Bad work at the LBS

benkoostra said:

I got my wife's bike back from the shop yesterday after a tune-up. It's a full Ultegra group and only 6-months old. So why does it shift so badly? You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.
This thing should work as well as the day it was new, but it doesn't. I wonder if the front shifter is defective and therefore hard to push, or if the cables need to be lubricated better. You would think for $85 they would make it run like new. WTF?

Yeah, they should - maybe something happened after they were done with it. Take it back and give them a chance to make it right.

benkoostra said:

I got my wife's bike back from the shop yesterday after a tune-up. It's a full Ultegra group and only 6-months old. So why does it shift so badly? You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.
This thing should work as well as the day it was new, but it doesn't. I wonder if the front shifter is defective and therefore hard to push, or if the cables need to be lubricated better. You would think for $85 they would make it run like new. WTF?

$85 for a tune-up!?!

Go back to the shop and have them re-do it.

Undoubtedly, the "mechanic" who worked your wife's bike is a putz ...

Even if, make that 'particularly if', there is an actual problem with the shifter, then he should have swapped it out for another one an sent your's in for a warranty replacement.

After you get the properly TUNED UP bike back from THAT shop, consider finding another shop and/or learning to do the work yourself ...

... working on a bicycle isn't rocket science.

BTW. For $85, I hope they did more than just fiddle with the adjustments ... did they replace any cables AND housing?

WHY did you bring it in for a tune up, anyway?

I have that problem on 2 FSA Superlight crank on Dura Ace and Ultegra (2 bikes). I guess it's the poor design of the chainrings. My Stronglight Pulsions on Ultegra 10 and my 105 crank on 105 both work crisp.

One of the derailleur pullies was cracked through, so that had to be replaced. That's why it got more expensive.
I would love to learn how to do this myself! I need to get some tools and a manual, or have someone who knows show me.
My wife took it in, so I don't know if they replaced any cables, but why would they? it's only 6 months old anyway1 It should work like new.
I'm calling them today.

benkoostra said:

One of the derailleur pullies was cracked through, so that had to be replaced. That's why it got more expensive.
I would love to learn how to do this myself! I need to get some tools and a manual, or have someone who knows show me.
My wife took it in, so I don't know if they replaced any cables, but why would they? it's only 6 months old anyway1 It should work like new.
I'm calling them today.

Okay, this may just be MY opinion, but I think that if the bike shop your wife brought her bike to was the one it was purchased from, then they should have replaced the pulley FREE OF CHARGE even if they had to "eat" the cost (BUT, it was/will-be probably covered by Shimano) ...

... And, the first year of tune-ups should be free.

WHERE'S THE CUSTOMER SERVICE at that shop?!?

FWIW. You can buy a "beginner's" bicycle toolset for about $50US. Some of the tools are of a lower, but useable quality. MOST of the tools you will need are included for most things you will need to do on a bicycle OR you can just pick-and-choose tools from available from most hardware stores. About half of the the original tools I bought to work on my bike way-back-when came from SEARS ... with the others (i.e., bike specific) bought through mail order on an as-needed basis.

THERE IS A LOT OF ON-LINE INFO AVAILABLE -- PARK TOOLS, SHELDON BROWN, .... a lot of people recommend ZINN's manuals.

If you have to, talk to the owner to get your $85 back ... DON'T HESITATE TO FIND ANOTHER SHOP after the work is done, particularly if they even balk for a moment at returning your money.

IMO, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW REASONS WHY A PERSON SHOULDN'T LEARN HOW TO DO THE WORK THEMSELVES ...

1) if you are a surgeon OR hand model AND damage to your hands would jeopardize your ability to do your profession for a week-or-two if your hand slipped and you hurt yourself ...

2) you have a muscular or neurological problem which makes handling the tools physically uncomfortable ...

3) you are a trust fund baby who has more money than you know what to do with.

If nothing else, even if you fall into the third category (and, there are certainly others) know HOW to effect a repair so you can determine whether the work a shop is going to do for you is worth their fee.

We bought the bike in the Bay area because we got a good deal on it, but we live in Sacramento, so we couldn't really go back for maintenance. The shop we went to is a little one in Fair Oaks, CA, not to far from our home.
Yes, the pulley should be covered, but how do I broach that subject at this point? They already charged me for the replacement and installed it! I wasn't thinking about that at the time.
BTW, Tektro brakes are sh!t. The 105's on my Trek are MUCH better. In fact the Trek shifts much better than the Giant. Granted it's brand new, but man, 6-months for a road bike is nothing. It has 600 miles on it. That's not the lifespan of Shimano components! My ancient mountain bike, with LX and XT parts from various years shifts much better.
Damn. I need to learn to wrench! I'll check out Park. I feel like I need someone to show me. I learn better that way.

benkoostra said:

I need to learn to wrench! I'll check out Park. I feel like I need someone to show me. I learn better that way.

I just replaced levers, brakes, chainset, chain, wheels, cassette and cables and done it mostly from utahmountainbiking.comfixOpen ↗ and bikeparts.comrepairs.htmlOpen ↗, just followed the instructions and was amazed how straight forward it is, was a bit worried about starting on my own bike so I tested my skills on the girlfriends and she was most pleased with how it runs so then I attacked mine.

benkoostra said:

We bought the bike in the Bay area because we got a good deal on it, but we live in Sacramento, so we couldn't really go back for maintenance. The shop we went to is a little one in Fair Oaks, CA, not to far from our home.
Yes, the pulley should be covered, but how do I broach that subject at this point? They already charged me for the replacement and installed it! I wasn't thinking about that at the time.
BTW, Tektro brakes are sh!t. The 105's on my Trek are MUCH better. In fact the Trek shifts much better than the Giant. Granted it's brand new, but man, 6-months for a road bike is nothing. It has 600 miles on it. That's not the lifespan of Shimano components! My ancient mountain bike, with LX and XT parts from various years shifts much better.
Damn. I need to learn to wrench! I'll check out Park. I feel like I need someone to show me. I learn better that way.

Many bike clubs offer maintenance classes. Also some shops do as well. REI stores periodically have FREE basic maintenance clinics at their Seattle store, and a quick look at the REI website shows that the Sacramento one has one scheduled for July 19.

http://www.rei.com/stores/store_event_detail.jsp?pid=72F3A6C8D133864895DC72D56583CF8F&template_id=14&template_family=webDetail&ignore_cache=1

It really isn't that hard.

Thanks, guys! I feel very warm and fuzzy from all your help!

I'll check out REI, definitelly. I know it's pretty fairly easy, but I do like to have a guide just to make sure I'm getting the details correct.

And my new Trek is coming home tonight! WOOHOO!

benkoostra said:

You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.

Try turning the high limit screw on your front derailleur counter-clockwise 1/4 turn. My bet is that'll fix it.

Retro Grouch said:

Try turning the high limit screw on your front derailleur counter-clockwise 1/4 turn. My bet is that'll fix it.

I will. It's easier than taking it back to the bike shop!
The lever itself is still very hard to push. Could that be due to dry cables? I hope so.

benkoostra said:

I will. It's easier than taking it back to the bike shop!
The lever itself is still very hard to push. Could that be due to dry cables? I hope so.

If I'm right the reason that the lever is hard to push is because the derailleur is bound up by the too tight limit screw. If that's the case, backing off the limit screw will make the lever easier to push.

benkoostra said:

.......BTW, Tektro brakes are sh!t. The 105's on my Trek are MUCH better...........

As an aside, Tektro brakes aren't all that bad, but they come with poor pads. Get a set of kool-stop pads and you will have better brakes for about $15.

jmoryl said:

As an aside, Tektro brakes aren't all that bad, but they come with poor pads. Get a set of kool-stop pads and you will have better brakes for about $15.

Agreed. You can probably improve your current pads stopping capability by sanding any glaze off the pads with some 150 grit sandpaper.

FWIW. Cane Creek's most recent brake caliper & lever offerings are Tektro's ...

The bike is going back to the shop. The lever is just too hard to push. NOt impossible, but it's not right. I would try to fix it, but they should earn their money on this one. I fixed the problem of shifting intot he big ring by looseing the limit screw a little.

I'll definitelly try new pads. That's a great idea. Cool stops? IT's cheaper than new brakes, although 105 brakes aren't that pricey and work well.

Was it kids working on the bike...Make them fix it, and dont ever bring it back to them again. A good bike shop is the mechanic.....

benkoostra said:

I got my wife's bike back from the shop yesterday after a tune-up. It's a full Ultegra group and only 6-months old. So why does it shift so badly? You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.
This thing should work as well as the day it was new, but it doesn't. I wonder if the front shifter is defective and therefore hard to push, or if the cables need to be lubricated better. You would think for $85 they would make it run like new. WTF?

Also I think they ripped you off, you usually get a 1 year tune up for free. Any problems should be fixed under the warranty. Sounds like she bought a decent bike....so there should be a free tune up..

benkoostra said:

I got my wife's bike back from the shop yesterday after a tune-up. It's a full Ultegra group and only 6-months old. So why does it shift so badly? You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.
This thing should work as well as the day it was new, but it doesn't. I wonder if the front shifter is defective and therefore hard to push, or if the cables need to be lubricated better. You would think for $85 they would make it run like new. WTF?

Nothing to do with Trek or Giant, just bad mechanics...

benkoostra said:

We bought the bike in the Bay area because we got a good deal on it, but we live in Sacramento, so we couldn't really go back for maintenance. The shop we went to is a little one in Fair Oaks, CA, not to far from our home.
Yes, the pulley should be covered, but how do I broach that subject at this point? They already charged me for the replacement and installed it! I wasn't thinking about that at the time.
BTW, Tektro brakes are sh!t. The 105's on my Trek are MUCH better. In fact the Trek shifts much better than the Giant. Granted it's brand new, but man, 6-months for a road bike is nothing. It has 600 miles on it. That's not the lifespan of Shimano components! My ancient mountain bike, with LX and XT parts from various years shifts much better.
Damn. I need to learn to wrench! I'll check out Park. I feel like I need someone to show me. I learn better that way.

benkoostra said:

I got my wife's bike back from the shop yesterday after a tune-up. It's a full Ultegra group and only 6-months old. So why does it shift so badly? You can't even get into the big ring unless you pull the cable tight against the down tube. My 105 bike shifts beautifully, but this thing is a joke. It also makes a loud POP when you shift from the big ring to the inner, and the lever is hard to push.
This thing should work as well as the day it was new, but it doesn't. I wonder if the front shifter is defective and therefore hard to push, or if the cables need to be lubricated better. You would think for $85 they would make it run like new. WTF?

You're just wasting money. For perspective, 85 bucks can buy you a pair of Look Keo classics or an SRP carbon handlebars and you just wasted it on a bad tune up? Learn to do the tune up yourself - any serious biker should be able to do it coz its really a no brainer.