God bless Fiolke Ohlsson for having filed a patent in 1949 for the ready to assemble chair. The Flat pack empires, ( a 2 part series available on the Open University ) of those savvy Swedes was about to come marauding into our homes with the promise of easily assembled fashionable furniture. Today, from the warm seducing glow of a screen , a click of button would have the desired furnishing delivered to your abode. Convenience - we love it !
Delirious to see the product assembled , the box is ferociously ripped open. You have been possessed , who cares if you have to tape jagged pieces of cardboard together to make a box once again , just in case you have to make a return for refund decision.
The promise of an included 4mm Hex key made from cheese , that often has the skill to Houdini its way out of a sealed cardboard box that is of sturdier construction than the reconstituted wood pulp chair that now lays before you labelled A, B, C.....
It is at this point the door to Heaven and Hell opens. One has to choose whether one is a Man , a Woman or an Enlightened one.
If you are a man you do not read instruction manuals, please step this way to Hell.
If you are a woman , you read the manual , do it yourself or call an Enlightened one and ascend to Heaven.
Do we arrive at the point in all this drivel I'm typing where you cosily recline, backside cosseted by successfully conquering the construction of said chair ,by a warming fireside, glass of wine in hand, dog by your side and cat purring....the satisfaction of glory or gory knuckles bloodied ,red as the wine spilt as your efforts of following the the stick man in the manual have proven inadequate, the chair has judged you incompetent and exploded beneath you ....
The Enlightened One.
A canny client watched last seasons stock tick down to bargain price before ordering a Genesis Croix de Fer to be delivered to his door.
Having carefully considered this purchase to be a worthy addition , filling a gap in his fleet enabling him to unlock new adventures , the box was driven over to me for assembly. Why on earth would one go to all the trouble of having another mechanic an hours drive away just screw the pedals in and straighten the handlebars when Kiran from Winstanley cycles had done 99% of all the assembly prior to boxing?- Top job , by the way Kiran!
The money saved was earmarked to be spent on having the bike assembled with a level of precision , care and love of ones craft that is unable to exist in a market where convenience is king .The behemoth mail order companies pour their 'love' into ease of purchase ,speed of delivery ,easy returns , live chat dispute channels....
This is where paying a little extra goes a long way, Bicycles are assembled on a production line in their thousands. The job of the factory assembler is just that , to put a bicycle together ready to be packaged in a box to go into a container ready for shipping. The bicycle will then arrive at the shop to be fully assembled and have final checks and adjustments made by the shop mechanic. This will include making sure all bolts are correctly tightened, gears adjusted ,brakes adjusted , wheels checked for true etc,etc.. It will then go on the shop floor and when purchased the sales assistant will adjust the saddle to the correct height and perhaps make other no cost to you adjustments in order that the bike fits and functions the way it should. There will be a no charge inspection after a few weeks to make sure all parts of the bike have bedded in and any adjustments that are needed are carried out. Perhaps this is the most important stage in a bikes life. If the components on the bike are not fine tuned now the bicycle will wear out components at an accelerated rate. the wheels will go out of true and likely break spokes, bearings will be short lived . The bike you purchased online and had delivered did not have this last stage of careful assembly. Even if you are confident enough to attach pedals and straighten handle bars , instructions provided by Winstanley cycles in this case
So now you come to Senova cycles and ask for a ' Blue print ' assembly service.
The care and attention to detail poured into this bike build ensure a long service life with reliability, its the start of a long and beautiful friendship.
The bike above has 30 bolted accessory attachment points for mudguards, water bottle holders , luggage rack etc. each of those threads is covered in paint. The bolts have been inserted dry. Some are loose ,some are tight. This is where I begin with a thread cleaning tool. The paint is removed and threads chased virgin clean with copious amounts of cutting oil so that a bolt will screw in smoothly with ease. The bolt itself will have a spring washer added so that when torqued to the correct setting it will stay tight . The likely hood of prematurely loosing your luggage from a loose luggage rack falling off , running after your spare pants as they are carried off by the wind in some Saharan desert adventure you have dreamed of ,avoided.
Next the headset and Bottom bracket are removed from the frame. This steel frame allows me to face and chase both surfaces so that the bearings sit square to each other. The headset is packed with plenty of fresh grease because there is a drought of it back at the production line, I think it has something to do with health and safety. Should any grease escape and fall onto the factory floor , someone may slip and sue , where there's blame, there's a claim!
Next step the wheels. All spokes are checked for even tension. Ensuring even tension will go a long way preventing spokes from breaking when a bike is ridden over rough ground loaded with luggage. This bike had wildly different spoke tensions. Wheels built by a robot in few minutes rarely match the quality of a hand finished wheel. Axle nuts are checked for tightness. Gear cables are stretched several times to ensure that each gear is indexed and does not slip. Brake disc rotors are trued and brake pads set so that they contact the disc rotor evenly...this is not the full list of checks and adjustments made but I'm guessing your attention span may be wavering . The bike has just over 3 hours of labour to bring it to a level where I am happy to let it go out the door. Cost was £80.00. What the payment includes is a one on one relationship with your mechanic. Personal service. A contract of faith and reputation .In this case a 10 year continuous business relationship with free banter, tea and biscuits. . Normally a Build from a box bike starts from £30.00 for a kids bike and rises. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements. Your bike and wallet will thank you.
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