No confidence in shop-am I overreacting?

[ridebikeme]

I definitiely agree with others, that you should ALWAYS shop for your mechanic/sales person vs the shop. I will also say that I feel horrible that you are having these issues as well!!

As a shop owner and someone who has been in the bike industry for 20 years, I've seen a lot of things happen over the years as I'm sure many of you have. Some for the better, some not... but I keep reminding myself that every industry has these same issues. With that, I hope that most people( including shop owners) pay attention and take care of their customers.

I did however want to make a couple of comments about your problem(s). I would defintiely recommend that you contact Trek directly and immediately! I can only imagine that a company such as theirs doesn't want people unhappy with their product and would want to find out from the shop exactly what happened and why. So please do that. They can also recommend another shop for you to take the bike to. If Trek should have any questions, then the second shop would likely be the one that would be contacted. And if parts should need to be replaced, then they could be sent to this shop as well.

AS for your crank coming loose and the rim tape, there are two scenerios in this case. First, most bikes are assembled from the manufacturer, and although shops finish the assembling process... there were actually two different phases to your build... namely Trek and your shop. Both of course, should have noticed the problem.

And lastly, for those of you that have had issues with cranks coming loose, I want to send something else for you to consider. If a crank has come loose a couple of times, or has been coming loose for a period of time, it can also cause issues with the bottom bracket. What I mean by that is that as the crank is loose, it can move back and forth on the axle of the bottom bracket. Even if the wear appears very small on the axle, it can cause HUGE problems. What that essentially means is that no matter how tight someone tightens the crank, it will always come loose! The tolerance of fit with the crank and bottom bracket axle are very minimal. So, for those of you that have mentioned that your shop would 'show' you how to tighten this periodically... well it can likely mean that you have the above problem. PLEASE have another shop/mechanic check this for you immediately!!! When your crank is allowed to move on the bottom bracket axle, it not only wears the axle but it also wears the crank... a new bottom bracket alone will NOT solve the problem.

AS for torquing, everything on a bike whether carbon or aluminum should be torqued and to the right specifications for that piece/brand... stems, cranks all have different specs for that. So another a great reason to have another shop check it... ask them also to write down anything that they should find out of sorts... this will be more information for TRek.

Lastly, I know I and others have said this, PLEASE have another shop check this bike immediately for your safety and piece of mind. Good luck with everything!!!