Annoyed/ upset over new bike

supersonic

I sometimes knock mine, so am careful to check them. And have had oiks loosen them for me!

Nick Cod

I think you've been given a bit of a rough ride here, excuse the pun. Granted the quick releases can come loose and it is something you need to check regularly but any decent bike shop should have told you this when they sold you the bike.

GT85 is best used for spraying chains, cassettes and mechs after it's been washed to get rid of water, apply a decent lube afterwards

Ride safe

cooldad

Nick Cod wrote:

I think you've been given a bit of a rough ride here, excuse the pun. Granted the quick releases can come loose and it is something you need to check regularly but any decent bike shop should have told you this when they sold you the bike.

It's normally in the manual. One for my last bike warns you in big bold letters to check before every ride.

Don't read, don't moan.

oodboo

My mates back wheel fell off while riding some northshore, was a right laugh, I had to help him down. He done a maintenance course at the LBS as well. He's just a bit clueless but learning. Everyone starts somewhere, no need to give them grief for being newbies. Mistakes happen to teach us lessons.

Northwind

Yoe wrote:

I will be in the future thanks for the advice. But would they really need readjusting so soon. I think I've done about 40miles in 2 weeks since bought. Would it go that quickly?

Understandable mistake- but things will go out fastest on a new bike. Parts bed in against each other etc. It obviously left the shop with the rear wheel fitted right, otherwise it would have fallen out immediately, right?

cat_with_no_tail

Nick Cod wrote:

I think you've been given a bit of a rough ride here, excuse the pun. Granted the quick releases can come loose and it is something you need to check regularly but any decent bike shop should have told you this when they sold you the bike.

Sorry but that's just boIIocks!

Should they also tell you to make sure there is air in the tyres before every ride?
How about when you buy a car, do they need to remind you to check water/oil, or put petrol in it?

I appreciate that as a complete beginner you may not think to check this, and that's fine. But to throw your toys out and try blaming the shop is rediculous.

OP had his bike for 2 weeks and didn't make reasonable efforts to ensure it was safe to ride. As I said before, the thing to do is chalk it up to experience and move along.

bennett_346

Nick Cod wrote:

I think you've been given a bit of a rough ride here, excuse the pun. Granted the quick releases can come loose and it is something you need to check regularly but any decent bike shop should have told you this when they sold you the bike.

Agreed.

Anonymous

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Sorry but that's just boIIocks!

Should they also tell you to make sure there is air in the tyres before every ride?
How about when you buy a car, do they need to remind you to check water/oil, or put petrol in it?

Frankly a lot of people do need these reminders, especially with cars!

That's why they shop in Halfords and in the case of cars spend a lot with the AA and garages getting their cars fixed because they just assume they buy it and it works, they don't need to do anything to ensure it keeps working.

Petrol is just about understood though, but from time to time I see some who struggle to cope with filling their car up.

But with bikes, I've come across plenty who never check the air in their tyres. Just realise they're flat one day and work out they have to pump it up. Usually using the car pump at the local garage. Probably post on a forum first saying "my tyre is flat, why is this?"

Yoe

Nick Cod wrote:

I think you've been given a bit of a rough ride here, excuse the pun. Granted the quick releases can come loose and it is something you need to check regularly but any decent bike shop should have told you this when they sold you the bike.

GT85 is best used for spraying chains, cassettes and mechs after it's been washed to get rid of water, apply a decent lube afterwards

Ride safe

Thanks for the advice, just a quick question on using Lube. I wash my bike after every ride. Should I also be using a lube everytime or can I miss one or two? I use a Muc-off cleaning kit

Nick Cod

Cat With no Tail: You've got to be kidding me. This guy has already said he's never had a bike with quick releases before, so why would he know to check them every time before he went out for a ride if he's no experience of them

I can accept Cooldads point of the user manual but you shouldn't assume people who by their own admittance have no experience should know better {still aimed at Cat With No Tail}

Yoe: In short yes if you wash the bike you should lube it ready for the next ride. Muc off is good also look out for a half decent chain cleaner, fantastic bit of kit if you have one

Northwind

Nick Cod wrote:

I can accept Cooldads point of the user manual but you shouldn't assume people who by their own admittance have no experience should know better.

That's why there's a user manual that tells you the basics :? Yes the OP's getting a rough ride but the fact is, he's upset about something which he would have avoided, had he just looked. It happens, but inexperience isn't the excuse- in fact inexperience is why he shouldn't have cut corners.

cooldad

If a person has no experience, and can't be arsed to read the manual, I have no sympathy.

cooldad

One day I'll learn to type quicker.

Raymondavalon

Yoe wrote:

Thanks for the advice, just a quick question on using Lube. I wash my bike after every ride. Should I also be using a lube everytime or can I miss one or two? I use a Muc-off cleaning kit

If you use the MucOff cleaning kit and it includes some of that silicone bike spray, ensure you keep that stuff away from the brakes, it'll ruin the pads. Even a small amount can cause issues.
MucOff will was most lubricants off the chain as many of them are water soluble. I only ever use proper chain lube on the drivetrain and tend to use dry [PTFE/Teflon] lube on the front and rear dérailleurs.
Most of the components like the bottom bracket, wheel bearings and headset are usually sealed and require periodic servicing. However some are not.. refer to your beloved owners' manual for more info

As for the QR coming loose, a good mate of mine who is also a roadie had his rear QR come loose on a long ride one day. I was convinced he didn't fasten it correctly, he swore that he did. He is usually quite thorough on the pre-ride checks to be honest.

cooldad

Raymondavalon wrote:

Yoe wrote:

Thanks for the advice, just a quick question on using Lube. I wash my bike after every ride. Should I also be using a lube everytime or can I miss one or two? I use a Muc-off cleaning kit

If you use the MucOff cleaning kit and it includes some of that silicone bike spray, ensure you keep that stuff away from the brakes, it'll ruin the pads. Even a small amount can cause issues.
MucOff will was most lubricants off the chain as many of them are water soluble. I only ever use proper chain lube on the drivetrain and tend to use dry [PTFE/Teflon] lube on the front and rear dérailleurs.
Most of the components like the bottom bracket, wheel bearings and headset are usually sealed and require periodic servicing. However some are not.. refer to your beloved owners' manual for more info

As for the QR coming loose, a good mate of mine who is also a roadie had his rear QR come loose on a long ride one day. I was convinced he didn't fasten it correctly, he swore that he did. He is usually quite thorough on the pre-ride checks to be honest.

Karma dude.

Anonymous

Assumption is with manuals -

1. Halfords (and the like) actually provide you with one. They should yes, but things get forgotten or lost in the shop.

2. They RTFM (no one does)

The blame is still with the user ultimately. Just some still need beating around the head to drum the basics in. I'd still argue that so do some of the staff in certain aforementioned shops.

njee20

1. Halfords (and the like) actually provide you with one. They should yes, but things get forgotten or lost in the shop.

I'm a little sympathetic here... People are saying "OP didn't read the manual, his fault", then you're saying, he may not have had a manual, and it's still his fault.

Yes he should have had one, but had he not been given one, nor given any advice it's a little harsh to heap all the blame on the OP.

Chances are he did have one, didn't read it, and is culpable, but a little harsh to say it's also his fault if he never received any advice nor literature!

Car analogies fall a bit flat because people are taught how to drive and things like petrol are more obvious. I'd say that your coolant running out (and imagine there are no warning lights) is a better analogy than petrol. Or how about skiing as an analogy... Your ski comes off because your DIN settings aren't right. Everyone knows you need to check your DIN settings. Ignore the fact the shop who rented you the skis didn't check them, or even mention them. What an oaf. ROFLcopter.

We all started somewhere, lesson learnt now, move on and be glad you didn't have a nasty accident.

Yoe

Comparing it to a car is a tad dumb. No offense, your tought about things like that for both your theory and practical. Ok it's been a long time since I passed but even then my 2 questions was how to check your oil and rear brake lights.

Back on topic turns out they did give me a manual it was behind that little check list they gave us. Although I never thought of reading it really I had owned bikes for many many years before this one it's just being away from it for so long things like disc brakes, quick release and having front suspension is all something I've never had before.

I'll start cracking on through the manual

concorde

Nobody reads manuals apart from women. Why do topics run on and on on here when they could be done with in about two replies!

oodboo

My problem here is that the OP is looking for someone to blame for his mishap. That's the problem with the world today, people just don't take responsibility for their own actions (or lack of) and expect everything to be handed to them on a plate.

As with any other hobby there's a learning curve. You need to be able to carry out some basic maintenance and some pre-ride checks.

Anyway, have a read through this for some newbie advice:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Trainin ... enance.pdf

Any problems then search the forum or ask.

SirDidymus

I still stand by my satnav analogy.

dhobiwallah

The problem with most manuals nowadays is if there is any actual information it is so lost amongst the lawyer-ese ar$e covering twaddle about 'danger of death' this and 'don't ride this all-terrain bike off-road' that you can't find it anyway so no-one bothers to look.

I would say the car analogy is accurate - I don't know anyone who has read the manual that came with their car - and I know my wife doesn't check oils/coolants at all. In fact if she drives a car without a petrol warning light (not guage) it is touch and go whether the AA will be bringing her a jerrycan at the side of the motorway.

It is amazing how tech un-savvy people can be. (No offense to the OP). When trying to get my mate into MTBing I lent him my spare bike. He was paranoid about QRs as his mates front wheel came off when he was a kid and yada, yada, yada. Anyway, got the bikes out of the car and went about putting front wheels back on. Looked at him and he had tightened the QR up (with the cam open) using it like a 2 inch spanner till it wouldn't turn any more with the lever sticking out. :shock: I must admit to being speechless - I would have thought even someone who had never seen a bike before would work out how the cam on a QR works. I certainly was never shown on my first bike that had one (the same bike as it happens - it was just 10 years earlier) Must admit it took some undo-ing :P

Still have to be pretty unlucky for the wheel to fall off though! Most QRs have to have the bolt undone a few turns to remove the wheel so they clear the lugs or 'lawyer's lips' round the bolt which are there for that precise reason. For it to drop out suggests it may have been loose for a while and the bolt worked its way loose (or it was completely undone to begin with!)

As to the direction of the QR, all you are trying to prevent is it being opened by snagging on something such as a branch etc. So back/up is fine, forward/down prob dodgy (undid mine lowering the bike over a stile on a cheeky footpath cut-through - learned my lesson the hard way)

njee20

I would have thought even someone who had never seen a bike before would work out how the cam on a QR works

Nope, used to see dozens with the levers just 'tightened' like that.

nicklouse

njee20 wrote:

I would have thought even someone who had never seen a bike before would work out how the cam on a QR works

Nope, used to see dozens with the levers just 'tightened' like that.

even though it will still say open on the side.

howards

Sad day when a bike needs a manual, right? Can't say I've ever received one, but some hubs I bought the other day had some legalise on a sticker attached to the skewers.

Perhaps a better QR skewer needs to be designed.

Sympathy with the OP - keep riding and ignore the keyboard warriors. If you are worried about the QRs, replace them with Pinhead locking skewers (key required) or Zefal skewers that only open with the bike upside down.

Yoe

I was just looking at the pictures my girlfriend took and the quick release was still pushed down not open when the wheel came off.

I don't think this has put me off riding I still love it like crazy