It's the first of the year and I normally drop my bike off at the LBS for new bar tape, tune up, new tires and new tubes. The problem is that I don't like the staff there, they're always trying to push me into buying something I don't want and they always try to keep things: I bought a women's fit kit (seat post, stem, handle bars, and a seat) and they tried to keep the items and I had to be a bit forceful to get all my items back after they refused to discount my new items if I did let them keep them [img]cyclingforums.commad.gifOpen ↗[/img]. Point being that I really hate doing business with them and the next closest bike shop is 45min away.
Now that I'm done with my long-winded introduction, I was wondering if anyone knew of any good sites for maintenance or could recommend a good book. Thanks
It's the first of the year and I normally drop my bike off at the LBS for new bar tape, tune up, new tires and new tubes. The problem is that I don't like the staff there, they're always trying to push me into buying something I don't want and they always try to keep things: I bought a women's fit kit (seat post, stem, handle bars, and a seat) and they tried to keep the items and I had to be a bit forceful to get all my items back after they refused to discount my new items if I did let them keep them [img]cyclingforums.commad.gifOpen ↗[/img]. Point being that I really hate doing business with them and the next closest bike shop is 45min away.
Now that I'm done with my long-winded introduction, I was wondering if anyone knew of any good sites for maintenance or could recommend a good book. Thanks
www.parktool.com/ are good. All those things you're getting the LBS to do are pretty easy to learn, so I would definitely give this a go yourself. For more tricky issues or upgrades, go the extra 45min.
Ya, the shop has to make a buck, and it is probably harder than ever for them with all the internet sales these days. Some are even dishonest and/ or incompetent. On top of that, many shops just give out the bad vibes anyhow. Plus it's just a pain in the "A" going in there for something simple. On the other hand, I know many people who love to hang out at their LBS. Learning to maintain your own equipment is kind of fun. Just wittle away on one thing at a time until you are confident, then move on to the next task you want to do.
The book "Zinn & the Art of RoadBikeMaintenance" is a good place to start.
Or the world famous Sheldon Brown. There is more info on his site than you could ever imagine. You have to dig though. The site is set up kind of weird. Follow this link --> Harris Cyclery
