front mech

[cityfan]

Hi

i have a Sram Apex groupset. I recently began having difficulty shifting up to to lage front chainring (downshifting seemed ok)- i was having to really push the gear lever and it was taking 4 or 5 attempts to get it into the big ring. Needed adjusting ithought- maybe cable tightening a touch

i am the first to admit my mechanical incompetence so last week to it to my LBS- told them the issue and asked them to sort it.

a couple of days later (monday)i picked it up- repair was £8 -they did not specify what they had actually done but looked like a new cable fitted.- i cycled the mile or so home but without my cycling shoes wasn't really aboe to apply that much pressure to the pedals so did not get the chance to really 'test' the repair.

Tonight i was able to get out on the bike for the first time this week- after 4 or 5 miles i was still finding the gear change on the front was not a lot better than before- still struggling to get up onto the big ring- rather miffed i decided to cut short my ride and thought i would need to take it back to the LBS.

on the way home i was still trying the change the gears when i heard a clunk and when i looked down realised the chain had jammed in the cage. Luckily i wasnt going very quick and pulled over before i fell off. When i got of the back i then saw the Rear Derailleur had been torn off and was in the spokes. Looks a bit bent and bashed tbh so not sure if can be fixed or will need replacing.

this leads me (finally )to my question. I feel the initial repair was not done correclty and has now led to a bigger problem- i am going to return the bike to the shop and show them the damage- i am expecting them to sort this at no extra charge but where do i stand legally- i did after all take delivery of the bike from the shop - and if they get awkward or do not accept any responsibiliy what can i do.

any advice would be greatly appreciated

ian

 

[User16625]

Your initial problem sounded like on of the adjuster screws on the front mech needed a slight turn. This would have allowed the front mech to move a little further over. However as their repair not only failed to fix the problem, but managed to F up your bike a bit aswell I reckon you got every right to demand they fix it at no cost to you. Only thing is even if they do accept liability, they have already shown massive incompetence and likely to F up the bike even more. Wouldnt know where you would stand when it comes to getting them to pay someone else to do repairs.

 

[black'n'yellow]

the LBS probably never even went near the rear mech to fix a front mech issue - why would they? It might be a coincidence, but the issue is unrelated to the repair in my opinion.

 

[cityfan]

i think the Rear mech got dislodged when the chain appeared to jam in the front mech cage- the force also seems to have broken the chain as well. Took the bike back to LBS earlier- made it very clear i wasn't happy. the guy pointed out the chain to me- i made the point that that would have been caused by the Front mech fault and the chain jamming- I thought he was trying to say it was going to be wear and tear and that the broken chain caused the problem. My stance was the front mech fault- which they had not sorted properly was the cause of the broken chain (and in turn rear derailleur) and not the effect. The chain (and bike) is baely a year old and i regularly degrease and lube it so i dont think its wear & tear though i suppose you can never dismiss abrupt mechanical breakdown all be it unlikley imo

to be fair the chap has not said it's not their responsibility but wants to examine bike to determine what happened. I suppose thats reasonalbe enough- you wouldn't just ay yeh my fault before you have had the chance to see if you can determine the cause. I have left the bike with them and expect to hear from them tomorrow and see what they say.

 

[black'n'yellow]

the chain 'jamming' in the front mech would have no impact at all on the rear mech - think about it....