TheGerman

Hey everybody!

I'm totally new to riding SS and slowly getting back into riding. I have an Orange Windsor Clockwork. I'm also totally new to bike maintenance, so I decided to take it to a LBS to have them look everything over.

I have been reading stories online about the BB not coming greased from the factory. Since I have no experience with bikes I wanted them to grease it for me.

They called me today and said that when they put it back in and tried to tighten it, it snapped and broke. They can order one for me, but it will be $35. Is that a good price and who should be paying for it?

dayvan cowboy

if a bike shop broke your part, it should be their responsibility to pay.

guaps

bottom brackets, like most bike parts, have a huge range of prices for parts. $35 isn't unreasonable though. I just bought a Shimano low end bracket, but still decent quality for $25.

As for who should pay, that's a little harder. the easy answer is if they broke it, they should pay. If it was old and giving you problems, then it might have been time to replace anyways and you should probably pay for it.

If it was bad enough to break, the tech probably should have recognized that though and not tried to install it. I think i'd ask them to pay for it...

Thetank

He said its a new windsor clockwork, the part is brand new I'm assuming if he took it to get greased. If a tech broke a new part its the shop's responsibility to eat the cost from a tech's fault. First explain that the part is new and if they give you "product failure" as the reason it broke I would have them give you the broken part to exchange from bikesdirect and tell them to install one but you're not gonna pay full price for it either. Any good bike shop will negotiate on their mistake to keep you as a customer, if they don't tell them to refund you the money for a new BB and take it somewhere else.

planyourfate

The shop I work at would pay to replace it if it was our fault.

TheGerman

Yeah, it was brand new. The only time ridden was the half mile from my apartment to the shop. They said that it is just very low-end and that's why it broke.

I will call them tomorrow and see if they'll work with me because I just want to get out there and ride.

larsalan

Time to learn to stay away from the LBS and do your own work. Instead of being charged and having you bike broken you could be buying tools and learning.

p120ud213azn

honestly, to me, it doesnt make sense if the bb from bd costs $5 and the lbs has to pay $35 for a new one. unless the lbs is offering some cheapy bb that is of same quality as the bb from bd (which i doubt)

so reasonably, id say its fair if they sell the part to you at wholesale price or some kind of big discount.

operator

Yes it does, it mamkes perfect sense. BD is an internet retailer. Your LBS is a real shop. Any more genius comments please?

cc700

they broke it and they should be responsible for fixing it with new comparable-spec parts.

kyselad

If the part broke due to a defect, BD should pay for it. If the shop broke it out of negligence, they should pay for a comparable replacement. I certainly wouldn't let the shop charge me $35 to fix it, and if they insist that's the only way to go, I'd contact BD and never visit the shop again.

TheGerman

I talked to them today and they were saying something about BD using the wrong type of bolt on it, and the BB they are ordering is a much superior part.

I know I'm new to this and don't know much yet, but I do want to start upgrading my bike. If the new BB really were so superior, would it be worth the upgrade? Either way I'll have BD send me a new one so I have a spare.

And I do want to learn how to do all my own maintenance.

twelsch42

I'd work out some sort of bargin with them. You WILL have a much nicer bottom bracket - but you also would have been happy with what you started with, unbroken. Seems parts at cost, and 50% labor would be fair. $25? I would not start judging this shop until they won't work a deal with you here.

cc700

see, if i owned a bike shop, i'd just break all the crappy parts on people's bikes and then make them pay for dura-ace replacements.

bigvegan

OK, here's the deal, a Shimano UN54BB (standard square taper BB) costs $9 from the distributor, $25 retail from a decent shop, $35 from an overpriced LBS.

If the shop broke the BB, they should be eating the $9 and replacing it free of charge. For them to charge you the excessively marked up retail price for a part that they broke is total BS.

Any more genius explanations?

darksiderising

Can you elaborate on what "snapped and broke?" Judging by the description, I am assuming that the crank bolt either stripped or broke in half. If this is the case, the part is most likely defective. I've seen a few new bikes come from the factory with the crank bolts cross threaded, completely overtightened to the point where the threads strip, or having a defect in the bolt that causes it to snap when tightened (like missing material). The first two take a lot of torque, which you're most likely only going to be able to accomplish with the power tools with which the factories use to install the parts on the frame.

I know a lot of people like dogging on bike shops, but if someone brings me a part that I honestly believe to be defective, I am not paying anything to replace it. If they bought it from me (or even if it is from a brand that I carry), I can and will warranty it and even be payed by the manufacturer to install the new product.

You should really only expect to be taken care of by your LBS if you bought the parts from them. That's what goes along with purchasing bicycles, parts, and accessories from a bike shop. It's part of the deal. If you didn't buy into and support this system, you don't get the deal. I know, it sucks from a consumer's standpoint, but the bike shop is also a business and putting food on someone's plate.

TheGerman

I'm not 100% sure yet what exactly happened. He said that they got it off no problem, greased it up, it went back in no problem, but when they tried to tighten it down it broke. I'm going there after work today to take a look at it.

I understand the whole thing about buying into the system, but it is a brand new bike and I haven't been able to ride it in a week and I won't be able to ride it for another week. I think they should do something about the cost, but I doubt they will.

darksiderising

^ See what happened. If it's just sheered off, that is obviously a BD problem, and you should contact them. Unfortunately, I doubt they would be willing to comp the bike shop for reinstalling the part, so you'll have the pay the labour if BD will send you a new one.

SSBully

At least the LBS took it in to do the work on it! The owner of the LBS I work at is such a dickhead when it comes to fixie/SS riders in general, and even worse when it comes to people who bought stuff of the interwebz. He gets really pissed and says they should have bought it from a LBS in the first place and not waste our labor hours on crap they bought off the net just because they were hunting for a good deal. I DO NOT AGREE WITH HIM AT ALL! We always fight about it, but in the end, I understand that if people don't buy from us, then we wont be open long, ande I won't have a job.

TheGerman

Ok. So I went there after work today to have them show me what happened. The bolt broke off when they tried to tighten it. I asked them to try and remove the bolt, and it worked. So no new BB for me, and I got my bike back!

SSBully

NIIIIICE!!!!!!!! Now never go back to that LBS again! If they couldn't figure that out a long time ago, or hell, even try to get it out before calling you, then they're a bunch of boneheads and you really don't want them working on your machine, do you?