Just *****ing about Trek
07-15-20, 07:08 PM
#101
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Bikes: '20 Specialized Roubaix Expert, '20 Specialized Shiv Elite, '13 Specialized S-Works Epic
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I find this claim of a lack of information... odd. My Specialized Roubaix came with adequate information on torque values (probably most important), installation of Specialized components and adjustment, Shimano has detailed downloadable manuals for group sets, Park Tools has abundant videos and Zinn's Art of Road Bike Maintenance is in its 5th edition. It seems implausible a rider can not find information to support their own level of confidence in home bicycle repair and mechanic tasks.
07-15-20, 07:19 PM
#102
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My wife and I bought new Treks, the first new bikes we've bought in years. They have all this new (to us) technology: Bluetooth, disc brakes, hydraulic braking systems, spindle (?) quick releases … So I thought that of course there would be instruction manuals.
Nope. Not hard copy. Not on line. So I called Trek and asked for a maintenance or repair manual.
They don't have one.
Nope. Not hard copy. Not on line. So I called Trek and asked for a maintenance or repair manual.
They don't have one.
One of the things that frosts many people (shop owners, mfrs, friends) about me is that I try to gather all that stuff prior to any purchase. (Generally only when I've whittled down the list to the two or three finalists.) Helps me investigate "holes" in the package, gets me details on the stuff that I'd want to know if I did purchase, etc.
A pain, but it's about the only way to save oneself from no-manual-crafted syndrome.
07-22-20, 01:41 PM
#104
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This is so much better than in the pre-internet days where you got the paper bike manual only. I never had a separate Mafac brake manual, or a Suntour deraiilleur manual. I did get as nice paper Peugeot manual that included instructions for the Mafac tool kit. My old Fuji came with a paper manual.
Now I actually download the manuals before I even buy a part.
However if one is a buyer who seeks out the cheapest eBay or PRC sourced overstock or knockoff, there will probably not be a readable manual whether paper of downloadable..
07-23-20, 09:49 AM
#105
Full Member
My wife and I bought new Treks, the first new bikes we've bought in years. They have all this new (to us) technology: Bluetooth, disc brakes, hydraulic braking systems, spindle (?) quick releases … So I thought that of course there would be instruction manuals.
Nope. Not hard copy. Not on line. So I called Trek and asked for a maintenance or repair manual.
They don't have one. I have to call each individual component manufacturer. WTF? That's the bright shining future I have survived into, where manufacturers' customer "support" consultants can just say, "We don't owe that to you, go call each of the the components manufacturers"? Don't get me wrong, I understand that they use whatever components are available, and can't predict where they will be from or what the best combinations will be as the market changes. But if wire disk brakes are wire disk brakes, and hydraulic disk brakes are hydraulic disk brakes, it's not their responsibility to me as their customer to make sure they get me some general information about how to adjust these damn things?
I'm really disgusted.
Nope. Not hard copy. Not on line. So I called Trek and asked for a maintenance or repair manual.
They don't have one. I have to call each individual component manufacturer. WTF? That's the bright shining future I have survived into, where manufacturers' customer "support" consultants can just say, "We don't owe that to you, go call each of the the components manufacturers"? Don't get me wrong, I understand that they use whatever components are available, and can't predict where they will be from or what the best combinations will be as the market changes. But if wire disk brakes are wire disk brakes, and hydraulic disk brakes are hydraulic disk brakes, it's not their responsibility to me as their customer to make sure they get me some general information about how to adjust these damn things?
I'm really disgusted.
07-24-20, 01:10 PM
#106
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I'm waiting for the first case of a road race involving bluetooth-shifted bikes being hacked, a sort of 21st-Century update to the scene in Breaking Away where the Italian rider pushes Dave's shifter to the small cog on a climb.
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07-30-20, 12:38 PM
#108
Senior Member
That's my feeling about hydraulic disc brakes, or disc brakes in general.
07-30-20, 01:05 PM
#109
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BTW, Next scene was one of the most poigniant scenes wrt fatherhood, coming of age, etc. in "recent" memory. Dave is sitting on his bed, feeling his wounds, emotionally-distant father is standing over him, not knowing what to say. Dave says "They cheated, papa. I didn't know". Father pauses, replies "Well, now you know."
07-30-20, 03:18 PM
#110
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Thread Starter
One of my favorite movies. And that fatherhood scene is tremendous. In fact, I'd say that the father is the best actor in the movie. The closing scene is brilliant acting, directing, editing.
07-30-20, 03:25 PM
#111
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Looky that, I managed to help you derail your own thread.....
07-31-20, 09:08 AM
#112
Senior Member
Thread Starter
No, Madpogue, you just managed to distract me momentarily from my *****ing about Trek. For which I'm sure everyone thanks you.
Which, by the way, has just gotten more intense, since I found out that the "Bluetooth cycling computer" they sold me that they claim integrates with cycling aps DOES NOT DO ANY SUCH THING with any ap that I can find, except one that rates a miserable 3 stars with many complaints. Particularly not the one they told me it integrates with (Strava).
I'm going to start warning people not to buy Trek.
Which, by the way, has just gotten more intense, since I found out that the "Bluetooth cycling computer" they sold me that they claim integrates with cycling aps DOES NOT DO ANY SUCH THING with any ap that I can find, except one that rates a miserable 3 stars with many complaints. Particularly not the one they told me it integrates with (Strava).
I'm going to start warning people not to buy Trek.
