Originally Posted by hokiefyd

Yes, it's pretty clear that they didn't do much about it, and don't seem to be all that willing to go out of their way to make it right.



I'm with you completely regarding lack of confidence in the bike shop. This is why I recommend making some of these adjustments yourself. It's a great way to learn more about the mechanics of how bikes (and your bike in particular) work. If you're like me, you may not have the time nor the desire to keep taking your bike back to the shop. Nip it quickly yourself in your home garage and begin to enjoy the ride!



The shop is correct that only one pad moves and that it pushes the rotor over into the other pad. This is so heavily nuanced, though, and I've found that mechanical disc brakes can be pretty finicky to adjust correctly. In other words, there's not a lot of room between "great" and "terrible". It's not normal for the pad to catch and continue to drag after the brake is released, no. What is catching? Does the actuator arm on the brake caliper spring back to its rest position, but the pad itself stays engaged against the rotor somehow? Or does it seem like the actuator arm itself doesn't retract correctly?



Frankly, everything's pretty easily replaced. All of these parts are simply bolted on to the frame. You shouldn't have to replace anything to get a satisfying ride, however. All of this stuff can and should work nicely together. If the gears are noisy in nearly all combinations, it's possible that the derailleur hanger is bent. When looking at the derailleur from directly behind the bike, does the derailleur cage appear to hang down vertically? And when looking at the derailleur from directly above the bike, does it appear that it's "straight" (in line with the centerline of the bike frame)? If it's visually out of alignment, then that's pretty far out of alignment and is something your bike shop should be able to fix. Even if it's not visually out of line, it can still be slightly out of alignment and negatively impacting performance. Again, your bike shop should have the specialist tools to check this for you.

Another resource you have is Trek itself. If you can't get any satisfaction out of the bike shop, give the Trek customer service department a call and let them know what's going on. They may have other ideas for you, or may help encourage the shop to do the right thing. At the end of the day, though, its your time you're spending with all of this. I've dealt with bike shops, car dealers, and other vendors who don't seem to care enough to get it right. I also have things I'd rather do with my life than argue with them about it. If there's something that I can do myself, then I do it and move on with life. If I learn something in the process, that's even better.