So last week, at the end of a ride I notice a rattling sound up front and realize I have a loose spoke. I take it in to the LBS and they do a front and rear true, as well as crank adjustment that was necessary due to me locking a pant leg during the previous ride. They told me it could take up to a week due to their schedule, which I thought was a bit long, but in the end it was ready within two days.

Now somehow, in the 7 block distance from the shop to my house, I get a broken rear spoke! Now of course, shiat happens, but I'm obviously wondering if they didn't twist a spoke or get a bit careless with the tension during the true. Anyway, when I took it back in, they said I'd have to pay for the spoke but they would do the replace for free. Fair enough I thought.

Okay, so I go in the next day to pick'er up, and what do I see but the black spoke is now silver! To be fair, my initial (and continuing) impression is that it looks pretty cool, but don't you think that is the kind of thing you should maybe consult the customer about? And it's not as though this is a freebie - I'm paying for the spoke right?

So I hop on, and immediately notice something was up. It's hard to describe it, but the drive-train just felt kind of creaky and rough. At first, I figured it was the new spoke settling and having not been on the bike for a few days. The fixed transmission really makes you feel some weird things sometimes. By the time I made the short trip home, I figured out the problem. The fixed/fixed rear wheel had been but on the 18T side, rather than the usual 16T. This bike has probably 1500-2000km on it with the 16t side exclusively, and although the 1/8" chain is not appreciably stretched, the wear-in made the 18t cog feel very strange and downright noisy. I find it funny that I noticed the drive-train before noticing the drop of 6 gear-inches. (thats what she said)

Now, I could have just kept riding on that side, but notwithstanding being used to the 48/16 gearing, I am thinking that it would maximize chain/cog lifespan to save the 'fresh' 18t for the event that either the 16t wears out, or the chain breaks at which point I could 'retire' the 16. Hopefully, neither this season.
When I took the bike back in, I talked a bit to the mechanic who did the work and he admitted that because he had to take the cog off to replace the spoke that he got confused. I'm not sure how he didn't notice that the wheel was sitting 1/4" further forward in the fork though, as the old seating marks were quite visible. (should have taken a picture)

Okay, this rant is getting long, but there is one last part. This doesn't pertain to me, but something I witnessed at this shop while I was waiting for the last time. A guy had come in with a broken chain that he had just suffered. No big deal right? Well, they didn't want to put it on for him without charging a shop fee and potentially making him wait, and they wouldn't lend him a chain tool to do it himself. They did however try to sell him a chain-tool, but he said he had one at home, and just needed a hand. I didn't see how the interaction ended, but it just made me think later, do I really want to continue being a customer of a place like this?

So what are your thoughts? Nothing specific to get 'mad' over - am I over-reacting to take my business elsewhere? Has anyone experienced something like this where the little things that don't seem significant on their own add up to a big annoyance?

Never lend tools, ever, end of story.

They should have charged you for a black spoke and replaced it with such, or at least let you know all they had was silver.

Absent minded mechanic? Not my ideal shop, you should look around for another place.

As far as waiting for a week, sometimes stuff gets backed up.

Learn to work on/build your own wheels. Why would you 'save' your 18t? It's just a cog. Ride whichever one is appropriate for the situation. Shop was not out of line. Is there probably a better shop in your area? I would guess so.

T

When one spoke goes it's really common to see a cascade effect of other spokes failing. If one of your spokes was at zero tension (rattling around) I'm not surprised that something else went soon after. They should have confirmed the black/silver spoke thing ... the 7 day wait is expected in-season.

Never lend tools. It sets a bad precident, things could get broken (customer could break the tool or "your ****ty tool broke my bike!"), also a liability issue.

**** the lbs

ya this one shop in long beach charged me $17 for change of tube. (this was when i was younger and didnt have the slightest idea of how things work)

i never went back to them again.

Do your own maintenance. No headaches.

Good point, however in this case, the original loose spoke was on the front wheel. The broken spoke was the rear wheel, and only after they had trued it which technically isn't what I brought it in for in the first place.

I also agree about the tools, but at the same time there is something about buying a chain that makes me feel like the installation cost should be included. Otherwise it kind of seems to me like replacing someones flat tube, then charging them to fill it up with air, or making them buy a pump - even though they have one at home.

I'm not sure if I made it clear what I meant by 'saving' the cog. My reasoning is that since it has thus far seen zero wear, it doesn't make sense to run it with a worn-in chain in that it will prematurely wear the cog and shorten the life of the chain. If that logic is flawed, let me know. Had I put the same distance on the bike, but been switching sides periodically, then it wouldn't matter, correct?

Most shops don't lend out tools, even right in front of the mechanic area. The "pay the $50/hour mechanic's fee or wait a few days, or buy your own tool" is typical of most shops. Remember it's only about 2 weeks from season so there are many, many road bikes getting tuned up and ready to go.

Sadly, that's not too much money. Going rate where I live is $15, 7.50 a tube, and 7.50 labor, not to mention you don't get your bike for a week.

sounds crappy but nothing outrageous. There's a shop like that next door to my apartment, their stock isn't great and for instance when I went to buy a Presta tube they tried to give me a schraeder even though it said what kind of tube it was right on the box. Little stuff like that is pretty much typical of the kind of experience you have shopping there, but it's nothing to get overly irritated about, they're just not a very good shop. I still get small things from there from time to time, but generally I go out of my way to go to a far better shop about a 20 minute ride away. Hopefully you can do the same.

I know you usually say stupid stuff, but really? Do you actually think that?

Whenever something like that happens I just buy a tool to fix it at home. It's a great way to patronize your LBS without having to be reliant on them, plus it's a one time fee for a lifetime of repairs to that specific part. If you screw something up really bad, you can always take it in, but you'll still have the tool for next time when hopefully you've learned from your mistakes.

i'd be pretty ticked off at the mismatching spoke. i don't think that is very professional. at least they could've gave a heads up.

reminds me of the time i took my bike in for a flat - i felt like giving this shop some business because they worked on my bike previously and the owners were cool. of course, i can get a tube and do it myself but i wanted to support the shop and they charge a fair price. anyway, i get my bike back at the end of the day and find that they drilled through my presta rim to fit a schraeder valve. later the same day i flatted again and changed it myself and found that they didn't install the correct sized tube. not letting that shop touch any of my bikes ever again.

Depends on which lbs we're talking about.

There are some that are awesome, there are some that are handy for the occasional part, and there are some that have no business being in the bike business.

Between the growth of online bike shops with better products at better prices than most lbses could ever hope for, and bike collectives/co-ops where you can learn to fix your bike more quickly and more cheaply than you could get it fixed at the lbs, a lot of bike shops are going to have to step up their game substantially.