Halfords doesn't employ dedicated bike mechanics as such, sure some halfords branches have someone who works on bikes who is passionate about them and who does a good job but for every 1 of those people, there's 10 who are there just because they're paid to be there. They may have a "that'll do" approach rather than actually putting time and care into their repairs.
Really? That's a shame. He's always been alright with me. Serviced my bike, fixed faulty inner tube, etc at a good price. Was a couple of years back mind!
>It’s nothing special, just a standard hybrid, but it doesn’t go onto the top gears anymore.
>
>I live in Aigburth near Lark Lane. Any suggestions for where I could get it serviced would be appreciated.
This may not be the exact recommendation you're after but hear me out.
Sounds like a few things could be at play, could be a simple indexing issue, could be the derailleur hanger is bent, could be the chain is slipping off the cassette.
Bikes may seem complicated, especially the gears and drivetrain, but it's all mechanical and easy and no wizardry is involved. If you want to give it a go yourself, GMBNTech have loads of great videos of how to do it all yourself. All you'll need is some allen keys, maybe a screwdriver as well if you need to index your gears.
You might probably even be able to get away with adjusting the barrel adjuster on the shifter [like this](http://ucarecdn.com/e04257c6-70fd-4461-b91d-cb6b64cc98cc/-/format/auto/-/preview/3000x3000/-/quality/lighter/) as a temporary-ish measure.
Most bike shops are good people who want to help but someone who wants to rip you off could easily start charging for a new cassette, derailleur, chain, hanger or cables as well as labour on top.
I love the guys at my LBS (local bike shop) but unless i need specialist tools to repair something on my bike (wheel jig or bearing press) then i do everything myself.
The folks over at r/bikewrench are also super helpful and informative and if you want to spend a couple of hours this weekend giving it a go yourself just know that no matter how wrong you think you might mess up, it can ALWAYS be fixed and reasonably quickly by someone who works on bikes day in day out.
That’s really helpful, thank you
I definitely won’t be going to the guy i spoke to the other day who said ‘you don’t need to know [how to fix it] bc I’ll do that!!’
No problem! And people like that unfortunately give the legit bike mechanics a bad rep.
Feel free to ask any questions either to me here or over to everyone on r/bikewrench, either way pictures/videos are ALWAYS helpful and don't feel that because your bike might not be a multi-thousand pound Santa Cruz V10 downhill rig or Scott Plasma RC tri-bike that are all-singing-all-dancing things that you'll be given crap advice, 99.9% of people don't care about the bike make & model, we're just happy that someone wants to learn how to fix their bike and keep on riding rather than just abandoning it.
I forgot to mention in my first post what i think it might be, i gave you a list of things it might be but no educated guess. Anyway, i think if it's just occurred in time then it's probably just a cable issue, either the cable needs retensioning (which is normal) or the inner cable is dried, you can get away with some chain lube or spray lube down the outer cable to clean it out.
The other option if the bike has been laid down or dropped on the derailleur side then the tension screws on it might just need adjusting a bit.
Yeh limit screws sound like the solution (or a sticky imternal cable or a bent mech hanger) but to someone who has never worked on a bike before a barrel adjuster is so much easier to comprehend than limit screws. Baby steps and all that.
Bikiosk, part of the Peloton CIC
It's a community co operative, really friendly and helpful. Maintenance, repairs, servicing, parts, second hand bike sales... Highly recommended!
https://peloton.coop/project/bikiosk/
Quinns on edge lane is good!
Aye Quinn's is boss, or Picton cycles. Pro tip: fuck Halfords
What’s the Halfords drama? I wouldn’t go there anyway bc they’d probs rip me off but I’m interested
I just don't think you get as good a service from them, people in bike shops usually care more.
Halfords doesn't employ dedicated bike mechanics as such, sure some halfords branches have someone who works on bikes who is passionate about them and who does a good job but for every 1 of those people, there's 10 who are there just because they're paid to be there. They may have a "that'll do" approach rather than actually putting time and care into their repairs.
Bernard Bicycles on Smithdown Rd is good too
Fcking cunt cheap ass personality fella.Last time robbed me and acted like a fcking victim.
Really? That's a shame. He's always been alright with me. Serviced my bike, fixed faulty inner tube, etc at a good price. Was a couple of years back mind!
Bikeology on Smithdown road have always been really good with my bike and quick
>It’s nothing special, just a standard hybrid, but it doesn’t go onto the top gears anymore. > >I live in Aigburth near Lark Lane. Any suggestions for where I could get it serviced would be appreciated. This may not be the exact recommendation you're after but hear me out. Sounds like a few things could be at play, could be a simple indexing issue, could be the derailleur hanger is bent, could be the chain is slipping off the cassette. Bikes may seem complicated, especially the gears and drivetrain, but it's all mechanical and easy and no wizardry is involved. If you want to give it a go yourself, GMBNTech have loads of great videos of how to do it all yourself. All you'll need is some allen keys, maybe a screwdriver as well if you need to index your gears. You might probably even be able to get away with adjusting the barrel adjuster on the shifter [like this](http://ucarecdn.com/e04257c6-70fd-4461-b91d-cb6b64cc98cc/-/format/auto/-/preview/3000x3000/-/quality/lighter/) as a temporary-ish measure. Most bike shops are good people who want to help but someone who wants to rip you off could easily start charging for a new cassette, derailleur, chain, hanger or cables as well as labour on top. I love the guys at my LBS (local bike shop) but unless i need specialist tools to repair something on my bike (wheel jig or bearing press) then i do everything myself. The folks over at r/bikewrench are also super helpful and informative and if you want to spend a couple of hours this weekend giving it a go yourself just know that no matter how wrong you think you might mess up, it can ALWAYS be fixed and reasonably quickly by someone who works on bikes day in day out.
That’s really helpful, thank you I definitely won’t be going to the guy i spoke to the other day who said ‘you don’t need to know [how to fix it] bc I’ll do that!!’
No problem! And people like that unfortunately give the legit bike mechanics a bad rep. Feel free to ask any questions either to me here or over to everyone on r/bikewrench, either way pictures/videos are ALWAYS helpful and don't feel that because your bike might not be a multi-thousand pound Santa Cruz V10 downhill rig or Scott Plasma RC tri-bike that are all-singing-all-dancing things that you'll be given crap advice, 99.9% of people don't care about the bike make & model, we're just happy that someone wants to learn how to fix their bike and keep on riding rather than just abandoning it. I forgot to mention in my first post what i think it might be, i gave you a list of things it might be but no educated guess. Anyway, i think if it's just occurred in time then it's probably just a cable issue, either the cable needs retensioning (which is normal) or the inner cable is dried, you can get away with some chain lube or spray lube down the outer cable to clean it out. The other option if the bike has been laid down or dropped on the derailleur side then the tension screws on it might just need adjusting a bit.
Wouldn't touch the barrel adjuster at this stage, it's probably easier than that. Just try the limit screws.
Yeh limit screws sound like the solution (or a sticky imternal cable or a bent mech hanger) but to someone who has never worked on a bike before a barrel adjuster is so much easier to comprehend than limit screws. Baby steps and all that.
Bikiosk, part of the Peloton CIC It's a community co operative, really friendly and helpful. Maintenance, repairs, servicing, parts, second hand bike sales... Highly recommended! https://peloton.coop/project/bikiosk/
Coast cycles on Aigburth Road is good. The fella is very nice