Bike repair rip off?

rob777

Hi there,

I'm fairly new to road biking and believe I may have been scammed by a local repair man. So I just wanted to get your take on it as you'll likely be more experienced than me.

My bike had a ticking noise and I took it to the repair guy as he was local. I said that it most likely needs a bottom bracket service as it had happened last year.

He had a look at the bike and said the BB was ok but that the large chainring, cassette and chain were all worn and should be replaced.

I agreed to the work. Picked up the bike a week or so later and got a £120 bill. He also fixed the chainring shifter as it was stuck.

On picking up the bike, it still made the ticking noise, although was quieter. While in his hands it had also "developed" a shifting issue with the cassette.

I took the bike back and he diagnosed an issue with the rear wheel freehub and said to leave it with him. He emailed me a few days later saying the factory was shut for August and if I wanted the bike quick I should get new wheels fitted. I agreed to this.

Picked up the bike with the new wheels. This time he also replaced the bottom bracket. The ticking had stopped but the gears were still faulty.

Took the bike back gain (stupidly) he took it apart and said I needed a new shifter and that I'd have to buy a pair. He said he didn't have the Sora"s in stock but he had some others he could fit that day. I agreed.

I picked bike up and at last the gears worked but the new shifters have left cables bursting out at the front of my bike. I think he should have warned me about this as all cables were pretty much hidden before. It's ruined the look of the bike.

Anyway, I have paid him £129 for the first bit of work, £151 for the Mach 1 wheels and fitting plus new BB, and he wants £120 for fitting the shifters even though the cabling is a mess and the shifting fault (cassette shifter) developed while the bike was in his care.

So my question is, do you think I've been ripped off and what can I do about it?

Thank you for any help.

Rob

ugo.santalucia

Yes... But you agreed all the way, so not sure what you can do... The fee for the work per se do no seem excessive

Rod11

It's hard to say really what work actually needed done (without seeing the bike of course).

It could genuinely be that your cassette, chain and chainrings were worn (we'll give him the benefit of the doubt) and so would need replacing as a separate issue to the clicking sound.

After that though it does all sound a bit dodgy!

As I said though, it is hard to tell and perhaps you have been unlucky and did need all the work done to it, but I'd been a bit surprised if that's the case. As to what you can do, I'm really not sure. There's bound to be people on here with far more knowledge about consumer rights etc, but I would imagine it's quite difficult to do something after the fact (you did agree to it all), as you would have to go about proving your bike didn't need the work done to it, and so you'd need all the original parts. Even then I'm not sure how you would proceed.

rsands

If you feel the work was not done to a satisfactory level to the terms agreed and discussed you have a case. If you believe the parts were not needing replaced you need to get the old parts off him and take it a 3rd party for an independent review.

Though what was his reason for saying the shifter was broke?

rob777

Thank you for your valuable replies.

Rsands: the cassette shifter was working fine. When I first picked the bike up after the first repairs, the shifting was faulty (skipping gears and rattling noises). I tried the usual adjustments but couldn't get it to shift correctly all the time. I took it in again which is when he suggested the rear hub was faulty and replaced the bottom bracket as well as wheels. I picked bike up with new wheels but shifting was slow, skipped and made noises still. I took it back again and after 30 minutes with it in his workshop he showed me the inside of the shifter and said that a bit had broken off and it wasn't repairable. I couldn't really see it. The thing is, this fault "occurred" while the bike was with him.

k-dog

It certainly sounds like he broke something.

It's not unreasonable that your chain and cassette wore out - they are parts that wear and wear together so you need to replace both. Front chainring is less common but they go eventually.

The shifter breaking sounds like it wasn't set up properly - if you don't get the shifts adjusted properly you can have to force the shifter to try and make it move (the limit screws are improperly set) and that can break the shifter. Sounds a bit like that's what happened.

It's hard to know now without seeing the bike beforehand but it doesn't sound like he knows what he's doing - he's replacing parts to cover up the mistakes he's made - and charging you for them.

I would be tempted to give him them all back and take the bike somewhere else. Definitely sounds suspicious.

me-109

Sounds to me like he doesn't understand the problem so is replacing parts in the hope it will fix - at your cost. It's easy to guess when it's not your money. As the other replies said, you're not in a good position now to prove the fault(s). Don't go there for any more work!

centimani

I usually go against the grain and defend LBS's prices, on the grounds i often think people expect a shop to virtually give the stuff away...but i'm struggling with what they've done.
You started with a ticking...which could reasonably have been the BB..it could have been a cable end striking the crank, a fix that wouldnt have cost anything, but thats just one of many possibilities.

I cant readily think why worn cassette, chain or chainrings would cause a ticking...yet he replaced them. Perhaps they were worn anyway...who knows, but his explanaion doesnt ring true to me.

Fixed the front chainring shifter (front derailleur)..they do sieze up, fair enough, but i'd have thought you'd have been aware it wasnt working.

While in his hands..it developed a shifting issue ? It'd seem far far more likely he hadnt indexed it all up properly once he's fitted it all back together. If the shifter was working fine when you took it in...its highly highly unlikely to have failed at the very point in time while he had it.

Now suddenly you have a problem with the freehub ??? were you aware og this before he had the bike ?..lo and behold, he'll fit a new set of wheels...jesus.

Now he's fitted new shifters, but the cables are bursting out !! FFS, i'm getting p1ssed off reading it, i can't imagine how you feel.

Have you paid the £120 for fitting the shifters ?....if not, i'd either not pay it yet, or take proper advice.

i think i'd be seriously considering naming and shaming him at the very least....

Is it fair...no. Is it illegal...possibly not. He's alerted you to faults, youve agreed to the work. Unfortunately the first thing people need to do is understand whether they NEED to have the work done, or whether the fault actually existed in the first place....in other words, TRUST NO-ONE until you know better. Don't just follow someone elses advice, especially when its your money thats going to be spent following it.

Ben6899

rob777 wrote:

He said he didn't have the Sora"s in stock but he had some others he could fit that day. I agreed.

I picked bike up and at last the gears worked but the new shifters have left cables bursting out at the front of my bike. I think he should have warned me about this as all cables were pretty much hidden before. It's ruined the look of the bike.

I don't understand this bit. Bursting out? Like this?


Were they "pretty much hidden before" like this?

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

rob777 wrote:

He said he didn't have the Sora"s in stock but he had some others he could fit that day. I agreed.

I picked bike up and at last the gears worked but the new shifters have left cables bursting out at the front of my bike. I think he should have warned me about this as all cables were pretty much hidden before. It's ruined the look of the bike.

I don't understand this bit. Bursting out? Like this?

But, assuming that the OP originally had Sora shifters, unless they were brand new this year Soras (and therefore in guarantee), then the cables would have looked like the above beforehand.

Ben6899

Rolf F wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

rob777 wrote:

He said he didn't have the Sora"s in stock but he had some others he could fit that day. I agreed.

I picked bike up and at last the gears worked but the new shifters have left cables bursting out at the front of my bike. I think he should have warned me about this as all cables were pretty much hidden before. It's ruined the look of the bike.

I don't understand this bit. Bursting out? Like this?

But, assuming that the OP originally had Sora shifters, unless they were brand new this year Soras (and therefore in guarantee), then the cables would have looked like the above beforehand.

Exactly my thoughts. Which is why I think there may be more misguidance than originally thought.

rsands

Definately get the old parts and inspect them. The bike didnt have a shift problem before it went in so should not have developed a shift problem when it was there.

Sounds like he doesnt have a clue

alihisgreat

A decent bike shop keeps the old parts and gives them back to you... that way you know they're not ripping you off.

In future before getting the work done, ask the mechanic to save the parts.

jonnym5

rob777 wrote:

Hi there,

I'm fairly new to road biking and believe I may have been scammed by a local repair man. So I just wanted to get your take on it as you'll likely be more experienced than me.

My bike had a ticking noise and I took it to the repair guy as he was local. I said that it most likely needs a bottom bracket service as it had happened last year. Usually the BB is the first place to check but it can be from anywhere. Headset,BB,bottle cage bolts!,mech hanger,rear wheel or even the QR skewers. It's his job to work out what it is though

He had a look at the bike and said the BB was ok but that the large chainring, cassette and chain were all worn and should be replaced. Chain,cassette and chainrings do wear out if you don't change the chain. Probably being legit with that but should tell you when you leave the bike with him. I check chain wear,pads,cables roughly,chainrings, feel bb/headset/hubs for play so the customer has an idea what the cost will be.Older bikes I shift the gears to smallest/smallest to check the shifters.

I agreed to the work. Picked up the bike a week or so later and got a £120 bill. He also fixed the chainring shifter as it was stuck. What shifters do you have? If it's 3400 sora then they get stuck in the 3rd click if you only have a double. They usually release when pushed hard though. Either that or he inserted a new cable wrongly,shifted up and jammed the cable in the shifter.

On picking up the bike, it still made the ticking noise, although was quieter. While in his hands it had also "developed" a shifting issue with the cassette.

I took the bike back and he diagnosed an issue with the rear wheel freehub and said to leave it with him. He emailed me a few days later saying the factory was shut for August and if I wanted the bike quick I should get new wheels fitted. I agreed to this. What wheels are were on the bike? Usually can get the freehub bodies easily enough or given you the option to buy it online for him to fit

Picked up the bike with the new wheels. This time he also replaced the bottom bracket. The ticking had stopped but the gears were still faulty. Strange and looks as though it was the BB all along?

Took the bike back gain (stupidly) he took it apart and said I needed a new shifter and that I'd have to buy a pair. He said he didn't have the Sora"s in stock but he had some others he could fit that day. I agreed.

I picked bike up and at last the gears worked but the new shifters have left cables bursting out at the front of my bike. I think he should have warned me about this as all cables were pretty much hidden before. It's ruined the look of the bike. Sora also has shifters that are visible so this confuses me

Anyway, I have paid him £129 for the first bit of work, £151 for the Mach 1 wheels and fitting plus new BB, and he wants £120 for fitting the shifters even though the cabling is a mess and the shifting fault (cassette shifter) developed while the bike was in his care.

So my question is, do you think I've been ripped off and what can I do about it?

Thank you for any help.

Rob

It's hard when you aren't working on the bike as has been said but it can be wise to have a known good spare rear wheel for test riding bikes with creaks for this reason.

Re the shifter, I've had a 5600 left hand shifter go whilst it was on the stand but they are known for failing and it was sorted out under warranty.

I recently had a specialized that when I went to shift up was jammed up but I didn't know as I didn't book the bike in. First thing I did was call the customer who actually knew this but hadn't said...thankfully the cable wasn't snapped but was stuck above the actual shifter mechanism which was a fun game to fix.

rob777

Thank you for all of your valuable replies.

To answer the question about the shifters, I bought the bike last year and the shifters are Soras. The brake and gear cables were hidden under the bar tape though.

The other thing I should point out is that although the gears seemed ok for my journey home from the repair guy, there is still an issue with gears on the rear cassette. When moving to higher gears they rattle a little on most sprockets or don't move up at all until they are shifted a second time. So after all the visits there are still probs with the gears.

Thanks again for all of your help.

PS. I've got the old wheels and old shifter, which I'll take for an inspection at the shop I got the bike from.

rob777

Ben: the cabling looks very different from before. Everything was neatly tucked away.

And let's not forget the bigger picture here... the shifters were replaced to solve a problem that "occured" while the bike was in for repair. That issue also hasn't been resolved as I still have a rear cassette shifting issue.

rolf_f

rob777 wrote:

Thank you for all of your valuable replies.

To answer the question about the shifters, I bought the bike last year and the shifters are Soras. The brake and gear cables were hidden under the bar tape though.

So is the bike less than a year old - your shifters are the current type of Sora and if they have failed in under a year certainly should be repaired under warranty (and maybe if older too). The new ones are the old sort so he has given you old stock. I think that that is inappropriate - he should have offered you a choice of either; the old ones should be cheap.

murraymint77

If as it's looking the bike is less than a year old i would be surprised you needed a new chain ring and cassette. How many miles has it done. As for the freehub factory being closed complete bs. what wheels are they.