[Hazy]

I was about 3/4 of the way through my ride yesterday when beginning an ascent up a hill, my front derailleur would not shift to the small chainring. I left it in the big ring for the rest of the ride and examined the bike when I got home.

Not being a bike mechanic I quickly surmised I should leave it to the pros. So today I was off to the shop I bought the bike at in February. It had been April since I was there to get my 1st tuneup so not exactly an eternity. When I got to the shop, it was completely empty. Looked for a "moved to " sign in case they just decided to move but none there. The LBS I had chosen over 4 others is evidently now out of business.

One of the reasons I bought the bike I did was due to the service I had recieved before and promised after the purchase. Now that part of the deal is gone.

So I took the bike to an LBS that is closer and have dealt with before and left it with them. I will be out of town this weekend so wont get the bike back until at least Tues. And will surely have to pay for services that otherwise I would not have had to.

I have no idea why "my" LBS closed down but I do know that the owner and his associates were very helpful and good at what they did. Everytime I was in there the place had customers because it was also a cafe and catering place as well. I would find it hard to believe it went under due to lack of business.

At any rate, I'm gonna be waiting for my bike and see how I'm treated at this other place. ( I told them my predicament ) I had my soon to be 6 yr old with me and let them know I was looking for a bike for his b-day in about a month (actually test drove one ) so hope this helps out a bit. I dont expect them to just overtake the service agreement but am holding my breath hoping I just don't get hosed because I didn't choose them to begin with.

Should I contact Felt about this and see if they can/will do anything about service/parts that would have otherwise been taken care of? ie free tuneups for a year etc???

[rola643]

Originally Posted by Hazy

Should I contact Felt about this and see if they can/will do anything about service/parts that would have otherwise been taken care of? ie free tuneups for a year etc???

Hazy... If I was a betting man..you're stuck. It would be nice to think another Felt dealer would help ya but I'm not seeing that happen. Just my .02 worth.

[thecyclops]

Goodluck man,Im sure they wont send you to the cleaners.If you get any info on why the lil shop went out of business,let us know,I know Im interested.

[Hazy]

I just looked on Felt's website and see that they have taken that shop off their list as a dealer. They sold Scott and BMC as well but they are still listed on the Scott site. Guess Felt keeps their website up to date a lil better than the others. Anyway, their next closest dealers were over 100 miles away. So even if Felt were to pick up that tab with another dealer it would not do me any good.

If I find out anything about why they closed for business I wil update you. I'm not even sure how long they have been closed to tell you the truth. Like I said, I was in there in April and had no hint as to this place closing then. Matter of fact, they had just added BMC as one of the brands they were selling. Those were good looking bikes by the way.

Anyway, just bummed a bit about the store and not having my bike for a bit. Wow Rola, I'm gonna be without for just a few days, you must have been fit to be tied for as long as you had to wait.

[Digital_Cowboy]

How long had they been in business? Granted just because a business has been around for a couple of decades doesn't mean that they'll stay in business "forever."

[Industry_Hack]

I'm with Rola on this one. But...

What was the issue? Defective part? Simple adjustment? The free service is between you and the shop, Felt has nothing to do with that. But if it's a warranty issue, they may bear some responsibility.

This is why I try to attend Interbike every year. When these issues come up, it's good to know I can bend the ear of someone at these companies.

[photosbymark]

Probably not much you can do. In these tough times making a go of it in a small business is getting harder and harder with more and more obstacles to success. Likely they just ran out of money, customers and ideas all at the same time.

That happened to me with the Sun Ray I bought about a year ago. Supposed to be free lifetime adjustments, but the couple just realized life existed outside of a bike shop and closed. I don't blame them and ran into them this week at another bike store. I was glad to see them, but I still have to pay for the adjustments somewhere else when I don't do them myself.

Most of the time I can do them myself, but once in a while I get PO'd and learned a long time ago to walk away and get another set of eyes. Usually its something stupid I'm doing and walking away helps. If still frustrated paying someone else is the cheaper option because I tend to break things when I work frustrated.

Last time it happened with me is I was switch a few components around a bit. Everything was properly in place, turning the correct adjustment screw slowly and methodically. Got aggravated and paid the $10 for the adjustment. Then I figured out why what I was doing wasn't working. Turning the adjustment screw in the correct direction helps a lot. DOH

[Hazy]

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

What was the issue? Defective part? Simple adjustment?

This is why I try to attend Interbike every year. When these issues come up, it's good to know I can bend the ear of someone at these companies.

The chain would not shift into the small chainring was one of the concerns. I was also due for a tuneup but I also have a grinding noise coming from the rear wheel/cassette area. My guess it is bearings but dont/wont know until I talk to the guys at the shop I took it to.

The owner of the shop was helping me and seemed to think that at least the shifter was under warranty by his quick glance diagnosis, but unsure of the grinding noise problem. Would hate to think I will have to spend a couple hundred bucks to fix a bike that has just been ridden and never wrecked just a few months after I bought the thing. I should think more positive but am trying to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[photosbymark]

Couple of things that stands out that makes me tend to think you don't have a huge problem. First of all this is the first adjustment. Cables stretch and sometimes slip a bit as they break in. It likely is not much more than an adjustment. Did you see what was making the noise or where it was coming from? If I had to guess its nothing more than the derailleur is slightly out of adjustment and its trying to shift but can't quite move the chain over far enough to make that happen. If thats the case, the chain can be rubbing the derailleur and that can make an awful sounding noise, but its easy to fix.

[Hazy]

Mark, I had my 1st adjustment about the last week of April ( last time I was in the shop I bought the bike from). That was after about 500 miles, and now I'm getting close to 1300.

Anyway, I called the "new" shop today where I took my bike for repair and they said new derailleur cable and work on the STI. Will pick it up tues when I'm back in town. They didnt mention the rear wheel and I was in a hurry when I called so will call them to find out about that tomorrow.