Min. setup that should be done for a new bike?

MeWantBroadband

I bought a bike from a Stillorgan shop that has been open for many years. The gears are not set up right (I started another thread about that), and I am concerned their Formula 1 style setting up of my bike may have cut other corners. I want to know what they should have done so if I bring the bike back over the gears, I can ask them whether they did the other stuff too.

I bought a Trek 7.5 FX ~€900 - a hybrid bike (Deore LX gears, carbon front fork). What steps are required to set up a decent bike and what is the minimum time it would take?

They have a small shop, so if you ask to try a bike (mine was hanging on the wall when I came in), they do the minimum (pedals and pumping tyres etc.) so you can take it for a spin within 5-10 minutes. Their approach seems to be able to do this at short notice. I opted to buy the bike, and then they get it ready for you while you wait.

Their purchase setup took maybe another 10-15 minutes, including adding mudguards and the holder for the lock I bought. I can confirm they lubed the chain. I was a bit uncomfortable about this as the last time I bought a bike it, I had to come back to get it, and that bike was only half the price. That purchase was three years ago at a shop in Dundrum with a solid reputation. There were no clicking gears then, and now I am concerned about what else might be wrong with my much bigger new investment.

MeWantBroadband

Not too many replies here. I was with someone buying a bike in another shop, and the guy there said one of their guys can prep a bike in ten minutes, so maybe my experience was normal enough.

The gear problem is a reasonably simple change to the barrel adjusters. However diagnosing a problem like that is tricky enough for casual cyclists, so they really should have sorted that out to ensure a pleasant new bike ownership experience.

kenmc

If it's the same shop I'm thinking about that you refer to, I wouldn't even buy a puncture repair kit in there, even though I live about 2 mins walk from it.

Friend of mine (for some god forsaken reason, despite me telling him loads of times to the contrary, but he had a credit note from something else) put his bike in there for a block and chain replacement 2 days before the ww200. First time he dropped to the lowest gear on the ww200 the derailleur ended up in his wheel and broke, he got the roving mechanic to sort him on the road for 70quid for a new derailleur. He now has another credit note for the shop after going back in and fighting his case (the roving mechanic backed up his claim)

Any time I've been in there I've been less than impressed. Always seem to get the impression that the bike they happen to have in stock is the right one to fit you no matter what.

There are much better shops around than this worthless one.

MeWantBroadband

kenmc wrote: »

There are much better shops around than this worthless one.

I had no preconceived notions about them, but I had not read of them being one of the shops in Dublin praised their service either. The time they spent on my bike may be average, but it would have made for a better start for me with the bike if they had checked the gears better.

Trek put up their prices this year by 20%. If it wasn't for that, I would have made a quick decision to buy the Trek e.g. in Joe Dalys or 2Wheels, but this rise just seemed excessive to me. I was looking at other brands, but not gone on what I had tried. These guys gave me 10% off (only because I was not buying through a bike scheme middleman), which allowed me to stick with a bike brand I was comfortable with and used to.

Two bike shops with good reps (Joe Daly and 2Wheels in Sandymount) were adamant that margins were so thin on Treks they could not give me anything off.

kenmc wrote: »

Always seem to get the impression that the bike they happen to have in stock is the right one to fit you no matter what.

That is a problem that frustrates me in retail generally of late - flogging you what is in stock, even when the alternative might just be ordering in something, rather than a product from their competitors. I think they are getting trained that way now ("always be closing"). E.g. Runways (beside Cycleways) try to flog me a hi-vis vest that was 2/3 sizes to big when they did not have my size with the argument it can fit over a back pack.

Lumen

New chains don't need lube. New cables will stretch. New bikes don't need setup, except for saddle position and possibly stem/bar tweaking, but that's bike fitting not mechanical work.

Holyboy

It should take about one hour to prep a new bike a little more if its in a box, it should include lubing all the cables and pre stretching them, greasing all bolts even down to the ones on the brake pads, tensioning, truing and dishing the wheels, after all that then you can start to set up brakes and gears etc. It cant be done in less than forty five minutes no matter how great a mechanic you might think you are! Oh and as Lumen pointed out, new chains do not need any lube, their factory lube is about as good as you can get.

MeWantBroadband

Holyboy wrote: »

It should take about one hour to prep a new bike a little more if its in a box, it should include lubing all the cables and pre stretching them, greasing all bolts even down to the ones on the brake pads, tensioning, truing and dishing the wheels, after all that then you can start to set up brakes and gears etc. It cant be done in less than forty five minutes no matter how great a mechanic you might think you are! Oh and as Lumen pointed out, new chains do not need any lube, their factory lube is about as good as you can get.

Are you having a laugh? You refer to a point in the post by Lumen but your post is saying almost the opposite in every other respect.

Holyboy

MeWantBroadband wrote: »

Are you having a laugh? You refer to a point in the post by Lumen but your post is saying almost the opposite in every other respect.

I agree with him that new chains shouldnt be lubed, but new bikes DO need a whole lot of setting up, these days they are thrown together in the factory without any thought what so ever, sometimes cables have to be shortened and even BBs have to be changed for correct length! When you cycle away from a shop on a new bike you should never have a problem with it, of course this is only my opinion!

Lumen

The disagreement is that Holyboy (who works in a shop) is describing things that I (as a punter) consider part of a bike build.

Whether or not a given bike needs that stuff done immediately before handing over to the customer depends on the logistics/managament of the shop and the quality of stuff that arrives from the distributor. I have no idea about that.

In my opinion a bike isn't built until it's ready to cycle. Otherwise it's just a bunch of parts held together in a bike shaped object.

tomasrojo

One thing I'd consider important that the shop has never done on any new bike I've bought is greasing the seat post to prevent fusing. Not that I've had that many new bikes.

Holyboy

tomasrojo wrote: »

One thing I'd consider important that the shop has never done on any new bike I've bought is greasing the seat post to prevent fusing. Not that I've had that many new bikes.

Thats nearly the same as not pumping the tyres!!!
I now get what Lumen was saying, that a bike that has been built and preped properly doesnt need adjustment, or at least I think thats what he meant!

MeWantBroadband

Let me rephrase my question:

My old bike (bought before the cycle scheme - €440), if I recall correctly, I went away and collected my bike on a later date. This was bought from Joe Daly who have a reasonably good rep here. What work would they have done to set it up?

The new, much dearer bike, was set up in 10 mins (for a test ride) plus 15-20mins (for purchase plus fitting a few optional extras). They have a free service on the new bike after 6 weeks. Did they do a proper set up?

cython

MeWantBroadband wrote: »

Let me rephrase my question:

My old bike (bought before the cycle scheme - €440), if I recall correctly, I went away and collected my bike on a later date. This was bought from Joe Daly who have a reasonably good rep here. What work would they have done to set it up?

The new, much dearer bike, was set up in 10 mins (for a test ride) plus 15-20mins (for purchase plus fitting a few optional extras). They have a free service on the new bike after 6 weeks. Did they do a proper set up?

It's really impossible to answer that question without knowing what they did when they unboxed the bike. Had they fine tuned everything (brakes, gears, bolts, cables, etc - everything Holyboy mentioned) upon unboxing, and before putting it out for display (or to hang on the wall, to be specific), then it's entirely possible that a very quick once over as you describe could have it ready to go out the door in a matter of minutes. Joe Daly's on the other hand, may have operated a different system whereby they ordered in for you, or had a boxed one, different to the display model, that they needed time to do all the aforementioned work before you collected it

The issue is we don't know whether that was all done beforehand or not, so it's unlikely anyone can give you a definitive answer here.