Quote Originally Posted by alpinerabbit View Post
I think it would be time for violette to go and talk to her LBS and see what THEY say. This has been mulled over plenty on this board. oops I almost misspelled that last word.
Violette- alpinerabbit is right, go talk with your LBS. I had a similar gear problem (except just the opposite as yours) when I sold my Giant OCR 1 which had a 52,42,30 and bought a Specialized Ruby Expert which had a 50,39,30. After several rides I realized I really missed my 52 chainring as I was gearing out and couldn't stay on DH's wheel...BIG PROBLEM. I spend most of my time in the big chainring (but appreciate my granny gears when I need them) so I really noticed the difference. We called the LBS and tried to simply change out the 50 for a 52. Unfortunately the chainring set was specifically designed for the Ruby and the 52 would not shift properly with the 39, 30 chainrings. My LBS solved the problem by contacting his Specialized rep who took the whole front chainring set back and replaced it with a new Ultegra front 52,39,30. Cost to me...nothing but a huge plate of fresh chocolate cookies. Good customer service is everything and it payed off to the LBS as we have since purchased a total of 6 bikes from him and sent him many new customers. Give your LBS a chance and let them suggest some solutions or simply see if they might trade the bike back in for something else. Even if you need to spend a few hundred dollars more on a different bike, you might be glad you did in the long run. Gearing is just as important as bike fit and if the gear set up doesn't work for you, you won't be happy. Just my 2 cents...