snidely

That shop sounds shady. Not worth blowing your top over. You now know to stay away from there. Be happy with your new ride, and find a good lbs you can trust.

Also, learn to work on your bike and adjust derailleurs/brakes yourself. Lots of good instructional videos on Youtube, and on the Park Tools website. It's all part of the fun!

PhotoJoe 

Sorry to hear about the whole thing. Too bad they won't step up and do what's right.

Wonder if your yelp review will get you anywhere.

I'd make a list of what you want done, and go back one more time. Lay it out in clear terms. Don't expect him to volunteer the course of action. You present the plan. If he does what you feel is fair, great. If not, you tried. Then update your Yelp review appropriately.

Bob Dopolina 

Just, wow.

My concern would be with the rear wheel. Usually when something like this happens, the rim actuall gets bent. You can adjust spoke tension to straighten it out but then tension is extremely unbalanced and the wheel will need constant attention.

You need to get a tensiometer on there and confirm the condition of the wheel either way.

EdIsMe

This is just me contemplating worst case scenario here...

Obviously the bike was not setup properly and resulted in damage to the bike that is either not repairable or has not been repaired. The guy at the shop OP talked to sold him a line of bs (several lines) betting that he didn't know any better. The OP bit his tongue and didn't fight back, but still got the short end of the stick here, rideable bike or not.

What if the mechanic actually blames the OP for the damage?

Is the OP willing to possibly take the case to court and sue for damages rightfully owed?

I have my doubts that the mechanic/shop owner will actually be a good sport about this. If it were me, I'd be making a call to Cannondale and see if they'd be willing to warranty-issue a new bike to a different shop and return the original. An authorized dealer can lose their dealership license in situations like this and that's a huge leverage point for OP if it comes down to that.

rangerdavid

CAAD is a wonderful bike, and it hurts to hear yours was damaged. I would certainly take it back in for a RD check/adjustment, or tell them what happened and see if there is an adjustment required. Get the paint touched up too. Post up a picture or two, we'd love to see it!!

Roobay_today

I hear you on the wheel, and I might press the issue if I was planning to use these wheels for long period of time, yet planning to get a used set of 404s to replace these, and that was the plan before this mishap.

As far as legal action I'm a Christian, and make plenty of mistakes myself, so i don't ever seeing me suing anyone. Just the way I feel about it. I do feel I could have pushed back more with my conversation with the owner, yet thats a slippery slope with my sometimes hot head. I push back to much, and I might start feeling like splitting some wigs.

cycledogg

Working as wrench in a shop for over 2 years (Cannondale dealer) and doing my own mechanical work on bikes for over 15 years, I'd say the shop is at fault. In all reality, the shop owes you a new frame, probley a new bike (same size and all) from the sales floor. He just fed you with some prime BS as to why this shift issue occurred. If he wants to keep your business, he should offer you some replacement on the damage. You did say it was your first ride, so I am guessing you "just" got the bike, as in, that same day or at least yesterday. So in my experience, the shop should honer a guarantee that the bike was set up properly. Just my honest opinion. I'm also the gray hair guy wrenching for the love of bikes you see behind the counter.
Cheers

Roobay_today

The gash has been painted over white, so I can not get a good pic of it to show it. I think The bike looks good now, after some zipps and a stem, and seat post change it will look and feel amazing.

fa63

You can throw a chainstay protector on there; it will cover up the paint chips. I would also install a chain catcher, just in case.

Other than that, ride lots and enjoy the bike. Sorry you had to experience crappy customer service, but I think you are doing the right thing by not escalating the situation. Just take your business elsewhere next time. May not hurt to put up a negative review online either, if you can.

Edit: looks like you already gave them a negative review; hope that gets a reaction from the owner.

Roobay_today

Just Had a great ride with my son, yet now my 2 week old bike is making a loud clicking sound when I push down or pull up on the bars (headset maybe?). I said before I would never take this bike back to where I bought it for service, yet I do not want to take it to a new shop and drop problems on them, with a bike I did not buy from them. I want to build up a good relationship with another Cannondale dealer before I drop a poorly put together bike on them. So I will be taking it back to get it fixed once again. Yet anyone have a good Cannondale shop Houston area, for future use?

Clipped_in

OP, as a fellow cyclist and Christian who too often also has a short fuse, I want to give you an atta-boy for exercising so much self restraint. Good job at keeping your head in a very frustrating situation.

Best of luck with your new bike!

bobones

Probably just developed a bit of play in the headset, which is dead easy to fix: you undo the stem bolts, then take out the play by tightening the top cap at little (bars should still turn smoothly), and then retighten the stem bolts. The stem bolts are best done with a torque wrench especially with a carbon steerer tube. You can feel for play by applying the front brake and rocking the bike back and forth while gripping the headset below the stem with your other hand. The top cap is only there to initially adjust the load on the headset bearings: it's the stem bolts that hold the whole assembly in place. These are the sort of little jobs that are worth learning to do yourself, but with a new bike and lack of a torque wrench, by all means get it done by the shop. The Park Tools website and YouTube are great resources for learning basic mechanics.

megalowmatt

Is there some unwritten rule I'm missing here?

kv501

+1

Also, you should learn derailleur adjustment so 1) you don't have another catastrophe and 2) so you don't have to pay someone to do something so simple. Park Tools site, Sheldon Brown, and YouTube are your best friends.

And thanks for not screaming lawsuit.

Roobay_today

Me knowing how to adjust them is not the issue, the bike shop should have had that done prior to me leaving.

bahula03

Having a bad experience with a LBS is always rough, even worse that it's with a new, expensive bike I would take a few minutes and get in touch with Cannondale directly and let them know what kind of experience their dealer has provided with. It's probably not going to fix the bike, but it's an appropriate step for the situation.

hueyhoolihan

ya, try to forget about it and move on, but for your sake, i wouldn't go back to that shop. bad memories.

nobody likes to be BS'd about something like this, but for some reason people have a very difficult time just saying. "we screwed up. we'll make it right, and we apologize". why is that so hard? it doesn't cost a cent to say them even if they AREN'T sincere.

good for you for not getting all over them...

hueyhoolihan

no. i don't get it either.

RacerOne

There are a lot of odd posts on BF, this is one of the oddest. Seriously? Is he supposed to be saving those gears for later or something?

chil2makefun

Hmm if it were me i'd look for another lbs as soon as possible. And when you find a really good one, they won't really care too much you didn't buy the bike from them.
I'm lucky with my lbs. I've had a similar experience once, but here's the catch: it was MY fault. I was installing the sensor for my cycling computer on the fork with some zip ties. By pulling too hard on the zip tie, it snapped and i scraped my fork with the pliers. Result: a 2 cm long gash in the paint job. Took it to my lbs and told them what had happened, even when it was my fault they repainted it free of charge. Moral of the story, don't use pliers when installing a sensor. And most important, i will never ever go to another lbs.

ConGrUenCy

I think you should at least let the owner know that you know he is lying, and people aren't as uninformed as he thinks. Also, you should drop an email to Cannondale so they get a heads up about this shop.