A customer in Dallas brought in a vintage Schwinn with a stuck seatpost, and his solution was to just 'hit it with a bigger hammer' until I stopped him.

He was about to swing a 3-pound sledge at the lugged steel frame when I grabbed his arm and said we'd try a proper penetrating oil and a long cheater bar on the bench vise first, which worked after soaking it for two days, but has anyone else had a close call with a customer's 'creative' mechanical approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_campbell465d ago

Saw a story online about a guy who used a car jack to try and "press" a bottom bracket out of a carbon frame. Just completely crushed the chainstay. Some people see tools and just think more force is always the answer, like the bike is just a stubborn nail. It's scary how much damage a determined person with the wrong idea can do in seconds. That sledgehammer story is a perfect example, he was one swing away from turning a simple stuck seatpost into a frame repair or a total loss.

elizabeths515d ago

Honestly, that "bigger hammer" idea makes me wonder what else he's tried at home. Tbh, I've seen people use wd-40 on everything like it's magic, or try to force a part by threading it wrong until the aluminum strips. What was the worst "fix" you've actually had to undo before you could start the real repair?

young.kim5d ago

A customer once brought in a crank arm they'd "fixed" with a full tube of super glue and a whole roll of electrical tape. It looked like a mummy's leg. We had to soak the whole mess in acetone for two days just to see the damage, and the aluminum was already pitted from the glue. The real kicker was they tried to ride it like that for a week and wondered why it felt crunchy.