samg07094

Don't get me wrong about the Cannondale bikes. What I have is a simply beautiful Quick 6. Speaking from the friendly confines of the Social Security system, it is a delight.

My local Craig's List web site gifted me with this literally-NIB gray-silver 2009 Quick 6 for the grand sum of $200. This is a lovely ride. But the customer service operation at Cannondale is amazingly inept, if not deceptive. They claim the following:

• -- There is no shop manual for this bike
• -- There is no diagram of the bike showing a parts explosion
• -- There are no directions to the bike, either for assembly or maintenance
• -- There is no way to order parts

IN FACT, THEY SHOULD HAVE SENT ME TO THE COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS.

[ Turns out, down below in the thread, that Shimano offers exactly what was requested. Effectively a shop manual and all you need for 3-D parts identification. Bikepedia.com gets you far enough ahead to use google with site=techdocs.shimano.com to find the crankset and FD/RD details. ]

A general guide to Cannondale bikes is available. Its diagrams are descriptive without getting to details.

For example: my Quick 6 comes with a Shimano M151 three-piece crank. On the right side of mine there is a finger-thick gap between a ring on the crank itself and the BB barrel. "You know" -- WHICH TURNS OUT IN THE DISCUSSION BELOW TO BE DEAD OUT WRONG -- there's got to be a rubber piece that attaches to the crank ring and sits in there to keep out mud and debris.

As matters stand there is no way to order the %$^* thing. (CUZ IT DOESN'T EXIST.)

My local bike shop is situated inside a Sports Authority. They do not service Cannondale.

HELP !!

dabac

That's not cannondale, it's the standard of the industry.

I don't think I've ever seen a shop manual for a specific bike. Particular parts, sure (like shifters, shocks, IGHs) but never a complete bike.
Bikes are so generic that there just isn't much call for them. There are after-market handbooks for the interesting sub assemblies, and usually decent support from the parts manufacturers.

Exploded parts diagrams you can get from the parts manufacturers too, to the extent they're needed.

As for the gap by the bb axle: I've seen ONE crank with a sort of seal like that. All the others have done fine without. Don't think your bike is missing anything.
Judging by the image of a quick six that comes up on a web search, it looks like it would have a cartridge, maybe even a square taper bb. And those bb's are so well sealed already from the start that there's really not much to worry about.

And as bikes are so generic, you don't buy your parts from the bike brand, you buy parts from the parts manufacturers. If your car is a Ford, you wouldn't go looking for Ford tires, would you?

Wilfred Laurier

dabac is right
i have never seen a manual specific to a particular bike
all manufacturers
presumably to comply with some law
include a general manual to instuct people that they must have standover clearance
and to follow laws as they apply to bicycles in your jurisdiction
some might have a little more detail
but i cant remember ever seeing one

as for maintenance and assembly
i have seen many bikes come out of the box with the instruction sheets
for components like shifters and derailleurs
and for suspensioin forks
and most other moving parts

but i have never seen a manufacturer include anything resembling a manual for assembly and maintenance

most of the big bike brands dictate that their bikes are only sold through
authorized dealers
in the fully assembled condition

since you bought your bike in a box
the seller was presumably not part of the authorized dealer network
and as such you didnt get all the services cannondale expects to be included with its bikes

you probably also dont get any sort of warranty
against component or frame failures

and the absence of cannondale in your local sports authority is not because they feel the customer service is lacking
but because they are not an authorized dealer
and wouldnt be able to sell the minimum quantities required to become an authorized dealer

also
modern bottom bracket assemblies have sealed bearings that have
a large gap between the crank arms and the outer face of the bearings
there is no commonly available gasket or whatever to fill that space
it may look weird to you if you are accustomed to older bikes with servicable bearing assemblies
but rest assured this is how it is supposed to look
and will likely outlast the old style of bottom bracket by a wide margin
the downside is that if the bearings do fail
which happens very infrequently
you cant service them
you have to replace the whole bearing assembly as a unit
and throw the old one in the trash

FBinNY 

Bike companies pack manuals inside bikes when shipped from the factory. The quality of the manual and the details within depend on whether the bike is intended to be sold assembled by a dealer, or in a box (KD in OEM lingo) by mail or from big box stores.

Most manufacturers son't sell parts consumer direct, and so don't make any parts lists available. So for any parts or service, you need to find a dealer. ANY dealer can handle most repairs on ANY bikes, though some may refuse to service brands they don't sell, or specific brands they just don't like.

BTW- though Sports Authority may be the only game in town, you are surrounded by a large number of good independent shops, large and small. Also, like most big box, stores Sports Authority is not high on the list of places to go for after sale service, even if you bought there. Their business model is to sell bikes and any common accessories, but leave the local shops to handle repairs or any complicated issues.

jsharr

Cannondale made the frame, they sourced every other component on that bike and most likely offered that frame in many configurations. I have never seen a bike with an exploded parts diagram, or a parts list, maintenance list, etc. Not to say they don't exist, I have just never seen one in 30 years of biking as an adult.

You need to find a good bike shop or bike co op and go from there with your parts needs.

If the parts are by shimano, Shimano has excellent technical docs available online.

fietsbob

Yea all the components have their own owners manuals often tossed at the Shop, or they have dozens of them in a Box.

shelbyfv

OK, now you have learned that you are wrong and Cannondale's customer service is neither inept nor deceptive. Maybe you should consider having this post deleted.

Continuity

I use rubber gasket/washers from a cheap (water) tap repair/maintenance kit that I got - some of the washers are a perfect snug fit around the BB spindle where it meets the bearings.

Wilfred Laurier

i disagree

this thread is the perfect example of a person who is mistaken about something
and the community respectfully and thoroughly explained it to him

the next time someone searches for included topics
they might find this thread and bedcome better informed

shelbyfv

I would agree with you if OP had asked a question. He didn't. His post was a rant and he was wrong.

Wilfred Laurier

and we told him so

jsharr

The OP's last words were "HELP!!" Even though he / she failed to include a question mark, that is still a question and we provided the correct answers.

FBinNY 

Guys, it's bad enough when we argue about some technical point, or whether something is safe, but really, is this worthy of debate?

jsharr

No it isn't, but this is the internet and somebody was wrong.

shelbyfv

gyozadude

I guess my question for Sam, the OP, is what specifically does he want to maintain? If it's the BB or something else, perhaps a quick reference to Sheldon's knowledge base will help him. A quick picture might also help.

In my experience, between the cardboard boxed higher-end bikes at the LBS and the Department store BSOs, the better assembly manuals tend to come with the BSOs. The manufacturers that distribute their bikes through LBSes assumed you had manuals already and used standard parts that the LBS already had tools for. So they'd focus on marketing brochures and safety manuals.

Example of the same issue today is like the manuals for a new Prius V hybrid. The user manual tells you a lot of things how to work the car, the gps, the garage door opener, the key fob, etc. But fix the thing? Like service it? Try to figure out how to get transmission fluid for the CVT out of the car and the maintenance guys at Toyota will say we don't crack that open for a LONG time... like 90k miles. And at the time, no one was stocking the maintenance manuals. But in fact, myself and a buddy, being anal about all this, did figure it out and source tranny fluid, and let out a bunch of metal shavings from a brand new Prius plugin (2012). Same went for engine oil, which they don't change until 10k miles, which had small metal shavings in there. But no manual and you could call it bad customer service.

And sometimes the manual is wrong. If you look at 1999 - 2005 transverse V6 toyota engines, many recommend you get the iridium spark plugs replaced by the deal because those back 3 plugs are a real pain to do. The reference manual from Toyota recommends a whole bunch of stuff get removed first to access those back 3 plugs. And this actually can put the body panels on the front sides of the vehicle at risk because the mechanic will lean and dent the hollow panel. Had that happen on my wife's previous Sienna and it really ticked me off. Manual says 2 hrs labour. I figured out how to remove just one piece and some tubing, lean over the front and rest my clyde weight on the engine block and get all six done in 45 minutes. I swapped out the regular long-life denso iridiums that last 60k with ultra hot/narrow iridium power densos and did it every 30k. Boosted average mpg and horsepower noticeably. So even with manuals, a little experience might actually be superior.

So it is with manuals and customer service.

samg07094

This crankset is Shimano M151. Sealed cartridge implementation. And yes, as described, this modern approach leaves a large gap -- different from the 1980 Panasonic sitting beside it.

I'm having a problem getting the technical doc's page to come up for Shimano. Even to run a search for M151 doc's at all.

If I get frustrated looking at the hole, I'll fabricate a piece to fill it. Maybe a mistake because that would interfere with cooling. You never know how touchy inanimate objects are going to be.

BTW: how's about Zinn's books on repair work ??? 520 pages enough for all this?

Thanks, guys! First rate education for me. I've not had to look at bike technology since 1980.

samg07094

Wow.

Wife got a new Corolla "super white" for her birthday. Hopefully less vulnerable to odd ball maintenance standards.

I looked at the Q6 and thought I was missing something. No logic, just pattern recognition from looking at the Panasonic.

FBinNY 

What hole are you talking about? The M131 is a classic cotterless crank that mounts on a square taper spindle.

If you tell us the specific issue, I'm sure someone can walk you through it. You shouldn't need to fabricate anything.

samg07094

Cannondale CustServ should have sent me to the component manufacturers. Instead of writing that such things didn't exist for the bike. Assuming they're knowledgeable, that's the up front approach.

samg07094

It was largely the whole idea of dirt getting into the right side of the BB that got me going. The thing "looks" to me like something is missing.

Meanwhile, there's two disks outside the BB on the square shaft on the left side. Possibly, looking again, one of them belongs on the right side. I will need to get that Shimano tech doc's page to work for me. (Learn Japanese in my spare time....)

Burton

Since new Cannondale bike are only supposed to be sold by authorized retailers - the customer service department IS SUPPOSED TO BE THOSE SAME AUTHORIZED DEALERS.

OK - so you bought a NIB bike on Craigslist. Neither Craigslist nor the Internet are 'authorized dealers' so you should assume it was a private sale and that it possibly 'fell off a truck' during a shipment delivery. And you seem to think Cannondale owes you sonething. Let me spell that out very clearly for you: Cannondale does not authorize the sale of unassembled bikes in boxes to consumers. What you have is probably stolen merchandise. The reality is neither Cannondale nor their dealers owes you the time of day. Take your issues up with the seller.

Cannondale offers some of the best customer support available in the bicycle industry. Thats through their authorized dealers. That works the same way for cars, fridges and iPhones. Since you're old enough to read an advertisement - you should be clued in to a few basic realities.

Homebrew01

I used to make seals out of soft foam to help protect my old loose ball bb. I would cut ou a doughnut shape, slide over the axle between the crank & bb, then reinstall the crank. Probably not needed with modern bb, especially for non mountain bikes exposed to lots of mud.

Could you post a picture of the left side ? Or drop in to a bike shop for a firsthand opinion.

I agree with the replies explaining that a specific manual is not supplied and not needed.

samg07094

Claiming that the bike was stolen is silly. The seller bought the bike, moved cross-country working for Microsoft, put the bike in its Cannondale box into storage, then ended up reselling it to me. I dearly love the technology and how it rides.

Cannondale operates a full blown internet CustServ operation. That being said, the advice they gave earns a flat "F."

The guys here -- dabac, WL, FBinNY immediately -- hit the nail on the head. Score the BFers an "A."

That CustServ operation should give out the milk-and-honey BFer info and forward Cannondale customers to the component manufacturers. This is an easy task: go to the Quick 6 page on the Cannondale web site and the component manufacturers are listed. That is for a 2013 bike, O.K., so maybe it wouldn't hurt to go look at the 2009. (For me that requires getting up and walking all of 50 feet.)

Cdale gave misleading advice. If a rider can't buy parts and do his own repairs, then from their POV that tends to generate revenue for somebody in the Cdale business system. If Cdale is going to do a business web site, they should earn at least a "B."

striknein

If anything, their fault was in making the assumption that you knew more about bikes than you actually do. I suspect there's a lot from your conversation with them that you may have glossed over.