Shopping for Bike Parts
by Joran Elias
9 May 2007
I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I use my local bike shop for repairs. I realize that in this crowd that is a major faux pas. I can clean and adjust most stuff on my own as part of a regular maintenance routine, but I’ve had three real repairs (i.e. something just plain broke) that I couldn’t do myself.
I’ve had three broken spokes on my rear wheel; two in the last 2 weeks. Now, I can replace a spoke. I do not, however, have anything on which to suspend my wheel stably enough to re-true it. I suppose I could just eyeball it, but that just seems like too much work.
On the most recent spoke repair, I picked up my wheel and something just didn’t look right.
Now would also be a good time to mention that I don’t like bike shop employees. They terrify me. They almost always treat me like an idiot, which doesn’t mix well with the fact that I’m somewhat insecure about my bike part/repair knowledge to begin with. This results in a rather addled and hesitant thought process on my part whenever I’m in a bike shop. Which explains (but does not excuse) what happened next…
Me- “Uhh…is there…something…else….ah…?”
Bike shop guy (speaking really fast)-
“OhyeahdidyouhaveaskewerI’llgolookforit.”
Me- “Uh…ok.”
(A few minutes pass…)
Bike Shop Guy (really fast again)
“Icouldn’tfindyoursbuthereisasuperfancyone!”
At which point he shoves a skewer in my hand and spins off to talk to some other customer. And I could have sworn I smelled alchohol on his breath.
So it turns out that he gave me a rear skewer that fits my bike, but is goddamn heavy compared to my old one. (I can tell, trust me, it’s that heavy.) Now, the weight isn’t going to kill me. I’m not that great a biker. But the damn thing bugs me. It’s like having this constant reminder of my own cowardice and idiocy riding around just below my ass; my own personal bike shop employee that follows me around everywhere I go dishing condescension and ridicule that I could possibly pretend to call myself a cyclist and not be able to summon the term “skewer” at the drop of a hat.
So I figure, hell, a skewer can’t be very expensive, I’ll just order one like my old one. And that leads me to my only other compaints about cycling aside from bike shop employees.
1.) Seemingly simple bike parts can be amazingly expensive. $70 for a rear skewer? Are you kidding me? Not only am I not likely to pay $70 for a rear skewer, but the fact that so many are sold for more than $40 dollars makes me really nervous about the few $15 ones I’ve seen. What, are they made out of paper mache or something? Christ.
2.) You will be presented with approximately 10^10 different types of a particular part. To correctly pick the right one you will need to know the exact dimensions of your original part and an assortment of compatibility information usually indicated with an utterly unhelpful acronym. It’s almost like bike parts were designed by vindictive bike shop employees to taunt (in absentia) cycling neophytes in their attempts to be self sufficient.
(Don’t jump on me on (2) guys, I know what QR stands for, and I am capable of measuring the length of my rear skewer. I’m generalizing beyond skewers here a bit.)
Anyway, what should I do?
1.) Buy a $15 skewer?
2.) Buy a $70 skewer?
3.) Go back to the shop (3 days after the fact!) and demand my old skewer back, end up demanding they pay for a new skewer since they surely won’t be able to find it, and then end up being kind of an asshole over something relatively minor, meaning that the next time I need their services they’ll treat me like an even bigger idiot?
Sigh.
May 9, 11:08 PM
Any mockery that is going to be dispensed at people for ignorance of bike construction, use, and maintenance, should probably be targeted at me instead of you, Joran. For example, I didn’t even know what the hell a “skewer” was, till I looked it up just now on Sheldon Brown’s page. Well, okay, so I knew what it was, but not what it was called.
So, anyway, I’m completely at the mercy of those bike shop people. Beyond lubing the chain and front suspension pistons, and changing a ruptured tube (which I haven’t had to do in probably four years now), I am pretty much helpless when it comes to bike maintenance.
May 10, 12:11 AM
Joran,
I would in no way be scared of a $15 skewer. Icycles is currently selling Shimano rear skewers for less than $10. Now, I do think you should go in to the shop, try to find a different employee, and see if they’ll just give you one (that’s lighter than the one they gave you). I’d be shocked if they can find the one they lost, though the fact that they tried to give you back your wheel sans skewer makes me think you need to look for a different shop.
Aside from the skewer issue, a couple of thoughts. You can always true your wheel (to good enough for most purposes) by flipping your bike upside down, leaving the wheel in the dropouts and using the brakes as your guide. You can usually twist road brakes so that one pad moves very close to the rim. You’ll need a spoke wrench, but if you’re replacing spokes, you probably already knew that.
I’m also a little concerned that you’re breaking spokes with any regularity, especially if you’re just riding along. If the spokes are over-tensioned they will have a tendency to break. If they feel very tight (just squeeze them with your hands, you can feel tight vs. loose) and the wheel is true, you might try loosening them all a quarter or half turn and see what that does. You want them tight enough so that they’re not actively moving around, but not much tighter than that.
May 10, 01:08 PM
Michael – I had no idea it was called a skewer either, until the guy in the shop called it that. Hence my hesitation. I was trying to avoid saying ‘Where’s that long thing that attaches my wheel to the frame with a twisty clampy thing?’ Because that was sure to garner his respect.
Brayt – Just the sort of response I was hoping for from one of the many bike experts hanging around here! Thanks for the tip on wheel truing, I’ll have to try that.
Actually, I’m on my second bike shop already. I was going to the supposed good one in town and I had this experience: the rear brake pads on my crappy, tool around town mtn bike were getting awfully thin and needed replacing. So I took one off, walked down to the shop, found the right type by just matching the ones on the wall to the old one in my hand, grabbed 2 and walked up to the counter.
The employee (not a kid, probably at least 35) promptly informed me that he would sell me the brake pads, but only if he was allowed to give me a 15 minute lesson on adjusting brakes properly. All the while looking at me like I had absolutely no business even touching my brakes and would be endangering both myself and several innocent kittens by riding around on a bike on which I had :gasp: adjusted my own brakes.
Of course, he had me completely terrified, so I actually stood there like an idiot as he lectured to me about brake adjustments, right in front of 2-3 other customers who were waiting to be helped. For fully 15 minutes. He wasn’t kidding.
I am such a wimp. Hopefully, I’ll improve.
May 10, 02:23 PM
Don’t let the bike shop guys throw you off your game, Joran. Most shops only have a couple of really competent mechanics, and the rest of the crew probably has about the same confidence level you do. Sometimes when they act weird it is because they’re covering that they don’t really know.
And don’t let them talk down to you either. It’s a retail thing. They’re conditioned to expect people who are completely clueless. I get it too. I frequently walk to the counter at Omar’s and say exactly what I need, like “Do you guys have a 9-speed Shimano freehub at about the 105 or Ultegra level?” and get back answers like “Woah. Bikes don’t really have free-wheels anymore, are you on a road bike or a mountain bike? Maybe you should bring it in.” Awesome bike shops, like Cambridge Cycles, West Hill, and (it’s said) The Spoke are pretty rare. Most are cushy retail outlets.
As I was saying, don’t let them talk down to you. If you don’t know a parts name, then just ask. “I think I need a new one of these. What’s it called? A skewer, oh, thanks. I think I need a new skewer because…” If something doesn’t make sense, then push them until it does make sense. Bike’s aren’t cars, computers, or abstract algebra. Nothing that happens on a bike is so complicated you can’t get it with 30 seconds explanation.
If you decide to true your own wheel, send me an email. I’ve got some good tips for the true-by-brakes method. Breaking 3 spokes in two weeks is a bit of a red flag, though.
Go back to the bike shop and say “Oh, my friend who races says this skewer is way shittier than the one you lost. Think you could drum up something nicer for me? It doesn’t have to be new or anything.” They can’t argue with the friend that isn’t there.
Finally, there are an absurd number of only marginally different, poorly labeled, and incompatible bike parts. I’m still wrestlying with a bottom-bracket (that’s the bearing assembly that the crank arms bolt onto in your frame) replacement that was 2 mm too long, and now is messing up my shifting. Sometimes trial and error is the only way to get it right.
May 16, 02:36 PM
Fast talking might be the #1 reason why I hate bike shops. Booze might be #4 or #5.
There’s nothing wrong with getting work done at a local shop. The hard part is finding a good one that won’t do shit like talk fast, lose your skewer, or spend 15 minutes on unsolicited brake adjustment advice.*
Signs of a good bike shop are generally:
- they have a stand set up for drop-ins to do their own service
- they have a discount for purchasing more than two tubes
- most of the customers arrive on bikes
- there’s only one rack of clothing and it’s shoved way over in a corner
- they don’t sell tennis rackets
These are in no way guarantees, and there are many exceptions. But I’ve found they’re good indicators (especially #1).
Jon, The Spoke is a great bike shop if you need an older, extremely well-loved bike put back into working order, if you’re looking to find an unused, out-of-production part, or if you want to set up the full custom, money-is-no-object Seven or Aegis of your dreams. Don’t expect anything to get done quickly.
*(for the record, brake adjustment is nearly idiot proof. All the adjustments are intuitive. Both pads should hit the rim (and only the rim) simultaneously when you squeeze the lever. The wheel should spin freely with the lever released. You should never be able to pull the lever to the handlebar. If they squeal, tip the pads so the front ends hit the rim before the back. Tighten the cable as the pads wear. When they make a grindy noise, buy new pads.)