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Things we've seen this month in the Belfast bicycle repair workshop.

A Month in the Life of Bike Spanner

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t's been another busy month in the workshop, and a few jobs really stood out. I've been taking some photos along the way to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the weird, the wonderful, and the downright dangerous things that roll through the door.

Plus a lovely little gift that a nice customer bought in for my son. "Look Pro, Go Slow!"

The Mangled Bolt That Said "No"

First up, this mangled brake lever bolt. The owner had a new lever but couldn't get the old one out. Turns out it had been so overtightened that the head was completely rounded. It took a lot of head-scratching and a good few choice words to finally get it out. The moral of the story? Be gentle with your bike! Overtightening bolts can cause a world of pain and often means a bigger, more expensive job down the line. A little bit of love goes a long way.

It's Not Just Bikes

A unicycle! It's not every day you see one of these, but it's a good reminder that I'll work on anything with a wheel. If it has pedals and you can ride it, there's a good chance I can fix it. So if you've got something a bit out of the ordinary, don't be afraid to ask!

Don't Ignore the Ticking Bomb

This next one is a cracked freehub that came out of a rear wheel. The owner had brought the bike in because of a clicking noise, but admitted they'd been ignoring it for ages. As you can see, that clicking was the sound of the freehub slowly but surely cracking apart. Ignoring strange noises on your bike is a bit like ignoring a warning light on your car's dashboard. It might not be a huge issue right now, but it's often a sign of something that will become a serious, and potentially more expensive, problem if left unchecked.

A Dodgy Wheel and a Lucky Escape

This one was potentially really dangerous. A customer came in saying his front wheel was moving under braking. When I took a look, the quick-release skewer's axle was only threaded on one side! The other side was barely sticking out, meaning the wheel was only being clamped into the fork on one side. This could have led to the wheel coming completely out under heavy braking. If you're ever in doubt about your wheels, especially the quick-release skewers, please, just get them checked. It's not worth the risk.

A Wee Treat and a Good Reminder

And finally, a wee treat! A lovely customer bought in this little figure on a bike with a cap that says "Look Pro, Go Slow for my son." It's a great wee reminder that sometimes it's not about how fast you go, but just enjoying the ride. He's only a toddler, but he's already a pro in my eyes.

Thanks for checking out a glimpse into the workshop. It's always an adventure in here, and I love a challenge.

If you've got a bike that's creaking, clunking, or just not feeling right, get in touch and I'll get you sorted!

Cheers, David @ Bike Spanner

Bike Spanner

Unit 3 Block B
7 Prince Regent Road
Belfast
BT5 6QR

07979 362020

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Opening Times

Mon Closed
Tues 10-6pm
Wed 10-6pm
Thurs 10-6pm
Fri 10-6pm
Sat 10-2pm
Sun Closed

v21.1.2

Privacy

Privacy Policy

About

Unlike the privacy policy on most websites, this one isn't copied from a generic template; it's been written from scratch by humans who have considered what modern websites do, how most people interact with them and what most people are bothered about when it comes to online personal data.

We've avoided legal jargon and covering every minute detail down to the nth degree. Instead, we've focused on what we consider to be the essential stuff and answering some of the real world questions you might have.

Overview

We respect your right to privacy and will always do our absolute best to ensure we conform to not just the laws at the time, but also our moral obligation to you. That's why we will never knowingly allow anyone to use any data about you that we hold unless legally required to do so, and we will always keep it secure and (where possible) will remove all trace of it at your request.

We usually only hold names and email addresses you provide us, but at times we may hold other identifiable data about you, gathered with your consent, to carry out our day to day business with you. For instance, you might supply us with data as part of an enquiry, or as part of a purchase, or a booking process for a service, etc. In all instances, this data is destroyed once it is no longer relevant or required or held securely if it forms part of a service agreement with you or there is a legal requirement for us to retain. In which case we can hold data for up to seven years. Like most websites, this site uses cookies (read more about them below) and also like most websites this site may share your IP address (read more about them below) with some online services. By continuing to use the site, you agree to this. We don't do either of these things because we're evil, it's just for a modern website to work the way most people want them to work, you have to! DON'T PANIC though, for the majority of users you're not directly identifiable by these actions. Big Brother isn't watching!

Cookies

Cookies are tiny files that are added to your computer as you use and interact with websites. They are used mostly for good: To improve your experience, sometimes for bad: Search engines, Social sites etc. may use them to track what a computer (the computer, not the person) is looking at. Many like Google will use them to target you with adverts and for analytics, which results in them being able to build a profile of what you do online. You will get these cookies added to your computer when you land on certain websites, like Google, Youtube, Facebook etc. This site makes use of Cookies, mainly so we can be sure to only show you certain content once, for example, popups or reminders.

Cookies can sound a bit Orwellian and "Big Brother", but mostly they're pretty harmless and unless you land on a website that requests your data and you offer it, the data they hold is mostly anonymous, they don't have your name and email address etc. You can clear out your cookies by clearing your browser history. However, as we said this site from time to time will use cookies (never for data gathering or advertising). It is generally good practice to install a cookie manager so that you can see what websites install what cookies, as most have them but few admit to it.

Cookies generally fall into three categories: Session, 1st Party Persistent & 3rd Party. A fuller explanation of these is at the bottom of this privacy policy.

IP Address

An IP address is a unique number that identifies your computer on the internet; it is in the form of 111.222.333.444. Lots of services, like YouTube, Facebook etc., requires that websites send them your IP address before they allow sites to display things like embedded video, or Facebook elements, and so on. In reality, your IP address isn't personal data, as 99% of the time, you can't be identified by it. Regardless, some consider do consider it as such, so to keep ourselves in the clear we've added this bit to our privacy policy: On occasion, your IP address may be shared with some service providers. Emails Emails are typically kept until our inbox is full and we have a clear out and delete or archive all the old ones. We never use addresses obtained from emails for anything other than responding to the emails you send us. We don't harvest these emails for other purposes. Once we clear out our inbox and delete old emails from you, your details are gone.

Newsletter Sign-up

If we have one, our newsletter sign-up process is distinct from other areas of consent when it comes to your data and uses a double opt-in/2 step verification confirmation that complies with all the latest regulations (GDPR, etc.). It includes a clear indication from you that you wish to be added to our newsletter list. There is no ambiguity in our signup process; you can’t sign up by mistake nor can anyone signup with your email address due to the double opt-in/2 step verification. We record the location, time and place that you signed up. Removing yourself from our newsletter list is easy: Just click the unsubscribe link in the newsletters we send or use the Unsubscribe feature on our website.

We don't share our newsletter lists with anyone else, other than the service we employ to send out our newsletters.

Data Protection Officer

If you have any questions about our privacy policy and your data, or would like to know what data we hold about your you can contact us using the details on our regular contact page, making the subject of any emails “FAO: Data Protection Officer”. We will then forward your email to our DPO who will respond accordingly.

In most circumstances, we will respond within 30 days.

If we suspect any abuses of this requirement (multiple requests in a short space of time etc.), we reserve the right to refuse.

For most requests to be processed, we will need you to provide proof as to who you are and that you have a lawful right to access the data.

Cookies: Further Explained

Session cookies

Session cookies are added to your machine as you surf websites. They are only retained for as long as your browser remains open. They allow a form of memory to exist between your browser and the websites you visit, such as pages visited, shopping cart contents, last viewed items etc. These cookies will remain after you leave the website but will be deleted once you close the browser (fully close it, not hide or minimise it).

1st Party Persistent Cookies

"Persistent cookies" remain on your computer even after you've closed the browser. 1st Party cookies can only relay information back to the website that placed them on your computer. Typically they're used to store site preferences to save you from having to re-enter information on future visits. They may also be used to track your activities (links clicked, pages visited etc.) while visiting a site. Persistent cookies remain on your computer until you remove them, normally by using the browsers clear history feature, although other methods exist.

3rd Party Persistent Cookies

"Persistent cookies" remain on your computer even after you've closed the browser. 3rd Party cookies are typically used when a website has part of its content delivered via a third party, like embedded videos, maps etc. Websites featuring advertising commonly use 3rd party cookies to deliver the adverts; Over time 3rd party cookies will build up a profile your online habits (websites viewed, links clicked etc. so they can deliver targeted adds. 3rd party cookies have other purposes too, for more information on this we suggest you search the internet for "what do 3rd party cookies do?". We try to avoid third-party cookies as much as is possible. However, we may, from time to time utilise third party content and cannot guarantee that such content does not have third-party cookies delivered with it. Persistent cookies remain on your computer until you remove them, normally by using the browsers clear history feature, although other methods exist.