re-cycler

Why does a guy with multiple fixed gear bikes, who beats multi-gear roadies on climbs, need to ask this stuff? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were posting just to indirectly plug all-steel fixie's superiority over all of this silly multi-geared carbon-forked stuff... Clever lawyer.

Biking_Lawyer

Thanks for the tips. To answer some of the questions.

1. I test rode the bike 3 times--albeit 20 min rides.

2. I test road a trek 1.5, a felt, 2 giants, 3 lemonds---the fuji felt the best of all I tried and had the best component set for <1K. I really did not care for the "feel" of any of them, but the fuji fel tth ebest out of the bunch. I couldnt find any bianchi eros around here, and I can't afford a custom steel frame, so i got the best of what i could afford. I still like the way steel rides better though.

3. I found the problem with the fork/headset---I need an extra spacer. the steerer tube rises above the stem by like 2 mm or so---i think its suppossed to be the other way around.

4. The bike felt better today after i put on the longer stem, and I am getting used to pulling through my dead spot.

Hopefully the lbs can fix all of my problems tommorrow. I am looking forward to doing my first century in a few weeks.

DZA_LA

Hmmm Try Changing Gears !!!

AnthonyG

Yeah, that would do it.

Sometimes when we give advise we look for the more obscure issues that you may miss and completely forget about the basics such as "is the bike bolted together correctly".

Regards, Anthony

twopoint7

One more thing that you might feel is the flex in the crappy ALX wheelset that comes on them. I have an 07 Roubaix pro and the only thing I found to suck was the wheels.


open pros and dura ace all the way.

Biking_Lawyer

i have cxr 6 xero lite wheels

darkstar760

hmmmm thats weird...
I just picked up the new 2008 Fuji Newest 1.0 which is under the Roubaix
and it feels pretty amazing
and i havent had a single problem
i bought it last thursday and i've already put about 100 miles and still going strong

daoswald

There are a few things you should not do until you've passed your first 100 miles:

1) Don't give up on your seat. When your butt hurts the first few rides, it's because you're not used to the seat, not because the seat is at fault. After a couple hundred miles if it's still a problem, then look at a few options.

2) Don't give up on the bike. You will feel stretched out at first. You will feel like the bike doesn't respond how you expect. You will feel like the bike is too big, too small, too squirrelly, too unresponsive, too this and that. It's mostly that you're too unused to it.

3) Don't stop riding.

Biking_Lawyer

UPDATE:

Took her out for her 3rd ride today after the lbs trued the front wheel, added a stem spacer and realigned the front delrailuer----I actually liked the ride--very smooth. My back and knees are not nearly as sore since i moved the saddle forward (although I still cant go forward enough to get the "plumb line from knee over axle" thing going.)

I can't get over how light the bike is compared to my steel steeds---i think that is why it feels "twitchy"--it takes a lot less force to manuver it. Now that my headseat isn't jigglign up and doing and rattling my teeth loose, the carbon seatstays and fork do a nice job of reducing the road vibration. Still getting used to the saddle and the fact the cranks are longer than what I am used to. I will say that riding a geared bike oddly takes much more effort than riding a fixed gear---I was winded halfway into my normal ride--I am definately using muscle groups I haven't used before.

Only mechanical problem remaining is that when I am charging up hills my rear derailuer tends to "auto-shift" up on me.


So, assuming my wheel doesn't blow apart, I think I will actually like this bike

[As an aside, the manager/mech at the LBS was the most insulting condescending A-hole i had ever met when i took the bike back. According to him its "normal" for spokes to detension on the first ride, especially if you are a "heavy rider" (i'm 183) He wouldnt believe me that the wheel was not true, insisting it was a poorly seated tire that was causing the wheel to "hop" and telling me "well, these brakes are only single pivot, so they can get knocked out of alignment easy and hit the rim--WTF???? They are clearly dual pivot calipers and they are not suppossed to pivot back and forth on bolt. He trued the wheel and the bike seems to be operating ok for now--but that had to be one of the worst LBS experiences I had ever had! I was so angry i was speechless]


Here she is:

ir0nfist

i got a 2008 fuji roubaix pro for 990 and I am really happy with it.

Rosso Corsa

The saddle is actually comfortable like that?!?!

My road bike has 165mm cranks, and the mountain bike has 175mm cranks. It takes about two hours on the mountain bike to fully adjust and not feel like I am just spinning and not going anywhere, as you describe it.

cwilliams

That's a pretty easy fix. As another poster suggested, check out the Park Tools website. They have a how-to section on how to adjust just about everything on a bike.

Laplacian

I had the same problem on my bike (a 2007 Fuji Team, coincidentally). I had to get a zero offset seat post and move the saddle forward on that. Now I'm sitting with the front of my knee nearly over the pedal axle at 3 o'clock. Maybe there's something about the Fuji geometries that's weird? In any case, Thompson makes a good, solid aluminum zero offset post in case you're interested.

My crotch hurts just looking at your saddle angle, though!

Fremdchen

Sounds like your LBS guy is a dumb*ss and that might be the root of some of these issues. Sounds like you need to study up on tuning your bike yourself! Especially since you're coming from riding fixies... this bike may require a more small adjustments in things like derailleurs. Best to DIY so you don't have to keep dealing w/ that jerk at the shop.

Biking_Lawyer

UPDATE: THE SAGA OF THE BIKE CONTINUES

Take bike on first charity ride two weeks ago--notice front tire is again "bulging" off the side of the rim and I get a flat w/ in first 2 miles. Change tire and notice rim tape is uneven and someone put electrical tape at the ends. As the ride goes on, my shifting goes from bad to worse to the point of grinding in almost every combo. Tried to tigthen using barrell adjusters, which would work for a while and then the cable would lose tension. Noticed a clicking sound from RD or BB entire ride that got worse and worse, esp. when applying pressure to cranks.

Take bike back to LBS for service. Explain previous problems, that it had been in for service once already, and that I was extremely unhappy with bike and their service. The shop assures me their "top mechanic" will work on it the next day. Two days later I pick up the bike and go for a ride. Within 5 miles the front derailuer is detensioned again and clicking/ticking returns. After reviewing posts on here, I try and lube parts that could be the culrpit and notice almost a complete absence of lubricant from some parts of the bike, e.g. seattube, pedals, etc.

This saturday, I go out for a quick ride in the morning. As I am upshifting, my chain falls off, i hit the brakes, my balls hit my handlebars and i go over---car comes round corner and screeches to halt 20 feet away from me. Life flashes before my eyes.

I go back to bike shop and demand my money back. At first they refuse, then they offer a new bike with a $20 restocking fee. After I go through the roof, they agree to give me a new bike with no restocking fee. I get new bikem, they throw in some bottle cages and tubes and I take the replacement up north to go camping.


On sunday I went for a 65 mile ride on new bike. The new bike felt like an enitrely different machine. It rode smoothe, the steering wasn't jittery, and the shifting was consistent up until the end when the cables started losing "some tension."---In this case, this simply meant I needed to push the front lever further to upshift and the back had a liitle lag--on the other bike when the cable "detensioned", everything went out of whack and the chain started grinding on the derailuer hanger.

I one point I stop to adjust me seat height, and ....LO AND BEHOLD the seat post was actually greased!!!!!

I had a very pleasant ride and when i was done, I was happy i exchanged rather than demanded a refund ("knock on wood").

The only problem is that yesterday I notice a bulge on the sidewall of the back tire and then it was flat a few hours later. I removed the tube, inflated and couldn't see any puncture. When I took the tire off (Conti Sport) i noticed it was warped where the bulge was ----just like the tire on the first bike. I also notice the rim strip/tape would move and get caught on the tire bead when I removed/installed it.

So I reinstall the same tube, and now it is still holding air. I don't know how I could get a flat if I had no puncture and if it is holding air now???

Also, is this some inherent problem in the Conti sport tires or is this the result of a crummy rimtape job (which i noticed on the wheels of the first bike)???

Further, the tire doesn't bulge if under 100 PSI---it is rated to 120, and the bulge appears at 110. Again this happened on the tires of the first bike and the replacement


I purchased some lMichelen ithion Ion tires from probikekit and am going to pick up some velox tape over lunch today from a different shop (the lbs just gave me those crappy rubber band things when i asked for rim tape).


Hopefully the tire issue will go away after i replace the rimtape/tires and the loose shifting was just the result of normal cable detensioning during the break in period.


Overall, I am very happy with the bike and happy i was able to do a 65 mile ride self-supported. I finally feel like i got the bike i purchased. This just reinforces my theory that the first bike was assembled incorrectly--i felt like I was constantly "fighting" the first bike and that it was "jittery" whereas the new bike feels smoothe as butter and is responsive.


I hope the new bike turns out ok, as my ride on sunday was just gorgeous and I am looking forward to many more.

Industrial

Good lord man, adjusting derailleurs isn't rocket science. Your LBS must have some hack mechanics there. Some amount of cable tension problems is normal on a new bike but nothing like what you say. As if you didn't already know, stay away from that LBS dude.

Phantoj

SUMMARY:

"My bike didn't shift right, so I took it back and got another one."

iNewton

It's really it right? I was trying to find the other problems that would have justified the return.

Biking_Lawyer

No---The front wheel went horribly out of true on the first ride; the front tire developed a large bulge and went flat within the first 10 miles, they forgot to install a headset spacer, the bottom bracket kept clicking louder and louder the more pressure I applied to the cranks. There was a wad of electrical tape bunched up in the rim on the front wheel and the rim tape was not on properly. The shifting was horrible and was adjusted 3 times within the first 2 weeks and they never fixed the problem. The first time, the frotn DL cable actually "slipped" from the retension bolt. The seatpost, pedals, axles and other areas were not lubricated. When I took the bike back the first time the manager told me its "normal" to hear a loud "ping" (this wasnt the sound spokes usually make when they settle--it was a distinct ping that detensiosned one specific area) and have the wheel go out of true, especially for "heavier riders" (i'm 185). He wouldn't believe me that the wheel was out of true and I had to ask him 3 times to put it on the truing stand (he told me my brake was hitting the rim because "its a single pivot brake and they can move back and forth"). The bead on the front tire was separating from the rubber when i changed it the first ride and they wouldnt replace it because it "was not warrantable." The manager told me its not unusual for a new tire to develop a bulge in the side and be a little deformed. The shifting was so bad the chain hit the front DL in almost every gear combo. The steering was rough; and then ONE DAY AFTER IT WAS SERVICED the chain fell off when i wa supshifting, causing me to fall in traffic and almost get hit by a car. After the crash, the front DL would no longer downshift to the smaller chain wheel. The bike was serviced THREE TIMES in the first TWO WEEKS and still had these problems.

The new bike has had none of these problems except the tire issue and usual expected cable break-in. The first bike was either defective or assembled improperly or both

iNewton

That LBS is awful, but those issues weren't exactly major.. Mostly adjustment issues, and needing to properly seat the tube in the tire.

Needless to say, enjoy that new bike.

Flatballer

I'm not even sure I would want an exchange from that shop. I would've considered a refund and finding another shop. They sound terrible.

"It's normal for new tires to develop a bulge in the side"? WTF? Since when?

JoelS

Sounds like a really bad shop.