repair was arranged via the official channels, and they sent an "engineer" out to fit a new tyres and tubes.
Putting to one side the fact that his first words on seeing the chair was "those are solid tyres", I left him to do his job.
45 minutes later (yes, fit a tube and tyres to two bike style rims) he wheels the chair out of the back of his van as a done job.
As I suspected, he pumped the tyres up to 20psi and frigged the brakes to hide that. So I did the grunt work to get them back to 120psi and rejigged the brakes.
However, after than, SWMBO noticed that one wheel was brushing very slightly on the upright of the armrest on a turn.
Careful examination showed that the mechanism which adjusts the camber of the rear wheels had been slightly "tweaked".
Now "tweaked" back and buggy is nipping along like new.
Where do these clowns come from ? Bearing in mind this was supposed to be his ****ing job.
Oh - he didn't put any dust caps on the tubes either.
As I?m sure you realise, making an official written complaint will be far more productive than a moan on USENET. But yeah, I know we all need to vent sometimes. ;-)
Yup, mate took up the offer of a 'Half Price' (so 60 quid)[1]) service on a second hand mobility scooter he bought for his Mrs and since I bought it from him for my Mum it's patently obvious that many of the parts have *never* been serviced.
Plain metal front suspension trailing arm pivots that were red rusty inside and had obviously never had any grease from new (even though there were grease nipples fitted), or had been cleaned out but not re-greased after.
They didn't even locate the faulty electric brake that mate reported the symptoms of twice, as you say, this is what they are supposed to do for a living (prime location High Street shop). The fact that they have now gone might say it all.
When you say the tyre 'popped', were they perished or something?
The sidewalls on said mobility scooter are showing signs of cracking but I was advised that it wouldn't lead to a failure (but then the pressures are only 25 psi).
Cheers, T i m
[1] Why wasn't servicing the thing pre-sale part of the their handling of the scooter for sale?
A few years ago, I logged a very detailed complaint with company that provided services for Birmingham council.
A few months later, I had occasion (i.e no choice) but to use the company again. They were still shit. When I asked to speak to the manager, I was told that they'd never had any complaints from the public. Unfortunately for them (a) they had a distinct Geordie (not Mackem) accent which meant I was able to remember it was they that dealt with my previous complaint (b) I record all phone calls, so offered to play back my complaining to them to refresh their memory.
Its often more productive on twitter according to some friends of mine. I do keep a twitter account but its mostly reserved for public whinging which does work as long as you are measured and not rude. Brian
Time was when 'he couldn't wire a plug!' was an expression of abnormal technical incompetence.
I wonder what proportion of the population could wire a plug today.
(although, obviously, pre-fitted plugs was the right thing to do from a safety point of view - removing the need for this particular skill in the general population)
I find it odd how many bike repair places there are today. When at one time they were very rare. Even when many working blokes cycled as they couldn't afford a car or motorbike. Are modern bikes made so DIY is impossible?
It's not really odd as bikes have moved from basic transport to leisure use for many.
We had one on our high street and I thought every town would have at least one. We still have roughly the same number we have always had since I was a kid. ;-)
Yup.
Not from my POV. Ok, you can now get hydraulic brakes and electric gears and outside some fairly specialised tools (that you can buy), bikes are still bikes. ;-)
When you consider how long they have been around, they haven't really changed very much at all, mostly because there wasn't really much of a
*need* to.
Specialised machines for specialised use (BMX / downhill racing), yes, yer everyday roadster, no (in fact 'Classic' cycles are 'in'). ;-)
Plus, for many people, it's easier to bung someone a tenner to fix your puncture than it is to take it apart and do it yourself, particularly if you live in a flat and don't have access to somewhere convenient to do it.
If bike is your primary mode of transport, those tenners equate to a few days bus fare, so you still win if you pay the tenner every month or two.
In places where cycling is growing, especially London, this activity supports more bike shops. In particular bike shops have moved from selling new bikes and gear (because online) over to servicing (Amazon won't fix your puncture).
Got be thinking. Don't know many of my age who cycle, but those I do would get a man in to change a light bulb. Could be they don't really like mechanical things.
I assume you are talking of those who could fix it themselves (potentially a minority *these days*)?
Three of my bikes have drum brakes and one is electric so it's more complicated to remove the wheels on those.
Whilst that can make things less easy or if you are talking about a tricycle, tandem[1], something very heavy or flats with a very small lift and loads of stairs, there are loads people who have and maintain cycles (and not just small wheel folders) who live in flats? In fact, in many cases because of parking issues around flats, it's that or using public transport.
I've fixed punctures and done other jobs for people on the towpath, just because I can and like to help [2]. ;-)
Agreed, *if* you can't do it yourself, however, those few tenners often mean having to work quite a bit of time to afford, over all your other bills.
Agreed.
I've also seen a sign of people (esp during Covid lockdowns) offering 'mobile' cycle repairs / servicing that also makes a lot of sense (if people have no other / easy means of getting a broken cycle to the shop).
I bought a s/h cycle from a shop a while back that has supposedly been serviced and I had to sort it out properly myself. In fact, outside of maybe wheel building I generally prefer to do everything myself, simply because it's rare to have anything done to my satisfaction.
Like, I picked up a couple of utility type bikes a while back that hadn't had much use but hadn't been looked after either (and had been kept outside). I stripped them both down ... *completely* (inc the 3sp SA gears and drum brakes), cleaned, re-greased, properly adjusted and tested because 1) that's what I'm like and 2) have the time to do so. I did them both in the back garden.
My uncle used to get his Lambretta Scooter in the kitchen to service it and I once had my mates Triumph Vitesse engine in my lounge whilst we lapped in the valves. ;-)
The Mrs lapped the valves in on the kitcar head in our kitchen so no issues having to get 'permission'.
Many regularly clean engine parts in the dishwasher or warm casings / bearings in the oven.
This likely only applies to those of us who have 'a house' rather than a show home of course. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
[1] I used to have to upend our tandem to get it though some small railway crossing gates.
[2] And because *apparently*, not all of us carry a spare tube, puncture repair outfit, suitable range of tools and pump with them when they go out on their bikes?
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