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I was looking at the Specialized deliver to home/setup offering on their website and the different lead times available and I was curious as to what state of build a bike gets delivered to a dealer in and how different it is to a home delivery? Home delivery is 3-5 days and collect in store is 7-10 days. Is the dealer expected to do more to finish a build given that they are capable or is it just as easy for the manufacturer to do it and bikes are delivered ready built apart from fine tuning? Is the longer lead time just a buffer to set expectations and allow the dealer time to schedule in any finishing touches in their own possibly busy workshop?
no more or less than you or i , i dont think.
Possibly put the fork back in, put the pedals on. Basic stuff.
More about liability though. The dealer needs to check it works, check the brakes function, check the cables tensions, and that nothings gonna fall off.
Not that they do though.
My Next door neighbour was showing me his new Trek Supercaliber he had just picked up from the shop.
All the carbon, all the XTR. he was taking it back because it was making silly noises. Chain was about 3 links too long ffs.
Speaking from my shop days it can vary wildly.
Some really are as simple as described above, these take about 20 minutes if you're not interrupted.
Some require all the bearings to be adjusted, brakes to be switched from Euronstyle, sometimes a frame needs to be tapped or faced. Wheels trued, rear mech hanger straightened, etc etc
You genuinely don't know how long it will take when you open the box.
I know a guy who worked at Halfrauds as a student, who reported that "nice bikes" took half an hour, but the crap BSO ones took several hours to get in any state where they were vaguley safe for sale.
Working at a bicycle shop in The Peaks/Peak District, or whatever the STW flavour of the day is, one of us built the bike and it was checked by someone different. As @hatter says, nothing could be assumed, everything was checked. Grease in the headset, bearing adjustment, brake alignment, all fittings torqued, steerer cut to customer requirements etc. Even high end bikes took quite a while, especially with me as I was quite slow, apparently!
I used to work in a Specialized dealer as a mechanic and building bikes. Lower end models come pretty well fully assembled - just need bars, seatpost, saddle etc and you could do those in 45-60 minutes. Whereas high-end S-Works etc. could quite often be a bare frame and you needed to thread, cut and bleed hoses, install forks, stem bars, levers, brake calipers etc - some bikes could take 4 hours plus. I would expect any bike deliver to a customer would just involve turning bars, fit seatpost, installing pedals etc.
The home delivery option could involve them putting the bike together and doing the dealer bit to get everything sweet and check it's safe (PDI), and then partial disassembly back into the box.
Why does it matter? I don't think you'll talk them in to changing those delivery times no matter how much research you do here.
I used to work in a Specialized dealer as a mechanic and building bikes. Lower end models come pretty well fully assembled – just need bars, seatpost, saddle etc and you could do those in 45-60 minutes. Whereas high-end S-Works etc. could quite often be a bare frame and you needed to thread, cut and bleed hoses, install forks, stem bars, levers, brake calipers etc – some bikes could take 4 hours plus.
If I was buying a top-end bike, I would expect several hours of mechanic time to be built into the price. A low-end bike, I would expect that it was checked for bolts being tight and gears and brakes to work.
I guess it depends on what state they're prepared to ship it in. It'll take the same time to get to a dealer as it would you, then the dealer will take a few days to build it if they're already busy.
My experience of buying a Specialized mail-order was it just arrived in it's box exactly how it left Taiwan, so everything needed adjusting, checking for tightness etc.
Buying from a company that builds bikes in the UK (On One*, etc) it comes almost ready to ride in an absolutely enormous box, wheels on, etc and just needs the bars spinning. A few of the big brands imply they do this as well now.
*bad example given their inability to find a box big enough for frame only orders apparently!
Speaking from my shop days it can vary wildly.
This^
“nice bikes” took half an hour, but the crap BSO ones took several hours to get in any state where they were vaguley safe for sale.
Also this^
I was working in a shop during the dawn of internal routing and that seriously messed up our work flow. Having to invent all the techniques from scratch to pop a cable in a tiny hole and have it emerge somewhere else with no internal guiding or anything. What a giant ball ache.
All the direct-to-consumer bikes I've seen have been really good. Pretty much turn the bars, fit the pedals and ride away.
I remember when the mk1 carbon Trek Session came out and how excited we were to receive one. It was delivered in a tiny cube. I thought they'd accidentally shipped a Brompton. Early internal routing + Sram brakes. Full day build in between other jobs.
I don’t think you’ll talk them in to changing those delivery times no matter how much research you do here.
That's not what I asked though is it. 🙄
Our local shop takes a week! I walked in with cash and couldn't collect until they had 'built' my bike, that came off the shop floor.
When I got my nice Dura Ace road bike home I tightened the stem clamp and faceplate, adjusted headset, did up the rear qr and brake qr, preloaded the crank/bb, set up the mech again, cut several inches of outer off, took two links out of the chain then set to work on fit...
Last MTB I bought was several hours drive, I called ahead and said can I come and look at it and if I like it, take it today. No problem, they said. It was even set up tubeless for me with ballpark shock and tyre pressures!
So I guess the answer is it depends.
wheelsonfire1
Working at a bicycle shop in The Peaks/Peak District, or whatever the STW flavour of the day is, one of us built the bike and it was checked by someone different.......
Glad to hear that...always worries me when you are told to ask the mechanic for some part or to answer a question and they are in the middle of something and I'm hoping they are going to finish were they got disturbed
I asked for my Santa Cruz Hightower to be sent straight on as it came from Santa Cruz, as I didn't trust the mechanics at "Start Fitness" to be up to much. I had to build it from individual components, which was a surprise to be honest. I'd assumed Santa Cruz were doing some assembly. Think the cranks had been fitted and that was about it.
I asked for my Santa Cruz Hightower to be sent straight on as it came from Santa Cruz, as I didn’t trust the mechanics at “Start Fitness” to be up to much. I had to build it from individual components, which was a surprise to be honest. I’d assumed Santa Cruz were doing some assembly. Think the cranks had been fitted and that was about it.
That's odd as when I bought my Scandal I did the "build it yourself" option, but you had to go into Planet-X and build it there. They couldn't let you take it out in bits as SRAM apparently wouldn't let them, the 'build kits' as ordered from SRAM had to leave built onto a bike.
Otherwise I'd absolutely planned to sell off the drivetrain and singlespeed it!
So I wonder what state of build a Specialized bike in particular gets deliver to a dealer in - particularly an e-bike. I would have assumed that all the internal wiring etc would be factory fitted and given that things like hoses and cables will probably require the motor to be dropped out in order to route them it would probably make sense that they were fitted too...
I'm going to ask actually, next time in in a Specialized dealer shop...🤷♂️
I’ve seen Facebook groups (of more premium bike brands/products) complaining that brake pads haven’t been bed in…
What’s more mental is that plenty of folk pipe up to say that their shop does it for them.
Lbs likely to have a full diary of work also, not free time in the evenings like you
So I wonder what state of build a Specialized bike in particular gets deliver to a dealer in –
No different to the normal bikes really! All cables are fully routed. Gear cables and brake hoses are all cut to length etc. Occasionally the brakes need swapping depending on where the bike was shipped from.
Only bit of electrical stuff that sometimes needs doing it attaching the light to the appropriate connectors. But they're just push fit red to red, black to back style.
Dropper cable always needs trimming. Occasionally I've seen stuck dropper cables which need freeing up which has occasionally resulted in motor removal, but bikes are getting better and better at sorting and planning the routing so it works nicely.
Gears and brakes always need adjusting. On every bike. Check everything is tight. Grease and carbon paste where required. Software update, charge battery.
I've not seen a specialized (or any other bike) come in pieces before. Not even s-works stuff. Some Treks were coming with drivetrain or brakes unattached. In those cases plastic tubes were installed through headtube and around motors to push the hose through.
Brake pads don't get bedded in.
I asked for my Santa Cruz Hightower to be sent straight on as it came from Santa Cruz, as I didn’t trust the mechanics at “Start Fitness” to be up to much.
Did you know that "Start Fitness" is a really big shop in the centre of Newcastle? With tonnes of high end bikes and parts in stock and a proper workshop with decent mechanics? It's one of the few places you can actually go to see nice bikes in the flesh.
Did you know that “Start Fitness” is a really big shop in the centre of Newcastle? With tonnes of high end bikes and parts in stock and a proper workshop with decent mechanics? It’s one of the few places you can actually go to see nice bikes in the flesh.
I didn't, well I knew they were in Newcastle but had no idea what type of shop in might be, or what their mechanics might be like. I will say they were a pleasure to deal with and I'd happily buy from them again.
Are CyTech mechanics well regarded?
it’s the UK industry standard, your call.
Apparntly they use “CyTech accredited mechanics”. Has anyone heard of this? Are CyTech mechanics well regarded?
Isn't CyTech the only accreditation of cycle mechanics?
seems like they did a sound job putting my bike together, not sure if that's due to the accreditation or not.
You've basically answered your own question. I don't work in Specialized dealer but this is basically how it works for us.
Is the longer lead time just a buffer to set expectations and allow the dealer time to schedule in any finishing touches in their own possibly busy workshop?
To answer your later question about ebikes. Most of ours come fully assembled with only the stem/bars removed to fit in the massive box!
Normal bikes are nearly fully built up but with front wheel off, bars stem off and seat post out. These then fit into a smaller box.
Regardless of the cost of the bike we check everything on it to make sure it's good to go, so those fully assembled bikes get wheels taken off again etc etc....
(Never asked the question why the box sizes differ but a simple one is the bigger ebike boxes are straight away a two man lift. An ebike in a normal box could ruin many a person's back going to pick it up as if it was normal bike...)
I would expect any bike deliver to a customer would just involve turning bars, fit seatpost, installing pedals etc.
That's pretty much how my kevo sl was delivered (though the box looked like it has been kicked all the way to the delivery depot).
Normal bikes are nearly fully built up but with front wheel off, bars stem off and seat post out. These then fit into a smaller box.
Yes, this was the answer I got when I asked in my LBS. They have to do things like stem, handle bars, brake levers, cut hoses to length, bar tape, shifter fitting - basically everything at the front end - takes a good few hours.
I assembled hundreds and hundreds of bikes when I worked at various Halfords stores as a student. It was during the days when they sold a full range from expensive Kona and GT all the way to the more common Apollo and very, very nasty Gemini Outrider (cheapest bike you could buy).
From what I can see, the process hasn't vastly changed and the bikes I've built up from boxes recently are packaged and prep'd at factory to a similar standard. There is some truth in an earlier comment that the cheapest bikes need more work; they certainly had more basic parts / greasing and a lower standard of adjustment - but generally no more defects.
The thing that has gotten harder is to build a bike from scratch. If the assembly is not already done or parts require changing, then internal cabling / hydraulics / electronics / tubeless tyres are much more of a faff than the olden standards.
As always, the act of setting up a bike intuitively is quite a short process and can be done rapidly if you know what to do. But to do so systematically and moreover to prove you've done so, in a way that means there's a very low chance of future adjustment (the sort of thing that brings a customer back), is going to take longer.
Isn’t CyTech the only accreditation of cycle mechanics?
No, there's Velotech as well. In both cases there are various levels from "I can fix a puncture and fit a brake cable" to being able to properly prep a bare frame and build from scratch. I have seen terrible work from both Cytech 3 mechanics and Veleotech platinum mechanics, whilst some of the best mechanics I've seen have had no qualifications, or have been Halfords in house trained technicians. As with most industries it's the luck of the drawer as to whether you get a good one or a bad one.
Bedding in brake pads though???? I bet more customers would complain their bike came with part worn pads than would be happy they were bedded in.
I didn’t trust the mechanics at “Start Fitness” to be up to much
I didn't either, but as sharkattack says, they are great. The name and location had me worried they'd be a high street pile it high affair but it's crammed with YETI, Santa Cruz, Transition, Nukeproof etc.
The bike I mentioned above was from them, built by a guy that used to race WC DH them and I just set the pressures and rode it nearly every other day for 3 months after I got it and it was spot on. Would happily buy from them again. Met a lad at Golfie with the same brand bike as me, from there too, also very happy.
The bike is probably shipped in a similar state.
When it arrives at your door you have one bike to build and (probably) no bikes to fix.
When it arrives at a bike shop its different.
The shop I work in currently is 14 days roughly to have a bike shipped and built.
Always perform your own checks on your new bike:
https://twitter.com/NoContextBrits/status/1650185729891352577
Bedding in brake pads though???? I bet more customers would complain their bike came with part worn pads than would be happy they were bedded in.
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