Help - Can't get on with my new bike.

[autolycus]

Hi - i bought a specialized hybrid sport disc very recently but i've had a few problems with it and could use some advice, please.

A slight gear change problem and a graunching noise from the rear brake was quickly fixed, but there remains a problem with the front brake.

At first it was binding and the shop fitted some rather Heath-Robinson looking washers between the adapter and the caliper that stopped the rubbing, but left the pads only gripping with about half their area on the disk. Also there was an intermittent loud clacking noise evident when using the brake lever. This happened even when i barely touched it.

I took the bike back and they removed the shims and managed to get the wheel to turn without binding. But the clacking remains (albeit quieter) and this brake now graunches intermittently.

I've also struggled with the shifters. On my old ridgeback i could use the altus shifter without moving my hand on the handlebar grips, but with these acera shifters, i can't reach the upshift lever without sliding my hand along the grip. I've tried moving the unit closer but the downshifter digs into my thumb if i do that.

The shop have been sympathetic and offered to exchange or refund and i'm not sure what to do. I'm a bit fed up with having the brake tweeked and frankly i'm wondering whether they CAN be set up satisfactorily - i believe tektro are not universally admired. And the shifter problem is really irritating - perhaps i was spoilt with the ridgeback.

Can anyone offer a solution that would not involve changing the bike? Or if i did change, what would be a good choice? Should I avoid disk brakes altogether? Apart from the problems, the sirrus is pretty much the sort of bike i'm looking for.

Any constructive comments would be most welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Levo-Lon]

The fact that they shimmed the caliper so the pads were off the disc makes me think Halfords for some reason..

can you let a local bike mechanic at a decent shop have a look as it sounds like amateur hour to me...

 

[biggs682]

would you be happy with the bike if the problems were sorted ?

or have you talked yourself into quite rightly not being happy with the bike ?

how long does the offer of exchange or refund stand for ?

have you been offered the option of trying another specialized hybrid sport ?

 

[matiz]

I would go for a refund then get round to halfords for a boardman hybrid comp,I've been thrashing mine around for the last year with no problems.

 

[autolycus]

Thanks for the replies.
meta lon - Actually, it is a large specialist retailer, but not halfords. Maybe i'm being unfair but it didn't inspire confidence and i did take a pic at the time.
biggs682 - Difficult to answer the first two questions: i think i'd be happy with it fixed and also worry i might just be being a bit picky - especially over the shifter issue - but your second question suggests you feel i'm not. And i really feel i'll regret it if i decide to try to live with it. They put no time limit on their offer, but have a 30 day policy. I bought the bike on the 12 August. There was no offer of trying another specialized hybrid sport, BUT on the first workshop visit a technician showed me one they'd just built, complete with clacking noise on the front brake! Ironically, the other technician moments before had told me he'd never come across the phenomenom before, but it does seem a 'feature' of disk brakes. Surely this can't be so?

 

[2clepto]

personally, id suggest swapping the bike out for the same model, as you say you like it. maybe suggest, if the same problems arise with the replacement you will require the refund the shop offered.

i like the tektro rim brake calipers alot had a few pairs and they have always worked fine.

i bought a merida mtb five years ago new for £530 and had similar issues, gears were slipping a little and the front disc brake seemed to stick slightly. i put up with it for a month and had the six week service done after four weeks. the bike came back with the same issues. i still have the bike the problems sorted themselves out ish, i lubed the chain alot and the pad mustve worn down on the front brake to compensate. imo i think the components were just cheap at the £500 bracket. one alternative is too pay £300 and upgrade to a more competent groupset. or if thats too expensive upgrade the brake calipers and shifters through ebay.

 

[vickster]

If the shifters don't suit you, seems daft to get the same bike again. Did you not identify the issue on a test ride? Evans, which is where I'm guessing you bought it based on the 30 day exchange policy, are good with on road test rides

Get some rides on other bikes in the same price bracket and see how you get on. If shifting or braking isn't comfortable, you'll never enjoy the bike as much as you might. I for example can't brake happily on shimano sti shifters, so I just don't have bikes with them. I prefer SRAM shifters all round

I'd get shot of that bike, get a refund, try some other bikes at Evans but also perhaps other brands that they don't have like giant or Whyte

 

[Globalti]

The clacking from the front brake is probably caused by the pads being grabbed or moved back and forth by an out-of-true disc. Does the disc wobble when you spin the wheel?

Alternatively the brake is grabbing because it's contaminated with oil, which would also explain the odd graunching noises.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My first thoughts reading it was a out-of-true disc as @Globalti suggests.

However, you don't sound happy with the bike and tbh if you are not happy with it, the best thing you can do is get your money back and try again with another bike.

 

[Globalti]

Why don't you take your business to a bike shop with proper mechanics instead of a bike supermarket with inexperienced kids?

 

[autolycus]

Thanks for the further considered replies. It seems there is no way around the shifter problem other than a bike change. Is there a chance i was just 'unlucky' with the disk problems or is my (unrealistic??) wish for seamless braking best served by reverting to conventional rims?
As the company has been decent enough to offer a refund, i think i should at least try to find a replacement there and insist on a proper test ride (rather than 'around the shop' which i was offered with the Sirrus).

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Plenty of people have disc brakes and no problems. one of my bikes has hydraulic disc brakes and another has cable disc brakes. I think you were just unlucky.

 

[autolycus]

Why don't you take your business to a bike shop with proper mechanics instead of a bike supermarket with inexperienced kids?

Well, the standard of mechanical expertise might have been wanting a bit. But in other respects - the ability to change your mind if you don't get on with it, for example - i was glad i chose them.
Anyway, i got my refund and now have to start all over and try to find something that suits - shouldn't be too much of a problem!

 

[Truth]

Hi Autolycus.
I could probably search your posts to find out but what did you buy in the end?
Its ok , I was looking to possibly treat myself to the same bike you had problems with , from Fred Williams Cycles in Wolverhampton , but this has put me off a bit......
Must admit the disc brakes are a massive plus on it BUT when things do go wrong with them they are so much harder to sort out!
Having a dilema whether to just stick with my poor mans Kona Dew City Hybrid and save myself £600!

 

[rideswithmoobs]

Thanks for the further considered replies. It seems there is no way around the shifter problem other than a bike change. Is there a chance i was just 'unlucky' with the disk problems or is my (unrealistic??) wish for seamless braking best served by reverting to conventional rims?
As the company has been decent enough to offer a refund, i think i should at least try to find a replacement there and insist on a proper test ride (rather than 'around the shop' which i was offered with the Sirrus).

I have mechanical discs and they are perfect, tectro brakes and again no issues at all.

All this talk of test rides is a waste of time as so few places offer it or those that do, offer so little time you get no real feel or true sense of the bike as to what it's really like to live with and ride.
To be fair, a brakes a brake, a wheels a wheel, regardless of its brand and if you can't use it because of the name written on it then...well I think you can finish that sentence yourself.
Don't be put off by a bad experience. Good luck with the search and when you find the right bike, regardless of its components, it will feel right and ride right.

Good luck in your search