Halfords service
Halfords service
Hi
I just took my road bike to Halfords to be serviced. I have had the bike for 9 months from new.
I expected the cables & chain to be renewed because of wear & tear, but they recommended a new back cassette not because it was seriously worn, but because they were fitting a new chain.
They said a new cassette should always be fitted with a new chain because the old chain which they said was stretched would effect the cassette already on the bike.
The service was £94 new cassette & chain, and bike & brake service plus labour.
What are your opinions
Mike
I just took my road bike to Halfords to be serviced. I have had the bike for 9 months from new.
I expected the cables & chain to be renewed because of wear & tear, but they recommended a new back cassette not because it was seriously worn, but because they were fitting a new chain.
They said a new cassette should always be fitted with a new chain because the old chain which they said was stretched would effect the cassette already on the bike.
The service was £94 new cassette & chain, and bike & brake service plus labour.
What are your opinions
Mike
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Re: Halfords service
Seems expensive, but how many miles has it done?
I think d-i-y maintenance is best, saving money is only one of several reasons
If you search these fora you will find a lot about chain and sprocket wear, various opinions are available
I think d-i-y maintenance is best, saving money is only one of several reasons
If you search these fora you will find a lot about chain and sprocket wear, various opinions are available
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Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
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Re: Halfords service
you have not really told us anything apart from that you were charged £94 and this -I think- included a cassette and chain. From what you have said it isn't really clear what kind of bike you have, what you paid for what, what kind of parts were fitted, what else the service included or how many miles you have done, or, well, anything really.
I would comment that unless the chain was only a little worn (about 0.5 to 0.75%), then it is far from certain that a new chain will work OK with worn sprockets. Since the fault you would then experience is skipping under load, it is fairly intolerable if it does happen. Quite a lot of bike shops will change both together because that way they don't get folk coming back saying their chain is skipping, having pedalled harder than the mechanic managed on a test ride.
In nine months you can easily wear a chain to 1% even if you just use the bike for an hour or two a week and you look after it fairly well. Neglected or abused, and a chain might last a small fraction of that time.
cheers
I would comment that unless the chain was only a little worn (about 0.5 to 0.75%), then it is far from certain that a new chain will work OK with worn sprockets. Since the fault you would then experience is skipping under load, it is fairly intolerable if it does happen. Quite a lot of bike shops will change both together because that way they don't get folk coming back saying their chain is skipping, having pedalled harder than the mechanic managed on a test ride.
In nine months you can easily wear a chain to 1% even if you just use the bike for an hour or two a week and you look after it fairly well. Neglected or abused, and a chain might last a small fraction of that time.
cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Re: Halfords service
I see that Halfords offer a range of service options which seem to have a fixed price + labour and parts replaced.
https://www.halfords.com/advice/cycling ... uide-video
It includes this:-
AFAIK, that's in line with typical servicing practice in many industries.
https://www.halfords.com/advice/cycling ... uide-video
It includes this:-
If we find that any work that needs to be carried out, and it's work that's under warranty, then this will be carried out for free. However if it's a non-warranty job then we'll let you know that repair work is needed, how much it will cost, and ask if you'd like to go ahead with it.
AFAIK, that's in line with typical servicing practice in many industries.
Re: Halfords service
£94 doesn’t sound out of this world for all what you say has been done, assuming all of it was necessary. If it was, you must have had a pretty active 9 cycling months, well done!
To DIY these things next time you’ll need to invest £15-20 in a decent cable cutter, £10 on a chain tool and £3 to £5 on the right tool to remove the rear sprockets (plus a large spanner if you don’t already have one).
Cables, chains and sprockets can all be had from EBay. If you’re running say an eight speed system, get a an 8 speed chain, KMC is usually the best, and use the old chain to get the length right.
You can also get a metal chain wear gauge that will show you when it’s best to replace it - you shouldn’t need to replace rear sprockets routinely.
To DIY these things next time you’ll need to invest £15-20 in a decent cable cutter, £10 on a chain tool and £3 to £5 on the right tool to remove the rear sprockets (plus a large spanner if you don’t already have one).
Cables, chains and sprockets can all be had from EBay. If you’re running say an eight speed system, get a an 8 speed chain, KMC is usually the best, and use the old chain to get the length right.
You can also get a metal chain wear gauge that will show you when it’s best to replace it - you shouldn’t need to replace rear sprockets routinely.
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Re: Halfords service
Cyril Haearn wrote:Seems expensive, but how many miles has it done?
I think d-i-y maintenance is best, saving money is only one of several reasons
If you search these fora you will find a lot about chain and sprocket wear, various opinions are available
I’ve ridden about 700 miles on the bike and it is a Cube Attain which cost £389 ex display model
Re: Halfords service
Brucey wrote:you have not really told us anything apart from that you were charged £94 and this -I think- included a cassette and chain. From what you have said it isn't really clear what kind of bike you have, what you paid for what, what kind of parts were fitted, what else the service included or how many miles you have done, or, well, anything really.
I would comment that unless the chain was only a little worn (about 0.5 to 0.75%), then it is far from certain that a new chain will work OK with worn sprockets. Since the fault you would then experience is skipping under load, it is fairly intolerable if it does happen. Quite a lot of bike shops will change both together because that way they don't get folk coming back saying their chain is skipping, having pedalled harder than the mechanic managed on a test ride.
In nine months you can easily wear a chain to 1% even if you just use the bike for an hour or two a week and you look after it fairly well. Neglected or abused, and a chain might last a small fraction of that time.
cheers
The bike is a Cube Attain road bike and I’ve ridden roughly 700 miles on this bike
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Re: Halfords service
Did they return the used chain and cassette to you? If they did you could check the chain wear by measuring the length of 12 links. If worn less than than the percentage given above you could use the old cassette and new chain, keeping the new cassette as a spare.
Re: Halfords service
While your milage does not seem a lot if it was done predominately using one particular rear sprocket then the mechanic was probably right in his assessment. More so if the favoured sprocket/ chainring combination results in the chain flexing sideways excessively and accelerating wear.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
Re: Halfords service
brychan wrote:Brucey wrote: In nine months you can easily wear a chain to 1% even if you just use the bike for an hour or two a week and you look after it fairly well. Neglected or abused, and a chain might last a small fraction of that time.
cheers
The bike is a Cube Attain road bike and I’ve ridden roughly 700 miles on this bike
yes but
a) did you check the chain for wear?
b) did you maintain the chain? (I can wreck one in 700 miles, easy...)
c) what exact parts were fitted? (They could have been cheap rubbish or super quality ones.....)
d) it isn't clear from what you said what cost you what. Please clarify.
At ~15mph 700 miles is about 47 hours. As per the chain wear test results I posted recently,
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=124137
an average/cheap 10s/11s chain (esp if not cleaned) could easily be knackered in that mileage. Note that in the chain wear tests I linked to, the chain was 'worn out' at 1%; IME this spares the worst wear on the chainrings but it is too late to re-use the cassette with a new chain in most cases.
cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Re: Halfords service
Thats correct - if the chain is worn and needs replacing, its best also to replace the cassette as well. Ikeep a couple of chains in rotation, so 2 chains and the cassette all wear together - if one chain breaks and can't be fixed/shortened, I still have the other until it and/or the cassette wear out.
Unless you clean regularly enough the chain can wear pretty quick, even if you don't seem to use the bike much.
However I know people who simply carry on until the chain is sloppy as heck, and the cassette and maybe chainwheels as well have hardly any visible teeth left before replacing the whole lot!
Unless you clean regularly enough the chain can wear pretty quick, even if you don't seem to use the bike much.
However I know people who simply carry on until the chain is sloppy as heck, and the cassette and maybe chainwheels as well have hardly any visible teeth left before replacing the whole lot!
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair
""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
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Re: Halfords service
The chain could be knackered. The critical point is do they really test it or just replace as standard. The only answer is if they return the old chain so that if can be measured.
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Re: Halfords service
£95 sounds about ball park. They'll say you need a new cassette with a chain because there's a good chance that that is the case. The only way of knowing for sure that a new chain is not going to skip is by going on a proper ride of decent length and over a variety of gradients/gear combos, mashing hard on the pedals etc. Something a bike shop can't do.
They send anyone away with a new chain on a used cassette, that person will be back after a ride or two, unhappy that they've had to return with a bike that will have to be booked in again, allocated a service slot again, cassette fitted probably free of labour charge even though it has now become a separate job.
To save money it's a really good idea to at least buy a chain checking tool and chain splitter, learn to replace chains yourself and maybe you'll be able to get more use out of your cassettes.
They send anyone away with a new chain on a used cassette, that person will be back after a ride or two, unhappy that they've had to return with a bike that will have to be booked in again, allocated a service slot again, cassette fitted probably free of labour charge even though it has now become a separate job.
To save money it's a really good idea to at least buy a chain checking tool and chain splitter, learn to replace chains yourself and maybe you'll be able to get more use out of your cassettes.