mihlbach

I am building a new bike with Sram Force 22 hydraulic brakes and shifters. All parts were ordered online.

I built the bike myself, however, having no real experience working with hydraulics I brought the bike into a local shop to set the brakes up properly. I got the bike home and noticed the brakes were still a little draggy so I put it in the stand for further inspection. Thats when I noticed rear brake torx bolts that came with the brake had been replaced with steel 4mm allen bolts. Then I noticed the rear brake was loose (not tightly bolted to the frame). I gave the bolts a nudge to tighten them up but found that one of them just hopelessly spins. Took it apart to find that the aluminum threads in the body of the brake are stripped.

When I have warrantee issues I generally contact the manufacturer. But Sram says to deal with warrantee issues thru the dealer that I purchased from, but in this instance, that sounds wrong to me. Should I bring this to the shop that did the repair work? They are a reputable shop, but I don't have much experience with them or any shops really. I have nothing against shops, I am just a DIYer and I almost never go into bike shops. Given the expense of these parts and their apparent fragility and finickiness, this is frustrating...and I am just not sure which is the best way to proceed.

Thanks...

SethAZ 

Sounds like you need to go show that to the LBS that worked on them and ask them what they think. What they should think should be pretty obvious to all, and they'll probably do the right thing.

maddog34

shop screwed them up... shop pays.

Kontact 

The shop should handle the replacement. If you no longer want them to work on your bike, they can refund your labor costs, provide you with the replacement parts and you can take them elsewhere.

But you don't have a warranty issue. SRAM is not at fault, nor is the vendor that you bought the brakes from.

mihlbach

Yes they can still work on my bike. Their mechanic is very experienced, so although he technically could be at fault, I'm not gonna hold a grudge or get too bent out of shape over it. Sometimes **** just happens. I'll contact them tomorrow and see what can be done. Thanks for the advice.

maddog34

stripped out threads ... not good... take it elsewhere, lest it happen again.

HerrKaLeun

Two parties at fault here. The shop apparently doesn't use torque wrenches or other good procedures and lets bicycles go back to clients with bad brakes. Even if the brake bole came stripped already, they should have pointed that out.

You were to cheap to have the shop buy the brakes and install so they would have sole responsibility. Now you are in a situation where they can twist it somehow that your brakes already came stripped. Nest time buy it yourself and install yourself, or have the shop provide and install.

Eggman84

+1 Not sure I feel any pity for you. Buying on line and then taking them to a shop to install. How is it that you don't know how to install them but you know enough to identify all these supposed mistakes. Are you sure you didn't try to install first, screwed up, and then went to the shop hoping they would bail you out.

xenologer

Looking at photos of this caliper online.
The caliper body does not appear to be threaded, it has post mounting tabs like everyone else does.

Possible you mean the Adapter bracket, which goes between the caliper and frame is stripped?
these things: https://sram-cdn-pull-zone-gsdesign...._140mm_lrg.jpg

Hopefully that's the case, since the adapters are much less expensive than the caliper itself.


sound like the shop messed up. the fact that the bolts used aren't the original is a red flag.
Possible that this isn't the most professional shop around? and they switched to hex bolts instead of the original torx because they don't actually possess a proper torx driver?
...much less a torque wrench...

xenologer

I don't see any issue with bringing your own parts to a shop to have them install them for you.
Working at an LBS myself, we have no problem with this at all
especially when it's a high end or specialized part that we wouldn't have on shelf anyway.
It saves us the trouble of having to special order.

Now, when it's something really generic like a standard inner tube, the mechanics will make fun of you behind your back; but we certainly aren't going to refuse work.

cpach

Shop should sort you out. SRAM is relatively easy to deal with for warranty issues, they should be able to get new brakes in to you within a week. The specific bolts heads used shouldn't matter so long as they are the correct thread and length. Seriously any semi-reasonable shop would be a embarrassed about your situation and would hustle to make sure you're sorted out.

cpach

Road hydraulic brakes now come in both post mount and flat mount; flat mount brakes are threaded, so I assume that's what the OP has.

mihlbach

Yes, exactly. They are flat mounts brakes. The caliper bolts directly to the frame.

Canker

Helicoil

mihlbach

No worries your pity isn't what I was requesting. I know how to bolt items together, but I don't have the equipment to bleed brake lines, which was required to route the line thru the frame. Thats why I brought it to the shop. The item was brought to the shop with intact threads and the original bolts. Thanks for your concern.

kevindsingleton 

The fact that the wrong bolts were used, and that the mechanic didn't mention the stripped threads, is a good indication that the mechanic caused the problem, and hoped you wouldn't notice.


I'm not sure I would trust this shop to resolve the issue, properly, but I would likely give them the chance to make it right, before pursuing other recourse.


Call the shop, and talk to the owner, or manager, and make an appointment to spend some time investigating and addressing the problem. You'll want someone competent and responsible to be available to get this fixed while you are there, and watching. Otherwise, you may need to escalate the matter to your attorney. Document everything, and try to remain calm when discussing the matter with the LBS.

HerrKaLeun

I don't know for SRAM brakes, but bleed kits for shimano are $25 and include brake fluid etc. With some hoses etc. you also could rig one yourself. I don't know what the shop charged you, but probably not much less than buying a kit that you can use indefinitely. since you build up the whole bike i have no doubt you could do the work yourself (at least better than that shop....)

I know tough crowd here, but for the future I hope you avoid that shop. not only did they screw up your brakes, but also let a customer leave with faulty brakes. Letting a bike leave with a worn chain is one thing, but faulty brakes?

mihlbach

Agreed. I plan on learning all about it, and honestly, I probably should have just done the work myself from the onset.
I spent so long collecting parts for this build I just wanted to get the bike up and running.

mihlbach

Follow up...brought the bike back to the shop...they are working with Sram to replace the caliper.

xenologer

so by 'working with sram'
they mean they're trying to pass off their mechanic's mistake as a manufacturer's warranty to get sram to foot the bill instead of them.

well, as long as you get a new caliper one way or another...

still doesn't sound like the most reputable shop, especially considering they let you walk out in that condition without saying anything

bikeme

FYI, SRAM pro bleed kits are about $70 and are a pain to use. I like Shimano for brakes period--mineral oil is not affected by heat like DOT brake fluid, you don't have to extract dissolved air in the fluid before bleeding, the bleeding operation is simple and 1/3 of the time of SRAM, etc.

HerrKaLeun

I didn't know about the cost, wow. Totally agree on shimano brakes and mineral oil.
it seems easier to bleed car brakes than SRAM brakes, and cars have ABS pumps etc.
Best course of action for OP is to cut losses and buy shimano brakes. Or travel back in time and skip the SRAM brakes and self-install.

fietsbob

Service works best going in reverse order up the supply chain, from the dealer talking to their suppliers..

cpach

You also don't really need the pro kit, just the syringes, some dot 5.1, and something jammed between the pistons. Assuming the factory bleed is good, you can even install the brakes without bleeding by carefully extending the pistons to store excess fluid, cut the line trying to lose as little fluid as possible, reattach everything, open the lever bleed port, and push the pistons back to push out the introduced air (using a rag to catch excess fluid). I wouldn't try this unless I had a kit or the ability to get the bike to a shop with a kit if it didn't work out.