judyplease

Bike sound when taken to LBS for tune-up and new tires.
When bike picked up pedal broken: outer pedal assembly disconnected from spindle/axle. Axle still attached to crank. Spindle/axle stripped so unable to repair/reattach. Shop said just a fluke that it fell off while in their care.

Pedals: Shimano Ultegra (clipless) not loose, wiggly or such when ridden day prior to taking to shop. I inspected bike carefully before taking to shop. Only things I found were dry rubber on brakes, chain slipping a bit, and chain in need of some lube. Since knew wanted new tires and wanted to check out new lbs, decided to take in for spring tune-up. Shop maint. guy agreed needed new tires and brake rubber. I told them to call if anything else found needing attention.

instead got call 3 days later saying, essentially, bike ready to pick up but btw, your pedal fell off. I went to shop, asked questions as to how/why pedal would just fall off, received smug answer that basically just a fluke.

If pedal simply failed and it was only a coincidence it failed while they had it - no problem, I'll go research the bazillion options, buy and install (easy hex). But if they possibly damaged pedal when they took it off, or more likely when they put it back on, I expect them to be held accountable. (They did acknowledge servicing pedal prior to test riding and pedal falling off during test ride.

Should I pursue further? Or is it not unusual for pedal to suddenly fail immediately following service of same, with no signs of problem prior to service.

cb400bill

Take your bike the the shop that you patronized for decades and have them check it out. Go on from there.

Soody

tldr

judyplease

Wow. Fast readers.

judyplease

What is "tldr"? Too long, don't read? If so, my sincere apologies. I was trying to be friendly.

Antieverything

I'm not sure even complaining to a manager would help. Most bike shop guys tend to stick together. I would take it to your regular shop and see what they say the problem is/was. It maybe just as simple as rebuilding the pedal, unless it was stripped via wear and tear or poor shop work. Once you have the diagnosis you may have a case but even then it's a your word vs theirs thing and they will always fall back on "unforeseen or undisclosed existing wear/damage". At worst case take it as a learning experience. I tend to do all my repairs myself as I have learned through the years that 90% of bikes shop guys just learned what they know on the job or online. No different from the rest of us. Unless they went to Park Tool or such and learned directly from industry leaders or have decades of reputable experience then they are just wrench monkeys. Don't even get me started on the sale floor shmucks. Good luck!

eschlwc

i had a bad bike shop experience that haunted me, so i bought $100 in tools and started reading sheldon brown and c&v.

judyplease

It is stripped which is why it's only pushed partways into assembly. I am trying to learn as much as I can and hope to do basic maintenance and repairs soon. I will definitely make the drive to my old shop in the meantime. I really appreciate the response. Thanks!

judyplease

Sheldon Brown (RIP) site rocks! It's the first place I checked in my search for pedal issue. Thanks for response.

Prowler 

Frankly the shop Tech's answers sound like lies. Its very hard to lie consistently - same story every lie. Easy for the truth to be the same each time. It does not sound like you were unreasonable - I would have asked the same questions, maybe more. Your version of the Tech's responses sound like a politician caught with his hand in campaign chest.

I would go talk to the shop owner, not supervisor, not manager - owner. You may get nowhere but you'll find out if they are in business for the long haul. One reason shop rates are high is that they assume liability every time they touch a bike. Most times everything is fine but sometimes life tips against them and they should pay up. Poor workmanship, negligence or a fluke - its their turn to pay. They get paid back long term in customer satisfaction. Sometimes I wonder if modern business owners really have no clue about the internet, forums, Angie's List, etc. One failed customer experience can be multiplied, rapidly. Harry Selfridge was right and look how well he done.

I also am amazed at the morons out there who still think that women are stupid and cannot understand mechanical things, do not need competent answers to reasonable questions. 100 years out of step. My wife still gets this at times - until they see her handle a 5th wheel horse trailer or operate her diesel JD with the front loader. (you should see my daughter operate that tractor - like a Cirque de Soleil flying squad). Good luck and get started with your own tools.

embankmentlb

I don't have much info to go on dispite the long description. Sometimes thing just fail. It sounds like you haven't ridden the bike for awhile. I would just man up and buy some pedals.

auchencrow

@Antieverything touched on the cruel reality of this situation: -Unless you can prove that the old pedal was sound (not stripped/damaged/worn from use) - "it is their word against yours", and the credit card company will likely side with the shop. - After all, you agreed to purchase a replacement.

I might take the original pedal back to the old shop near the old 'hood for an assessment: If the pedal is still sound, and they're willing to put it in writing, then you have a case, given that it is incumbent on a LBS to insure that nothing is defectively-fastened in the course of a tune-up.

In any case, I would be inclined to make that small investment in tools and begin doing your own maintenance, unless of course you have no interest in DIY, and it is practicable to continue to patronize the now more distant shop which you know and trust.

PS - If you do end up writing to the credit card company to make your case - keep it short!

embankmentlb

All that being said, my LBS is kind of lazy also. They are more interested in selling a new bike than being challenged by old ones. I understand that because there business is about $$$.
Old bikes are my hobby / interest so the LBS and I tend to avoid one another.

busdriver1959

I've had a pedal come off the spindle while riding. It was a Campy clipless pedal which is constructed about the same as all the other clipless pedals in the house. A plastic retainer screws into the pedal body from the crank side. This retainer holds everything in place. Is that the same as yours? It unscrewed while riding and the pedal slid off the spindle, much to my surprise. I put it back together and finger tightened it until I got home. It wasn't ruined though and I'm still riding it years later.
Having said that, it's concerning that the shop changed their story. Also, if the retainer backed out, only the last couple of threads might be damaged. If all the threads are stripped, the shop must have been too heavy handed with it.
I wouldn't go back there. Look on E Bay or other sites for good used pedals. You should be able to find the at a good price. I've also found nice pedals with cosmetic problems at the co-op for $10.

poprad

The story sounds odd; if that happened in our shop I'd show the customer the damaged pedal and explain/show how the retaining nut had stripped, or the axle end had cracked, or whatever caused the failure. I doubt he's doing this on purpose to sell you a pedal set, wrenches don't make commission on parts sold, and even if he's the owner (doubt that) he's not going to make much on replacement pedals.

Do you have the broken pedal and can you post a pic of the part of it that failed? Did the pedal axle stay in the crankarm? From your description it sounds like the retaining nut backed itself off, but depending on the pedal type that may/may not be something that can be fixed. An option is to hit a local bike co-op. Look for the grumpy guy with a beard and suspenders. Show him the pedal and he'll probably have just the part you need in his recycle bins.

Best of luck with all your med issues, most of us have been there in one form or another. I still get shoulder pain from a bike v. pickup incident 15 years ago.

The Golden Boy 

"Too Long, Didn't Read"

It is too long and just not split up enough for me. And there didn't seem to be a point.

Not that I can claim to be internet expert- but too much inconsequential background is too much.

Of course, a good story to me can be summed up as "Fire. Bad."

Best wishes in getting your problem sorted.

pastorbobnlnh 

Is this the pedal in question as pictured on Velo Base?

If so, it is not all that different from the SPD (MTB) road pedals (how the spindle works and not the clips) I ride on most of my bikes. Shimano sells tools for servicing these pedals. So something is up if the body separated from the spindle. Posting pictures of the separated pieces might help us determine where to place the blame:
1. Mechanic
2. Shimano
3. Wear and tear

After all, the pedal is from the 1990s so can be about 20+/- years old. If it had a small flaw when it was made and subsequently never serviced, a failure 20 years out is not bad. I've searched for a schematic to compare to your exposed pedal, but no luck.

likebike23

It isn't crazy to have a pedal of unknown age and miles fail. It would be really hard to prove the shop was at fault in my opinion. I say just buy new pedals and be happy that they didn't fail while you were hammering on a ride. Maybe you could install them yourself, it would be a good first foray into bicycle maintenance for sure.
As for your bike, a Tommasini that is heavy and not cool? Don't listen to anybody who tells you that your bike is worthless because it isn't some carbon whatever. I'm sure your bike is plenty light and cool and you should ride it with pride.

Henry III

Feels like we're old college buddies after reading your story. Too much unneeded info to the problem. Pedal could of been loose the last time you road it and damaged the threads and then finally let loose when they were tuning it and checking over everything. It's one of those things you come across while working in a shop on older bikes. You start to get into something that was apparently always working coming from someone who doesn't know much about working on bikes in the first place. Could of been something you've always been accustomed to but wasn't aware it wasn't right and basically road it until it failed or just before when someone else with probably more oomph in their pedal push then you and is that proverbial straw on the camel's back.

If I went through a bike and rode it and something didn't seem right and couldn't quite place it I would have a fellow mechanic ride and see if they could pinpoint the issue. So having a second person check it out isn't abnormal as two eyes are better then one.

Though I've been at a few shops where the mechanic are quite questionable. I'll tell a customer right away if I'm not comfortable or knowledgeable about something...i.e. full suspension mountain bikes or any type of suspension in general instead of pulling something out of my arse to appear like I know what I'm talking about.

So things happen and things fail and better on a work stand then out on a ride. Sorry if I seem to be siding with the shop but pedals are one of those things that work themselves loose. Not catching it lead to destruction of the crank most times as the pedals spindle is normally steel compared to the softer aluminum of most crank arms but weirder things have happened.

CroMo Mike 

As aggravating as it might be, I think I'd treat myself to a new pair of pedals and install them myself, then try to forget the whole thing. Option "B" is to cruise ebay for an orphan pedal. Seems like a lot of Shimano stuff was never designed to be fixed, so small parts aren't available.

Glad to hear you are riding your "baby" again.

jimc101

30 years old pedals, doubt you will be able to get spares for any other brand that old, even Campagnolo don't support parts from the early 90's now. Shimano is generally good for 3 generations/10 years and if you ride a bike a lot, you will have probably worn the parts out in that time, for small parts, check the SI (Tech Docs) and you can generally get parts for most of their product some down to pretty small assemblies..

For the OP's issue, would just find a new LBS, and never go back to this one, would try local cycling clubs to find one you like, seems anywhere in the world you need to have trust in who works on your bike, or do it yourself.

Pars 

If indeed the pedals referenced by pastorbobninh are the ones, they appear to be like Look pedals (might even be Look). The spindle for these is retained by the black part at the crank side of the body, and at least on the pair of Looks I attempted to service (PP256), is plastic and could have stripped. The shop's story could be plausible on this type of pedal (not that I need much reason to diss an LBS; I don't )



I never got any response from Look on mine; these use needle bearings and the ones in the bad pedal had kind of exploded and needed replacement.

You have a very nice bike, so you needn't feel that is inadequate around the 14lb plastic crowd. You could (if you wanted to) put modern components/drivetrain on it, but this could get real expensive real fast, particularly with an LBS doing the work. I'm glad you are back out on the bike!

judyplease

Thanks. I edited post.

judyplease

Yep, they look like those ; and all metal. I've only been taking short rides, 25 to 50 miles, but hope to be back to 100 soon. Investing in new gear overwhelming as sooooooo many options! And I like her. She gets me up decent hills and feels solid flying down them. I'm no alpha male speed demon so if need a loss in weight, it should come off me vs the bike (Just ordered new pedals from Nashbar which I'll install so back on road in a few days. Shop lost potentially good customer but not pursuing matter.)

judyplease

Pedals are old but I don't think age properly reflects mileage. I salvaged them from ancient crappy bike that I found and purchased at Goodwill (just for the pedals). Not sure why horrible bike had "like new " great pedals, but I knew enough to buy the bike for $20 as the pedals were bright and shiny with no visible wear and brand/model clear. I took the whole icky bike to my good mechanic to see if he wanted any components and he agreed that bike sucked; pedals rocked. He (mechanic) installed the pedals for me (he insisted; I did not ask.) and he also thought them to be little used. The salvage bike I donated back to goodwill with cheap pedals from my kids' ten speed. I only put maybe 5000 miles on the pedal at issue (also need new computer). As pedals were a steal, the monetary value obviously isn't important so much as the principle. I looked to those more knowledgable here since had no idea why a pedal would just fall off since shop wouldn't give an acceptable answer (just saying it failed due to ANY reason would have been acceptable). But simply repeating that it was a "fluke"... Unless that truly is all there is to say when a pedal is stripped/falls off axle immediately after being serviced in which case I owe shop apology for my furrowed brows and impolite "bye". Regardless, will return to old trustworthy shop which is quite a trek for things I can't fix in the future. (New pedals for me are on the way from Nashbar.)