Voodoo Bantu Problems

BigD1980

Hello everyone.

Apologies if this is in the wrong place/already covered elsewhere. Only my 2nd post.

After seeking advice on these excellent forums I purchased a Voodoo Bantu. In my previous post I spoke of some teething troubles.

The first was the fact the front brake lever is coming back most of the way to the bars before it actually starts braking. The lever is actually hard against the bars and still isn't able to bring me to a halt.

The second thing is the chain is rubbing against the front derailleur.

I took it back to Halfords because I felt the bike should be set up correctly. The technician looked at the brake and declared it needed to be bled and was probably also low on fluid. I asked him to do this and he said he couldn't because they had no mineral fluid in stock and even if they did they would charge me for the job.
He also looked at the gears whilst I wandered round the shop. When I came back he told me that he had improved the gears but the chain always caught on the front derailleur and this was normal. However since going out on a first proper ride on the bike I have discovered that the front derailleur is worse than ever and now it will not change onto the smallest rear cog at all now either.

Is the information given correct? Should I be expected to wait for the 6 week service to have the brakes/gears set up correctly? Do chains always rub on the front derailleur?

Whilst it was on the stand I asked the technician to centre the bars which had been fitted some way of centre. When he tried to undo the bars it was obvious they hadn't been tightened. They were barely more than finger tight.

I feel so disappointed. Everybody was telling me how much better the new bike would feel to ride. With the gear problems and brake problems it feels worse than my old heavy steel framed bike. I could stand that on its nose even with its okd mechanical disc brakes. What should I do? I know I could learn how to set everything up myself but I feel like I can at least expect the bike to be set up properly initially.

Thanks for your time.

nicklouse

sounds like lever reach needs adjusting rather than bleeding.

some chain rub is to be expected if you are using incorrect gear combos.

fredblob

BigD1980 wrote:

Hello everyone.

Apologies if this is in the wrong place/already covered elsewhere. Only my 2nd post.

After seeking advice on these excellent forums I purchased a Voodoo Bantu. In my previous post I spoke of some teething troubles.

The first was the fact the front brake lever is coming back most of the way to the bars before it actually starts braking. The lever is actually hard against the bars and still isn't able to bring me to a halt.

The second thing is the chain is rubbing against the front derailleur.

I took it back to Halfords because I felt the bike should be set up correctly. The technician looked at the brake and declared it needed to be bled and was probably also low on fluid. I asked him to do this and he said he couldn't because they had no mineral fluid in stock and even if they did they would charge me for the job.
He also looked at the gears whilst I wandered round the shop. When I came back he told me that he had improved the gears but the chain always caught on the front derailleur and this was normal. However since going out on a first proper ride on the bike I have discovered that the front derailleur is worse than ever and now it will not change onto the smallest rear cog at all now either.

Is the information given correct? Should I be expected to wait for the 6 week service to have the brakes/gears set up correctly? Do chains always rub on the front derailleur?

Whilst it was on the stand I asked the technician to centre the bars which had been fitted some way of centre. When he tried to undo the bars it was obvious they hadn't been tightened. They were barely more than finger tight.

I feel so disappointed. Everybody was telling me how much better the new bike would feel to ride. With the gear problems and brake problems it feels worse than my old heavy steel framed bike. I could stand that on its nose even with its okd mechanical disc brakes. What should I do? I know I could learn how to set everything up myself but I feel like I can at least expect the bike to be set up properly initially.

Thanks for your time.

it should work perfectly from the start no rub at all its halfords and there incompetent staff sorry good luck getting halfords to do anything

BigD1980

nicklouse wrote:

sounds like lever reach needs adjusting rather than bleeding.

some chain rub is to be expected if you are using incorrect gear combos.

Thanks for the speedy response. He tried adjusting the reach without success. The rear lever feels great. By comparison thd front lever feels slack. There is no pressure on the lever. The best way of describing it is like pulling a cable brake lever when the cable isn't attached at the caliper end.

The chain rub is significant and noisy and makes the chain jump. Is that really normal? what about being unable to use the smallest rear cog?

What are these incorrect gear combos you speak of?

Thanks again.

cooldad

The extremes like big/big and small/small where the chain is crossed up, and sometimetimes the adjacent ones as well. Ratios you shouldn't use.

montyburns56

If the brakes need bleeding before your six week service then it will be covered under warranty. Point this out out them and ring customer services if they say that you will have to pay for it.

FishFish

Nothing wrong with the bike - you may be dealing with idiots but the mech issues are solvable!!

oxocube1

Yea it just sounds like the factory bleed wasn't very good from the start. I personally always just re-bleed them during the PDI if the front and back feel different, which occurs quite often, even with the higher priced Avid brakes.

The store should really be doing the re-bleed with no cost to you. I've had to do it a number of times in my store without any quibbles. It literally only takes 10mins to do one of the Shimano brakes you have on your Bantu. If he's able to do it all, he should be able to do it on the spot for you!

BigD1980

Thanks everyone once again.

Emailed Halfords customer service and they were very helpful and apologetic. Said I could go back to store and tell them they had to do it or I could give them my contact details and they would get the manager to call me.

Will pop in next week and ask them nicely to do it.......NOW!

Took my first tentative ride out round a local track. Felt like a kid again. Lots more practice needed still.

kajjal

BigD1980 wrote:

Thanks everyone once again.

Emailed Halfords customer service and they were very helpful and apologetic. Said I could go back to store and tell them they had to do it or I could give them my contact details and they would get the manager to call me.

Will pop in next week and ask them nicely to do it.......NOW!

Took my first tentative ride out round a local track. Felt like a kid again. Lots more practice needed still.

Glad you enjoyed the ride. They should not have given the bike to you without it being set up properly and you did the right thing contacting customer services.

BigD1980

Sorry to resurrect this dead thread. Just thought I'd update everyone with the latest.

Finally took it to Halfords on Sunday. Initially weren't too keen to fix it until I mentioned the previous email to customer services. They suddenly decided they could sort it immediately. Returned 45 mins later to find they were just cleaning the disc. They said the brakes were now spot on. Rode it a short distance back to the car and the brakes felt great. Popped the bike in the garage as I didn't have time to ride it until today Tuesday. Got the bike out the garage and thought the front brake felt spongy again. Pulled the lever and brake fluid deposited itself all over the garden path.

Immediately took it back to halfords. I've left it with them as they couldn't decide whether to order new parts or just swap it for a new bike.

Just out of interest the raidon forks on my bike have the valve at the bottom. The other bike in the shop has the valve on top of the raidon fork. Is either model different to the other in terms of quality? What is the difference?

Thanks everyone.

Uli

Just out of interest the raidon forks on my bike have the valve at the bottom. The other bike in the shop has the valve on top of the raidon fork. Is either model different to the other in terms of quality? What is the difference?

There are dozens of Raidon models. Check your exact one and refer to Suntour website. I saw both.

BigD1980

So......the next stage of the story is this:

Halfords manager called to apologise and to offer me a choice. I could either have a brand new identical bike ordered in or I could keep mine and to apologise they will order me an upgraded brake set for it.

They currently have a set of Tektro Gemini (from the Hoodoo) on order.

Are Tektro Gemini superior to the Shimano BR-M445 on my Bantu?

Help much appreciated.

The Rookie

I'd rather have the Shimano's, there seemed to have been a bad batch as one of my Nephews needed to be replaced on his Voodoo for the same reason, Shimano are usually very very reliable.

cooldad

Ditto on the Shimanos.

BigD1980

Thanks to The Rookie and CoolDad for the replies. Apparently the Tektros are on back order so may take a long time to come in. They said they would look at alternative brake sets for me. Is there an alternative brake set that you would recommend or should I just stick to the standard shimano set and see if I can wangle some alternative compensation?

Thanks guys

The Rookie

Shimano Deore will be a step up.....obvious choice!

cooldad

Ditto.

BigD1980

Hooray!!!! Halfords just called. Tektro Gemini unavailable until end of October. Deore brake set ready to be fitted tomorrow. Do cooldad or The Rookie have some influence at Halfords?

Thanks for all help and advice.

rsh1960

Hope everything is sorted and you can get out and enjoy you bike.

The Rookie

No, no influence at all..........

BigD1980

Deore brakes all fitted. Look/perform/feel great.

Happy at last. Well done in the end Halfords.