Advice needed

ray giraffe

Hi my bike was vandalised a couple of months ago - the back wheel was slightly bent out of shape. I went to get it fixed at a bike repair shop yesterday. They said it would cost €40 to replace the back wheel.

This afternoon, I paid the €40, picked up the bike and started cycling. After about 20 mins cycling, it suddenly felt like the chain had come off but when I got off to take a look, the chain was turning the sprockets but the sprockets weren't turning the rear wheel at all! I thought that they mustn't have tightened something properly at the shop in the morning.

I went back to the shop, and the first remark of the guy looking at it was 'New Bike!'. Then he said well it would cost €50 for a new freewheel to fix it. He said alternatively I could get my €40 back for the repair in the morning if I bought a secondhand bike for €130 euro off them.

I was in a rush to meet someone, so I decided that I'd go back in tomorrow to decide on a course of action. What should I do?

Some questions:
1. Am I being conned?
2. Is it likely that they caused the new problem (negligence?) while the bike was in the shop with them?
3. What should I do?

All advice appreciated!

seamus

Had you cycled it at all after it was vandalised? Disabling the freewheel just to score a few bob seems a bit unlikely.

ray giraffe

No, hadn't cycled it at all after the wheel was bent, not until after it was repaired.

rflynnr

Unless the shop is based in the back of a van with the words "Whacker's Bike Shop" written on the side, it's not in the interests of any bike shop to deliberately damage your property. If your wheel was that badly vandalised it's more than likely that the damage to the hub was done long before it entered the shop.

You might argue that the shop should have realised that there was also a problem with the hub. However, since they were basically asked to true the wheel they wouldn't have had any particular reason to have taken it for a road test. Even if they had, it would be a singularly committed bike store that would submit each wheel they worked on to a 20 minute test ride.

In summary, I suspect that you're going to have to fork out something. You don't say what brand or spec of bike you've got. If it's entry level, €50 euro is a fair bit to pay for a hub alone (if that is the deal you're being offered). You could probably get a pretty decent wheel for not much more. If it was me, I'd inquire about the price of a new wheel, and then polite ask if they'd be willing to offer a discount on it given that you've already paid them for labour which essentially proved a waste of time.

Good luck with it, either way.

ray giraffe

Thanks rflynnr for your reply. I already paid for a new back wheel for €40! They say it's €50 more for new hub. Yes, it's just a run of the mill mountain bike, so €50 seems like a lot.

Ryaner

Perhaps I'm missing something, but you paid €40 for a replacement wheel right? Or was that just to repair the old one. If you got a full replacement wheel then it should have come with a hub?

someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

ray giraffe

€40 for replacement wheel they said. well they left the same sprockets and stuff there, but there was a shiny new wheel beside it? maybe i should have got new freewheel for free with a new wheel? (excuse the pun)

rflynnr

Sorry, I didn't read your original post closely enough: when you said "wheel" for €40, the price led me to assume we were talking about a truing job. To be more specific, did they simply sell you a new rim (i.e. the outer element of the wheel which is made of three parts: rim, spokes and Hub)? If so, I'd still ask if they had a cheaper hub: based on online prices I'd expect a basic Shimano Deore hub to come in at about €40 in your local store (based on the assumption that they'll be approx 30% more expensive than online). However, they may insist on adding a labour charge. If so, I'd still make the point that the original repair was essentially pointless and suggest that they may bear some responsibility for not noticing this: this may lead to a discount (or it may not).

thebouldwhacker

rflynnr wrote: »

Unless the shop is based in the back of a van with the words "Whacker's Bike Shop" written on the side.

I'm not sure I like what your implying there..........:pac:

ray giraffe

Thanks rflynnr for your advice

As far as I know they sold me new rim and spokes, but the sprockets were same old ones. They just said 'a new wheel'. Yes, I will ask if they have a cheaper hub, and about a discount since the first repair wasn't sufficient.

rflynnr

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

I'm not sure I like what your implying there..........:pac:

Oops - entirely unintentional I assure you.

seamus

The freewheel is part of the hub that the sprockets themselves slide onto. It's replaceable, but few people have the tools and the patience to do it themselves. It's also not required very often.

You're kind of in a damned if you...damned if you don't situation here. Your only options are new freewheel or a brand new wheel. If it's not a particularly expensive bike, then either way you're going to be paying upwards of €50.

It's likely that the freewheel itself was damaged when your bike got a beating. The bike shop itself may not have noticed at all when it was truing your wheel, and it may only fail under stress - so if the shop were pedalling your bike on the stand, there's little load on the freewheel, but as soon as you go to cycle normally, it fails.

Chips Lovell

If they sold you a complete new wheel, then it's their fault. The wheel is a dud. The hub and freewheel mechanism are part of the wheel.

If you just paid for a new rim, then the hub could have been damaged while it was being vandalised and no one noticed till now.

Captain Havoc

You're being done, just tell them you've paid €40 for something that isn't working, make sure there's other people in the shop, it might make them rethink their position.

DePurpereWolf

If happened after 20 minutes so the shop owner might have missed it. That's bad luck for you. Although the shop owner should have suggested to replace the whole wheel.
I wouldn't go back there again.

blorg

What Tonto says, but if it was a basic sort of bike €40 sounds about right for a complete new wheel. Generally rim and spoke replacement would only be done if you had a pretty high-end wheel with a hub worth a fair bit. A new wheel includes the freehub but they would move the sprockets from your current bike. The sprockets are inert, the freewheel mechanism is in the hub which is part of the wheel (note- on modern bikes, older ones it was with the sprockets.)

Maybe post some pics.

What bike shop did you go to?

ednwireland

how old/ cheap is the bike - screw on freewheel anyone ?
oops sorry blorg just what you said there (skimming again i'll get me coat)

kona

el tonto wrote: »

If they sold you a complete new wheel, then it's their fault. The wheel is a dud. The hub and freewheel mechanism are part of the wheel.

If you just paid for a new rim, then the hub could have been damaged while it was being vandalised and no one noticed till now.

Sounds like a cheap bike, so it would be a freewheel.

Sorry if Im repeating what sombody has alredy said but,

There are two types of wheel. both when new dont come with a cassette/freewheel or tyre or tube or rim tape.

1) One has provision for a slide on cassette, in this wheel there is a freehub mounted to the hub.

2) The other has threads, onto which screws a freewheel.

Number 2 is the one im guessing is the one the OP has. In which case the Bikeshop just swapped over the tyre, tube rim tape and freewheel onto the new rim. So OP unfortunatley its your freewheel thats damaged and you will have to pay to replace it.

Now e50 is damn expensive for a freewheel, they are usually e25ish and the labour shouldnt be more than 10-15 euro.

If its a cassette depending on quality your looking at e40 min and the 10-15 labour.

Chips Lovell

Yes, actually, forgot that it might be the older type. Which one is it OP?

ray giraffe

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

To clear something up, yes they told me that I had bought 'a new wheel' for €40 not a truing job. I don't know which type of wheel my bike has - the one that includes a freewheel on it or not, however from the information that follows, it sounds like it is part of the wheel. My bike is a Raleigh Ascender mountain bike, bought in 1993 in the north for £180. (but used rarely since then, and kept in a dry garage)

When I went in today, they still maintained that it would cost €50 to fix. The guy said that because I was spending so much on the bike (€40 + €50), it would be better to buy a new bike off him for €165 (minus the €40 I had already spent) if I gave him my old bike in exchange.

I said that I would prefer a repair job. Then he changed his tone, saying it might be possible to fix it for €30 if the the old chain could be kept, €50 if not. I waited for about 20 minutes for the repair to be done, I noticed that he was taking out a new wheel from the back of the shop (couldn't see if he put it on my bike or not - couldn't see into the workshop). Finally he came back to me and said it was free.

I'm happy with how things turned out, but did they sell me a dodgy wheel during the first repair, and then try to con me into buying a new bike? Doesn't inspire confidence. Anyway all's well that ends well as they say

Bunnyhopper

That bike shop sounds as wonky as a rim that's had a drunkard dancing on it....

Chips Lovell

ray giraffe wrote: »

I said that I would prefer a repair job. Then he changed his tone, saying it might be possible to fix it for €30 if the the old chain could be kept, €50 if not. I waited for about 20 minutes for the repair to be done, I noticed that he was taking out a new wheel from the back of the shop (couldn't see if he put it on my bike or not - couldn't see into the workshop). Finally he came back to me and said it was free.

So after you said you weren't interested in a new bike, he went and gave you yet another new wheel, which fixed the problem and he didn't charge you for it? Sounds like the problem then was in the first new wheel they gave you.

Ryaner

Care to name and shame?

DePurpereWolf

Ryaner wrote: »

Care to name and shame?

He did, but he removed it afterwards.

I have proof though of which bike shop it is. I'm not sure though if I should post it.

I'm all for posting reviews of bike (repair) shops here online but it's not a good idea if it's only bad reviews and no good reviews.

Then whenever somebody googles this shops name he sees this event pop up. Constant bad rap you can't get rid off.

mikemac

Don't think of it as bad rap, it's free feedback.

It's better the lbs learns of complaints rather then what's normally done in Ireland where the customer doesn't complain but badmouths them to everyone.

A good company welcomes complaints as they can improve from them.

So name the shop.
I've named and shamed bicycle shops here. But I've praised an lbs when it was due also

Ryaner

I have to agree with mikemac. Shops that do good work tend to get mentioned here although not all that often.

Perhaps maybe a wiki page with shops and information? There is enough info around to pick out the Joe Dalys from the cyclogicals and then those in between such Duff Cycles in Santry (although my opinion of them is greatly improving but they have limited stock of parts so catch 22)

BostonB

You'd probably have bought an old MTB with a ok wheel for 40 and just swapped it yourself. Dumping the rest of the bike.

DePurpereWolf

That's two to one:
It was UCD Belfield Bike Shop.
I second a sort of bike shop review thingy on boards.

blorg

I'll chime in here then to say that I've used UCD Belfield Bike shop a fair bit and thought they were really great guys. Best when the two Robs were there but have used them since and they were still a decent shop. Personally I would not rank it as the sort of shop that would be trying to rip you off.