Bikes are becoming more like Formula 1 cars every day, but we’re still sending them to Kwik Fit for servicing
CW's Undercover Mechanic laments the complexity of modern-day bikes
The ‘Saturday job’ in a bike shop is no longer a viable route into the industry, according to a recent Cycling Weekly article, with a host of store owners citing the complexity of modern-day bikes as the cause of this dying career path.
“We haven’t been able to employ any Saturday staff for some time,” said Sid Soanes from Soanes Cycles, adding “bikes are just too technical these days for an untrained young person to do anything meaningful with.”
The comments really rang true for me. We had a work-experience kid in last week, and there was very little we could let him do. There are only so many cups of tea I think we’re allowed to get them to make.
Cycling Weekly's Undercover Mechanic will be publishing his thoughts on the state of the industry once a month. He's been working with bikes for over two decades, offering servicing on models from some of cycling's best (and worst) marques. You'll find him at all major trade shows and events, just don't expect him to make himself known.
The article cited the likes of electronic gears, hydraulic brakes and tubeless tyres as developments that require far more experience to work with than most part-time students have in their arsenal. All of this is at odds with what made most of us fall in love with bikes in the first place.
I have fond childhood memories of getting old wheels from the tip, taking them to pieces and rebuilding them for fun; we didn’t have Instagram back then to keep us entertained. Bikes used to be a simple piece of engineering, a delight to behold, ride, and work on yourself. Now, only a hardy few continue to tinker at home.
It is consumer demand that’s driving all this change. Riders want lighter bikes, and they want more aero bikes – all of this means greater integration and more complexity. Customers also want bikes to be cheaper. Manufacturers ultimately have to cut corners somewhere, and often the cost saving comes from engineering solutions that might have improved the maintenance experience. Decent workshop instructions for those who are going to work on these bikes also fall by the wayside.
Quite often, modern bikes feature complicated systems - we only find the correct procedure for servicing them when they break, and the warranty department at the brand talks us through how to repair them. I’m being vague on brands and models because this is an endemic problem. Bikes are becoming more like Formula 1 cars every day, but they’re still sent to Kwik Fit for servicing.
In the past, we’d joke about component T&Cs which stated that incorrect fitting could result in injury or death. The harsh fact is that this used to be funny, but it’s increasingly true.
There are now far more opportunities for dangerous mistakes to be made by untrained individuals; putting mineral oil into a DOT oil brake system, for example, would be very easy to do but could be catastrophic, causing total brake failure.
So, we’ve identified the problem - what’s the solution?
Firstly, find a good local mechanic and be loyal to them. There are only so many times you can ask your mechanic to fit parts you bought on the internet.
Secondly, take a long hard look in the mirror and decide if you actually need to be riding around on the two-wheeled version of a Formula 1 car.
In our workshop, we are seeing our long-term cyclists edging back to simpler, metal bikes with non-integrated cockpits. These bikes are more robust, easy and fun to ride, with the weight penalty of about three gulps of the water bottle.
And my advice for manufacturers? Slow down. Nobody is demanding a new aero carbon gravel bike every year. Make the design well thought out and test it properly, not just in the wind tunnel, but also in the workshop.
When Shimano launches a new product, it’s always accompanied by good solid training materials, ready to go when the new parts hit the market. And thank the Lord, as watching Shimano Tec courses online is one of the very few things we could get our work-experience kid to do, risk-free.