Nhatt. I'm a mechanical buffoon with a box of tools and an interest in learning more. But I'm aware that my knowledge (particularly my sensitivity to the variants caused by part types, tolerances compatibility etc) is at a minimum. This creates a situation where I spend a lot of time fiddling about with simple tasks on my bike, watching other buffoons on youtube, phoning mates who know a tad more than me and ultimately getting things wrong. The result - an imperfect build, the consumption of huge amounts of the time I should be using to do my job and the ultimate result that I need to cough 50 notes or more to a specialist like yourself so that you can do your job.
At no point in this process am I under the impression that I'm a mechanic. In fact most of my greasy fumblings are nothing more than a way to become better involved with the function of my bikes so that I am just very slightly less of an imbecile when I do inevitably have to defer to someone qualified to do the work. The greasier and more confused I get the more comfortable I feel handing over my tangled mess at an LBS, laughing off my ineptitude and pleading for mercy.
Surely one of the joys of bike ownership is that despite its subtle complexities the fundamentals of the machine are accessible or at least comprehensible enough that IF you're interested you can get your hands dirty. And if you perform even the most basic repairs you feel more in tune with your ride. I seem to be a perma-noob when it comes to bikes. The older I get the less I know in relation to the obsessed and the qualified. But I'll always want to attempt to do a little more each time. And having pulled a load of bits together into a less than perfect but serviceable and safe ride for the first time recently I was so proud of myself (even though as a build it would be flamed as soon as anyone with a brain saw it).
But for what it's worth - my giving it a bit of a go never made me feel that I wouldn't require the services of a mech or an LBS. As you say, quite the opposite - it probably made me rely on them more as I continued to require parts, advice and ultimately help.
I don't really know why I felt the need to write this - or indeed why anyone else should give a kak about my personal limited experience. Perhaps my conclusion is the same as yours... Get in there by all means and try it yourself OP but it won't run as smoothly as you imagine and ultimately the cheapest option might be to take it straight to Nhatt as you'll be doing that in the end almost certainly. But maybe give it a whirl. You might learn something.
Nhatt. I'm a mechanical buffoon with a box of tools and an interest in learning more. But I'm aware that my knowledge (particularly my sensitivity to the variants caused by part types, tolerances compatibility etc) is at a minimum. This creates a situation where I spend a lot of time fiddling about with simple tasks on my bike, watching other buffoons on youtube, phoning mates who know a tad more than me and ultimately getting things wrong. The result - an imperfect build, the consumption of huge amounts of the time I should be using to do my job and the ultimate result that I need to cough 50 notes or more to a specialist like yourself so that you can do your job.
At no point in this process am I under the impression that I'm a mechanic. In fact most of my greasy fumblings are nothing more than a way to become better involved with the function of my bikes so that I am just very slightly less of an imbecile when I do inevitably have to defer to someone qualified to do the work. The greasier and more confused I get the more comfortable I feel handing over my tangled mess at an LBS, laughing off my ineptitude and pleading for mercy.
Surely one of the joys of bike ownership is that despite its subtle complexities the fundamentals of the machine are accessible or at least comprehensible enough that IF you're interested you can get your hands dirty. And if you perform even the most basic repairs you feel more in tune with your ride. I seem to be a perma-noob when it comes to bikes. The older I get the less I know in relation to the obsessed and the qualified. But I'll always want to attempt to do a little more each time. And having pulled a load of bits together into a less than perfect but serviceable and safe ride for the first time recently I was so proud of myself (even though as a build it would be flamed as soon as anyone with a brain saw it).
But for what it's worth - my giving it a bit of a go never made me feel that I wouldn't require the services of a mech or an LBS. As you say, quite the opposite - it probably made me rely on them more as I continued to require parts, advice and ultimately help.
I don't really know why I felt the need to write this - or indeed why anyone else should give a kak about my personal limited experience. Perhaps my conclusion is the same as yours... Get in there by all means and try it yourself OP but it won't run as smoothly as you imagine and ultimately the cheapest option might be to take it straight to Nhatt as you'll be doing that in the end almost certainly. But maybe give it a whirl. You might learn something.