sathor

I took it in because there was a circle of thin stuff coming out of the BB, and it made a funky sound every time I pedalled, and the crank arms had a fair bit of play. ( I had replaced the pedals after a crash, they were cage style, and got bent up rather badly) I took the opportunity to have brifters installed, and they are nice, even if they were cheap ones, and it is much better, except... My largest front gear still makes a click sound every rotation, on the teeth that seem to look more 'silver' than the others (which are black). It only happens on that gear as well, but it IS better than before. Still, I think the chain ring will need replaced end of the season, so....

two questions:

1. How can you tell exactly what chainring or whatever it is you will need without going to the LBS, and what special tools are needed if any?

2. Seriously, WTH do bike shops like to leave the front brake so dang loose? Almost crashed (without my helmet since I walked up to check on progress of the bike, no phone call because he wrote my phone number down wrong) because the front brake didn't really do much of anything. Fixed it first thing when I got home.

The LBS did seem a little irratated that I wanted my old parts back (hey, the MTB I don't like because I bought it in a pinch and is too big for me uses similar shifters) but I can't be sure just looking at the parts of the BB if it really was bad or not, one bearing had come out of the holder thing though, and some parts of the (cup?) didn't have a bunch of grease and look rather brass coloured in spots.

Does anyone see any red flags in the story, something doesn't seem quite right (perhaps it was that it was about 9 bucks over the estimate, but no real reason for the difference was given)

Burton

The only thing I see out of place here is that you should be taking up any issues with your LBS rather than putting things up for a vote on a public forum.

As a professional mechanic I`ll state some facts that are likely true everywhere:
If you want ALL parts returned - state that when you bring in the bike and you`ll get back every crooked washer and every crushed bearing - no problem. Its normal to save all good parts and even some questionable parts for return to the customer. Parts that are obviously junk and damaged to the point of being unfit for reuse are put in a recycle bin for disposal. If you decide AFTER the work is completed that you want those scrap parts - then you`re forcing someone to dig through a recycle bin looking for them and I`d be a little irritated too.

Most shops will make an effort to repair a part if it`ll save you money and still be servicable afterwards. If you want everything to be absolutely perfect then make that clear up front and you`ll get all new parts and a heftier bill. Chainrings are a pain to get perfectly straight once warped.

sathor

I'm not trying to make it sound like he did anything bad in this regard. He asked me at the end if I wanted the old parts, and aside from it giving me a spare set of good brake levers and twist brakes (remember, I upgraded those by choice, they were already in a box. they returned my original pedals on a different bike last year without me asking) I posted my observations on the way the BB looked to see if that would have looked like it was bad or not. If I had the tools and the time, I would have attempted to do that myself, but I wonder if having it done was the right decision, second guessing myself really.

My issue with the noise as it stands is it doesn't look bad, I can't quite figure out if that is the issue or not. We have two LBS in town (and only 20k people) and one missed an obviously warped chainring when I asked about it on a different bike, but the one I got the BB done changed that chainring (on the other bike) and I didn't secify what I wanted for it, so it came back with a smaller gear, and then it didn't feel like the gears shifted right, when I had new tires put on the next spring, I asked to have them double check, since it didn't seem right after he changed the gear, and that ended up costing me far far more than I think it should have (it crossed the $100 mark for tires, cage pedals (those were 20 bucks) and them double checking their work on the gear, and it still seems off.)

at this point, my mtn bike also acts like the hybrid, and I wonder if the old BB really was bad, or if it just needed lubed, and if that was the case, then if I could use that BB for the other bike.

though voting about the front brake... I might have to see if i can find a old poll about that, I know the other lbs does it too, but not to the same extent. It didn't take long to adjust it myself.

(though I don't want to wonder about why having brifters installed and adjusted cost less than them just making sure the derailleurs were actually set right)

sathor

I want to expand on that a little more. I didn't take the bike there and tell him to make it quite, nor did I ask for an overhaul. I had talked with him over the phone and again when I took it in, and we decided to replace the BB. It is, without doubt, a better BB to begin with. I also had brifters installed. The only thing I have a right to be annoyed with that is his doing, is that he didn't do anything with the computer wire, which had been attached to the cable housing before, and was left hanging free, and very close to the front tire. I should have had the entire thing checked out after I crashed 2 weeks back, especially since it seemed to damage the pedals and BB. I am annoyed with myself about the gear, even if I can't figure out wth is wrong with it. I have as much right to be annoyed as if I took a car to get new brakes done and got it back just to realize I needed the headlights changed, it's my own fault.

I am planning on taking the old BB to the other LBS, and seeing if he can show me what, if anything, was wrong on the old one, so I know. It is better to learn for next time than to not know.

Burton

OK So here`s my input for what its worth. If the BB is a sealed unit there`s nothing anyone can show you and its impossible to lube. A BB with loose balls and an open axle would be a different story.

Nothing should have been left hanging. That was an oversight that should have been corrected. I can understand them charging to secure the speedo wire - I can`t understand them releasing the bike with wires hanging.

The large chainring is a component that will affect gearing and possibly have issues with the front derailleur. It should have been replaced with one of the same size. If it wasn`t in the store it should have been ordered.

sathor

face palm, the creaking was the friggin pedal I just replaced. One shot of WD40 later and..... To be fair, the bushings were coming out, and I now have a sealed BB instead of the factory default one, and the crank arms were hanging out funny, so still an upgrade. Still need to adjust the brakes a bit more, and minor stuff. <sigh>