Trouble with bike shops

[greta]

I also thought brakes are pretty simple, although no mechanic here by any means. I noticed black tire specks all over the front fork before bringing my bike to the shop the other day and thought that odd. l always shift down before intersections intentionally but once in a while the light will change at the last minute and I can't shift down. I know odd but it's like when I shift the big gears, it's a triple, from the middle either way it only half shifts and gets noisy and I have to keep shifting back and forth. It would jump 2 either way sometimes and if it was shifted down before the intersection and I start up sometimes it starts slipping. These are busy streets and in Arizona where I live these are not good drivers. We have alot of impatient people and snowbirds here which don't make for safety. I am constantly wary.

I should have spent the extra money for the good components but it's late now. This is the first new bike I've ever bought, except my mountain bike I use in the canals. I have an assortment of used bikes I keep buying. When I first got the bike I fell real hard when I went from the road to the sidewalk and my back tire followed the curb division rather than me. The shifters lost paint on the ends of them or I would have asked if I could return and upgrade. I am 52 and want to be in better shape,(I have belly/back fat accumulating) so I have opted for this and kayaking rather than the gym. I am not experienced.

[pinkbikes]

When I first got the bike I fell real hard when I went from the road to the sidewalk and my back tire followed the curb division rather than me. The shifters lost paint on the ends of them or I would have asked if I could return and upgrade.

Which side did your bike fall on when you had your fall? If it fell "expensive side" down (that'd be the side with derailleurs) and the rear derailleur made contact with the ground, it is possible you could have bent your derailleur hanger. This is a little bit of sacrificial bracket that your derailleur is attached to and then attaches to the rear of your frame. It is supposed to bend/break before your frame does! And then you replace it, which is a lot cheaper than a repair to the frame.

I leant my bike on a wall and it fell over (oh so gently) and it landed on and bent mine ever so slightly. It will (and did) result in sketchy gear changing on the rear (if only slightly bent) right down to gawd-awful horrid not-changing/noisiness if it is really bent (like when some gumby ran into the back of me when he overshot the rest stop on a group ride on time).

While I think the bike shop has been a bit ordinary in their treatment of you, if they haven't been told you have had a little stack, they might not look for a bent hanger and may find it difficult to diagnose the problem and fix it, particulalry if the problem is only slight or intermittent when under load. But if the hanger is bent, it is a quick and very simple fix and your components should work like new (as they should really).

Good luck!

[Cataboo]

The fall also might have contributed to her brakes rubbing initially as well.

[lauraelmore1033]

I've had brake rub from the wheel not being quite true. It was on a new bike and I was told that it is common for new wheels to go out of true rather quickly.

[OakLeaf]

Have you had a bike with brifters before?

I don't know Sora, but in other Shimano gruppi, the front shifter is designed to "trim" the front derailleur with a half-push. It takes a firm push with a long lever travel to shift it. Likewise, the rear shifter can shift one or two cogs at once depending on how far you push the lever.

Cables will stretch on a new bike and need re-adjustment several times in the first few hundred miles.

Honestly, this type of adjustment (including brake pad alignment) is something you should be able to do yourself, because you'll want to make adjustments and replace frequently worn parts without running to the LBS every time. Browse through the Maintenance & Repair section for references to good books (sorry, I don't know any myself). Or if you're already comfortable with hand tools and good shop practices, Shimano's website and the Park Tool website, between them, have everything you need to know.

[alpinerabbit]

I'm too lazy and actually a bit scaired to do/learn these types of adjustments (although last year I did learn how to fine tune the limiter screws). My bike gets a yearly "haircut" from the trusted LBS, and that's that.

Shimano gruppi

argh - bike newspeak...

someone once even suggested only Campy can even legally be called a gruppo; the big S, not being italian bred, would be a groupset; but plural? screws up my ears good

[OakLeaf]

Oh, come on, we all call those-things-that-shift-the-chain-onto-another-cog by their French name even though we all know that Tullio Campagnolo invented them...

(And the limiter screws are a WAY more advanced class than the barrel adjusters for the cables, which is all I was suggesting the OP learn!)