Swiss bicycle shops are hosers rant

Complaints Corner
21
No, you can have a contract with an estimate... but the service provider does not have to stick to it! Only way to make the price absolutely fixed is to write exactly this into the contract: Mutually agreed fixed fee. You'll experience that in this case the contractors will suddenly revise their estimates and add some 20% "just to be sure as I cannot be carrying the risk for you!" Anything else is not binding according to the Obligationenrecht and simply means an estimate... if the job takes longer for whatever reason they'll just charge more! One of the reasons why we have so many Switzerlanded posts here - Swiss contract law is completely flawed and in favour of any service provider.

22
Handelt es sich um eine ungefähr berechnete oder um eine unverbindliche Offerte, so muss sich ein Auftraggeber nach einer verbreiteten Faustregel eine Abweichung von bis 10 Prozent gefallen lassen

23
I dropped my road bike in for it's first service in over 2 years. It wasn't in great condition.

2 new tyres

New chain

Brake pads

All cables replaced and gears adjusted

New handle bar wrap

Thorough cleaning

Bike looks and feels brand new - all for the sum of CHF 275

Was in and out one the same day and great friendly all round service.

24
200-250chf seems common for a good bike service in and around Geneva. For sure always agree a price beforehand and leave your number to discuss and accept if there are any unexpected additional expenses.

25
I need to service my mountain bike and live in Zurich. Any recommendations?

26
Actually - it is a big deal. A hydraulic brake that lost it piston is not considered safe. You can do with it what you want. Bike mechanics are not allowed to play with peoples lives. By law.

No it wouldnt. Oil gets into pores of disc metal and if was properly soaked no cleaning will get it all out.

That is actually quite cheap for a new set. Possibly doesn't include the labour.

Welcome to switzerland.

27
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28
It's not an uncommon practice also in other countries to say something needs replacing when it doesn't etc, and sometimes that's just ignorance, but it seems in Switzerland unless you specifically say exactly what you want done and how and agree a price for that, they pluck a figure out of the air and then tell you that you instructed them to fix it and that means they can charge you whatever they like. That was the response I got for the 350CHF bill for 15 minutes changing a fuse in my apartment (someone else called the electrician).

29

30
Errr what? Please please show a link for a porous metallic bike brake disc.

31
Zurich the CITY or Kanton? ... please provide a post code (of where you live OR if you ride to work, where you work), and if you are near people, they can reply...

Actually, I am surprised all the positive experiences above (i.e. good value honest service) haven't included a link or address of the local bike shop they are happy with.

So, in case it helps;

1. In the city (near Enge , and the so called "Insurance Mile"):

back yard bikes http://www.backyard.ch/

They are more your "mid to pro" end of the spectrum - so ideal if you need a high spec bike taken care of - expert top of the line service advice and high end bikes. One of the guys there (owner?) was mechanic for the Swiss Olympic cycling team. Have a team of mechanics.

But they are busy and you often need to book in 2 weeks in advance, especially this time of year.

They speak English. They also have an expert wheel builder, so when I was over 100kg, they built me a very strong set of Mavic wheels and I haven't broken a spoke in 7 years.

Never felt I was being ripped off

2. BIKE LANE in Erlenbach 8703 (which is between Kusnacht and Herrliberg)

http://www.bikelane.ch/

A one man local operation - Urs speaks English and takes excellent care of his customers. I have found him to be excellent value, wont over service or over bill. Added bonus, he's a muso, so there are occasional music nights and live performances in his little shop. and you can buy his CD!

One of the things that makes out little village centre so great is knowing your local shop owners, and how they make village life vibrant.

3. COOP BAU + Hobby Kusnacht (and probably Migros too). actually do bike servicing and brake pads etc. but you don't get service in English, and its all feels remote and 'factory like - not like in a dedicated bike shops. Only in a few days a weeks so slow and a pain in the ass. but cheap.

32
I've had a few good experiences with Happy Bike at Europaallee - simply jobs, but felt the service was good, quick and reasonable.

I initially went to Athleticum to get a quote for a new wheel and full check over after an accident, and the lad there recommended them as they generally have more wheels in stock. When I hinted that they would surely be more expensive for everything he answered, "not necessarily/always"

33
Those who care more work more. A grease monkey doing a basic service is going to offer a basic price. Minimal boxes ticked.

I'd like my iron horse to be well cared for, as my life more or less depends on it not going PING! hence I want the best components, an experts eye determining what really needs doing, an included replacement bike of crazy priced proportions and a great relationship with the team.

Under CHF100 sounds a bit fishy for Switzerland. City stores will always be more expensive; if you live in the country you'll get a better rate.

34
I'll gladly do basic services for 100chf for anyone in the Basel area, as long as you've got a covered area or garage I could use. I'm assuming that a shop's basic service would simply mean adjustment of gears, brakes, lubrification of chain cables, etc. and checking that everything else is roadworthy, and that any bits needing replacement would be extra, of course, parts and labour.

I don't think this would work for me as a long term business model, but at the moment I'm between jobs so have some time, and any extra counts. I'll also take on bigger repair or rebuild jobs on request. It angers me to see perfectly reclaimable bikes thrown away, and I enjoy renovating them with minimum additional spend, so if anyone's got what they might think is just some old junk lying around please let me know.

35
I just had my carbon bike fully serviced in the UK, including new tapes, gearing adjustments...all for £70....in addition as they inadvertently overtightened the sprocket hub, it was replaced for free and I had a bike fit for free for the inconvenience.

I've found the service in Switzerland generally has a long way to catch up with the UK or USA

36
I've only been in 2 bike shops here in 5 years and would rather fly my bike home to Ireland to get looked at, if I couldn't do it myself.

1 broken spoke cost me 30Chf to get fixed (I took the tyre and cassette off myself first). When it broke again a week later (same spoke!) I took it back and was fobbed off by jibberish. I decided it was more cost efficient to get a new SET of wheels delivered from CRC than go back to the same shop.

Another shop charged me 140 Chf to change cables ( I now know the difference between gear and brake cable outers!!) and set up a rear mech I just couldn't get to work properly (see previous comment) - but they did also sort out a bottle cage boss for me as well. Both shops in Kloten.

37
According to this , they are a bit porous. But cleanable. Brake pads are definitely porous, but still cleanable with a bit of effort. Bicycle disks are made of steel. According to this , they don't actual absorb oil as such, but oil will readily fill any microscopic pitting in the steel surface, presumably reducing the efficiency of the brake. My money is on an inexperienced/not very good bike mechanic, not understanding the material differences between contaminated pads (probably need replacing) and disks (need a good clean).

TL;DR wipe down isn't enough, a solvent is required, braking efficiency may be impaired for a while.

38
I'm aware that on a microscopic level there are small pits but I live in the real world where a wipe with degrease will help. Pads is a different story however.... those go in the dishwasher

39
I had a similar issue with a broken spoke (rear wheel - no cassette wrench or would done it myself) that turned into a nightmare with multiple trips back and forth. To the store owner's credit - he did try to make it right, but all the successive problems were due to his employee's poor workmanship and negligence. As owner, he never took the extra time to verify what was being fixed was done correctly. Never any refund, discount or apology either.

Last weekend, when I was changing brake pads, ( a few months after the circus above), I noticed that they had also put the tire on backwards.

YouTube has become my friend - and there are a lot of good videos on basic bike repair to help walk me through the process.

40
I'm puzzled on two levels.

1. Why would you need to remove the cassette to replace a spoke? I could only imagine a huge solid granny ring (i.e not like anything I've ever seen) could stop you, but I've always managed to thread the spoke through somehow, and even if it involves a little firm manipulation it should not damage the spoke unless you were very clumsy.

2. What on earth did they do that screwed it up so badly?