n00b question
 

Alright,

I got a Giant Bowery about a month and a half ago and lately, along with some chain noise, my crank/bb area started to make clicks and i started to feel some looseness. Brought it to the lbs and one of the guys told be my BB is crap, and so is my chain, also suggested upgrading the cranks and maybe upgrading all together to 1/8th.

My questions are; what size BB do I need?

And what would be the best option for a crank?

I've looked at the Alien parts, but I'm afraid they'll break again as they are so inexpensive.

Thanks for any input.

Your cranks and chain didn't break your BB. If it's only a month and a half old, the BB was either defective or improperly installed (assuming this was a new bike at the time), and the shop where you purchased the bike should fix it. Can the guy at the bike shop explain what's so crappy about your chain or cranks and what's so wonderful about 1/8" for your bike and the way you're riding it? Sounds like he's feeding you a load of BS so you'll waste cash on unnecessary upgrades rather than just fixing the $20 part that's shot.

Hey thanks a lot. That does make sense.

I don't have much else to add, one question: did you buy the bike new or used? If used, there might be enough wear to scrap a BB, but still sketchy. If you bought it new, then this is a repair and part the shop should cover - period. I can't think of any reason a hub should fail that quickly w/o other signs of unusually hard use. As for the chain, there are a few people who feel that 1/8 chain is more robust, but I think the vast majority of people i know don't think there is any significant difference going to the larger size.

I don't understand why so many shop workers try to talk kids into slapping 1/8 chains on. I had a guy baffled out of his mind when I bought a new 3/32 chain.

<I don't have much else to add, one question: did you buy the bike new or used? If used, there might be enough wear to scrap a BB, but still sketchy. If you bought it new, then this is a repair and part the shop should cover - period. I can't think of any reason a hub should fail that quickly w/o other signs of unusually hard use. As for the chain, there are a few people who feel that 1/8 chain is more robust, but I think the vast majority of people i know don't think there is any significant difference going to the larger size. >


Yeah I bought the bike new. Rode it SS for a couple of weeks, then switched over to fixed. I guess I've done close to 500km on it, so it did surprise me that the components would wear out so quickly.

well if you are going to upgrade and you're not wanting to spend a lot[which is understandable, having bought the bike new so recently] I would recommend the Sugino xd. I have them and really love them.. and get a 107 bb. With the chainring on the inside, I have a near perfect chainline.

hope this helps a bit, sorry about your situation.

The guy I talked to had a track bike of his own, and was speaking from experience. I dont ride the bike on a track. I commute to work 20km one way. I can see that the crankset has quite a bit of flex, but I dont push the bike that much.

Anyway, thanks for the help

No worries. Thanks for the input. Appriciated.

I know plenty of guys and gals who ride track with 3/32 chains w/o issue. I know the BMX kids who worked at our shop would sometimes jump on recommending 1/8 chain, but I don't think it is really an issue.

Again, this is not a "normal wear and tear - use the opportunity to upgrade" issue. This should not have happened (unless you did some sort of sillyness the bike was not designed for/got in a crash/etc. However, when you do stuff like that, there are usually signs of wear other than just a bad bottom bracket. If you were riding silly (read: tricks) or had an accident, then this is a "bad luck sucks, pay for it" issue). Ask them to replace it. Don't be a jerk, but explain that you think this problem falls well outside normal issues, and that they should warranty replace it. Politely ask for the owner/manager if necessary. Again, be nice, because if they do work with you, you can use this as an positive opportunity to build a good relationship. If they are unhelpful and keep trying to push you to upgrade, then you can say something snarky like, "I certainly won't upgrade at a place that doesn't stand behind their products," burn the bridge, and find a new shop. Seriously, I would go for a manager/owner right away, because they are more likely to want you to have a positive experience, and the shop guy you worked with might not have the authority to OK replacement issues like this.

Thanks for the input. Does weight come into effect here? I'm about 185 pounds at 5.11

I will do as you suggest. I wasn't snarky with them at all when I first went in there, I made the appointment beforehand, I showed the problem to one of the guys and he suggested this was normal wear and tear. I'll get the manager involved as you suggest.

Thanks.

Definitely not a weight issue.

Why on earth would the shop cover that? They did not select or install the BB, and if this dude weighs in heavy, rode with loose crank or chainring bolts, or didn't maintain his ride [new bikes need love too] then there are any number of reasons a cheap part on a cheap bike could fail.

If not it's still on Giant, not the lbs

1. The LBS did not install the BB, but they did assemble the bike out of the box and should have tuned it up (including tightening crank/bolts). I do not know of any bike shop that expects customers to do this right off the bat. If you take the bike out for a test ride in a parking lot and the crank arm falls off (seen it happen), is that your fault or the LBS for not properly setting up the bike? The bike shop should provide a well set up bike, that is one of the advantages to buying from an LBS over something like bikesdirect.com. If they don't set it up right, they should be responsible.

2. 185lbs is not a weight concern for anything on a stock Bowery. He could add 70 lbs worth of gear and still be OK. He would have to tune things up a little more often, but he would not ruin a BB after a month and a half.

3. The only work that should be required for the first month and a half of riding that bike is keeping air in the tubes and lubricate the chain (frequency depends on conditions). Every LBS I know of says that after about a month or so, bring the bike in for a follow up tune up. What the LBS is looking for here is mainly cable break-in, but they should also do another loose bolt check over the bike to see if anything is working its way loose. This is where the OPs bike is at. Regardless of if he brought it in for a follow-up or not, mechanical parts should never fail after this amount of time (again, excluding high milage [500km is not high milage] or abuse).

I am not saying it is the LBS' fault - it could very well have been a bad bottom bracket from the factory. However, even if the blame is on Giant, or whoever made the bottom bracket, he should still go to the LBS and ask them (again, nicely) for help, because the LBS should take care of his bike, and then take care of it with Giant. When something like this happened because a new part went bad, we replaced the part and then would report this back to the distributor and work out some arrangement, be it reimbursement or replacement. The LBS will have a much better relationship with the company than you will, and they can get much faster and more positive results.

Finally, you are correct - this is a very cheap part. Both the LBS and Giant do not want to turn you off from their business over a cheap part like this failing prematurely. The OP wants his bike fixed, and the businesses want you riding happily again. People coming in for handouts suck, people coming in for fair business dealings are great, and made up most of our regular customer list. Something was not right on this person's new bike, the LBS sold that bike, so they should serve as point for fixing it.

^^ This reply is spot-on. The bb shouln't have failed, and the shop should fix it and deal with Giant if they think the defect was on their end. Assuming the OP didn't dunk the bb in a sand slurry, he should expect the shop to handle this rather than pushing unnecessary upgrades.

Thanks for all the input, guys. At the very least I will have a talk with them...

due your a fukin nutter if you think lube and air are all a bike needs in the first month you must have peeps riding about a kilometer a day on their new bikes outta yer kmart, and this guy rode his for a month and a half before he had any trouble, so either he didnt ride it or the problem developed from riding it. Hey op how much you whey in at?

month and a half and you think all it needs is lube and air, glad i got a real lbs to go to, in a month and a half any new bike i got is on its second tune and is hitting at 3000k, even if op dude only rides 5-10k a day it will need more than air and lube. oh and upselling is life, and i bet op is 150+ pounds.

damn kids think a 500 dollur bike should last forever with a 100% lifetime waranty if it dont, but htey dont maintain the bike...take his advice, go ahead

Is this post supposed to be so unintelligible?

1.5 months is not forever, and it is a ridiculously short span for a bb failure. If you're accustomed to failures of this sort, you and/or your shop are lousy mechanics. If you think that's reasonable and would be satisfied walking into your "real lbs" to have them turn down the repair and pitch some pointless components, then they truly deserve your business.

And we're very impressed you log 2000 km/mo. Really.

185 pounds. I've maintained the bike. Chain has been in proper tension, and lubed. It just seems like the BB is weak. I don't mind replacing it, I was just curious as to which size I should get.

A. they turned down no repair
B. It ain't a dumpster find, therefore it's pointless? Glad you find biking a place to settle, hippie
C. The OP was over 150 as I'd surmised, while he sez he kept tension adjusted he may not have noticed a loose chainring bolt or two, many people miss that, and he may not have checked his crank bolts after the first 100k, many people forget that to.
D. Go home kid, even I'm not impressed with 2000k a month. I bet the OP didn't keep it in the garage, and he did ride it, and it did fail. For you ******s to come along and blame the LBS is BS. IS ****** banned here? If it is, let me remark that kyselad is a d o u c h e b a g

A. Right, he just took it in and they didn't fix it. Makes sense.
B. What?
C. How could you possibly have figured he was over 150? Was it the earlier post where he told us his weight? Those loose crank bolts definitely bust the bb instead of rounding out the crank.
D. I'm very impressed. You sound like a big, strong man. And I love you.

pot. kettle. black.

I weigh in at 210 and have been riding on a stock Bowery bottom bracket for the last 2 years. Year round. This is clearly a problem your LBS should be taking care of - for free. Wearing out a bb in a month and a half? That's ridiculous no matter how much you weigh or ride.

Seriously. This clearly points to either manufacturer defect or installation error. Either way any decent LBS would get the problem solved and then work it out on their end.