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New Bike Day... Or Is It?

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We've been seeing a fair few shiny new bikes rolling through the workshop lately, which is always exciting! But it got me thinking about something I wanted to share.

You know that feeling, right? You've been eyeing up that dream bike online for ages, finally click 'buy', and the big brown box arrives. You eagerly unpack it, maybe slap on the handlebars and pedals, and boom – you're ready to hit the road! Well, sometimes... not quite.

We had a cracker of an example in the workshop just the other day. A lovely looking new machine with minimal miles on it. The owner was complaining about a persistent creaking noise coming from the bottom bracket. Now, a creak can be a tricky beast to track down, so, we got it up on the stand and whipped the cranks off to take a peek.

And what did we find? Absolutely no grease on the bottom bracket threads whatsoever, and it wasn't even tightened up properly! All this had meant the ingress of dirt and water (from cleaning). Honestly, it was a surprise it hadn't completely fallen apart. We carefully removed it, gave the bottom bracket shell a good clean, even faced it to make absolutely sure it was perfect, and then installed a brand new, properly greased bottom bracket. Silence! The relief on the owner's face was brilliant.

And that's not even the half of it when it comes to new bikes arriving from online sellers. We often see gears that aren't indexed correctly, leading to frustrating chain skipping. Brakes rubbing against the rotors or rims are another common one, slowing you down and wearing out pads prematurely. And sometimes, crucial bolts can be undertightened or even overtightened, which can be a real safety concern.

So, if you've just treated yourself to a new bike online and you're not 100% confident it's all set up perfectly, or if you'd rather not even deal with the assembly, give us a shout here at Bike Spanner. We can give it a proper once-over, a full tune-up, or even build it from scratch for you, ensuring everything is spot on and safe so you can just get out there and enjoy the ride.

Shed Treasures and Busy Workshops!

Right, onto another thing that's been keeping us on our toes lately. That glorious Belfast weather we've been having? It's fantastic, isn't it! But it also means that everyone and their dog (literally, we've seen a few furry friends patiently waiting outside!) is dusting off their bikes from their winter hibernation in the shed and getting them ready for some sunny spins.

And that means... we are BUSY! Really busy! The workshop is buzzing with bikes getting everything from basic safety checks and puncture repairs to full services and new part installations. It's brilliant to see so many people getting out and enjoying cycling, but it does mean that our booking slots are filling up fast.

So, if you're planning on getting your trusty steed back on the road and think it might need a little TLC, please, please get in touch as soon as possible to book it in. Don't leave it until the last minute when the sun is shining and you're itching to go for a ride, only to find we have a waiting list.

You can get in touch through our website https://www.bikespanner.com/ or give us a call. We're always happy to help get you rolling smoothly and safely.

Happy cycling, folks!

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

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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.