I feel bad for OP. So many posters taking up for an unscrupulous shop that sold him a beat-up bike.

OP: get your money back, and either buy a bike from a great shop out of town, or buy a new bike from an online retailer and learn some wrenching skills.

no wonder he is not happy, never will be, by definition.

misanthrope. .. Definition : a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.

a person who hates or distrusts humankind .

Yeah, I wasn't worried about the fender. I'd already adjusted it so that it wasn't rubbing. The fenders weren't actually listed as part of the bike when it was advertised on their website, so far from being disappointed when I was told they were removing the rack (I wasn't expecting a rack to be on it as it wasn't listed either) I was just happy some fenders were in effect being thrown in for free. I wasn't too concerned about the manual either. I'd downloaded a PDF, but the paper copy could have come in handy at first. I shouldn't really have mentioned it as I didn't really regard it as that relevant.

As it happens I took the bike back today and they readily agreed to service it, specifically addressing the problems mentioned, with even a promise to replace any parts which were malfunctioning but couldn't be repaired.

Aside from the fact that the bike had so many problems when I got it home, the staff have been both friendly and helpful. I never suspected that I was getting ripped-off as such, just annoyed because I thought that they hadn't bothered or had forgotten to service it (although I did speak to someone today who said he had personally done it) and as a result I was quite inconvenienced.

OK I see I have to jump in and expalin my earlier post, Buyer Beware. You bought a used RENTAL bike. The shop offered SERVICING of the bike, not REPAIR of the bike. They probably pumped up the tires, played with cable adjustment to get it a good as possible, lubed the chain and got it out the door.
The fender issue could have happened when they took it off the bike stand and threw it in a disply rack and it got bent. Brake pads rubbing on the rim is most likely due to bent rims commonly found on low - mid range bikes. The skipping gears sounds likely to be a worn cassette and would require new parts.
Ever bought a used car from a car dealer? Did they repair torn seats, cracked windshields, new tires because limited tread left, top off the washer fluid, empty the ashtray.......?

every bicycle i have ever pulled out of a box and assembled
i can think of about ten to fifteen different brands included
has come with a manual
but the manuals are virtually worthless

they generally have an illustration showing how to measure standover clearance
and give a rough description of things like quick release operation
and warn you not to do stupid things like ride at night without lights
or engage in competition dirt jumping without a helmet

It's quite simple. If the bike actually required some sort of repair which would not be included in the servicing, then as other posters have pointed out, the shop should have stated up front that something was broken and that they were not going to repair it. Knowingly selling a broken bike without disclosing it's broken, is just as bad as renting one out. If you think that would be perfectly fine, then well... there's little I can say to someone with such an ethical perspective.


Your example of the used car is rather odd. These flaws are all wear and tear, not components which are both broken and essential to the proper functioning of the car. Thus, it fails to illustrate your point.

As it happens, the shop fixed these problems today, including truing the wheel which was in fact buckled. They most definitely did regard these issues as ones which should have been addressed and resolved by their "service", and made good on that commitment.

Just want to add that although the b-tension screw had been tightened to an extent that the derailleur's manufacturer specifically warns against as it can cause warping, the gears may have been functioning properly after all.

As a pretty ignorant noob to all this biking malarkey, I wasn't aware that downshifting more than one gear at a time (with one press of the shift lever) was not necessarily a sign that the gears were malfunctioning. Guy at the shop explained today that to downshift just one gear at a time the lever needs to be pulled and released only a small amount. I don't know if I was doing this before, but expect I wasn't so the gears were probably working fine.

Silly me .

The flaws bghill1 are wear and tear and not essential to the proper functioning of the car.

Same as your first complaint ... the mudguard.

I think most people have a love/hate relationship with mudguards. They're great when they sit properly and protect your back from rain ... but they do tend to end up misaligning and rubbing the wheel or something. They can be quite a pain sometimes. The shop may have adjusted your mudguard yesterday ... but chances are your mudguards will end up rubbing again in a few weeks or months.

But I'm glad to hear that the shop resolved the issues ... for now.

You're not making much sense here at all.

Yes, a used car dealer will repair any obvious damage, esp. the types of problems you mentioned. There's a difference between a used car dealership and a junkyard.

Like OP, I don't see how your used car analogy informs us about the bike buying process. In fact, your comments regarding damaged vehicles are both grammatically incorrect as well as incoherent.

You seem to be trying, in a clumsy fashion, to argue that the buyer has no recourse and the seller no culpability whatsoever. This is factually incorrect as the OP himself told you.

Please read more carefully and edit your post for coherence before clicking "post."

Ummmm ... this is Bikeforums.