Problem with the LBS...Input requested
 

So I stripped my pedal thread on my drive-side crank...took it to the LBS and had the whole crankset replaced with a used one, from their shop. Everything was cool...but 100 miles later I ended up with the same problem...I misplaced my receipt , but I do have records of my payment on my credit card.

How does one go about rectifying this...or am I screwed? Thanks for your replies good and bad!

How long ago was this ? if it 30 days or less use the credit card statement as your receipt and demand something to be done about it. But being "use" in the first place yes you may be "screwed". In my shop I would give away the use stuff with the understanding it will not be replace as with most shops .

If it were new parts, an answer would be a little more clear, but I have no idea what their policy on used parts might be.

Just curious, did you guys re-use the old pedals? Have you done anything to the pedals since? What was used to tighten the pedal down?

Edit: I don't think used=screwed is a fair statement- you get what you pay for. If someone asks for a used part because a new part is too costly, that's on them. If this does come to be the case, see if you can work out something halfway with the shop.

Good points, and thank you...No we did not reuse the old pedals...and no I have not done anything to the pedals since, except on the ride where I felt my pedal wobble...I knew what it was...I was angry to say the least....I had to ride home using my left foot only.

I just asked for a repair...your right I got what I paid for...I have been going to this LBS for my tubes and gear for the last year...oh and they replaced a bottom bracket of mine on the spot in 15 mins...so I gave them a shot on this repair...I am not having a good feeling about this...BTW the repair in question was about 30 days ago.

But what if your workmanship caused the problem and not the part in question? I payed for this repair is was not given to me in anyway shape or form.

Maybe I should find a shop that has the support to helicoil?

if you can prove it was cost by the workmanship yes ask for a replacement .

That right there is the hard part....I did not touch the pedal with a wrench...but cant prove it one bit....BTW my repair was about 30 days ago

ok, without you knowing it or the shop for that matter , the threads in the crankarm could be bad in the first place. it might be the reason why the shop have it in the first place. over time it sat there until you have a need for it and they saw it and put on your bike not knowing there was some thing wrong with it .

I'd go back and talk to them. If they sold you a used crank that is fine. But I would expect that they would have checked the used crank to be sure it had good condition threads. Assuming that this SHOULD have been the case you should at least be able to meet them halfway on another crank arm. And while you're at it talk to them about why you've had two crank arms go bad on you in so short a time. Generally this sort of thing is pretty solid and it's rare to have a crank arm strip out from riding. If they re-used your old pedal perhaps the thread on it is slightly undersized for some oddball reason?

Bring it back to the shop and have a conversation about it. Don't start off accusatory, just describe the issue and ask what they can do for you in this situation. If they want to charge you for new crank plus install fee, consider a different shop. Hopefully, there would be some kind of compromise--an average shop might do an install of a new crank you buy there for free; a better shop might credit the cost of the used crank toward purchase of a new one, or at least give some kind of good will discount off a new crank.

I don't buy a word of it.

Thank you for your input...I considered this....and I think this is the way I will go...and if I do not like the response I get...I will tell them our relationship is over and walk out the door.

That is my concern....that the LBS will convey!

just take it in. it was only a month ago. if they are any good and want your business they will correct the problem.

Thank you...and everyone who said similar...I will take it in and comment what transpired here...soon!

That is the least of your problems. You've had the same failure twice and what happened is pretty rare, you need to figure out what is causing these failures to prevent it from hapening a third time.

How u can strip the threads in the crank if you were using the bike? I mean, you take the pedals in and out daily or something? I have seen people putting the left pedal in the right crank and figure it out when the pedal was like 80 % in the crank, this way clearly the threads are strip and redone, but strip the threads just like magic w/o taking the pedal out and in the crank it is hard to do and even harder to believe, worse if it is the second time that happens.

If you can justify this probably the LBS will hear you. But sincerely i doubt they will believe it or buy it as Duck said.

That's what I think too. There's something goofy going on here that we don't know about.

True the threads could have been bad in the first place....Lucky me the mechanic knows me by face...so I hope that pays dividends!

So are you saying I am pedaling incorrect? I never touched the pedals after the bike shop did...just wondering! BTW I own 3 bikes and this is the only one to have this issue, and it happened twice!

This comes across as the dreaded "JRA" failure. I'm not saying that you did anything, but stripping out two arms in a short period of time? Did you do something with the first arm/pedal and maybe it came cross to this one? I say give the shop a chance to help you determine what is causing this to happen. I'm guessing that it is something in the pedal if nothing else was touched after the shop installed it.

If the LBS does warranty this somehow, remember that and not only should you consider them "your source" but spread the word to other folks. It's hard for shops to deal with situations where the customer wants new product support from used or mail-ordered stuff. However, many will give it.

Report back.. I'm curious to find what the issue might be.

No, he's saying you are either lying or leaving out something significant. Pedals don't just spontaneously strip out crank threads.

If it hasn't been long just go in and talk to them. The receipt won't matter either way except maybe to remind them of the sale if some time has passed. Used parts usually aren't warrantied, but if it's a fairly recent job, a decent shop would try to correct the problem with another used crank, or give you some sort of credit towards a new one.

In my early years in the bike biz, I was the go to guy for problems, and I assure you that customers who came in with an honest explanation of their problem and asked if I could help them, did far better than those who came in with a negative attitude. I saw problems as an opportunity to showcase out pro customer attitude, but if I felt that no matter what I did, we'd be reviled anyway, I wasn't inclined to do much.

I agree with FBinNY, no matter what you do you can not make everybody happy.