difficult repairs
21
31.82%
Frequently: they're pretty good and save me time
14
21.21%
Voters: 66. You may not vote on this poll

Do You Trust LBS Mechanics?

Old 05-13-16, 03:41 PM
  #1  
American Euchre
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Do You Trust LBS Mechanics?

In my limited contact, I've had very mixed experiences with lbs mechanics.

One mechanic trued my wheels to near perfection as part of a general tuneup. Unfortunately, this same mechanic also overtightened the pedals to the point where I literally could not take them off again without a superman level effort. He also scratched the stem and crank arm.

At a second shop, the two or three shop employees I spoke to over the phone sounded more like full time reps for cannabis legalization initiatives than they did store employees. I avoided.

At a third shop, the owner adjusted the brakes and derailleurs to near perfection. I gave him a second job to true wheels on a second bike. He farmed the work out to an underling and I wound up spending $40 with the wheels returned in exactly the same out of true condition as they arrived in.

I know bike shops owners and employees aren't getting rich, and that many employees are low skilled teenagers, but I somehow still have the idealistic notion that the lbs is a noble cause and I should support them.

I think I will only go to a shop in the future when it's absolutely necessary. What are your experiences?
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Old 05-13-16, 03:59 PM
  #2  
WalksOn2Wheels
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For the record, you very well could find that one good mechanic and decide to drop stuff off with the specific request of said mechanic working on them.
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Old 05-13-16, 04:03 PM
  #3  
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As many have said to prospective bike buyers ... first shop for an LBS.

Your experiences are probably common because LBSs are just businesses employing and run by human beings, and human beings come in various shapes and flavors .... on different days, even.

I'm like you----if I absolutely cannot fix it I guess I would go to an LBS ... but if it were that broken I might need to buy a new one anyway.

Some LBS employees are just starting long careers in the field, and some are just finishing them (successfully or unsuccessfully) and some are learning that they are in the wrong field.

Plus ... you might have come in the minute after the A-hole boss reamed the mechanic for some problem the boss was having (like not making enough money because the mechanic was too meticulous and precise, and thus wasn't rushing through the overbooked repair schedule) or the day after his significant other shot his dog and then refused to move out or something.

Same as with cars (which I used to be able to fix about 40 years ago but now .... ) you need to gamble, go to a place a few times, and see what the crew can do. Best, obvioulsy, is to pay Park Tools for the gear and learn off their website ... unless you are me and everything takes five times as long .... but still, maybe, the best way to proceed.
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Old 05-13-16, 04:03 PM
  #4  
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Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels
For the record, you very well could find that one good mechanic and decide to drop stuff off with the specific request of said mechanic working on them.
Dude, we are here to be wordy and judgmental, not concise and smart.
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Old 05-13-16, 04:16 PM
  #5  
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They have to earn my trust.

I restore vintage Volkswagens and build engines as a hobby, so I'm very particular on who works on my bikes. My LBS has 4 locations and I only trust 2 mechanics at 2 different locations. When I took home each of my bikes, I put them on a stand and went over every bolt with a torque wrench.

Never too safe.

Last edited by GlennR; 05-13-16 at 05:33 PM.
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Old 05-13-16, 04:42 PM
  #6  
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I trust my LBS, but lately they mostly seem to get things right the second time around...
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Old 05-13-16, 05:03 PM
  #7  
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I don't have a lot of experience with shop mechanics. Though one time I did bring in a broken 7900 shifter for them to look at. It took them three days to tell me that there's nothing they could do, and then offered to order a 4700 to replace it, because obviously 7900's aren't available new anymore. I suppose I don't blame them. The amount of work they would have to put in to even attempt to fix it is not really worth the time.
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Old 05-13-16, 05:10 PM
  #8  
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It's like asking "Do you trust people?"

The correct answer is it depends on how well you know them, and whether you think trust should be earned vs. give them the benefit of the doubt.
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Old 05-13-16, 05:12 PM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by datlas
It's like asking "Do you trust people?"

The correct answer is it depends on how well you know them, and whether you think trust should be earned vs. give them the benefit of the doubt.
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Old 05-13-16, 05:33 PM
  #10  
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Never took my bike to a mechanic and never will. Buy a bike stand, truing stand, tools and do it all yourself.
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Old 05-13-16, 06:07 PM
  #11  
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Same as with my cars. Did my own work for years past when I really wanted to because of lack of full trust. Now have mechs I trust implicitly and use them for anything I don't have an inclination to do myself.
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Old 05-13-16, 06:14 PM
  #12  
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I do most stuff myself but sometimes I can't be arsed. I've given jobs to the three nearby shops and they have all done good jobs. So yes, I do trust them.
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Old 05-13-16, 06:21 PM
  #13  
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No option...
  • I trust the LBS mechanics for everyone else's bike.
Any repair that would fall into the "most difficult repair" category that I wouldn't attempt myself would be complex enough that there would be few bike shops that I'd trust doing it, and might involve shipping to a non-local bike shop.
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Old 05-13-16, 06:55 PM
  #14  
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One other choice in this poll should've been added: "only when I need something done I dont have the tool for". I would've checked that one.
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Old 05-13-16, 07:16 PM
  #15  
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Believe it or not but I ran into a pretty decent mechanic at a big box Dicks Sporting Goods. The only real mechanic the DSG stores have in this regon.
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Old 05-13-16, 07:50 PM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by yashinon
Believe it or not but I ran into a pretty decent mechanic at a big box Dicks Sporting Goods. The only real mechanic the DSG stores have in this regon.
Interesting.

I stopped by a Dick's Sporting Goods one day when I broke a skewer...

Nope, none for sale. They could order one. It would arrive in a week or so... It would have been a tough ride home with horizontal dropouts and a broken rear skewer.

Fortunately the local building supply store had all the parts I needed

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Old 05-13-16, 08:06 PM
  #17  
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The only time I take a bike in to a shop is for a warranty issue. If I don't have a tool I need, I buy it.
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Old 05-13-16, 08:16 PM
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Jim from Boston
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I have previously posted to this Road Cycling thread, Do You Work / Maintain Your Own Bikes?"

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
...My first adult bike was a Schwinn Suburban, and as a college student I did a lot of work on it, including cleaning bearings. Time eventually became too much of a premium, so now my LBS does it all...

Having the LBS do it all, in my case is a really good deal. The shop is one block away, and they will fix many things at a convenient time for me. They are so expert that they can do these things quickly, better than me, and often spot problems that I did not see. Whenever I leave the shop, the bikes ride as if new again.

Because the bikes are a major transportation mode for me, keeping them in good repair is critical. We save a lot of money on transportation, so further using the LBS is even more cost-effective. I tip well, not, "To Insure Prompt Service, " but because I am so appreciative of their work. Hats off to Back Bay Bikes.
I have never encountered a bad mechanic there in the 20+ years I have used them.
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Old 05-13-16, 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by CliffordK
Interesting.

I stopped by a Dick's Sporting Goods one day when I broke a skewer...

Nope, none for sale. They could order one. It would arrive in a week or so... It would have been a tough ride home with horizontal dropouts and a broken rear skewer.

Fortunately the local building supply store had all the parts I needed

Yeah they don't stock many things but the stores have a catalog and can get pretty much anything. Shipping is slo-mo tho.
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Old 05-13-16, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by eric1971
The only time I take a bike in to a shop is for a warranty issue. If I don't have a tool I need, I buy it.
This. Nothing beats a knowledge of the bike and how to fix it.
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Old 05-13-16, 08:58 PM
  #21  
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There was a mechanic at Mikes Bikes in Walnut Creek that I would trust with anything. Unfortunately as I no longer live there, I can't go back to him. The local Performance here is a great shop, run more like an LBS than a corporate chain, and I have had pretty good luck with them. That said, when they installed a set of hydro discs and ran the cables, I have noticed the levers require a lot of travel to get a good bite, so I may ask them if they can remedy the situation, likely through a re bleed. Everything else was top notch.

If I had the money, I would find the best mechanic in the area through trial and error and have them do most everything, just to support the LBS, but as it stands that isn't an option, so I do what I can myself, and let them handle what I am not comfortable with.
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Old 05-13-16, 09:21 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by garciawork
There was a mechanic at Mikes Bikes in Walnut Creek that I would trust with anything. Unfortunately as I no longer live there, I can't go back to him. The local Performance here is a great shop, run more like an LBS than a corporate chain, and I have had pretty good luck with them. That said, when they installed a set of hydro discs and ran the cables, I have noticed the levers require a lot of travel to get a good bite, so I may ask them if they can remedy the situation, likely through a re bleed. Everything else was top notch.

If I had the money, I would find the best mechanic in the area through trial and error and have them do most everything, just to support the LBS, but as it stands that isn't an option, so I do what I can myself, and let them handle what I am not comfortable with.
Hmm, Mikes is right up the street from my house, I've taken my bike there a few times, no one stood out. Not that they were bad or good, just another LBS.

To answer the question, I found another shop near my house that I go to whenever I need help with something above my pay grade. But apart from this latest shop, almost every other LBS mechanic I've run into were terrible, incompetent, uncaring, or all of the above.
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Old 05-13-16, 09:23 PM
  #23  
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Yes as long as they don't touch my wheels.
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Old 05-13-16, 09:25 PM
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Even though I do most of my own wrenching, generally yes. Less so when it comes to the vintage stuff, simply because comparatively few mechanics have all that much experience with it.
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Old 05-13-16, 09:34 PM
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My LBS mechanic is the only on who touches my bike.
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