Cycling UK Forum

Finally, to round off this thread as promised, I contacted a local mobile bike mechanic called Dave Hinton (0800 043 9200) and he came to my house and sorted out the gearchange issue which, essentially, boiled down to a problem with the inner cable (new, recently fitted to replace the one fitted by a local bike shop a couple of years previously). Dave showed me the cable, which had acquired a couple of bends where it had to negotiate its way from the lever and round the handlebar on its way to the eye on the down tube. He pointed out that the inner comprised seven strands of wire whereas the one he replaced it with also has seven strands, but each of those strands comprises seven very fine wire strands and, as he was able to demonstrate, this cable is noticeably more flexible than the simpler, standard version. The gear change problem is now resolved, the gears click reliably from one to the other and I've learned something that may well prove useful in future. I can wholeheartedly recommend Dave Hinton to any cycle owner in the Woking area of Surrey in need of servicing or repairs.

Thank you.

That's a very interesting piece of information - thank you. I'll check out Zabi Bikes. I suspect the proprietor may well be the same Zabi who used to work for Snow and Rock in Chertsey before they did away with the cycle department and, if so, I know from an earlier involvement with him that he's a very good mechanic.

Thank you Nicholas for the heads up on Brilliant Bikes' move from Chobham and thank you ket for the Walton-based suggestions. I've actually now arranged for a mobile bike-mechanic based at Woking to come out and see what's what. I'm grateful for the input from all of you and will leave a note on here of my experience and opinion of the quality of the service that I receive, which may act as a helpful guide to others in this area.

Many thanks for that Nearholmer and, indeed, I've already checked out the Chobham place and found it's now another type of shop entirely. I suspect that its disappearance (and that of the several other specialist bike shops that used to serve this area) is as a result of the traumas created by lockdown. A sad state of affairs.

Well, thanks anyway for taking the trouble to post a response. I was starting to think that I must have made my own posting in invisible ink!

Hello everyone, new forum user here (but a very long-in-the-tooth cyclist!) Having spent considerable time, effort and not a few swear words trying to sort out problems with my rear Ultegra mech I now accept that I need to involve the pros and what I'm after is a recommendation for an experienced and competent bike mechanic in the Weybridge/Woking area. Any thoughts anybody?