Opinions of repair work wanted, please read

[aserota]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a project MTB bike off ebay, which was put together @ evans cycles in London Bridge and then repaired on the cycle home at @ evans cycles in Waterloo.

Here is the link to the bike on ebay;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180281938551&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

The bike was purchased for £750, which i felt was reasonable considering all parts bar the wheels were new (iirc).

The repair/assembly/purchase and adding of an XT chain, new headset and XT Cassette came to £250 (i have receipt, please do not ask) @ evans cycles. This was far more then expected but came in under budget for bike.


The bike rides like a dream, i have spent some time setting everything up, cleaning it and greasing/lubricating all parts correctly.

HOWEVER, there are a few things i am not happy with (from assembly @ evans cycles) and would like your opions on....


Cable tension;

Two of the three cables are ridiculously loose, i was told this was due to the rear wheel being untrue (bull****) i say. These cables have a plastic surround, but i am doubtful this is why the tension is so low.


Arrangement of cables;

This looks far too busy compared with my roadie, but is this expected on a MTB?


Carbon bars and bar ends

I was told carbon bar ends are not designed for carbon handlebars and therefore then is movement with the bar ends. is this correct?


Forks too short?

I am told the forks are too short for the headset and are likely to reguarly come loose. Can you tell from this pic if this is a fact? or another way of getting me to spend money?



XTR V brake boosters

There is one metal pin for each brake left & right, which rattles around when cycling, is this meant to be secured?




Sorry for the long post, any help is appreciated. As mentioned above the bike rides beautifully, but there are some things that just dont seem right.

 

[aserota]

General pics of bike;

 

[snapper_37]

I have no idea what is right/wrong but that is one nice looking set of recycling bins

 

[alecstilleyedye]

cool, we only get a black one and a green one…

 

[snapper_37]

cool, we only get a black one and a green one…

Us too! I'd love a blue one.

 

[mickle]

The fork steerer is way too short for the bike. If the carbon bars have aluminum inserts in the ends they are suitable for bar-ends, if not you should remove them. The backsweep of the bars should line up with your arms.I can't comment on the other issues without the bike in front of me although the cable slack is clearly wrong and the housing looks too long. But £250?? You wuz robbed mate. Really.

 

[Mr Pig]

The fork steerer is way too short for the bike.

Indeed, miles too short. The top of the steerer tube should only be a couple of millimetres under the top of the stem. In fact some manufacturers are now taking the tube right through the stem and fitting a spacer on top. You need new forks.

Other than that I can't see much wrong. If the cables are working correctly they can't be too loose.

Routing of the cables at the front looks normal, maybe would be a bit tidier looking if the shrouds were shorter, but nothing drastic. I try to fit cables so that they meet the frame on the opposite side from whence they came but it's not aways possible to do this, depending on where the cable has to go. Having the cable guides on top of the top-tube, rather than under it or on the down tube, also gives you sharper bends but not much you can do about that.

The only big problem I can see is the steerer tube, bit of a kick in the nuts that one.

 

[02GF74]

if I understand correctly - that long metal pin you refer to on the brakes is the brake spring; is should tuck in behind a smaller poin, maybe 5 mm long with a round head that is attached to the rear of brake levers - like what you have in photo no. 9

loose cables - which one? there will be one for rear shifter, one for front shifter and thicker one for the rear brake. the rear shifter cable can be lose if the shifter is in a different gear than what the chain is since the chain holds the shifter out of its true posiiton - this will sort it self if you turn the pedals as the chain will shift to correct gear. otherwise you need to adjust the cables - not a big deal,

as ^^^ say, nost worrying is the fork stem length - it needs to be about 1 or 2 mm shorter than the top of the stem.

 

[aserota]

Thanks for the comments.

So as expected the only issue is the forks. I was thinking of getting a set of carbon solid forks, e.g. trigons.

Any other recommendations?

 

[RedBike]

To be brutally honest I don't think your ebay purchase is worth anything like £750. £1300 my as5e.
It's ALL second-hand and most of it is used. Even the XT groupset parts he's fitted are older models. I would concider this a lesson and next time buy from a new bike from a reputable bike shop!

The forks are clearly the wrong size for the bike and you've had to purchase a new headset / get the bike services. This is clearly not a little bit more than just fitting a new chain as the advert suggests. I think it's time to start asking the seller to cover your costs. He's obviously all to happy to rob you so don't be worried about giving him a hard time.

£250 for a headset, chain and cassette.- Thats very expensive.
I take it you asked Evans to service the bike. In which case it could well of cost you £250.

If they have serviced the bike then get them to fit those cables correctly.
The rear wheel doesn't have a thing to do with cable tension.

If the rear wheel is buckled then thats something else to moan at the seller about.

 

[aserota]

Ive just riden down to Northwood Cycles (only bike shop i have trust in) and had a long discussion with the owner/mechanic.

We went through all parts on the bike to check condition and how they were fitted etc.

• The forks will need a new steerer, i am calling up the manufacturer today to see if they can do this as appartly it is quite simple to replace.
• The rear wheel is not buckled.
• The cables can be redone with ease and tidied up.
• The groupset is running perfectly, so no wories there.
• He will fix the bar ends when i take it back in, and showed me why etc.

• The brakes need sorting, but again this is a simple repair.

So all in all it needs an hours work at most and i will be around when this is done. As said before it rides excellently on and off road but needs a touch more work to be near perfect.

 

[Mr Pig]

Good stuff, glad it's coming together at last.

I's still consider taking action against the seller though. You have his eBay advert as proof of his description of the bike and your local mechanics can confirm in writing that the steerer tube is too short. Basically, he's sold you a pup and you're having to fork out fix it...no pun intended ;0)

 

[aserota]

i should really, but i wait to hear back from pace first.

If its a matter of a few quid im happy with that, im always an optomist!

 

[Steve Austin]

To fix the steerer you 'may' be able to fit a headset with a lower stack height. Might be cheaper than buying, and fitting a new steerer.

 

[Danny]

Ive just riden down to Northwood Cycles (only bike shop i have trust in) and had a long discussion with the owner/mechanic.

So why didn't you get them to do the service instead of Evans?