Almost brand new bicycle, how do I approach Halfords

TopBloke

I bought a brand new Voodoo Bokor bike from Halfords in February. It's had the six week service where they did nothing more than clamp the bike up, spin the pedals and change gears.

There's an ongoing issue with the front gear set where, if I use the middle gear then try to go back to the smallest, I have to push the lever a couple of times as if there's no tension at all in the gear lever. I think from what it says on the gear device it uses some sort of liquid to create a pressure, so the way I see it is there's not enough liquid in the gear lever.

That's a small issue but an issue nonetheless. Yesterday however, I chose to use the third, bigger front gear for the first time to negotiate a rather large hill. Once i'd finished I returned to the middle and smaller front gear and since then, no matter what gear I used, between every 3 to 6 complete pedals it feels like the entire pedal/chain/gear system is skipping a few chain notches. At a guess I can only assume it'll be bearings or the gears.

Now I want to take the bike to Halfords and say "this bike is three months old, the gear lever doesn't work and now i've almost come off the bike 4 times because the chain skips when I peddle". Is a bike, being more mechanical than a plasma TV, out of scope for certain purchase agreements or 'goodwill' fixes?


Thanks in advance

Norman_Castle

There's an ongoing issue with the front gear set where, if I use the middle gear then try to go back to the smallest, I have to push the lever a couple of times as if there's no tension at all in the gear lever. I think from what it says on the gear device it uses some sort of liquid to create a pressure, so the way I see it is there's not enough liquid in the gear lever.

Highly unlikely your gear shifters are hydraulic. Do they exist?. Have you asked Halfords to correct this fault?

rdr

The brakes are hydrolic but the gears are operated by cables.

Your problem appears to be a combination of incorrectly adjusted gears and your inexperience in using them. The adjustment issue should have been dealt with in the service so take it back and jump up and down until they do it properly.
Derailleur gears not shift well under pressure, particularly the front ones. The biggest chain ring will give you the highest gear and should be used to going downhill and not up, the smallest showing that bring out the front A/V the lowest gear and is used to go up steep hills. You need to anticipate front changes so they are not made when you are already straining.

Once they are settled in gears can run for years without adjustment, the adjustment is fairly simple and many sources on the net which will show you how to do it. It is unlikely that the problem is with the bearings although it possible to have bent some teeth on the chain ring with the bad changes.

Go ba and insist that they sort it out , ifthe mechanic knows what they are doing it is a five minute job. Try to go during the day when there fewer customers and you are less likely to get saturday kid.

Marco_Panettone

Have you lubricated the chain properly? The chain-slip is probably caused by a stiff link. The gears don't sound like anything out of the ordinary to be honest. The gear cable has to accommodate the large distance from the inner chain-ring to the outer one. This means that moving 'up' usually takes a couple of clicks to take in the slack.

Strider590

Halfrauds can't set up a bike properly.... SHOCK HORROR!!!
Are the front forks on the correct way around? and are the brake levers at the correct angle (should be invisible to the eye when seated)?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/halfords-warning

How it should not look:



As you've already bought the bike I suggest you look up how to adjust the gears, turn the bike upside down and do it yourself. I was doing this from the age of 12, so im sure you'll eventually get it.......

TopBloke

I have probably worded the gear sizes incorrectly, but basically short story - I was going uphill on the easiest front gear, if that's the smaller and not the larger then I apologise for my incorrect description.

I spoke with Halfords on the phone, I asked if he'd have sorted the cable had I said to him during the 6 week health check "I change down, then it won't change back up without two to three pushes of the lever" and he said he'd have sorted that as that's the point of the health check.

I think the hydraulics must be the gears then.

I know i'm coming across as a complete bike novice but a few years ago I knew exactly what I was doing, until I was blessed with a bike so epic I didn't need to repair it in four years. Maybe it's time to get my hands dirty again, but not until Halfords do what they're supposed to have done.

verybigchris

The gears are definitely not hydraulic - nobody makes hydraulic gears.

Strider590

TopBloke wrote: »

Maybe it's time to get my hands dirty again, but not until Halfords do what they're supposed to have done.

I'm sorry, but I would never buy a bike from Halfrauds and even if I did I wouldn't take it back unless it was for a replacement bike.

If you went to a dentist who pulled out the wrong teeth, would you go back to let him fix his mistake?

TopBloke

I went with Halfords after checking several other bicycle retailers. Many could not offer me a 29" frame for the price. I also received 10% off due to an affiliate scheme with the job I used to work at. The bike is spot on but some people at Halford admittedly don't know what they're doing. Some, however, are spot on. This is probably a relatively small issue with the gear cable that just took a little longer to show than the 6 weeks Halfords expect it to.

Also yes, I apologise again, I did mean hydraulic brakes not gears.

Strider590

TopBloke wrote: »

I went with Halfords after checking several other bicycle retailers. Many could not offer me a 29" frame for the price.

29" frame are you sure? are you 8ft tall? :eek:

I can only assume you mean the wheels, in which case you've brought a 29er.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_790247_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

Evans cycles have some nice 29ers by Scott, Specialized and Kona.... Pretty good prices, mail order but it worked for me
Maybe you can get a refund at Halfrauds?

custardy

your bike simply needs set up.
Halfords should be doing that(cables stretch and gears do need adjustment from time to time)
however you may wish to get your local bike shop(LBS) to do the work.
If you have moderate spanner skills,then its not hard with a little care and practice.