Halfords In-Store Bike build problems

[SummitFreedom]

Soooo, you're saying it's safe to buy and service from Halfords?

What if I buy the bike from Halfords but get my LBS to build it and service it (if they would)?

[rareposter]

Soooo, you're saying it's safe to buy and service from Halfords?

This happens hundreds of times a day up and down the country.

What if I buy the bike from Halfords but get my LBS to build it and service it (if they would)?

Halfords won't do that, they're legally obliged to build it for you and even if they would sell you a boxed bike (they won't), your LBS will be rather miffed at having to build it up and they'll charge full price labour.

[SummitFreedom]

Soooo, you're saying it's safe to buy and service from Halfords?

This happens hundreds of times a day up and down the country.

What if I buy the bike from Halfords but get my LBS to build it and service it (if they would)?

Halfords won't do that, they're legally obliged to build it for you and even if they would sell you a boxed bike (they won't), your LBS will be rather miffed at having to build it up and they'll charge full price labour.

This is on the Halfrods cycle page when buying a cycle:

Would You Like It Built?
Don't Build My Bike
Build My Bike
HALFORDS RECOMMENDS

FREE - Bike built and collected in store
£35.00 - Bike built and delivered (per bike)
Please note: For bikes built and collected in store, you'll be asked to choose a date and time slot for collection. Once chosen, this slot is unable to be amended.

Why would they be 'miffed'? (Had to google that word. Ya'll must be OLD on here XD) They are getting business. Money money money. Obviously they would charge to build it... but what do you mean full price labour?
Surely there is a normal fixed price to build a bike?

[rareposter]

When a shop sells a bike by mail order, they build it up to check it all works, all the bits are there etc and then they do some limited disassembly (to put it back in the box, things like wheels off, pedals off, bars turned around).

Then they send it out and you are expected to put the wheels and pedals on, tighten everything up and so on. Relatively basic, it's not as comprehensive as a full bike build from the state they arrive from the factory. That's what "boxed" means in this context.

What I can't understand is why you'd spend £465 on a Carrera from Halfords, plus £35 for delivery, plus the cost of a bike build and setup from your LBS (which I'd guess will be about £50). We're up at £550, you may as well just go to the LBS and buy the Giant which they'll build and set up for you included in the price.

[SummitFreedom]

When a shop sells a bike by mail order, they build it up to check it all works, all the bits are there etc and then they do some limited disassembly (to put it back in the box, things like wheels off, pedals off, bars turned around).

Then they send it out and you are expected to put the wheels and pedals on, tighten everything up and so on. Relatively basic, it's not as comprehensive as a full bike build from the state they arrive from the factory. That's what "boxed" means in this context.

What I can't understand is why you'd spend £465 on a Carrera from Halfords, plus £35 for delivery, plus the cost of a bike build and setup from your LBS (which I'd guess will be about £50). We're up at £550, you may as well just go to the LBS and buy the Giant which they'll build and set up for you included in the price.

Who said anything about delivery?

Halfords build the bike for free for collection. Or you can I assume just collect the NOT built version from the store for free.

And oh OK. I thought don't build by bike means it comes in parts.

But hang on.... Doesn't that mean that the manufacturer of the bike built it and boxed it as you stated? In which case it would have been someone competent?

Here:
Bikes will normally be boxed for ease of storage but at Halford’s we can build any bike for collection, or selected bikes can be delivered built as well as collected. You will be able to find out your delivery and build options on your chosen bike’s product page. All bikes will come boxed unless specified that you would like the bike built when you order or reserve it. You may be able to pick up your bike in as little as an hour if you collect it boxed, simply select a collection slot that suits you. Please note that bikes built and collected in store can add up to 2 days onto your collection date, and bikes built and delivered to home can add up to 5 working days onto your delivery date.

Please be aware that bikes worth over £350 can receive a full build and safety check completely free of charge. For those that are less than £350, one of our expert technicians can build the bike plus conduct a full safety check, for only £10.

[peetee]

For those that are less than £350, one of our expert technicians can build the bike plus conduct a full safety check, for only £10.

I think this goes a long way to explaining the issue. This rate is clearly discounted considerably to make it more manageable and attractive to the budget-conscious. IME, the cheaper Halfords offerings always take longer to set up.
I, in my independent workshop, with overheads that can be counted in pennies per day would not accept the job for £10 and I have mentioned before that Halfords staff feel pressurised by timescales. It’s hard not to draw the conclusion that a lot of the problems we see might not be as a result of technical ignorance after all. To be fair, the law of averages suggests that, more often than not, they do get it right.

[sjs]

It fails to account for the thousands of people who buy bikes there every year and never have any issues with them.

It also fails to account for those who do have issues after buying from the sainted LBS.

[SummitFreedom]

So.... It's safe to buy from halfords and have the cycle serviced there?

[peetee]

So.... It's safe to buy from halfords and have the cycle serviced there?

It’s a question of who you trust. Halfords is not a ‘bad place to shop’. There are branches that have shown questionable working practices and their cheaper bicycles need a careful hand in assembly. My advice is go ahead and buy but consider having the bike assembled, or at the very least checked, independently. As I have mentioned before, Halfords have shown that they accept their shortcomings in that respect and will reimburse customers accordingly (we can leave the semantics of that statement for another time).

[rareposter]

So.... It's safe to buy from halfords and have the cycle serviced there?

My advice is go ahead and buy but consider having the bike assembled, or at the very least checked, independently.

At this stage (and having seen the litany of questions on various aspects of the bike and the purchasing), I would be inclined to stick to one retailer.

That keeps things simple, it means it's very easy to go back and have some continuity because you're always dealing with the same place.

One of the worst things we faced as a shop when I worked in the industry was customers coming in and saying "oh well I tried to fix it myself and then a mate had a go but it got worse so I took it to Shop 1 and they said to do x y and z and then I went to Shop 2 and they said only x needed doing..."
and it ends up in total confusion about who has done what, and for what reasons and quite often the customer paying for work that the original shop would have sorted free if charge.

Buy a bike from whichever shop you want, your warranty and guarantee is with that shop so it makes sense to stick with one place. There's no point working yourself into a froth over buying here, servicing there, getting parts from eBay...

[peetee]

Good advice, Rareposter, but above and beyond what I suggested.