Originally Posted by powerband

I bought a Raleigh Rush Hour at the local zoo (better known as Cardinal Bicycles, http://www.yelp.com/biz/cardinal-bicycle-shop-palo-alto). I should have checked on reviews, but didn't research until today, when it was too late. I had taken my bike there to have them tighten the cog and lock ring, and they did for $5. (I would have done this myself but I didn't have a chain-whip tool or a lock-ring tool.)

Recently, during my ride, the rear felt like it was slipping, so I decided to invest in a chain-whip and a lock-ring tool and do the job myself. With tools in hand, I went at it and discovered that the cog and lock ring were already tightened. So I wanted to investigate why the rear was slipping, so I took the ring and cog off. What I discovered was the cog was wrenched onto the hub while it was off-track with the threading. There was practically no threading left, nearly machined with slivers of metal shavings sticking up. Dis-f**king-gusting. Someone had wrenched the cog on with gorilla arms while it was off-track, and there was also no grease!

The moral of the story: Buy your own tools and do your own wrenching! Not all mechanics are skilled, and some of them have monkey brains and gorilla arms.