ok no names, because i'm not trying to b!tch anyone out, but yesterday i went into a shop here in nyc to have my crankset and bb switched out, cause i don't have the correct bb tools. anyway i go to pick up the bike and the first bb is fuxored, chewed to pieces, to the point where i had to come back to my office and cancel an auction i had on ebay for the old crankset and bb, because basially i can't sell this to anybody, as tore up as it is.
the guy at the store, who's been cool with me last couple of times i've been in there (buying little stuff like grips, pedals, straps, a tracknut etc), told me it's because the Truvativ bbs have real soft metal on the flanges. well ok, i say fine and just swallow the loss of the extra $15 or so that i might have gotten for including the bb with the pedals. guy's like oh and hey the stand screwed up the tape on your bike too (my frame is all taped up). so what, it's just tape, but i'm kinda like, ok, now i'm glad i had it taped, and if the twisting on the tape is anything to go by then i understand why the BB flange has pieces of metal gouged out of it. anything else?
so i pay up, go outside, get on my bike and try to pedal off and grrzzzzzttttttt! make a half rotation of the pedals without the back wheel moving. bring the bike back in, and after looking at it for a few moments i see that the chain's sitting on the top of the chainring teeth and hadn't fully caught, hence the slippage. Now, i didn't specifically ask for a 1/8" chain when i came in (didn't even think to look at the chain i had), but i would expect a decent lbs not to thread a 3/32" chain onto a 1/8" chainring, even if the dumbass customer was dumbass enough not to notice or state that i needed one. haven't really had a good look at the teeth on the new chainring yet, because i just don't want to see, but i can't imagine that was any good for them.
in the end i just coughed for a new chain, thanked the guy and left. but later i was thinking about it and felt kinda pissed. this was the first time i took my bike there for mechanical work and i don't feel i got looked after right. even if i only spend $20 - $40 each time i go in there that's still dough, and i was planning to buy a wheelset off them next.
anyway whatever - could have just been an off day for dude/store, and this isn't hateration. just didn't make me feel so great is all.

the chain? that's some harsh carelessness on their part. maybe not carelessness... just inattentativeness. that's bad.

from my experience working in a bike shop as well as being a bike customer, a good way to judge a bike shop is not whether or not they make small mistakes (i mean, they shouldn't happen, but they do), but how they correct them. if they're defensive or if you get a bad vibe (which can come from a grievous customer <i>giving</i> a bad vibe, too..), then that's good solid reason for being pretty disappointed. but if the guy smacks his head and says, "wow, that was a stupid mistake, i'm really sorry. here's a chain, i'll put it on while you wait, please come again, sorry it happened"--then i'd get a better sense that they're a decent shop, regardless of the mistake. cause they're honest and real about fixing their mistake.

once i did a freakin' stupid thing, i wrenched on a kickstand over the derailleur cable (thought it was out of the way. it wasn't. i didn't double check). the customer, who was buying a hybrid for her brother, was pissed the next day, i fixed the mistake and threw in a waterbottle cage, and she wound up coming in the next week to buy a bike for herself, and was really cool, too. so.

yeah, the guy was annoyed at himself for the chain. and i know for sure, mistakes get made and it's the way you deal that matters. just seemed pretty crappy, when all was added up. oh well…

yeah? well, not naming any names either (R&A *cough*) I got my bike back from my LBS the other day and not only was my axle bolt so lose that I shifted my wheel on my first crank but they hadn't tightened my chainring bolts at all -- as in maybe a quarter turn. It wasn't until I was flying down the Manhattan Bridge that night and when I started skipping to slow down that I felt something was terribly wrong. I guess I'm lucky my chain didn't pop and leave me a bloddy pulp.

Can't trust them.

that sucks. it's pretty obvious when a chain doesn't fit. shows that he didn't even spin the cranks/chain after installation.
eddie, i know it's a little more of a trip for you, but alex at bicycle doctor on grand in williamsburg does great work. he also stocks track stuff, last time i was in there he had some wheels with miche hubs.

really? happen to know which rims they were built with? hey and this crankset rocks man. utterly silent chainline, super solid feeling with the 1/8" chain. love it!

FYI - have had good mechanic experiences at:
NYCVelo on 2nd Ave
and if you want to ride up to Piermont:
PiermontBike

PS R+A Blows :(

yup, R&A is a pos, and i used to live on union/3rd so it really was my lbs. only thing cool about that store was when the dude who had the little shop on flatbush ave for a hot second went over to R&A after his store shut. he was a cool guy. i doget his name but he could fit you like no-one else

I don't know how much they are... i want to say they were laced to mavic something or other.
but not sure.
if you call, he'll give you the details. alex is the guy with the accent. he's cool.
here's his info. 33 Grand St, Brooklyn (718) 302-3145

Yeah I remenber till like a year ago bicycle doctor use to have superbe hubs for sale...oh the good old times.
But anyways, bike shops in NYC suck ass. I use Bike Works cuz is convinient and also I brought them so many clients that they even give me deals in parts.
NOw I would never say use City Habitat or any other Nolita/ Soho spots. First is overpriced, secondly the are snob f***s. They make so much money selling and fixing fancy carbon fiber yuppie bikes that they don give a s***t to people with simple needs.
I went there the other day to get Soyo grips and they were asking $30 for it! What a joke.

it wasn't habitat. i wouldn't have bothered posting if it were. wouldn't be news to anyone.

The LBS closest to me is driving me nuts...first trip was for a 15mm cone wrench...sorry don't have them. Next was for a crank removal tool...sorry don't have them. The following was to have the freewheel removed from my flop side...sorry don't have the tool (they sell BMX too!!!). The last time was for a 17t cog (I was being hopeful), sorry but I do have a 18t Miche cog (ie not threaded).
This place has several new track bikes for sale, so don't give me the "not my market" excuse. So now I just mailorder everything from Tdot.

Eddie, what's the new crankset?

miche primato.

absolutely.
100%.
dead.
silent.

:D

Nice, I was interested in their crankset + hubs as well (now just the crankset). Did you go w/ a Miche cog setup or something else?

I've had similar experiences here, they left the wife's headset loose after fitting a new stem. Needless to say, everything got checked out thoroughly after I found that. Just to be clear, you say the old chainring was swapped out, as was the chain? What about the rear cog/cassette?

recently my friend got a complete bike from "them" and they did that same chain thing to her bike (not to mention incorrectly installing the tires causing a massive and potentially dangerous blowout).

I took my bike in there and it came back with a scratched frame... AND they installed a part that I hadn't asked for because "it doesn't matter, it's the same thing"... so much for customer service.
numerous complaints about that shop.
lazy. lazy. lazy.
can't be a star with a track record like that.
but hey, what are you gonna do?

damn, the backlash is coming out. lets hope its a sophomore slump, not a sign of things to come. hearing rumors of a new bigger shop in the works too.

personally my overall experiences have been good, but yeah sometimes attention to detail is a bit lacking. worst was the spoke that popped an hour after I had had one replace. sure it was a bunk hub, but I wasn't even on the bike when the thing snapped! I ain't really here to complain though, the new wheel they built is beautiful.

I like 'em.
they've hooked me up royal.

Save that money you would've spent @ the LBS on some tools. DIY. It's right everytime.

wait wait wait wait wait

trackstar put a 3/32 chain on a 1/8 chainwheel?

for serious?

that is what I was thinking... tools aren't that expensive... and fixed gear/track bikes are extremely easy to work on or build.

For more fun nyc bikeshop rants, search peripatetic's posts.

i cant say ive ever had an experience in a bike shop that has been overwhelmingly positive.. weather its that they look down on me with upturned noses because of the clothing i chose to wear (bright flashy stuff like anime socks and whatnot) or weather they think i know nothing at all about bikes because i only had enough to buy a cheap track bike, and didnt dump a grand on some specialized er fuji er somthin'. i try and stay away from bike shops as much as i can because of this, only stopping in for the occasional air pump..

cog that came with the bike (bianchi pista) but i'm planning to buy a miche hubset so i will have a complete miche drivetrain then i guess