KenNC

Stopped by a local bike shop today, chain type store but well regarded, and asked the mechanic to tap on the race on my front fork--an early 70s, Columbus, Italian, and it wasn't cooperating with my home remidies. The mechanic took the fork, found the proper tool, and stood the fork on the cement floor on its drop-outs and prepared to start hammering. I didn't think that was the way to do it so I stopped him. Then he started to clamp it, by one arm of the fork, into the bike stand, to hammer the race down. Stopped him again! We eventually got it done, and he didn't charge me, but gee whiz I was surprised and glad I didn't just leave it and come back later!

repechage

Halloween is coming.

The first order of business should have been to measure the steerer crown race dimension.
If the fork was chromed, good chance it is slightly oversized if the plating is intact there.

It is a dangerous world out there.
The "slide hammer" action of a typical crown race setting tool should be enough set a typical interference fit home without extraordinary effort.

likebike23

I wonder if that's what he does for carbon forks.

OldsCOOL

That would freak me out.

I took my Trek racer to a young guy in the shop to see if he had a spacer to help with the flex rub of the small chainring on the chainstay. He leaned the bike over and put his foot on the BB and was shoving it to bend the BB area. Last time I had them work on my bikes.

Chombi

Sometimes you can't blame these young/new guys in bike shops too much, as all they are exposed to are modern bikes that usually require only plug and play type repairs and everything else is warranty returns, also considering the minimal training/mentoring they get, especially on working on older bikes,.....and the usually measly pay/benefits they receive..... I think it's all kinda downhill for many new bike shops, unless the owner/manager invests enough time to training his staff on C&V stuff....

iab

Why? What's the ROI?

Lascauxcaveman 

You can't blame them, and you can't take your bikes to them, either.

Chombi

Before you get your feathers all ruffled up again,......I just forgot to add..."downhill for us C&Vers"...... That's why I do most of the work on my C&V bikes and continue to learn more things to do on them myself.....

qclabrat

there's only 2 or 3 shops in my area in NJ which I consider "qualified" to service C&Vs. most have cashed out years ago or constantly downsize till they are in a part of town no one knows they are still around.

Bianchigirll 

HA! You think that is bad you should read my post about my shotgun the gunsmith fitted and finished a new stock for me. It had been in the ready position for two years I just discovered it doesn't function correctly. My fail in a way, for not inspecting his work though. The worst part is the missing part!

rhm

I really can't imagine taking one of my old bikes to Kopps or Jays or Knapps for any of the stuff I'm always doing to my bikes. It's not that I don't trust them (though there is that), but... these are my toys. I'll gladly share them with my friends, or any of you guys for that matter, but I'm not paying anyone to play with my toys.

Henry III

When I was offered my position at the shop I was working at. I was already signed up at UBI for the professional mechanics/shop operation course but the course wasn't until another six months. The owner said it didn't really matter if I took the course or not nor would my pay be affected. I assumed that I would learn pretty much everything while working at the shop that I would of learned in the course. Long story short. Nope. I never learned about wheelbuilding, truing, working on hydraulic disc brakes...pretty much everything I wanted to learn. Instead I felt like a new car salesman who did basic maintenance type stuff.

Just before my year came up I started to look for something more fulfilling. Mind you I'm still on the payroll and fill in when they need someone on a weekend. Best part is even though I haven't worked there in about four months I still get things at cost so I'm not complaining. Just wish I would of had a better on the job training or atleast any type of training.

As far as C&V stuff is concerned. Just myself and another fellow were the only people who cared and enjoyed the older stuff. Everyone else just saw an old outdate steel bike and would show you something newer with the latest and greatest.

randyjawa 

Funny difference for me. It is not uncommon for the local bike shops to call me to assist with their vintage work needs. I do the work for free and the shops take incredibly good care of me when I need something or a cool old bike comes their way. Symbiosis at work.

daf1009

Luckily, I have found a shop that can assist me when necessary...and...they generally take good care of my babies...

But, the OP's experience, unfortunately, is not rare...in my experience...

rootboy 

I'd like to read about this, BG. Just so's I can wince and sympathize with you. Where can I read it?

wrk101

I had a friend that took his early 1980s Trek 720 to a local shop for a headset installation. He just took the frame and fork to the shop. They noticed the steer tube was on the long side, so they CUT it! Of course, the steer tube was long to handle the front brake cable stop.

The saddest part is the shop could have taken a much easier route and just installed a spacer or two.

Cutting a steer tube on a 30 year old bike should have set off alarm bells (uh, jeez, the length was OK for 30 years, maybe I shouldn't cut it).

Now the steer tube is too short (go figure), so he has had to go with a stem mounted cable stop.

99% of the time around here, a shop is not going to respect/value your C & V bike.

Same shop told me my 1987 Prologue, full Dura Ace, was basically worthless.

lmao_37

I worked in a bike shop in St Albans and I learned alot of things on how to work on bikes and I saw some messed up things come through the door. The owner didnt want to pay a good wage or good benifits. I already had alot of experiance working on my own bikes but they didnt want to invest time in training me rather I was there to be the managers lackie.

Sixty Fiver

I do pretty well fixing other people's mistakes.

Bandera

Time has moved on and some C&V equipment now requires the vanishing old school mechanic and his basic tools and skills which are being replaced by parts changers.
Support your local old school mechanic.

-Bandera (Ex-Schwinn Factory Certified Mechanic)

Chris_in_Miami

I have one shop with a mechanic I can trust (used to have two, but the second one botched two simple jobs in a row, so they're off my list.) I took a wheel to the trustworthy mechanic to remove a Helicomatic freewheel (I didn't have the tool at the time,) and he brought me into the workshop to show me another classic he was working on while he looked for the freewheel tool. It took him longer to find the tool than to remove the lock ring, and he declined to charge me for the job.

I picked up a six pack for him when I was ready to reinstall the freewheel but he wasn't in the shop, so I left it in care of his coworker who offered to install the lock ring for me. I didn't look closely at his handiwork until I got home, that's when I realized that the clown mangled the ring with a pair of channel grips

Bianchigirll 

FaceBook Ithaca *** Company's page.

Really you can't type ***? Does that violate my free ******?

Bandera

Not in my shop, and that was >40 years ago.

-Bandera

Chombi

Those were just bad shops to start with.......
American Cyclery here in SF and Odyssey Cycles in Sausalito have good young mechanics and shop managers that are C&V savvy, and I don't have any concerns handing over my bike to them for things like headset race installation or BB and head lug facing. The only things I can't do on my bikes as I don't have the tools to do so. Sometimes I wish I could have them do more stuff for me, but I'm just a cheapskate C&Ver after all......