So my 2 month old Roubaix FSA crank has been making an uneasy noise and i noticed a loose crankarm so back to where i bought it. Hey and i tell them this stuff and i say since i got it here you might as well give me my free tuneup. Oh the basic tuneup doesnt do anything to the crank. And? Its still under a warr isnt it. Oh no not for that,its got dirt in the BB. How do you know? Because it happens all the time. For 45 bucks you can get the super duper tuneup and we'll clean the BB. No you wont,you'll give me my free tuneup and fix whatever is wrong with the crank and bb. Well to get it fixed you have to pay for a super duper $45 tuneup. Now i'm speechless and told them you do what you have to to fix it and i'll go home and get ahold of the owner and thats where it stands. Strange or what?

Sounds kinda crummy to me......if it was a problem from when you bought it, then a measley $45 tuneup should be done for free to fix it...especially since its only 2 months old.

I'm thinking that if somebody doesn't take an 8mm allen wrench to that left crankarm (it is the left crankarm isn't it?) pretty darn soon, it's going to wallow out and need to be replaced.

Left it is.

Is it a loose crank arm or bb? Seems lame that either came loose and the LBS is not just fixing it and shutting up. You could buy the tools for less than 45 and do it yourself.

Some people lose sight of the big picture. Is $45 worth losing a customer for?

Honestly, it all depends on the customer. I'm not saying the OP is one of those customers but there are definately some customers that shops would prefer to not have to deal with.

$45 to do what should be a warrenty fix, and a simple one at that? Please! Super duper, my foot. Sounds like they're trying to pull a fast one to me.
LBSs are suffering due to high volume:low quality undercutters like walmart, but that's no excuse to try a scam.

I suggest the OP take his bike back to the LBS and talk to the owner. Ask him why he sold you a road bike that gets dirt in the BB "all the time". Ask why you were not apprised of the fact that the bike design allows dirt to penetrate the BB in such a short time.

Given that bike typically go years before needing any maintenance of the BB, you might want to pursue getting a refund for an obviously defective design that collects foreign objects in the bearings so quickly.

The bike is at the shop and i sent the owner an e-mail as he owns a few and is all over. BTW,i called back to the lbs lastnight and asked about the BB,if they found anything yet. The answer. BB? You didnt say anything about that,we have here written on the ticked that you had a problem with the hubs. Now i'm scared. I went over the whole thing again and ya know what,he said boy i'm glad you called because your Curcults were going back to Velomax for the hubs.

the way you form your paragraphs makes it difficult to read what you have to say!

That's why I felt comfortable paying $1100 for a bike from an internet seller that would of cost close to $2000 at my LBS. That certainly leaves room for a $45 tune up.

This is true in some LBS's but not all. I know some shops that would have fixed this $45.00 dollar job in 10 minutes or less under warranty. The LBS I purchased my Bianchi fixed lose cables this summer for nothing and left me speachless.

Maybe its you as everyone else has had a reply. This isnt school.

My LBS always gives me prompt, free service. Why? Because I am my own LBS. I build my own bikes and service and tune them myself.

Well, actually this is the real world so it's more important than school. The ability to express yourself clearly, both orally and in writing, is important. The people who do it well have fewer problems with service people.

No.
It's not just him.
Trying to read unformatted text is a PITA - not being in school has nothing to do with it.

The reason why folks reply, is because they overlook that nuisance, and want to be helpful anyway.

sorry, i didnt want to offend you, or spark a grammar debate, but i found myself reading your posts a couple of times to understand what you were saying.

Generally I support my LBS. I try to give them as much business as is reasonable and don't mind paying extra on some items. As cyclists we need them. I just thought I'd throw my 2c in as I have been bashed many times on all of the forums for buying a "POS" bike from an online seller.

This is the real world? Wow. Well i dont type well{one finger chicken pecker} and i'm at work in and out but besides all that,i just dont pay attention to it and wouldnt think about correcting somebody else,i just wade through whats written. Really,you or anybody would'nt do it to my face{or anybody} as it is rude but everybody is more brave and forward behind a keyboard. Dont reply at all if you cant read it just like if you dont have anything nice to say,you know the rest.

So who else picked up from the information you provided that your LEFT crankarm was loose?

I could have easily tighten the crankarm if i wasnt also hearing some kind of not normal noise from the BB area. Since the bike is only a couple of months old,dont you think it was best to take it back was it was bought? I ride,i'm not really a wrench.

Yup, absolutely! I suppose anything is possible, but I'd be quite surprised if you really do have a bottom bracket problem. The crank arm thing, however, is very common hence my guess.

Think back to how they described their service after the sale when they were trying to get you to buy the bike. They OWE you that service. Also, the torque spec for crankarms is around 30 ft/lbs. That's a lot of torque to generate with just a 6" long allen wrench so you might be hard pressed to do that by yourself at home.

Good reason to get a torque wrench? Got a 3/8" Craftsman but its pretty big. I did get a reply from the owner and he said of course they will fix whatever is wrong with the crank/bb and tune up the bike also,all at no charge.

3/8" drive is perfect for bottom brackets and crankarms and that's pretty much the only thing on a bike that I use a torque wrench for. In fact, Park bottom bracket tools have a square hole to fit a 3/8" drive wrench. You'll need a 8mm allen bit for crankarms. Sears will have them.

Your response from the owner is exactly what I expected it would be.