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so i'm going in for a test build next week

-dustin

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
been wanting to be a mechanic for a long while now. finally got up the nerve to go ask (i hate asking like that. all the jobs i've had, i've known the manager and he/she has asked me if i wanted to work).

was told i could make up to $10.00/hr depending on how fast i am. that blew me away. i'm quite happy with $6.50.

but anyway, when working for a shop building bikes, what all is involved in "building"?

the guy told me when he started, it took him 1.5hrs to build 1. now he can build 3 in 1.5hrs. the one thing i'm nervous about is derailleur cable routing. none of my bikes have gears, so i haven't really done too much of that.
 
hooples3

hooples3

Fuggetaboutit!
Mar 14, 2005
5,245
0
Brooklyn
being a mechanic takes time, the more bikes you work on the better you will get.New builds are fairly easy. its when you get into customs builds (esp chain guides!!!) you start having problems, but its all still a learning experience. watch the more skilled guys and dont be afraid to ask questions either. eventually you will get your own little secrets in how to do things better/faster.
 
chicodude

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
the Inbred said:
been wanting to be a mechanic for a long while now. finally got up the nerve to go ask (i hate asking like that. all the jobs i've had, i've known the manager and he/she has asked me if i wanted to work).

was told i could make up to $10.00/hr depending on how fast i am. that blew me away. i'm quite happy with $6.50.

but anyway, when working for a shop building bikes, what all is involved in "building"?

the guy told me when he started, it took him 1.5hrs to build 1. now he can build 3 in 1.5hrs. the one thing i'm nervous about is derailleur cable routing. none of my bikes have gears, so i haven't really done too much of that.
Click to expand...


Use plenty of lube.........seriously
 
slowSSer

slowSSer

mnoeky
Aug 14, 2002
553
0
Stepford
3 bikes in an hour and a half? he's either:

a- damn fast
b- he skips steps.

I work part time at REI as a wrench and find that bikes take 1-2 hours to build the REI way, and this is rather a detailed build, coming down to the nitty gritty of the bike. heck, a simple list of the details:

fork: remove, check bearings, lube if necesairy. rassemble and tighten properly (most of the prebuilds that come from our mfg's have the headset wicked tight)

wheels: are the bearings properly tight? spokes all tight and tensioned (with a spoke o meter), are they true?

deralliurs: remove cable if set. always redo all limit screws. pre-stretch cables as well.

brakes: pulling even? cable pre-tentioned

bottom bracket: tightened properly. adjust if necesairy and possible.

crank/bb interface: lube if ISIS, clean off if taper.

lube inside seatpost and steerer tube if quill stem.

so, is this totally anal or is it the sign of a good shop?

oh yeah- the torque wrench is always used and always at hand- heck, they even provide us with a list of torques.
 
sleepinggiant

sleepinggiant

Monkey
Jul 9, 2004
498
0
San Jose, CA
That seemes a little anal. To almost comletely disassemble a new bike seemes like overkill.
the guy told me when he started, it took him 1.5hrs to build 1. now he can build 3 in 1.5hrs. the one thing i'm nervous about is derailleur cable routing. none of my bikes have gears, so i haven't really done too much of that.
Click to expand...
Thats really quick. I've been working in a shop for 7 years now, and like slowSSer said, he's either superman when it comes to bike builds, or he skips steps. I can get 2 bikes in 1.5hrs if I'm not disturbed and the bike goes together cleanly. It also depends on what bikes he's talking about. Some bikes go together really easily, like beach crusiers, but some take a lot longer. Most road bikes are shipping without any of the brake and shinfing cables routed, so that takes some time. Also, their not going to give you an impossible bike for your test. They just want to make sure you can build a sound bike. Eventually you will get faster and better and they will begin to give you more changeling bikes to build. Just take you time and make sure everything is tight. :thumb:
 
crono35

crono35

Monkey
Feb 11, 2002
207
0
irvine
yeah, i was averaging roughly 45 minutes per bike (the freakin beach cruisers are a royal pain to build... those damn fenders!). I was offered pay based on number of bikes for a while, then switched over to a regular schedule. I liked it better when i was paid based on bikes.
 
slowSSer

slowSSer

mnoeky
Aug 14, 2002
553
0
Stepford
crono35 said:
yeah, i was averaging roughly 45 minutes per bike (the freakin beach cruisers are a royal pain to build... those damn fenders!). I was offered pay based on number of bikes for a while, then switched over to a regular schedule. I liked it better when i was paid based on bikes.
Click to expand...
anyone notice that beach cruisers usually take 2x as long to build as compared to a regular bike?
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
Your bike build test will probably be putting together a production bike, which will have items like BB, derailleurs, and headset already installed, although not adjusted.

At my most recent job, my test was putting together a Diamondback Outlook, retail $200. I was worried it would be harder than a decent bike because of all the crappy parts, but it came together well.

The things I hate on a bike build:

1. Cruiser fenders - always a pain to fit them on without scratching the paint.
2. Front derailleur alignment - actually I have gotten very good at this, but adjusting the height can be tricky.
3. Road bar tape - something that I have become better at, but seems like a time killer
4. Adjusting for wheel round - true is relatively easy but if the wheels are out-of-round, you doubled the truing time

Some shops want you to remove all the parts and regrease, some shops don't care about it. The absolute most critical thing is to tighen all the bolts and then test. If you built a bike and the handlebars or even the saddle/seatpost move, that has to be a fail.
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
The reason why many mechanics do not know what chasing and facing is that many bikes do not require it.

I should first point out most under $800 bikes most shops would never chase threads unless absolutely necessary. On other production bikes, if the BB is already screwed in, then the threads are most likely decent enough.

Frames are a different story. The super high end frames better not need a chase, but many FR frames are not particularily well made, and they will require chasing.

Finally, there was a huge discussion about chasing the seat tube a few months ago. Since it is an 1 minute job, you might as well do it.
 
-dustin

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
well god damn. the manager has not returned any messages i have sent, including, but not limited to, 2 e-mails (which he told me to send), and going to the shop a couple times. i have so many reasons why i shouldn't deal with this particular shop, but damnit, i want to work there. argh. time to head elsewhere, i suppose.
 
punkassean

punkassean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 3, 2002
4,561
0
SC, CA
sanjuro said:
...there was a huge discussion about chasing the seat tube a few months ago. Since it is an 1 minute job, you might as well do it.
Click to expand...
I wish I would have done that on my new Enduro, it gouged the CRAP out of my Thomson post because it had imperfections way down deep where a weld penetrated. Pretty weak for a frame that retails for $2,200! It did have the HT and BB factory faced though. One tool I don't have at home is a seat tube reamer.
 
partsbara

partsbara

Turbo Monkey
Nov 16, 2001
3,996
0
getting Xtreme !
punkassean said:
I wish I would have done that on my new Enduro, it gouged the CRAP out of my Thomson post because it had imperfections way down deep where a weld penetrated. Pretty weak for a frame that retails for $2,200! It did have the HT and BB factory faced though. One tool I don't have at home is a seat tube reamer.
Click to expand...

IMHO its pretty lame when the engineer of an unnamed company claims that a certain frame doesn t need any prep... yes, it was stated clearly in a thread somewhere on RM

another thomson gouged to hell... :angry:

:stosh:
 
T

ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
punkassean said:
I wish I would have done that on my new Enduro, it gouged the CRAP out of my Thomson post because it had imperfections way down deep where a weld penetrated. Pretty weak for a frame that retails for $2,200! It did have the HT and BB factory faced though. One tool I don't have at home is a seat tube reamer.
Click to expand...
Same thing happened with my bighit a few years ago.... :think: maybe its a Specialized thing :mumble:
 
-dustin

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
hahaha

oddly enough, the same thing happened to me, pb. pie in my face. oh well, seatpost hasn't broken, and the frame is oh-so-nice.
 
J

JRB

Guest
It's an hour from your place. I could certainly try to work a deal for the summer for you. I am pretty good friends with the owner. It won't pay a fortune, but it is a shop job. :D
 
Andy_B

Andy_B

Monkey
Jul 21, 2004
679
0
whereabouts unknown
When I was working at shop the owner wanted a bike every 1 hour.

It didnt matter how much the bike costed, we had to adjust the cones, take the tires off and true the wheels(wobbles and hops), pre-strech all the cables, check drop-outs, check the d. hanger (with the park tool, not the 3-way), If it had a rear air shock set it some where in the middle of the settings, and same with the forks. Oh ya, and all the MTB Tires had to be inflated to 45psi, road tires to 115 psi.

Edit. And hone the seat tube
 
Inclag

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,752
442
MA
A bike from trek..etc. will for the most part already be built. Those took me around 25-30 minutes to build up roperly and go over the wheels.

Building up a bike from the frame up took me anywhere from 2-4 hours in my experience to make sure everything is lubed and working properly, I never did road bikes though.

The key things to remember that often get overlooked are remember to lube everything, never use too much grease since it attracts dirt and isn't good practice, do a once over on the wheels (most prebuilt wheels will need a little tweeking), make sure the brakes are working properly and have an even feel, and what annoyed me the most make sure that the cable housing length is correct often times bikes have housing that it is too long.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,655
1,129
NORCAL is the hizzle
I worked at a bunch of different shops on two coasts over 15 years. Each had a different level of attention for different levels of bikes. Also as someone else said, different manufacturers are better than others. I think chasing and facing a bike that is already built is a waste of time. If it's a custom bike being built from the frame up, it can go either way but even then most are good to go. One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is checking frame and fork alignment, at least at the dropouts.

I think your best bet is to show them that you are willing to be as thorough as they want - different shops have different standards, and you'll need to be flexible. If they want you to throw 'em together in 30 minutes, be prepared to do it. If one the other hand they want a complete overhaul, be prepared to do that. Working in a shop is not all roses, but it's way better than flipping burgers or bagging groceries, and you'll probably be exposed to a never-ending stream of entertaining characters. Good luck.
 
MikeD

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,698
1,749
chez moi
sanjuro said:
Is that when you see an attractive girl and you run after her?
Click to expand...
Well, that's the "chasing" part...the "facing" part comes later, if you're a smooooth talker...but we can't get into that here...

MD
 
MikeD

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,698
1,749
chez moi
partsbara said:
a certain frame doesn t need any prep...
Click to expand...
Just built mine and had to ream the HELL out of the seattube just to get the post to fit...luckily it wouldn't even insert at first, so I couldn't really gouge the post...
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
partsbara said:
certain frame doesn t need any prep...
Click to expand...
Two different frames that come "prepped" from the factory. I guess when you pay more for a boutique name you get more scratches :p
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
johnbryanpeters said:
How does one go about pre-stretching a cable?
Click to expand...
Run the cable and attach to brake/derailer. Give the cable a good pull, usually along the top/downtube, to seat all the ferrules in the stops and housing into the ferrules. Undo cable and pull out any slack. Retighten and you're good to go.
 
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