bt

if you have time, do it yourself.

you'll learn some stuff along the way and thus be able to make adjustments later on.

the instructions are clear if you take time to read and understand them.

plus, no one will do it with as much care as you will.

evrythngsgngrn

Rule 49 is clearly written for all to see.

shoemakerpom

Had a similar experience with a shop that I thought I would give a try since my go to shop was too busy. Learned my lesson on sticking with good mechanics when it comes to derailleur setup. It also gave me ambition to try to learn how to re*cable and setup the derailleurs' myself from countless online YouTube instructions.

fstshrk

Use a towel on the ground and then flip the bike upside down.

Panza

When I take my bike to my LBS if they plan on removing the seat, they place a yellow tape on the seatpost so they don't mess up the fit. I dont know why the LBS you went to wouldn't do that ...

Roopull

I'm glad you posted that link... now I know how to further enrage the wanna-be pros. I wonder how many of those I can knock out in full view of the bike-snobbery at my next ride.

kleng

How does that work if they need to lower the seat, they should have taken measurements and then used them to return the seat to the right height.

Panza

Wait, why did they need to lower the seat??

jackss731

Sweet baby jesus that sounds like a nightmare! I work on all my bikes, plus I work at a LBS. Its easy to get another mechanic to test ride a taller bike so we never lower the seat especially since there are people (including me) that don't want unnecessary scratches on a carbon post. Now their wrenching skills...front and rear derailleur adjustments are not that difficult, however, I know people that simply want to ride and either have the money for tune-ups or at least have a free year of them. Unfortunately, big places like that will hire anyone.

and the bar tape?! I'd would never let anything like that leave my shop.

It's great to hear everything got situated.
It's another thing to hear it even happened in the first place.

roadiejorge 

The only thing I'd be worried about is if they have the same mechanic do the work since he obviously couldn't sort things out the first time. I got tired of dealing with sub par work from shops (not all of course) so I learned how to do just about everything myself that way I'm spared having to deal with the time wasted when someone else messes up. Good luck with the repairs; hope they get you on the road soon.

kleng

In the op's first post, he mentioned they had lowered his seat a couple of inches, which messed up his settings from a bike fit.

himespau 

because they're shorter than the owner of the bike and need to take it for a test ride to make sure their adjustments worked.

Wooden Tiger

Personally, I've never had good luck at Performance. I've been to a few stores in VA and one in DE. They truly are the Walmart of the cycling world. Just recently, I had a fit done, which required a new stem. The tech at my LBS "discovered" the only things holding the carbon fork and frame together were the headset bolts. Apparently, there is some other piece that is supposed to hold the parts together, which was NOT even connected. Unfortunately, I can't recall what this part was called, but I'll find out and report back. I purchased this bike at Performance.

While I never had a problem, the tech did tell me I'm lucky I didn't find myself with a cracked fork.

Most of the techs I've seen at Performance are pretty young guys and judging by things like this, they probably haven't had much training, either.

The above being said, they have tried to make things right and fix stuff, and I've just pretty much washed my hands of them. It just isn't worth my time.

surgeonstone

I was all prepared to be snarky and say HTFU, there are far worse things in life but after reading this thread I have to agree- a nightmare. What would I do, insist on a perfectly functioning bike with new components if needed, replaced white bar tape and a visit to a lawyer if they refuse. These guys should be out of business. There is no excuse for that kind of shoddy work.

rpenmanparker 

If you don't really know what you are talking about, then you shouldn't be saying it; especially when you are trying to tear down someone's reputation. Not trying to be abusive; just sayin' your critique is meaningless. This thingy and that thingy don't exactly add up to a convincing account. If the stem bolts were tightened on the steerer tube, you don't need the top cap tightened at all for functionality or safety. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to ride a bike set up the other way around: top cap set for preset tension only and loose stem bolts. Find out what you are talking about and get back to us.

Wooden Tiger

Take your own advice, bud. The bike wasn't set up correctly. That's a fact. It's also a fact that I've been to more than one location and those are my personal experiences with Performance Bikes, and from what it sounds like, it's the OP's experience with Performance as well.

I had a qualified tech look at the bike, and he told me the bike was not assembled correctly and I'm lucky the fork didn't crack. No offense, but I would trust his knowledge over some hack's working at a Performance Bike, as well as yours.

You also overlooked that I mentioned I had another appointment and would find out for sure what this exact part was, and report back, which therefore CLEARLY states MY OWN admission that I did NOT have the facts of what the exact part was, but I was going to find out.

Not being rude, but maybe you should consider reading an entire post before calling people out.

BoSoxYacht

Look, for all we know the OP could have bent the derailleur hanger getting the bike home, and caused a great deal of the drivetrain damage himself.

Without knowing all the facts, it's unfair to say they should be out of business for lowering his saddle and dirty tape.

BoSoxYacht

Not to be rude, but you should know what you are talking about before you start a post that slams a shop's reputation.

Wooden Tiger

Not to be rude, but I didn't single out the Performance location OP visited as having a poor reputation and/or performing shoddy work, or any other shop for that matter. What I stated were my experiences with Performance Bike shops I've personally been to, and it's clear the OP is having issues with his as well, which he commented on in his original post. Seems to me, all these experiences are based on factual events, not just bad-mouthing a shop because "I heard that..."

And FWIW, Performance Bike IS the Walmart of bicycles. Fact.

Should a shop be shut down for lowering a saddle and dirtying tape? No, but they should readjust things to the conditions they were in when the bicycle entered the shop. Wouldn't you be pissed if you brought your cushy Lexus into a dealership and found a greasy handprint on your leather seat when you picked up your vehicle? Yeah, I think you would.

surgeonstone

No question, always two sides to a story ( or 5 in the case of "Rashoman"), but with info presented it does seem pretty shoddy.

surgeonstone

I have a local bike shop, Pro Form Bikes , in South Bend IN, must say we are blessed to have them. The Mechanics are top notch, every time I drop my bike off I get it back feeling as tight, precise and perfect as the first mile on it.

Wooden Tiger

Same with my local shop, "Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Company." I had them do a tuneup prior to the start of the season and the difference in how it performed was like night and day. It felt much looser, as in far easier to pedal, braked better, handled better, accelerated like a totally different bike, etc. All in all, everything was just BETTER. That bike has never ridden so good.

Prior to bringing it to EPBC, I'd always had the tuneups done at Performance, as I bought the bike there. I joined their little "club," so I got free tuneups. I'd pick the bike up and wouldn't really notice any changes in anything at all. I expected it to feel like a well-oiled machine, and it did not. This time around, everything from the crispness of the shifts to the effort required to turn the cranks were just substantially better. The bike felt better after this tuneup than it's EVER felt, and that includes the first day I bought it.

surgeonstone

Both bikes I have I purchased by mail (40 years ago) or on Line(10 years ago). I have really tried to support them with all my purchases rather than go on line. Next bike I get, if I ever get another, will be from them. They deal Cervelo, Bianchi, Scott.

Wooden Tiger

I've never come across a shop who carries Cervelo or Bianchi. I'd love to try out their bikes. I've liked every Scott bicycle I've been on. We purchased four bicycles from Performance. We purchased our first MTBs (2010 GT Avalanche 1.0 and Avalanche 3.0 Disc) and our roadies (2011 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 and Fuji ACR 2.0). We'd brought them back to Performance for all their adjustments and what-not, and nothing ever continued to work right for more than a few miles, so we quit going there, and just went to EPBC. After bringing our bikes to them, things always continued to work right.

We lost our GT Avalanches in a car accident when we were rear-ended, and then purchased our latest MTBs from them (2012 Cannondale Flash Alloy 2 and 2012 Specialized Jett Comp). Those bikes have been fantastic. We also purchased two Schwinn "Signature Series" cruisers for my parents, which have never had ANY issues.

We've been treated very well over at EPBC. We'll definitely buy bikes from them in the future. These days, they carry Pivot, Schwinn, Fuji, Trek, Scott, Specialized, and are going to start carrying Santa-Cruz.

As for pricing, ya really can't beat Performance. Since they order in bulk and are a large retailer, they can just offer bicycles at prices the local bike shops can't compete with. If the difference in price is about $50-$100, I'd probably purchase from the LBS just to support the shop, but any more than that and, well, money talks. If that's the case, I'll just buy from Performance, then bring it straight over to the LBS to have them make sure it was assembled correctly. I trust Performance to put my bike together correctly like I trust the guy from Walmart who assembles grills to put my bike together correctly.

bt

cool story, bro.