episodic

When I ordered my fuji, it took over a month to get it in. It was supposed to be a fluke. I decided to get a 2nd bike, so my son and I could ride. He had borrowed one on Saturday and we had a wonderful time riding 30 miles.

At the end of July, I ordered another bike (not a fuji) - and I went today (and every week before) and it still hasn't even been ordered yet. (Long convoluted story) - I paid half down. I just got my money back. I finally got tired of it. Since I live in a small town (with no other choices in shops for a long way)- I doubt I can order a decent bike and keep it fixed. Sigh. Guess I'm going to try 'spinning' class instead at the gym. I wish I lived somewhere with 'choice'. Really bummed now.

cod.peace

Get yourself a bike repair book, read the Park Tools website, read Sheldon Brown's website, find a bike-savvy friend, etc. Bikes don't take that much maintenance and pretty much just need hand tools.

dbikingman

Sounds like an opportunity ... to open a second bike store. If you enjoy riding and especially if it is something you can/want to do with your son I'd consider other options. Order a bike online or drive to one of the other bike shops and buy a bike off the rack. You should be able to keep the bike running with simple maintenance regardless where you get your bike you will need that. Anything more invovled would be rare. then you could drive to the "far off" bike shop and get the bike repaired and use the trip to ride in a new area.

theetruscan

I know how to:

Change a tube/tire

Lube/clean my chain

Adjust brake tension

tinker with fit issues (move seat/handlebars/etc - basically wiggle s**t and screw in and unscrew hex bolts).

My bike needs the TLC of a good shop about every 6000 miles.

YMMV

episodic

I can't even figure out how to get a spoke length. I wrote my bike manufacturer got a reply and they couldn't tell me due to production 'differences' or something. The name brand bike I bought has twice broke a spoke on the drive side which from what I've seen takes quite the affair to get off and fix. I don't comprehend how you order parts when noone can tell you exactly what you need. It seems like bikes should come with parts manuals - but nooooo. . . grr I'm in a ranty mood now. Yea, it makes me sad. I probably should have just kept waiting, but when I came in today and they still hadn't ordered the bike, I got upset and got my money back. I figure that my name is mud now. . . and that is it for bike stores for what seems like 80 miles in all directions.

episodic

I'm in between cars now. Yea, it isn't the best financially for me now. I thought I'd be able to get bikes, loose weight, get around town etc. . . looks like I'm going to have to buy another 'clunker'. . .

dbikingman

You will see info on determining spoke length here https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#length Bookmark this page. Sheldon Brown's page has a ton useful information.

If you need more information ask here or the bicycle mechanics thread. Those guys know the ins and out of bike repair. Chances are if you give them the brand of tire they could tell you the length needed and where to get it. Of course the danger over there is too much information

Don't let this hurdle stop you. My opinion is you will regret it. You have the opportunity to learn a little bike repair, not a bad thing, and obtain your goals listed above.

stevel610 

It seems like a normal thing to have gotten your money back. If you live in that small a town maybe they are hurting for money and couldn't afford to order the bike...minimum orders etc. I would think any 1/2 way decent bike ($500 or more) would be fine as far as major maintenance for a couple of years. Maybe you could have them check the spoke tension or rebuild the wheels using good spokes for you and otherwise do routine stuff yourself. Just a thought.

We larger fella's can be a bit tough on machine built wheels after all.

episodic

The real problem is that I can't even seem to get a bike ordered. If I pay half down, the bike should be ordered 'that day' or the next at the least, not the next month (and finally find out something is wrong, yada yada). I'm going to stop ranting now, it isn't good. I'm just tired of things never working out well. Bad day all around.

cooleric1234

www.bikesdirect.com

www.neuvationcycling.com

And as others have said start compiling tools, books and fix it yourself. You'll be surprised what you can do. I taught myself from scratch and I'm not mechanically inclined. I can't remember the last time I took my bike in to the shop. You will have to invest in tools though, but gratefully you only need to buy them as they are needed, it's not all a cost up front.

o0adam0o

How far is the next closest bike shop? Depending on the distance.. it might be worth it. The Gym gets boring quick... trust me.

Mr. Beanz

This is why some riders spend a little more money for quality equipment.


Spend a little money get good parts.

105 hub....................$70 (?)
Velocity Deep V....$50
3X pattern.

If you fed this info to the forum, you'd get several answers but you need to spend a little money to avoid the "what parts do I need for this no name wheel" questions that never get answers.

Seattle Forrest

I predict a third spoke is going to break before too long, from what little I know. It seems like when one goes, it puts a little more pressure on the rest of them to carry its weight, especially on the ones nearby ( like dominoes ). All spokes will die eventually, but when one goes, the rest age quickly. You can get the rest of them re-tensioned after one breaks, and then the wheel might be fine for another few thousand miles. Or other spikes might go out, one by one.

Sorry to give you bad news. The silver lining is that a new wheel can be had fairly cheap ( I'm guessing you don't want to race or anything, just to bike as a Clyde ) and that would put an end to this trouble. It might also be a little easier than getting the right spokes to you, and on the wheel.

The good news is this is probably the hardest maintenance you'll need to do for the next year if you keep at it on the bike. I get a flat every now and then, oil the chain every few hundred miles ... and keep the pedals turning. It makes me happy. The gym is nice because they have weights and other types of machines, but there's so much more to cycling on the road or the trail, that you just can't get on a trainer.

EasyEd

It's worth it to travel to find a good bike shop. I bought my new bike a couple years ago at a shop fifty miles away. I had some dissapointing experiences at the local shops. I'm glad I went to the effort to find a good shop that cared.

Peter_C

A 'third' option is buying from a non-local LBS that others vouch for - whether you drive, or they ship to you. Example, my LBS (same location 20+ yrs) sells Giant and two other brands (in stock), can order anything you want, does custom building, and ships anywhere. I can also promise if you had bought a bike from 'Sam', one phone call and the replacement spokes (and their size) would have been shipped the same day.

Not trying to sell you on the LBS I use, but rather, trying to point out how nice life is if you use a quality LBS - even if not 'local' to you

I bet I bug Sam at least once a week since I bought my bike, and he's never cut me short, or rolled his eyes at me - I suspect, like me, you need/want a shop of this quality - so what if you need to drive or have shipped to you?

There's a shop in Boston that I have never been to, or spoken to, that I'd be perfectly comfortable using simply because of their local reputation.

Hope this helps...

Wogster

I think the real reason that the other spokes go, is that the conditions that caused the first spoke to break are generally present in all the others, so if one spoke is at 100% of the condition to break a spoke, most of the rest are going to be 98% or 99%. This is why the general consensus is that if you break one, you can replace it, but should make sure the wheel is properly tensioned. If you break a second spoke, replace them all.

steve0257

Couple of questions. aside from the delays in ordering the bike, how is the shop? Courteous and competent? Able to fix problems correctly? Is the new bike going to be for you to ride or a backup for guests/visitors to ride when they come over?

If it is a good shop aside from the ordering problem maybe you could pick something in stock that is close to the Fuji.

episodic

Yea, they are nice and all. It is a sole owner. It is just as if they never actually order stuff. Every week - there is this problem, that problem, waiting for them to call, need to fax them some paper, it'll be here next friday (next friday comes and nothing has happened). . . just very frustrating. It took over a month to get my fuji in, too. This is with money up front. That was supposed to be a fluke.

Spoke breaks - takes a week to fix, etc.

I think I made him mad this last time because I was tired of excuses. They really don't seem to have much in stock except a couple of high end road bikes (little skinny ones). Don't think that is going to improve my situation. The Fuji was going to be my son's - he liked it. I was getting a second bike so we could ride together. Looks like it isn't going to happen around here - and I'm here at least another 1.5 years.

Anyway, I'm not worried about it anymore. Went and got a gym membership today. Just going to go to the gym often and stop getting high blood pressure worrying about bikes.


Don't get me wrong, I looooved it. I work 10-12 hours 5 days a week. I have enough money where I'd gladly buy bikes, pay to keep them repaired, etc. I have 0 interest in acquiring hundreds of dollars worth of tools and no time to learn to use them. Just isn't anything anywhere near me that I can use. I'm a 2 hours drive from a metro area in any direction. So. . . thats it.