New Bike, Reputable LBS, So what is the Problem?

Glm wrote in message news:opscllq9peipeop9@artemis...
On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 19:25:43 GMT, Glm wrote:

So, my question is: will my LBS refuse to touch the bike if I have
another shop look at this particular problem? And, if not, does anyone
know a decent LBS in Manhattan who could sort this out in a few hours.

Any thoughts on how to handle what I assume is a common challenge for
people who buy new bikes would be appreciated. Thank you.

Glm

Thank you for all the responses to date. A brief update: I found that the
problem persisted, but it seemed only whilst I was exerting little effort
upon the pedals.

Went back to the LBS. Another gentleman said he'd have a mechanic open up
the bottom bracket on the left-hand side. I observed that it might make
sense to play around with the pedals first - Look 396 - and see whether
that helped.

Mechanic vanished with the bike for a few minutes. Returned observing
that he had "tightened things up".

Then, the chap who'd refused to help the previous day sauntered over,
"Still not right, eh?"

Glm: "Nope. As I mentioned yesterday. But, your mechanic just tightened
up the epdals and crank, so I'll take it around the block and see. As I
observed when we last spoke, I doubt it's anything serious. Just want to
be sure."

Chap [sporting inane prepubescent grin]: "Wow, it's weird. You know, I
had some weird squeaking noise on my bike; and it just vanished as if by
magic! I just couldn't believe it?!"

Glm: "How interesting [sic]?!"

Chap: "Mind if I take it out and see how it's running?"

Glm: "Be my guest. I seem to recall suggesting that you do that
yesterday!"

[Exit. Five minutes later.]

Chap: "Seems ok to me."

Glm: "Glad to hear it. I'll take it a few times around the Park [Central,
that is] and let you know!'

Seems that much, if not all, of the 'play' that seemed to be in the crank
has been addressed. I never thought that it was a huge problem. Just
wanted someone to take 60 seconds to look at it, which has now been done.
No idea why it was so hard in the first place. Again, thanks to all in
the NG for your help.

Hi, Glad you've got this problem solved. I assume you have some sort
of warrantee with a $2500 Bike, correct? If should any more problems
arise during your warrantee perios, I would consider taking to the
other shop under warantee period, even if it's all the way across
town. In the meantime, I'd find yourself another shop to deal with,
and spend your money at.

I'm sure someone here can recommend a good shop in your area. Mark

Hi, Glad you've got this problem solved. I assume you have some sort
of warrantee with a $2500 Bike, correct? If should any more problems
arise during your warrantee perios, I would consider taking to the
other shop under warantee period, even if it's all the way across
town. In the meantime, I'd find yourself another shop to deal with,
and spend your money at.

Manufacturer's warranties cover defects, not assembly issues. A different
shop won't be reimbursed by the manufacturer for taking care of poor
assembly by the shop that sold the product. This illustrates a point that
many don't understand... the quality of the shop that assembles & services
(30-day check etc) your bike is far more important than relatively small
differences in price.

It's often a good idea to shop for a good place to buy a bike, before
shopping for a particular brand or model.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Mark" wrote in message
m...
Glm wrote in message
news:opscllq9peipeop9@artemis...
On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 19:25:43 GMT, Glm wrote:

So, my question is: will my LBS refuse to touch the bike if I have
another shop look at this particular problem? And, if not, does
anyone
know a decent LBS in Manhattan who could sort this out in a few hours.

Any thoughts on how to handle what I assume is a common challenge for
people who buy new bikes would be appreciated. Thank you.

Glm

Thank you for all the responses to date. A brief update: I found that
the
problem persisted, but it seemed only whilst I was exerting little
effort
upon the pedals.

Went back to the LBS. Another gentleman said he'd have a mechanic open
up
the bottom bracket on the left-hand side. I observed that it might make
sense to play around with the pedals first - Look 396 - and see whether
that helped.

Mechanic vanished with the bike for a few minutes. Returned observing
that he had "tightened things up".

Then, the chap who'd refused to help the previous day sauntered over,
"Still not right, eh?"

Glm: "Nope. As I mentioned yesterday. But, your mechanic just
tightened
up the epdals and crank, so I'll take it around the block and see. As I
observed when we last spoke, I doubt it's anything serious. Just want
to
be sure."

Chap [sporting inane prepubescent grin]: "Wow, it's weird. You know, I
had some weird squeaking noise on my bike; and it just vanished as if by
magic! I just couldn't believe it?!"

Glm: "How interesting [sic]?!"

Chap: "Mind if I take it out and see how it's running?"

Glm: "Be my guest. I seem to recall suggesting that you do that
yesterday!"

[Exit. Five minutes later.]

Chap: "Seems ok to me."

Glm: "Glad to hear it. I'll take it a few times around the Park
[Central,
that is] and let you know!'

Seems that much, if not all, of the 'play' that seemed to be in the
crank
has been addressed. I never thought that it was a huge problem. Just
wanted someone to take 60 seconds to look at it, which has now been
done.
No idea why it was so hard in the first place. Again, thanks to all in
the NG for your help.

Hi, Glad you've got this problem solved. I assume you have some sort
of warrantee with a $2500 Bike, correct? If should any more problems
arise during your warrantee perios, I would consider taking to the
other shop under warantee period, even if it's all the way across
town. In the meantime, I'd find yourself another shop to deal with,
and spend your money at.

I'm sure someone here can recommend a good shop in your area. Mark

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 07:04:24 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Hi, Glad you've got this problem solved. I assume you have some sort
of warrantee with a $2500 Bike, correct? If should any more problems
arise during your warrantee perios, I would consider taking to the
other shop under warantee period, even if it's all the way across
town. In the meantime, I'd find yourself another shop to deal with,
and spend your money at.

Manufacturer's warranties cover defects, not assembly issues. A different
shop won't be reimbursed by the manufacturer for taking care of poor
assembly by the shop that sold the product. This illustrates a point that
many don't understand... the quality of the shop that assembles & services
(30-day check etc) your bike is far more important than relatively small
differences in price.

It's often a good idea to shop for a good place to buy a bike, before
shopping for a particular brand or model.

Crud. There aren't that many bike shops near me. Finding one
with a clueful wheel (wo)man looks challenging. The shop where I
bought the bike didn't properly tension or stress relieve my wheels
prior to delivery, and the shop near home trued my rear wheel for me
(after I had to tighten a spoke during a ride), but again didn't make
sure enough tension was in the wheel, and I had to stop to tighten
spokes THREE TIMES during yesterday's ride (and the wheel is
remarkably straight, for all of that, after my emergency spoke wrench
work).

It's looking like I'll have to buy tools and rebuild the wheel
myself (as I search for a place that has Jobst's book in stock--it's
apparently out of print).

--
Chris BeHanna
Software Engineer (Remove "allspammersmustdie" before responding.)

I was raised by a pack of wild corn dogs.

Crud. There aren't that many bike shops near me. Finding one
with a clueful wheel (wo)man looks challenging. The shop where I
bought the bike didn't properly tension or stress relieve my wheels
prior to delivery, and the shop near home trued my rear wheel for me
(after I had to tighten a spoke during a ride), but again didn't make
sure enough tension was in the wheel, and I had to stop to tighten
spokes THREE TIMES during yesterday's ride (and the wheel is
remarkably straight, for all of that, after my emergency spoke wrench
work).

How old (and how much mileage) is the wheel? And what type of bike is it
from? In the case of a stock wheel, if it's still within the manufacturer's
warranty, it may very well be covered. Wheels aren't considered to be an
item that a shop properly (or improperly) "assembles" and thus would be
taken care of by the manufacturer in a worst-possible case.

It's looking like I'll have to buy tools and rebuild the wheel
myself (as I search for a place that has Jobst's book in stock--it's
apparently out of print).

Is Jobst's book really out of print? I know we received some copies not
that long ago; I think some of the distributors still have some in stock.
Even if your wheels are fine, it's always a good idea to learn just how your
bike works and what to do if something goes wrong. One word of advice
though- the first wheel you work on shouldn't be on your nice bike. Things
don't always go quite the way they're supposed to the first time you try
something, plus you'll approach it too tentatively if you're concerned about
damaging an expensive piece of equipment. Practice first on some old junker
wheel, and you'll find it super-easy to deal with your nicer ones.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Chris BeHanna" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.22.25.29.882213@allspammersmus tdie.behanna.org...
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 07:04:24 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Hi, Glad you've got this problem solved. I assume you have some sort
of warrantee with a $2500 Bike, correct? If should any more problems
arise during your warrantee perios, I would consider taking to the
other shop under warantee period, even if it's all the way across
town. In the meantime, I'd find yourself another shop to deal with,
and spend your money at.

Manufacturer's warranties cover defects, not assembly issues. A
different
shop won't be reimbursed by the manufacturer for taking care of poor
assembly by the shop that sold the product. This illustrates a point
that
many don't understand... the quality of the shop that assembles &
services
(30-day check etc) your bike is far more important than relatively small
differences in price.

It's often a good idea to shop for a good place to buy a bike, before
shopping for a particular brand or model.

Crud. There aren't that many bike shops near me. Finding one
with a clueful wheel (wo)man looks challenging. The shop where I
bought the bike didn't properly tension or stress relieve my wheels
prior to delivery, and the shop near home trued my rear wheel for me
(after I had to tighten a spoke during a ride), but again didn't make
sure enough tension was in the wheel, and I had to stop to tighten
spokes THREE TIMES during yesterday's ride (and the wheel is
remarkably straight, for all of that, after my emergency spoke wrench
work).

It's looking like I'll have to buy tools and rebuild the wheel
myself (as I search for a place that has Jobst's book in stock--it's
apparently out of print).

--
Chris BeHanna
Software Engineer (Remove "allspammersmustdie" before
responding.)

I was raised by a pack of wild corn dogs.

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
Is Jobst's book really out of print? I know we received some copies not

Amazon has been listing it as OOP for as long as I remember. Maybe it's
still available elsewhere? (FWIW, I just checked and couldn't find it
on B&N either.)


--
Frederic Briere *

= IS NO MO http://www.abacomsucks.com =

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 07:49:48 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Crud. There aren't that many bike shops near me. Finding one
with a clueful wheel (wo)man looks challenging. The shop where I
bought the bike didn't properly tension or stress relieve my wheels
prior to delivery, and the shop near home trued my rear wheel for me
(after I had to tighten a spoke during a ride), but again didn't make
sure enough tension was in the wheel, and I had to stop to tighten
spokes THREE TIMES during yesterday's ride (and the wheel is
remarkably straight, for all of that, after my emergency spoke wrench
work).

How old (and how much mileage) is the wheel?

Three months, about 800 miles.

And what type of bike is it from?

It's an Alex ALX330 from a 2003 Specialized Allez Elite 27.

In the case of a stock wheel, if it's still within the manufacturer's
warranty, it may very well be covered. Wheels aren't considered to be an
item that a shop properly (or improperly) "assembles" and thus would be
taken care of by the manufacturer in a worst-possible case.

Thus I'd get a machine-built wheel with the exact same problem.
:-(

It's looking like I'll have to buy tools and rebuild the wheel
myself (as I search for a place that has Jobst's book in stock--it's
apparently out of print).

[...practice on a cheap wheel first...]

Fortunately, my 20-odd-year-old Huffy 626 is hanging from the
rafters, with a pair of such wheels at my disposal.

--
Chris BeHanna
Software Engineer (Remove "allspammersmustdie" before responding.)

I was raised by a pack of wild corn dogs.

On 16 Aug 2004 08:06:08 -0500, Frederic Briere
wrote:

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
Is Jobst's book really out of print? I know we received some copies not

Amazon has been listing it as OOP for as long as I remember. Maybe it's
still available elsewhere? (FWIW, I just checked and couldn't find it
on B&N either.)

I picked one up last summer (and used it to build a wheel this
winter). I think it was at a Performance brick-and-mortar; they don't
seem to have it on their web site. If you can't get a copy from Mike,
you might try Sheldon Brown's web site at
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html -- much less theory, but
still a good way to build a wheel.

Pat

Email address works as is.