I have very much enjoyed my bike from the moment I bought it. I spent some time looking for the bike that would be best for me in terms of getting a good road bike, but one I could actually afford. I ended up getting a Trek 2100 ZR from I. Martin Imports in L.A. The guy who sold it to me spent a lot of time with me over my many trips to the store. He made sure I got a bike that fit me and spent a lot of time with the bike fit once it was purchased.
The only problem started around January when shifting onto my big ring got to be less and less reliable. It would often push the chain too far and end up dumping the chain over the ring. I would then have to stop and put the chain back on. This was certainly annoying, especially because when I was shifting on the big ring, it meant that I was starting to go pretty fast. At a certain point I brought the bike into I. Martin and they convinced me that my gears has worn out, front and back. I was a little leery, because the bike had maybe 1500 miles on it at that time. However, I took their advice and got all new gears. This helped a little, but the shifting was still unreliable and I still had no confidence shifting onto my big ring.
I brought it back and they told me I had to replace my front chain rings. I was not happy. I started to suspect that that was their standard answer for a shifting problem, because it had been about ninety days since I had it replaced. They worded on it for a while and finally said that the problem was in fact wear on the front chain rings. I said well, that's fine, but that they were going to have to replace it free of charge, because truthfully, they never really fixed the problem from the get go. They agreed. Well, I have my new chain ring and they spent a lot of time adjusting it and my bike is back. They assured me that if there was any problem, that they would do whatever it takes to make it right. It is a true pleasure to shift onto the big ring with confidence when it's time to get going really fast.
1 comment:
I think it is very unlikely that your chainrings were worn so quickly. I think they were giving you a line. I have a 15 year old bike whose chain rings are just fine.
It is much more likely that the front derailer just needed some adjusting. This is very common with new bikes. As the parts break in they need some adjustment to stay spot on.
Also, even a perfectly working and adjusted drivetrain will drop the chain sometimes. I find that droping the chain to the outside happens most often when the chain in the rear is on the smallest few cogs. If the chain is in the middle of the cassette you'll have fewer dropped chains. Vis-versa for shifting into the small chain ring. I don't fully understand why, but I think it has something to do with the chainline. So the lesson is to shift early in the front, or shift back a few gears to bring the rear closer to the middle of the cassette just before shifting the front.
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