Digital Gee

You may recall an earlier thread about me taking my bike back to the LBS where I had bought the bike and learning that the rear wheel was out of true. Looks like I need a new wheel... They kept the bike for a week, and gave it a complete tune-up and I took it back when they were finished.

You may further recall that I had problems immediately with the trued wheel.

I decided to take the bike to another LBS for a second opinion on what was happening before taking it back to the original LBS (which is where I had purchased the bike).

There, I learned that a wheel can be out of true and / or out of round. The first guy who looked at my wheel thought perhaps it had a "hop" in it, meaning it was out of round. He called over their wheel builder, and he examined the spokes, and told me the guy at the original bike store had done a few things that caused him to wonder. (I can't remember what those things were, but they had something to do with tightening the spokes, lubricant or sealer, etc.)

In any event, the guy thought he could fix the problem. (For one thing, the spokes were loose again.) He told me that it might even be covered by warranty from Specialized, and that they'd had a "batch" of bad spokes that model year.

He ended up replacing one spoke with something he had in his tool box, and was going to contact Specialized for a new set. They'll call me when they come in and replace everything with new spokes.

The bike rides fine now, even with one silver spoke among the black.

Oh -- and the charge for his services? Nothing. Free.

Another kudo for the fine folks at Adams Avenue Cycling.

maddmaxx 

Excellent!

It's amazing, the difference between one LBS and another.

cranky old dude

So you thought you'ld have to buy a new wheel, but you spoke too soon?

That's good news, actually, and it sounds like you may have found a better
LBS, one worthy of your trust.

TromboneAl

True!

maddmaxx 

Ba.....Da Da (Rimshot)

Floyd

a rim shot that went in.................................

BSLeVan

When I find something I like, I tend to stay with it for the important things. Sounds like you're getting a very good idea of where you want to do your bicycle business.

stapfam

Do hate to say it but wheels are something special. It does take an expert to keep them in good condition and not all bike mechanics are expert wheel builders.

And I thought Adams was your main shop for repairs. What are you doing trying another shop for?

BengeBoy 

+1

I keep a running tally of little "freebies," and/or LBS advice that saves me money...I always make sure I go back to the shop to buy something when I can (even if shopping online would save me a little money).

I'm always happy to reward a shop that (a) provides good advice and/or (b) stocks great inventory.

I almost never buy from a shop where a clerk says, "no, we don't carry that, but I can order it for you," unless I'm getting advice on *what* to order (for example, right now I'm waiting on some parts my LBS ordered for me but that's because I spent 20 minutes in the shop with the guy behind the counter going through the catalog and picking the right stuff, which was advice I needed 'cause I couldn't figure it out on my own).

cyclinfool

And thats they way the story should end! Good news.

Retro Grouch 

Might be true but, I gotta tell you Deege, it sounds goofy to me.

I never believe those stories about a "bad batch of inner tubes" either.

BluesDawg

Bad batches do happen in all industries that buy parts and materials from vendors. No reason the bike biz should be any different.