Bicycle Mechanics - Loose Crank and Performance Bike

So I was on my way home from work tonight and all of a sudden, it feels like my left pedal is about to fall off. I jump off the bike, and it can't be the pedal about to fall off, of course it's the crank :eek:

Call the wife, get a ride to a shop and it's there now, waiting to see if I have to buy a new crank or not. There goes my upgrade to clipless... :mad:

The bike is a K2 Mach 2.0 and was purchased in October 05 at the Performance Bike in Tustin. I called them and they were shocked, said "you'd better call corporate Monday and see if they can do anything for you. Those are assembled and torqued at the factory." Is that a true statement? Anyone have any experiences with Performance on stuff like this? The bike has 150 miles on it at the most...

Thanks,

Jim

So I was on my way home from work tonight and all of a sudden, it feels like my left pedal is about to fall off. I jump off the bike, and it can't be the pedal about to fall off, of course it's the crank :eek:

Call the wife, get a ride to a shop and it's there now, waiting to see if I have to buy a new crank or not. There goes my upgrade to clipless... :mad:

The bike is a K2 Mach 2.0 and was purchased in October 05 at the Performance Bike in Tustin. I called them and they were shocked, said "you'd better call corporate Monday and see if they can do anything for you. Those are assembled and torqued at the factory." Is that a true statement? Anyone have any experiences with Performance on stuff like this? The bike has 150 miles on it at the most...

Thanks,

Jim

I am a tech at another performance shop. True that cranks are attached from the factory, though, I was trained to check over all bolts on new builds, I try to check every bolt on a new build before I put it out on the floor, if I'm in a huge hurry I admit I'll skip a few, but I always make the effort to make sure crank bolts are tight, often they aren't. I think any good shop should be checking that.

Wow, if you're busy you skip a couple of checks? What else do you skip? Cool to know so I can recommend something besides performance! Woohoo!

I have that same bike and had to retorque the crank on the drive side.

Performance has a very good reputation for supporting the products they sell so I expect they will make it right for you. Still, you should learn how to check these things for yourself too.

Thanks for the info, I have the same bike and have been hearing vartious creakings and groanings from the drivetrain...I have something new to check up on.

Wow, if you're busy you skip a couple of checks? What else do you skip? Cool to know so I can recommend something besides performance! Woohoo!

Yes, if it's time for me to get home I don't see checking over things like water bottle cage bolts to be a dire necessity:rolleyes:

Yes, if it's time for me to get home I don't see checking over things like water bottle cage bolts to be a dire necessity:rolleyes:

Sure, since cages arent installed at the factory, checking bolts holding nothing in place would not be a "dire necessity". What else would you consider "not dire"? Its about attention to detail and if yer more concerned with getting off work than making a point to complete a build or come back to finish, then...

As to OP, I would think that they should make good for a bike that wasnt 200 miles old. Corporate? Makes me think three times before recommending Performance for anything but cheap closeouts.

Performance pays builders by the bike. In my limited experience, some builders aren't happy if they don't get at least two, but preferably three builds in an hour. Few, like myself, do the job because they dig bikes. I have taken great pride in the fact that checking for correct air pressure is about all that had to be done for a final on any bike I built, but I've also been paid to final bikes built by the guy that was there before me and had been building for several area shops for several years. Some shops may be paying mechanics to build bikes, which isn't very efficient use of a mechanic, so things may not get done as well because the mechanic is pressured to get repairs done, and he figures anything missed will get caught on the final.

On the other hand, the K2 bikes were a short run thing for the company on this last batch, like the recent batch of GTs. We got a great deal on a large quantity, and the bikes were on closeout pricing as soon as they came in. They weren't the greatest quality bikes, and the builders didn't have the experience with them. There are certain things you look for on certain bikes as you gain experience with them. For instance, while most factory builds are fine on the cranks, you learn to check the Tru-Vativ cranks on Ironhorse bikes because apparently, for some reason, the factory guys aren't torquing them to spec. You end up having to do a lot of warrentee replacement on them.

The shop should replace it if you need a crank. They should be able to call K2 and have a crank arm (or more likely a full crankset) shipped to them and it be taken care of. If the Operations Manager has a clue, it'll be done without any problem.

Sure, since cages arent installed at the factory, checking bolts holding nothing in place would not be a "dire necessity". What else would you consider "not dire"? Its about attention to detail and if yer more concerned with getting off work than making a point to complete a build or come back to finish, then...
Exactly what I was saying, the only things that I'll skip on like 1 out of maybe 20 or 30 builds are things that do not hold things in place, such as water bottle cage bolts. And sometimes I won't check the dish on wheels with new builds, all of my builds cover every bolt that attaches derailleurs, brakes, handlebars, stems, wheels, etc..., in the town I live in I would say that my builds are on par or better than 90% of shops. It seems like you all want to bash me for working for a corporation, but it puts food on my table and at least my performance puts out quality work and backs it's work and products. Perhaps the shop in question is not as focused on quality and customer support as the one that I work for, and that is too bad. By the way, in our district builders get paid hourly wages, no money from builds, we do do a thorough job.

So I was on my way home from work tonight and all of a sudden, it feels like my left pedal is about to fall off. I jump off the bike, and it can't be the pedal about to fall off, of course it's the crank :eek:

The bike is a K2 Mach 2.0 and was purchased in October 05 at the Performance Bike in Tustin. I called them and they were shocked, said "you'd better call corporate Monday and see if they can do anything for you. Those are assembled and torqued at the factory." Is that a true statement? Anyone have any experiences with Performance on stuff like this? The bike has 150 miles on it at the most...

That's an all-too-frequent problem.

It's the shop's fault. Fluffing it off by saying the cranks are "torqued at the factory" is BS.

When I owned my own shop I once had the left crankarm fall off during a customer test ride. I found the employee who had assembled the bike, handed him my torque wrench, and made him check every single bike on the showroom floor. Never happened again in my shop.

It's easy to tell if retail shops are checking crank arm torque adequately. Look to see what tools they have available. The torque spec for crankarms is 30 ft/lbs. That's equal to a 30 lb weight hanging off of a foot long wrench. If the best tool they have available for checking crankarms is a 6 in long allen wrench, they simply aren't doing it.