Seriously disappointing bike shop experience today

[ian74]

EDIT: So after reading the comments I think that I might have been a little over reactive. Consensus would suggest that the issue was probably not solely the fault of the bike shop. These were factory wheels on a mid/low range road bike. I do ride the CCT and MVT daily, and they are pretty chewed up in places. I am surprised it wasn’t noticed when truing the wheel. Anyway, I re-read this post and I sound like a entitled millennial. Apologies. I have a new wheel, bike rides fine, life goes on.

So today I had a really awful bike shop experience, just thought I would share it here as a heads up. I noticed this morning as I headed out the door that my rear wheel had gone out of true. It explains why my bike ride was such a bear yesterday since the rim was rubbing the brake. I adjusted the brakes so there was no rub and headed out on my commute. I decided that I wanted to get this taken care of today and support a local bike shop in Bethesda since I’m there most of my waking life. I went to Griffin Cycles. I actually went out of my way to go there instead of Freshbikes, since Griffon is just a single shop and every time I’ve been in Freshbikes I’ve been ignored completely.

So I left my bike and grabbed a coffee next door, they called me about 15 minutes later and said I was all set. Went, he spun the wheel, looked straight so I went on my way. Rode the 2 miles back to work and now noticed my rim is cracked. One of the spokes seems to have pulled through the rim. See? It wasn’t like this when I dropped it off at the shop and I didn’t notice it when I picked it up.

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So I called him and asked if he had noticed this when he trued the rim and he said he did not. So he told me to come back in, he offered to deduct the cost of the truing from the price of a new wheel. So I went back to talk about this. I go back in showed him the rim and he was like “wow! didn’t notice/see that before.” Two cyclists at work both said that it looked like the spoke was overtightened. The person he did the repair even looked at it and said “looks like it possibly is from overtightening a spoke”

I asked him to comp me at least on the labor for the cost of a new wheel and then he got noticeably agitated and said ” No! NO!” I mentioned how it wasn’t like this this morning when I came in, and it happened after you trued it. He (and now a second employee also came over to chime in) tells me, they can’t be held responsible for what happens after you leave the shop, and told me that the rim was probably already cracked at that spot. There was no way to know if that was their fault or not I was pretty pissed, but they were not budging on cutting me any deal and pretty much washed their hands of the issue

Worse, I still bought a new wheel from him, got my credit form the truing and he relented and gave me 50% off the install. I’m kicking myself for backing down on this, but I was really disappointed that he put the issue all on me. So just a heads up if your looking for a shop in Bethesda, you might want to try Freshbikes after all.

Topic

[consularrider]

@dkel 128381 wrote:

This is true—I was just being snarky. But the fenders and mud flaps do keep the frame and drivetrain surprisingly clean! Even the underside of the bottom bracket stays sparkling for months and months at a time.

Clearly you don’t go on Pete’s Friday gravel rides.

[dkel]

@consularrider 128390 wrote:

Clearly you don’t go on Pete’s Friday gravel rides.

Heh. I had two weeks of commuting through Wakefield and Accotink a couple of years ago, and there was no way to keep the bike clean with all that gravel dust going everywhere! I felt like I had to lube my chain every day. So, no: gravel isn’t on my typical route. (Wish it were, though.)

[ian74]

@peterw_diy 128310 wrote:

Wait. When you got to work after riding two miles, the rim was cracked. But was it true?

IME a growing crack will take the wheel out of true. If the wheel was true when you left the shop and just as true at work, doesn’t that strongly suggest the rim was cracked when the bike left the shop?

Actually, while it looked true when I left the shop, meaning it looked fine when spun on the bike. I did not see the rim on a truing stand, I did notice that after I had left the shop, got about 1/2 mile away and hit the brakes, I could feel them catching and pulsing. I knew then that it wasn’t completely true. I said screw it, I was going to get it home and then go to a local shop in Alexandria and have them take a look. It was after I got back to work that I noticed the crack and called them to ask what happened.

[Raymo853]

@Crickey7 128375 wrote:

How does someone truing a wheel miss a cracked rim, though? I mean, it could happen, but . . .

BTW, am I the only one who cleans my bike before I take it to the shop, lest the mechanic think poorly of me?

As an-ex part time mechanic in the early 90’s, always always clean you bike before taking it to a shop. The more senior wrenches always dumped the dirty bikes on me and I knew a lot less than them.

[Raymo853]

@dkel 128377 wrote:

My bike doesn’t get dirty. #fenders #mudflaps

They help greatly but ain’t no panacea .

[dkel]

@Raymo853 128397 wrote:

They help greatly but ain’t no panacea .

I don’t know, man; mine comes pretty close. There’s only two inches clearance between my front mud flap and the ground; that’s not much room for crap to come off the wheel and onto the bike.

[Raymo853]

@dkel 128399 wrote:

I don’t know, man; mine comes pretty close. There’s only two inches clearance between my front mud flap and the ground; that’s not much room for crap to come off the wheel and onto the bike.

OK,that is close. My commuter with fenders still get a bit dirty as I tent to run tires too wide for them.My fenders are 45c and tires 38c. Still get some spray around.

Plus my front fender is much shorter than yours, half the 700c wheel height above the ground.

[dkel]

@Raymo853 128400 wrote:

Plus my front fender is much shorter than yours, half the 700c wheel height above the ground.

I shopped a long time to find fenders that would fit my 40c tires and be ridiculously long. I’m pretty happy with the result. The mud flap occasionally directs spray onto my shoe, though, in just the right conditions during a slow-ish turn. :p

[Raymo853]

@dkel 128401 wrote:

I shopped a long time to find fenders that would fit my 40c tires and be ridiculously long. I’m pretty happy with the result. The mud flap occasionally directs spray onto my shoe, though, in just the right conditions during a slow-ish turn. :p

I actually cut my front fender short so I would not hit it with my toes. I did that once, and took insanely hard crash and broke my wrist. For my short stature, 69″/175cm, I have to be careful with toe overlap.

[dkel]

@Raymo853 128402 wrote:

I actually cut my front fender short so I would not hit it with my toes. I did that once, and took insanely hard crash and broke my wrist. For my short stature, 69″/175cm, I have to be careful with toe overlap.

I get toe overlap all the time. It’s a definite drawback. That said, I am able to avoid having it happen, with a bit of attentiveness (so far…).

[wheelswings]

@Raymo853 128395 wrote:

As an-ex part time mechanic in the early 90’s, always always clean you bike before taking it to a shop. The more senior wrenches always dumped the dirty bikes on me and I knew a lot less than them.

Seriously? Clean your bike before bringing it to the shop? [And do you wash your car before getting an oil change?]

It never crossed my mind. I don’t actually clean my bike ever, aside from whatever happens on rainy rides. Guess that’s obvious to y’all. I only toothbrush, lube, and wipe the chain, and sometimes I fiddle with the brakes.
I guess I must be at the ‘back o’ the pack’ at the bike shops, but honestly I’ve always had good service, as far as I’m aware. Maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe it depends on which shop you go to. Or maybe it’s the helpless-female-in-a-skirt phenomenon.
But even the couple of times during winter storms when my basic shyness was overpowered by my fear of not getting home safely, and I ventured into the shop in Georgetown…they were totally welcoming and helpful in fixing my dirty ol’ dinosaur mountain bike.

Are there certain shops that only the likes of Raymo853, Crickey7, and consularrider should enter, or does this happen across the board? It would be useful to know which places cater most heavily to clean or high-end bicycles….so I know to steer clear!

By the way, I think it’s totally impressive that some of you can do all your own mechanics (lookin’ at you, hozn). That truly rocks.

[hozn]

@wheels&wings 128405 wrote:

Seriously? Clean your bike before bringing it to the shop? [And do you wash your car before getting an oil change?]

Probably better analogy is whether you brush your teeth before going to the dentist!

By the way, I think it’s totally impressive that some of you can do all your own mechanics (lookin’ at you, hozn). That truly rocks.

In the long run it certainly saves money, but I have bought a lot of tools and made a lot of mistakes while learning.

Actually it may be as much curse as anything, since when I don’t have to bring my bike to the shop to (e.g.) change out the drivetrain I am far more likely to do frivolous things like change gear ratios or try out fancier chainrings.

Not to mention the number of wheelsets I have built myself.

[wheelswings]

@hozn 128407 wrote:

Probably better analogy is whether you brush your teeth before going to the dentist!

Ha, yes, I always brush teeth before going to the dentist. And shower before the doctor! It’s just as Crickey7 says, “lest [they] think poorly of me.” I just never extended that thinking to my bicycle!

[consularrider]

@wheels&wings 128405 wrote:

…Are there certain shops that only the likes of Raymo853, Crickey7, and consularrider should enter, or does this happen across the board?

Remember my bikes live in a spare bedroom and have to come up the elevator all the other building tenants use, so it’s not just for the mechanic (and they aren’t all that clean). Besides, Jan never cleans the mud off his bike so Bikenetic is very forgiving.

[trailrunner]

@wheels&wings 128405 wrote:

Seriously? Clean your bike before bringing it to the shop? [And do you wash your car before getting an oil change?]

A long time ago, I took my bike to Metropolis bikes to get a new headset installed on my mountain bike. The mechanic was kind enough to let me watch so that I’d know how to do it the next time. At the time, that was the only thing I didn’t know how to do myself, and this was pre-internet, so watching a youtube video wasn’t an option. On one hand, I think he was glad that I was taking an interest in my bike, and he was glad to have someone to talk to. On the other hand, my bike was muddy, and he gently chastised me for bringing it in in that condition. Point taken.

But since then I’ve done all my work myself. Now my only issue with a dirty bike is that I don’t want to drop mud all over the house as I get it down to my basement workshop.

As far as cleaning my car before an oil change – I do that myself also, so I don’t care what my car looks like.

[Author]

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