How can this be with my new bike?

[ridebikeme]

Well, first I must say that Fuji makes a great bike. Although the key to a great bike is having a shop that is experienced enough to set it up CORRECTLY! It sounds to me that someone may have been a bit inexperienced setting up your bike... in 17 years as a mechanic, I've never seen a cable fray because it was clamped too tight. Did the cable have a cable end on it?(metal thing covering the end) Although it can happen.... my point to all of this is that it sounds like this bike was a learning experience for someone, and now unfortunately for you! I would take it back to Performance and have their ace mechanic go through the entire bike... if that isn't possible then I would take it to another LBS. They should be looking for a bent chain, derailleur hanger, derailleurs set up correctly,and the fact that the cables are fed through the shifters correctly and also run through housing that isn't frayed or has wires sticking from it and simply going through the entire bike.

AS for shifting on hills, what I normally try to tell people is try to quess what gear you need to be in before you start. If you happen to shift during the hill and want to shift to your small ring, then shift up one in the back first. This takes up more slack for your front derailleur and generally helps quite a bit. Remember that when you are shifting during the hill to be patient, and try and put less stress on the pedals during the shift... once the chain has moved then you should be all set.

I hope someone takes their time to simply check over your bike; it's simply unacceptable for someone not to enjoy their new bike! Have fun and keep us posted!!

[uforgot]

Denny, I seem to recall that this isn't the first time you have had to take that bike back! Something smells here, and it seems to be Performance Bike, not Fuji. You should NOT have to take it to a lbs. I'd start going through the chain of command and maybe even point them to this thread so that they know the problems are going out to lots of cyclists. Maybe you should find the local Fuji area rep and let him know also. I like the top mechanic idea and definitely don't speak to some kid on the floor. Stick to your guns, be polite but firm. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Aggie_Ama]

It sounds like the bike shop not the bike REEKS. I rode a Fuji Finest as my first bike for over 3k and had no major issues. The bike was dialed in by a mechanic I trusted (and still do) plus lovingly cared for. Performance should make this right but if not I would take your new baby elsewhere. Fuji does make quality products and I really don't see how you personally can be causing all those issues. Don't give up, you have some good suggestions on how to resolve this situation.

[denny]

, I've never seen a cable fray because it was clamped too tight. Did the cable have a cable end on it?(metal thing covering the end)

Ride- yes the cable had the cap on the end. The cable itself was too long and it took a hit from my shoe with each rotation of the pedal.

Uforgot- yup, this isn't my first bike with PBS as I traded in my Scattante 560for the FUJI. This bike is a really sweet ride outside all of the issues with cables and shifters, but it requires so much thinking to make sure I didn't overshift or undershift, am I going to break it again,etc. It kind of takes away from the ride if I have to worry about what's going to go wrong.

I'm having a terrible headache tonight so I'll just deal with PBS tomorrow and see how it goes. ugghhh. Just when I thought I was making progress.
Do you think it would make a difference in my shifting problems if I went back to a standard cassette?

I'll keep you guys posted.

[aicabsolut]

Ok, compacts can be finicky. However, it sounds like someone wasn't paying attention when they built your bike. The cable should NOT snap off right away. The other end shouldn't unravel with the cap on or for being clamped tightly, even if it does hit your shoe. It was probably already starting to fray from shoddy installation. Then even if your front derailleur isn't tuned properly (which can be hard to do on a compact...that's why I taught myself to do it...my shops kept failing), it should not destroy the rear end of your drivetrain!

I agree with ridebikeme, though I would say that approaching a hill, I tend to shift to a smaller cog or two in the rear if I'm near the inside of the cassette, because chain drop to the inside seems to be more common with compacts, even with the lower limit set properly. By being a little farther out on the cassette, you're less likely to drop it to the inside, in my experience.

This takes some planning, because you don't want to shift harder once you're already on the hill. It took some practice to get a method that seems to make my bike happy. You might find another technique that works once this thing gets fixed.

Now you might want to go over the Performance people's heads and call Fuji. I know they do good warranty service on cracked frames and such. You might be able to get a replacement bike directly from them without messing with Performance. However, since it is just your components, I would first find out where the thing was built. Was it mostly assembled by Fuji or by Performance?