ac29593

So, I go into the bike shop to have them swap my small chain ring with the replacement I had, and the guy snapped off one of the bolts on the crank and broke it. So, he gets a different junk crank and takes one of the bolts off and says "its not the same, but looks like a good fit." Seeing as I spent $2000 bucks on a bike, you can imagine how pissed I started to get when he starts to tell me about the insignificant weight difference on this bolt compared to the other that goes on my FSA carbon crank. I could care less about the weight of a screw, I just want my bike LOOKING and RIDING the same as I brought it in. I dont want to mess around with stuff that doesnt fit. I told him, go check your shop, FSA cranks are common and you must have one here, I want one off that. So, he looked and couldnt find anything, so he decided he would order me a new one at no cost and put it on. Then, I told him to adjust my derailler (spelling) so that there would be no chain rub in most of the gears as he had it set. He started to fiddle with it, and didnt get it how I wanted or how I had it when I got there. I started to ask him exactly what he was doing, so I could go home and tweak things myself. The LBS shop owner told me that he put the chainring on, my bike was fixed, so go buy a manual up front and learn yourself, you cant be wasting my mechanics time "not to be rude." Not only did this shop give me trouble with a return last week (they didnt give me a receipt or put me in the computer, I am a new customer), but now this. I knew I would be back to get my bolt, so I didnt say much else. They charged me $3 for the job, which I thought was strange because the guy that had done the same exact thing to my bike a couple weeks back charged me $24. I guess they are just making up prices now.

Anyway, just had to vent and get this frustration out. I went home and adjusted my derailler (spelling lol) properly and went on a short ride. I will be going back to get my bolt fixed, and NEVER buying another thing from that place again. I think its time to get a rack and start doing my own repairs. Im sure you all had some bad experiences at bike shops too. This was the worst I have had.

rmfnla

Thanks for reminding me why I do all my own work;at least the nosepicker (remember that?) didn't tweak your frame!

HillMut

If you buy something from a store that is electronic or have any thought that you may return it, ask for a receipt.... that is not their fault. ¿$3 to put a chain ring on & $24 to adjust your derailluer?

jeh

It would have been kind if they told you how to do this yourself, but to expect it is out of the question.

the guy owns a shop, not a school. he's in the business of making money.

I think you're blowing the bolt thing out of proportion too, it's not that big of a deal.

helmets save

+1. You are the only one who is going to carefully work on your bike. Most of the mechanics just want you out of their face. Learning how to do these small but common tasks will save you money, i.e. adjusting derailleur. I just recently bought a repair stand and the common tools you would ever need:

Hex wrenches
BB and casette lockring wrench
chain breaker
chain whip
crank puller


I can do everything but press headsets.

bmclaughlin807

Here's my contribution to the thread.... a friend of mine took the guard off my Schwinn for me.... I was about 20 miles from home riding and the large chainring starts wobbling... wtf? I take a look.... I've lost 3 of the five bolts!

Yes, those are zip-ties. Yes, they not only got me home, I rode another 10 miles like that doing various errands before I got to the bike shop to get some new bolts.

At least you only had one funny looking bolt.

PS: I should put those bolts on.... *shrugs* One of these days.

EdZ

Heres a for your issue. You sound very snooty and demanding, I would have told you off also.

catatonic

If it mattered that much, I woukd have asked for a matched set. Doesn't matter what brand so long as it's the same material.

A-1

it's a bolt, get over it. You should just be happy they were nice enough to order you a replacement at no cost.

derath

Zip ties and duck tape will fix just about anything.

-D

Patriot

Being compulsive about my bikes, I build and fix my own. Period.

I hope this is a good lesson for anyone who is demanding of a bike shop. You have to expect less than perfect work if you have any kind of maintenance done at the LBS, and never expect any better. They do it to simply get it done, and make a few dollars in the process. If you want top notch mechanical work, join a Pro racing team, that's about the only place you'll find it.

That's the unfortunate reality.

What's more unfortunate, is that alot of people who just aren't mechanically inclined, depend on these shops for alot of their work, and are forced to settle for less than having it done "just right".

If you are extremely compulsive and want perfection, then it 's good to scope out an LBS that has good mechanics, talk to the owner or manager, and get to know them personally. Explain to them your personal needs, and they may be willing to accomede your refined needs. This is of course, if you would be willing to pay extra to ensure better quality work.

bmclaughlin807

I never leave home without them! Electrical tape is handy, too.

I once told my wife I could fix anything with electrical tape. She remembered, too.... when we were driving along in our old Jeep Cherokee, it backfired, then the engine dies.... Coast over to the side of the road, and I get under the hood checking things out.

my wife, being funny, grabs the electrical tape from the glove box, and hands it to me, reminding me about me saying I could fix anything with electrical tape. I go back under the hood.

Five minutes later, I slam the hood, start the engine, and we go home.

Needless to say, she was impressed! (oh, in case you're wondering, the backfire blew every vacuum connection off... the tubing was all old... I taped it all back into place with the electrical tape!)

I even fixed the neighbor's dog with electrical tape, once. He had a sore on his foot that he wouldn't stop licking, keeping it from healing... I put an old sock over it, wrapped the tape fairly tight near the top of the sock, and rolled the top down over the tape. Worked perfectly.

Travelinguyrt

Duct tape and Bondo.part of the state emblem in No. Carolina

bmclaughlin807

roccobike

I usually agree with the mechanics on these kind of posts, but this time I think the OP is right. I bring a bike to a pro to correct problems, not create them. When a bike costs over $1000, and I'm bringing it in for repair, I expect it to be fixed correctly with the correct parts or don't plan on selling me anything else. Fortunately, I deal with some pretty good bike shops, one in particular that has excellent mechanics. But most of the time I do my own work. Why? Two reasons, 1) I enjoy doing mechanical work and 2) my brother in law taught me a long time ago, I can screw it up just as well as a mechanic for a hellofa lot less $$$.

A-1

Bolts break all the time, they're small parts, if it were something larger like a stem or whatever, it would be a completely differant story. All bolts do the same job, yes it's a shame that the bolt snapped off, but it happens. A mechanic is not to be expected to tell you exactly how to fix your bike anyway, that's how they make their money, would you expect a car mechanic to walk you through an oil change?

urbanknight

I would have MAYBE asked them to put a matched set of bolts on, just because I'm anal about things being uniform and they are the ones who broke it. But ordering a new one was nice of them, and since everybody is mail ordering, they make their money off of repairs and don't want people knowing how to do it themselves. I think there should be a sticky thread where people can post their favorite LBSs so we know where to go. Out of all the shops in my area, there's only 1 that I completely trust so far.

jeh

You asked him if the stem would fit a 1" steerer, I suggest you convert 25.4mm to inches, to find out who the "moron" is.

-j

urbanknight

25.4mm = 1" what are you smoking? But as to why yours was 22mm, are you talking about a quill stem? Because those are smaller than the steerer tube size.

operator

1) You sound like a person who would benefit greatly from learning how to work on your bike
2) ... refer to 1

urbanknight

If they're rusted, they're steel. It's the fangled lightweight aluminum ones (we're talking a 5g savings here!!!) that break at about 15 lb of torque when they need to be tightened down to about 14. But I agree, you need to learn to work on your own bikes. And after you've broken a chainring bolt, seatpost binder, wrecked a bearing seal, etc. you'll understand that mishaps happen and that as long as the mechanic is willing to cover the cost of said mishap, all is well.

ac29593

The bike is brand new, no rusted bolts here. Even the mechanic said he "never saw this happed before." If the LBS was concerned even a little bit with customer service, they wouldnt have minded the 3 minutes I was talking to the mech. about the derailleur. For 3 minutes I would have left the shop feeling ok. Instead, Im on the bike forum talking about how bad the shop is. I probably wouldnt have been too upset about the bolt, but when the mech. started saying stuff like "you cant really see the difference, no one will look at it, weight doesnt matter, ect" he was pissing me off because he should have said "Im sorry for breaking it, would you like us to get you a new one." He didnt even check the shop for the same bolt, he just grabbed a rusty old crank and started taking it apart. Im new to this area. I was looking for a good shop. Im used to the customer service at my old shop. They spend that extra two or three minutes with the customer and I always left with a good inpression of the place, have recommended them to friends, and have spent plenty of money there. This will NEVER happen at this shop where I live now.

roccobike

Did you buy the bike at the new shop or your old location? Some shops are funny that way, they don't want to spend time with a bike purchased elsewhere. Other shops service all bikes, including X-Mart bikes with care. To my way of thinking, a shop should treat every customer with respect. That guy on an X-mart bike or a yard sale special may become an avid cyclist tomorrow. I know I did. I noticed the shop I prefer to deal with has numerous bikes, that are not the brands they sell, being repaired.
Either way, the mechanic should have recognized you have a new, high end bike and should have offered to 'get you going' with a used bolt and then ordered a new one or tried to work it out to your satisfaction.

ac29593

Def. As long as he showed some consideration, I would have been ok with it. I bought the bike at another shop, but had made a purchase there a few weeks before, so I was now a customer. It doesnt matter where you get your bike. If you spend money at the shop, you are now a customer of that shop. Everyone should be treated the same. I completely agree with you.

john bono

I hope you were looking in a mirror when you said that. You were the one who said the steerer was 1". 25.4mm is an inch. So he gave you exactly what you asked for.