Best place for tuneup

[BryanS]

My bike has hit the 4000km mark and im hearing some clicking with each peddle stroke. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good place in town for a tune up, at a good price
Cheers
-B

[Ian]

I've always been treated really well by the Russ Hays guys. Not sure what their prices for a tuneup are...

[Rolf]

Max and the other guys at Fairfield have been excellent. And my bike is a bit of a frankenstein with a 1986 frame, 1990s shifters and 2010 dirt, grime and neglect.

They've always been able to meet my budget and they get creative when needed.

[Josh.E]

Max at fairfield is the best mechanic in town.
North Park is always really good too.

[Lister Farrar]

I have a DIY bias, so take this as you want. Helps you to know your bike so you can do most things when at races. Suggested mechanics are below.

To track down noises, one thorough approach is to work from the outside in. Start with shoes. Cleat bolts tight? Grease helps if the threads are dry.

Squeaky cleat-pedal interface? Teflon spray or armour-all can be a quick fix on plastic cleats, a lube that dries like WD40 on metal spd's. But sometimes it's just dirt; clean both pedals and cleats thoroughly with a brush, Simple Green, and warm water, and try again.

Then the pedals. Try a different pair of pedals. Noise go away? Put the pedals back on and lube all the pivots with a light oil like triflow.

Make sure the pedal axle is greased where it threads into the crank.

Check crank bolts are tight. On older square taper and splined axles, bolt threads should be greased and both sides of the washer, so all the wrench torque is going to the crank and axle, not to dry threads. Newer pinch style crank bolts can also come loose and get dry.

Next is chainring attachment: grease all points of contact between chainring and crank, bolt and nut, bolt/nut and chainring. Dry surfaces squeak.

Next is bottom bracket. This might need specialized tools and a bike shop expertise, but often it's the same sorts of problem: dry threads where the cups thread in the frame, dry contact between cartridge and cups. With some materials, like aluminum cups in titanium frames, you need a special grease, with copper I think.

Still no joy? I'm assuming you've already checked front derailleur rub, on both the chain and hitting a crank, if the derailleur has been bent or slipped on it's mount.

If it's still a problem, I've had very good luck and prices from Fairfield. Max is the best, but they're all good. Also they're less inclined to sell you more than you need than other places. I've paid a few repair bills elsewhere that didn't actually address the problem. And that's not just old stuff. Carly got her new tandem problems solved that two other shops couldn't fix. Max machined three custom shims out of aluminum tubing for her seat posts and stem with a beautifully smooth top lip to keep them from slipping down. Much better than the sharp edged beer can shims another shop tried.

Gerry at Straight Up has also been good for me, and he specializes in Campagnolo.

A couple of good tricks. One is to give good detail to the mechanic. If you have tried some things, tell them. narrows down where to look. Second, ask them to ride it after service to check the noise is gone. At least try it yourself before you leave. Sometimes in the spring rush, a test ride gets left out.

[Rolf]

Amazing, Lister. My fingers just got all smeared with grease from reading your post. I'm off to wash my hands...

[Josh.E]

A couple other possibilities for things that can cause a once per pedal revolution click that have bitten me in the past.

- front derailleur cable end bent over and making contact with the crank as it comes around (this one has stumped me a couple times).
- pump attached beside water bottle cage on downtube contacting crank.
- A piece of your shoe, buckle, shoelace end, etc making contact with the frame or with your crank arms
- loose or dirty seatpost clamp, or dirt inside the seatpost tube. The shifting of your weight back and forth in the saddle as you pedal can cause a once per perdal stroke click
- loose or dirty saddle clamp, same as above
- check the mounting rails on the inside of your saddle as well, and see if there is any play where they attach to the shell of the saddle

Now, does the sound happen all the time? or just under load (harder pedalling)
If it's only under load and goes away when you soft pedal:
- loose or dirty stem clamp, on either steertube or handlebars. The pulling of your bars as you pedal can cause a rythmic clicking
- loose or dirty brake/shifter clamps.

Does it happen only when you stand?
- loose or dirty front wheel skewer can click as you shift your weight back and forth

[BryanS]

Thanks for all the great ideas you guys!, Im looking forward to give my bike a full lookover after school

-bryan

[Paul C.]

Hi Great tips and maintenance info. One thing I' ve learnt this year, averaging over 400km a week is replace your tires, brake pads , chain and back gear cable BEFORE you need to. Some of these items can cause us quite an inconvenience and the tire and brake pads not working can cause us and our loved ones way more. I go to Fairfield , northpark and straight up.. I agree with a previous posting....... specify a road test and try to get all your requirements put in writing or on the work order. Paul C>

[EricS]

Max at Fairfeild, Gerry at Straight Up (not his assistant), Gabour at Fort Street (walk past the owner Doug. He's grumpy) and the guy at North Park are all awesome. We live in a small city with a lot of shops, so they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but competition makes it so they are all pretty great. Geoff Pendrell (co owner of the west shore oak bay bikes, past Canadian downhill champ, coach of the Can DH team) has recently done a ton of work supporting the high school races, so I'm going to OBB next time. Usually Max or Gerry can solve any problem. Years ago I had a clicking sound when I stood, but not when I sat. I tried all the usual suspects, then went to see Gerry. He looked at my wheels and noticed my rims were Mavic Open 4 Pros. He new right away that the sound was coming from between the double walled eyelets and the spoke nipples. I put a drop of 3 in 1 on each spoke end (under the rim tape) and the sound was gone.

[AlW]

I've been dealing with Gerry since he was at Riders in the early 90's. He takes pride in his work and I recommend him to anyone looking to get work done. Actually takes the time to diagnose problems instead of simply replacing parts. He's got a new assistant who I think is pretty good. Think his name is Steve (was at Riders for the longest time). He built up my Everti in May and it's been flawless.

[Stéphane Tran]

As the previous posts have already shown, there are a lot of good shops and mechanics in town. One that should be AVOIDED is Bicycleitis on Bay St. They adjusted my brakes incorrectly when replacing cables and they used brake cable housing when replacing my deraillleur cable! When I pointed out that the shifting was iffy, the mechanic said that dura-ace shifters are practically impossible to dial in properly, which was why the shifting was off! I brought my bike in to Oak Bay Bikes who pointed out the cable problem and fixed things up properly. Needless to say, I will never bring my bike to Bicycle-itis again.

[EricS]

...He's got a new assistant who I think is pretty good. Think his name is Steve (was at Riders for the longest time)...

Pardon me. Yes, the new assistant is good. I was thinking of the last guy.

[Ramsey]

Can't say enough good things about Max at Fairfield, but his praise has been roundly sung above..

Surprised, though, that Troy at Trek / Pro City in Esquimalt didn't merit a mention.

I used to be a mechanic at Fairfield Bikes and still take most of my work to Max and the guys, but Troy's attention to detail is second to none, he's worked as mechanic for the Canadian mountain bike team and he has no compunctions about installing parts sourced online. Just book ahead, as he is busy. Oh yeah, he rides in the TripleShot kit too..

[Roland]

Regan, formerly at Macs, now at Pro City is also good. I've had good experiences with everybody at Pro City. The only downside to Pro City is that it that they are expensive. Once you become a regular, the price becomes more reasonable.

[Quentin]

Troy at ProCity is awesome, but very expensive.
Gabor at Fort Street is great and a super nice guy.
North Park is great and cheap. I always take my bike there for simple fixes because he'll do them while I wait.

Avoid Capital City Cycles!!!! (formerly Chain Chain Chain) That guy will rip you off!!!!

[Lister Farrar]

Capital City Cycles changed hands in the last year, so maybe that's changed? Jeff seems like a good guy, though I haven't had anywork done there. He was very generous to Bike to Work Week, with both prizes and time.