The "what bike bits have you just bought" thread Vol 2
Discussion
MadDad said:
Guy's in Sigma assured me it woefully over-reads the power therefore makes for a better riding experience....... 
They'll do that alright. Someone I know apparently did nearly 500w for an FTP test on a Stages last week.The only thing worse was the dribblers commenting thinking it was legit.
okgo said:
MadDad said:
Guy's in Sigma assured me it woefully over-reads the power therefore makes for a better riding experience.......
They'll do that alright. Someone I know apparently did nearly 500w for an FTP test on a Stages last week.The only thing worse was the dribblers commenting thinking it was legit.
smn159 said:
This turned up yesterday after a speculative eBay bid while bored in a meeting last week. Criteria was disk brakes and I liked the colour. How hard can it be to turn it into a bike?
I have some 105 hydraulic brakes for sale - taken from my 4S. Let me know if you’re interested.
Not exciting, but might be useful to some, I got disc brake pads from Germany for half the price of any I could find here. DPD delivery, 3 working days, £5 delivery charge.
www.bike-discount.de
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-disc-b...
Will stock up next time if still the same price.
www.bike-discount.de
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-disc-b...
Will stock up next time if still the same price.
Had to nip to Asda in Farnborough on Saturday morning. There were ten minutes left on the parking ticket when I finished in there so I nipped across to Decathlon and bought...
@£19.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/900-mountain-bike-cycl...
and
@£11.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/chain-whip-cassette-re...
"How to..." video for the chain whip tool here >> https://f1.media.brightcove.com/4/3415345270001/34...
The gloves are OK. Decent fit and feel like they're good quality. They stood up well on a 50 mile MTB trip out to Alice Holt and some single-track mucking about on the way home on Saturday afternoon. No issues with comfort at all, which was nice. Not had chance to use the "chain whip" tool yet though. I'm saving that for when I have to fit these bits I bought from the useless chancers at my local Halfords on the Friday...
@ £28.99 (click and collect) but priced at £42.99 in store (hence "chancers")... http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/gears-d...
and
@ £11.99 (similar price hike for walk-in customers)... http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/gears-d...
So - "chancers" because they are massively cheaper on the internet than in their own store. And "useless" because two hours AFTER I received my "staff at our Farnborough store are preparing your order" text I walked in to find that they hadn't done anything but print the order out. Then they disappeared to "look for it" only to come back from the stock room empty handed. The guy then tried to tell me the order wasn't due for collection until Monday at 4pm (that was actually the time they'd hold my order until if I hadn't collected it). I then had to point out the items to their "Bike Hut Expert" because he couldn't recognise a chain and a ten speed cassette when they were literally right in front of him...
Cheap though, and the parts I wanted weren't available other local places I'd tried.
@£19.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/900-mountain-bike-cycl...
and
@£11.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/chain-whip-cassette-re...
"How to..." video for the chain whip tool here >> https://f1.media.brightcove.com/4/3415345270001/34...
The gloves are OK. Decent fit and feel like they're good quality. They stood up well on a 50 mile MTB trip out to Alice Holt and some single-track mucking about on the way home on Saturday afternoon. No issues with comfort at all, which was nice. Not had chance to use the "chain whip" tool yet though. I'm saving that for when I have to fit these bits I bought from the useless chancers at my local Halfords on the Friday...
@ £28.99 (click and collect) but priced at £42.99 in store (hence "chancers")... http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/gears-d...
and
@ £11.99 (similar price hike for walk-in customers)... http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/gears-d...
So - "chancers" because they are massively cheaper on the internet than in their own store. And "useless" because two hours AFTER I received my "staff at our Farnborough store are preparing your order" text I walked in to find that they hadn't done anything but print the order out. Then they disappeared to "look for it" only to come back from the stock room empty handed. The guy then tried to tell me the order wasn't due for collection until Monday at 4pm (that was actually the time they'd hold my order until if I hadn't collected it). I then had to point out the items to their "Bike Hut Expert" because he couldn't recognise a chain and a ten speed cassette when they were literally right in front of him...
Cheap though, and the parts I wanted weren't available other local places I'd tried.
Edited by yellowjack on Tuesday 31st October 18:46
IroningMan said:
In my experience Halfords have the systems and processes, but they haven't got the hang of recruiting, training and retaining people to live up to the potential.
I'd absolutely agree with that. They did have some staff come in from a local independent shop that closed down a while back, but they don't seem to have lasted. Possibly moved on to other independent shops?The current crop, based only on their accents, are a mix of EU and Brazilian chaps. Nice enough blokes, but just not terribly good with bicycles it seems. I had a ten minute wait while a woman who had extreme difficulty in controlling her kids went through a bike ordering process. The Brazilian fella said she'd been there over an hour too!
What annoyed me was realising that they'd have happily charged me £42.99 for the cassette alone if I'd just been a "walk-in" customer. Daft really, because I could have got it at an indy outfit for less than that.
New cassette needed, and it needed to be Shimano really. The last one I bought was a B-Twin branded Sunrace cassette from Decathlon and the shifting was terrible (slow for the shift ramps to pick the chain up), as well as the two smallest sprockets wearing out well before the chain checker tool showed wear on the chain. Not much cheaper (if at all) than this Shimano SLX-standard cassette either.
Another worrying thing was a chap coming in after I'd been served, and as I was packing my stuff into a rucksack to ship it home. He clearly had no idea about bikes, as he wanted them to look at "the plastic disc in the middle of my back wheel - it's broken and making a noise when I ride". They told him he'd need to book it in 48 hours ahead of being looked at, and because they "don't fix bikes at weekends because we're really busy" he'd have to bring it in on Monday. I couldn't catch up to him to tell him to just cut the damned "Dork Disc" off. FFS, it's a plastic disc, and I've no doubt there are some kicking around in a bin out the back. Either fix it on the spot or tell him it's not really essential. I wonder how much they'll charge him to "fix" his bike? It's not a problem for me, as I only ever use them to buy parts when the internet tells me that they are cheaper than other places, but it really grates when customers who know no better about bikes seem to get taken for a ride by theses faceless corporate bodies masquerading as bicycle repair workshops.
I know there are good ones out there, both stores and employees. Heck, I've even defended this particular store against generic 'Halfrauds' bashing in the past, but last week's experience left a bit of a sour taste really. Maybe I should chuck my CV their way though? I surely can't be any worse than some of what they give a branded polo-shirt to, after all???
IroningMan said:
I don't know about that - I've read some of your posts on bicycle maintenance...
In all seriousness? Go for it. I've occasionally wondered about working with bikes, but the fragility of all the bike business I've seen has bothered me too much to risk it: not so Halfords.
I need to get my head squared away first. Therapy sessions due to end in January, then I'll get myself on 'The Warrior Programme' and see if they can't signpost me to some help with getting some training and job search advice. I'll get myself back together, I hope. Getting a job will be a big part of that in the end...In all seriousness? Go for it. I've occasionally wondered about working with bikes, but the fragility of all the bike business I've seen has bothered me too much to risk it: not so Halfords.
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