Had 6 week check...

joec1

Ok. so i bought a Mongoose Tyax Super (it ticked all the boxes for me.. and cost was better than a Specialized)

picked it up and loved it.

first few rides are always a bit new... and i knew that cables would stretch a little etc and need adjusting in the service. So.... after taking it for a short 5 mile ride in some local woods (for softies like me) and experiencing some chain slap and really soft suspension that didnt seem to wanna lockout or adjust as it should i sufficed to a LBS.

becasue i would the bike from a shop thats a 60 mile round trip from my house i had the LBS take a look at it.

Before reading below please note that i am a newb to this mountain bike malarky. and while i have riden hard offroad before, have never shopped and bought specifically for this market... usually just as a play bike.

the following items were picked up in the service:
Cables needed adjusting.
Front wheel marginally buckled.
Front Forks seeping oil from lower seal?? they advised me to monitor it as it may just be settling... but on the other hand may need new seals.
Rear Chain 4 links too long!!! which has caused chain slap that hs worn through the rear plastic sticker they supply to the arm and chipped off paint.
Front remote Lockout wouldnt work (cable not adjusted properly.)
Front preload wouldnt adjust - forks not set up correcly... (this is now fixed)

To some this may seem like an easy list or even a simple fix.

But i am pretty annoyed that i have been given the "one of those things" responcse by the origional bike store when i asked what they were going ot do about the chain being too long and damaging my frame.....

am i being too stubhorn and demanding in wanting a resopnse?

I work in a Commercial environment and always expect a quality, presise product for my money. which ...if the chain had been correct would have left me with a frame that wasnt chipped or battered.

GRRRR....

PS... i have fitted a chain slap pad on the arm (mongoose dont make one so had to buy another brand) to try and cover the nastly arm so at least it doesnt look bad. and the bike is now all sorted except the forks which im "monitoring" as advised.

has anyone else had any similar experiences?

ride_whenever

sounds like it wasn't actually set up at all.


for the front wheel plus or minus 1mm is true, but you'll find if the front has one of these true-but-not-true buckles then as you ride it it'll get worse as it's indicative on uneven spoke tension.

cables, hmmm, could be poor setup, could just be stretch, although 5 miles does sound a little early.

which seals on the forks, could indeed be the excess coming out the foam wipers.

chain length is factory set, you wouldn't check it unless you know it to be a problem or you cannot get the slack out in small small.

fork remote lockout, happens, easy thing to overlook when setting up a bike.

eerm the pre-load either works or doesn't. It certainly would be checked when you set up a bike, unless you have the customer there and set up the suspension for them when fitting the bike. I've only done this on three mtbs i've sold. These either had air forks, or the customer explicitly asked for the suspension to be set up for them. so we fitted the a new spring, set the sag approx. and dialled in rebound etc. so it was close. Then did final fitting when they collected the bike and gave clear instructions on how to modify this according to their preferences.

joec1

yea the front preload was not set and they forks were set to ultra stupidly soft. not matter how much i turned it to make it harder it was staying the same.... eventually with guidance from the shop we sorter it (about 20 turns later) and it started stiffening and is now fine.

its justy the chain im annoyed about. if it had been correct in the frst place then my bike wouldnt now look like it was trying to go chrome..... I have sent a letter off to mongoose and hot wheels (uk dist.) explaining my upset but am not expecting anything back from them.

as you say, a chain is something you expect to be right when you buy the bike. and is set by the manufacturer. LBS are agreeing with me that the "problem" lies with the quality control from mongoose or their assembly plant.

just not what you expect when paying £370 for a bike.

Especially when im riding with people who have the GT and the Spec equivilants taht i was looking at buying grrr.... its like salt to the wound.

supersonic

This sounds all airly normal to me and can be expected! Bikes do bed in, cables stretch, and adjusters are there to adjust these things. 6 weeks is a silly nominal time - it could need doing after one ride. You need to be able to do some basic maintenence really


Cables needed adjusting - as above, to be expected.

Front wheel marginally buckled - and this. Is a 10 second fix.

Front Forks seeping oil from lower seal?? they advised me to monitor it as it may just be settling... but on the other hand may need new seals. - could be problem, but I doubt it: some forks do leak a bit of oil from new as the seals and wipers come packed with it from the factory.

Rear Chain 4 links too long!!! which has caused chain slap that hs worn through the rear plastic sticker they supply to the arm and chipped off paint - chains should be measured using the largest chainrings/cogs. This may make it appear too long in the small/small setting. That gear shouldn't be used, shortening the chain will make little difference to your chain slap.

Front remote Lockout wouldnt work (cable not adjusted properly.) - again cable stretch, readjust.

Front preload wouldnt adjust - forks not set up correcly... - you should set the preload! It is a personal thing for how much sag you want. They make very small changes. If you cannot get your preferred sag (nominally 15-30%, then you need a new spring. Prelaod does not change spring rate.


However - ask the shop to provide you with a better chainstay guard. The plastic ones are a bit naff.