Harsh? No.

Realistic? Yes.

I would see what the mechanic says and if you aren't happy, talk to the manager and/or owner.

UPDATE:
I stopped and picked my bike up last night, the mechanic was far more approachable, and seemed genuinely interested in helping (maybe he was having an awful day Monday?)

Anyway, he wasn't 100% sure he found the problem, but he thinks it was coming from the manual lockout, so he took that apart and lubed everything, he thinks if the problem returns, he'll have to tear the whole fork down and grease everything.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I should stop and say though..

Thanks to all that have dropped in so far and offered info/opinions, some of it I expected, some was new info, either way, thanks!!

A few things I'm taking away from this thread (so far)

1) If you plan on Mountain Biking any further than from the store to your car, spend a minimum of $1000 :)

2) If you dare to ride past your car, and try to go on a trail more advanced than a side walk, spend a minimum of $1000 :)

3) Even if you spend a minimum of $1000, it's not uncommon to have your new bike back in the shop within 60 days of purchase. :)

4) If you spend a minimum of $1000 on your bike, and you have problems, there will be people telling you that you should have saved and spent a minimum of $2000 LOL! :)

Or there's the option of spending $500 on a used $1000 or $2000 bike..

I wouldn't let the elitists get you down that way.

One of my bikes (was) almost 4 grand, new. It has needed routine maintenance just the SAME as the $200 bike I purchased from BikesDirect. I reviewed that bike in the single speed forum, owned it for several years, and never had to do anything significant to it. I sold it to a fellow that rides Mass and still see him riding the heck out of it with the same parts I bought it with.

Hopefully your issue is resolved. Enjoy your bike.

Yeah, unfortunately I looked used from March through Late June...nothing nice, that wasn't already ridden into the ground...which really surprised me considering my city is just chocked full of bikers.

Of course at that time, I wasn't aware of the classified sections in forums like this one.

On a positive note, tomorrow night I start working part-time at one of my LBS (not the one in question here), I don't need the money, but the discounts on a couple of the lines there are considerable...my next bike will be nice I think. :thumb: :speedy:

Hey Thanks!!

Nah, they didn't get me down, there is a subsection in everything that is full of people that think $$$=Quality, it is most often the case, but not always. :beer:

I'm a musician, and have been my entire life (long time), and there are certainly a group over there, that are FAR worse than anything I encountered here.

I remember when i first got my adult bike i was sticker shocked at $450. The cheapest of the name brand bikes but should still be a quality bike with no issues.

wait, the shop that sold you the bike is now insulting it? btw I got a $50 bike of craigslist cpl years ago (that was already 30+ years old) that doesn't squeak. you want it?

Ahh, equipment elitism at its finest. It really pisses me off when I see people act like you have to spend a months salary to get a bike that won't fall apart before you get it home. That's a crock of horse $%^! from people who are either bitter because they drank the koolaid or want to feel better about themselves because they spent more than you. There is crap, there is cheap, there is expensive, and there is quality but not one of those words is a surefire indicator of any of the others. I've seen cheap quality and I've seen expensive crap. You just have to know what you are getting, what you are paying for and why. Cheap bikes are indeed cheap and almost always for a reason. But that reason doesn't have to be that they are crap. It can just as easily be that they are heavier, don't have the latest components, may have features that are a generation or two old whatever. You do however need to be an educated buyer when buying things cheaply so you can know the difference and what you are buying. If someone were to say a particular model of bike is crap because of this and that reason then OK, I can get that. But to just pop off about having to spend at least $1000 on a bike before you can expect it to perform basic bike functions properly exhibits elitism at its finest. It is indeed possible that the OPs squeaking issue is one of those "well that particular bike has that issue" things that you might find on a budget bike but as long as its not a functional problem then I wouldn't call the bike crap. Maybe its fixable, maybe it isn't. But as someone who just spend $500 (on anything, anywhere) he has a right to expect some customer service to at least try and identify/alleviate the problem unless its just a strait up known annoyance-only issue with that particular model.

That's not to say that I don't agree with what some of the others said about money often being better spent on the secondary market especially when on a budget. I do agree in many areas of pricey products there can be much more bang for you buck when buying second hand if you are a savvy shopper.

Good to hear it got sorted, fwiw I would have guessed the headset wasn't quite tight enough.

Don't listen to the downers, your bike is quite capable. It's all about rider skill.

$500 brand name bike is inexpensive, but not cheap, and it should be treated at the bike shop like any other brand name bike. My LBS treats my wife's $350 Giant comfort road bike, like they would any other bike. It came with free adjustments for the first year and had no squeaks or rattles. And she started right out riding beginner single track with it. It has been solid for 3 years now.

A decent quality bike (hardtail) starts around the $1200 price point. If that's a month's salary then said person is living in poverty and might want to think about spending money on more important things than a bike.

I don't see anyone here doing that. Just some people explaining that you get what you pay for when it comes to bikes.

Yes...Cheaper components, inferior suspension, crappy wheels and hubs and usually heavy.

Yes. This forum can be a good resource for that.

Nope. It properly exhibits the facts.

As someone explained earlier...It's all relative to the product you are buying. $500 may be high priced for a lap top thats only going to be used to browse the internet, but for a bike it's cheap.

Yes.

OK, so this thread has now turned a corner, and is headed nowhere productive. (now would be a great time for the mods to lock it down).

Everyone here has an opinion, and I thank all involved, including those I don't necessarily agree with.

Whether it's $500, $1000, $2000 and up, I received poor customer service, period, no excuse for it and it has since been remedied.

As for whether or not I bought the appropriate bike, there are clearly those here that say I didn't (despite being sold this bike, by the LBS, for my specific wants...in this case "easy single track") I could have spent more, but I thought $500ish would be decent to dabble in a sport I've never really tried...I will find a new LBS (though I'll probably just buy my next bike direct, or order one through my own store).

Over on talkbass.com (bass guitar related forum), there are TONS of threads where new buyers complain/comment about something that they purchased to do a specific job (and it seems to fall short), and just like here, there are those that immediately chime in and say "only basses that cost X can do that job", well having 30+ years experience playing bass, and owning $500-$6300 instruments, I can call BS, and frequently do

Of course a $1200 bass could sound/play better than a $500 bass, but a properly setup $500 bass, in the hands of a skilled musician can & does sound excellent...in fact I recently played a $5300 bass that sounded like damp box full of angry bees, but I GUARANTEE there is someone that will still say it sounds better than a $500 bass....BS ;)

So, I'm going to keep riding my "cheap" bike, and I'll probably break pieces along the way, and in turn learn to fix them, but I'm going to have fun with the journey, and just make sure my next bike will be exactly what is required for the job.

Thanks Everyone!

remember you can just unsubscribe from the thread. I usually do that when ppl start bickering ...

I like my "cheap" bike and I already know how to fix most issues that come up. I also just happen to like working on bikes, I see it as worth while for my part to upgrade my cheapo later on. The coil fork on mine works well and I find does the job. It just so happens my first trail bike was an old steel fuij from the 90s full rigid. I did find that sourcing parts for it was getting difficult so I got the new bike. when the coil fork goes bad I'll upgrade it. The only real issue I had with the new bike was the tires I didnt like, not bad tires I just didnt like them. Ive put new tires on and went tubeless. I may upgrade to a 1x later on. almost forgot since I went from 26 to 29 wheel so the stem seemed a little long for me on the new bike I put a shorter 65mm stem and its much more responsive in tight corners. I find what you like and dislike will be subjective.

I dont really care what anyone rides as long as they get out and ride. :)

75 miles in 2 months is pretty light. I put that on my road bike in about a half a week.

Likewise, mostly paved, some unpaved... They are selling it as a Mountain Bike, right?

It sounds like the issue was a lube issue. Hopefully it doesn't come back, or if it does, the OP will keep at it.

Suggestion: Click the "report thread" icon on your own post, ask for a Moderator to close it, and they'll do it for you. They don't necessarily even read these threads unless someone asks.

I worked at a Trek shop at my last job. Trek is fantastic to work with on parts that are directly covered by their warranty: if it's the frame or anything with the word Bontrager on it, it's fantastically easy to warranty within the period (lifetime frame, 2 years on most other parts). In the case of your fork, it can be warrantied with the manufacturer, RST. In my experience, on a Marlin 5, I had one that felt like garbage for reasons was disinclined to investigate in detail so I warrantied it. To my surprise, RST had us cover shipping to their service center, but did service it to the extent that it worked as expected--actually, a little better than they usually are. So if this doesn't resolve it, you can get this covered, but don't be surprised if it takes a week or two to complete the resolution. Most of these forks feel kind of crappy, and the stanchions will eventually rust, but your problem doesn't sound like common behavior.