I'd like to first apologize for any misuse of terms and misunderstanding of anything in this thread. I'm a newbie when it comes to bikes.
I just got a new bike from a bike shop, Norco Mountaineer. Very low end, but I'm just a casual rider, just around my neighborhood and stuff like that. The front set of gears won't switch from first to second unless I'm going fairly fast. Otherwise, it will just make a grinding sound, struggling to go up, but not quite making it. It doesn't always do this; I think it's more likely to do it if the back is in 1 or 7. In the front, it can switch to 1 or 3 just fine, and I can switch to 2 from 3 just fine.
So this is not normal, right? The bike shop should be able to fix this, right? (they have 1 year free service)
Also, another quick question: When I am in 3 in front and 7 in the rear, the chain brushes up against the thing that changes gears, what's it called, a derailleur? And makes a rattling noise. Should I bother the shop about this? It doesn't seem to affect my riding.