Bob, glad the bike's holding up well. THe bottom bracket creak is definitely something your bike shop should fix, free of charge. Pulling off the cranks and bb, cleaning the shell, regreasing everything and reinstalling it should only take your shop about 20 minutes tops. If you're paranoid, ask them to put some plumbers tape on the bottom bracket threads, along with the grease. That stuff will get rid of even the mot annoying BB creaks. Also, be aware that a lot of what sound like BB creaks are actually coming from the rear wheel area, i.e. the dropouts (especially the sliding dropouts that you have) which you can unbolt yourself, clean up, and toss a light film of grease on before reinstalling. The creak could also be coming from the seatpost/seat area, but that's easy to test for, just pedal out of the saddle.

The front derailleur problems youre having sound like poor adjustment, not a bad derailleur. I've serviced a multitude of deore front dereailleurs, and when adjusted properly, they will shift just as well as an xt, if not quite as smoothly. Heres what you wanna check for: when the chain is on the small ring in front and big cog in back (1-1) there should be maybe a fraction of a mm gap between the chain and the drerailleur cage on the left hand side. Then, still in 1-1, you wanna feel how tight the front derailleur cable is. it sohuldn't be super tight like a guitar string, but not so loose that you can pull the cable much without moving the derailleur. Then put the bike in the smallest cog and the biggest ring (3-9) and check the gap on the derailleur cage's right hand side. Should be a fraction of a mm there too. Basically, for both extremes, the chain should be almost to the point of rubbing, without actually rubbing. If the limits are set right, and the cable tension is set right, the bike should shift very well, without missing many shifts or dropping the chain that often.

 

We were there a couple of weeks ago! We'll have to do Hermosa Creek, 401, Monarch Crest....stuff like that. For the past two years we've tried to do Hermosa creek but mega amounts of rain one year and a bike race this year meant no dice. Talk about getting spanked, I'm so slow on the tandem sometimes I feel like I should be dressed in latex and wearing a dog collar!
You wouldn't get left behind.
You might even have time to take a few naps.


Sounds like you had a great time, I'm jealous.

 

Finish Line Stanchion Fluoro Oil Bike Lube
http://www.finishlineusa.com/product...chion-lube.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Finish-Line-St...1158233&sr=8-1



Stopped in at lunch today at my LBS and picked up the new Bike and Mountain Bike Action magazines, and of course the lube above.

This did the trick.
The stuff is very slippery.
I put some on the pad it came with and wiped the stanchions, and also dribbled some down the tube and around the plastic seals at the top of the forks.

Then I set my shock to easy and then compressed it with my arms and chest down several times and worked it in real good.
Took it for a quick spin around the block.

Noise eliminated.
This stuff works.
You can see the compression line too several inches up the tubes on how far I was able to compress them down.

Bob, this does not leave a coat of sticky grease either like maybe that Judy Butter did for you.
It is a very light film.
You might try it and see how you like it.

 

w00t!! Nothing better than a squeakless bike

 

Bike squeaks are camo for knee creaks.

 

Corey, glad your fork fixed work. Judy Butter is working out better with the thinnest film possible.

Our saddles are the same. Padding is fine, synthetic covering isn't as slick as leather, gets hot and holds heat. Also, Ti rails would help with our stiff alu frames and seatposts.

The Brooks Swift will work until I can find a more weather resistant version.

 

flash, you're on to something. I checked rear wheel alignment and it looks like the axle walked forward slightly on the drive side. It shows in tire to chainstay clearance. That can't be helping the chainline.

So I'll align using chainstays as guide. Hopefully skewers have some fore/aft in them, the dropouts are all the way forward. Then check brake caliper alignment. Interesting to see so many adjustments on the caliper. Then I'll tune the front d/r and check. Thanks for the tips.

 

I added a few mods like grips, stem, bar, seatpost, pedals, cassette and wheelset. That's the good news. The bad news follows:









I dropped it off for the "free" 30 day tuneup from the selling dealer. When I picked it up their service manager said that due to the "unauthorized" (not done by him) installation of non-OEM parts he voided the warranty.

He also said the BB groan is due to the Speedplay pedals, the rear dropout squeak is the new rims and the recently developed severe headshake on front braking descents is from the stem. The only things he touched were the derailleurs b/c I didn't mention the new cassette. Then I was charged for the "free" service.

I called BS on his claim but didn't bring up Magnussen-Moss. Instead I asked to speak with the Specialized national warranty manager. They tried calling but he was off for the weekend.

So here I am with no warranty on a nearly new bike with a head shake and a headset that has a detent feeling every 30 degrees of steerer rotation. The bar will remain in place anywhere when rotated on the tuning stand. I think the headset is defective but with no warranty will have to pay out of pocket or, more likely, find another dealer who will honor the warranty.

This shows that even a Mom and Pop shop out in the boonies may not have a clue about customer service, though my prior experience was always the opposite. Frankly, I think it's a prima donna technician trying to run the show while the owner stands meekly by.

Normally I'd pursue them and Specialized to fix the bike, but the shop is an hour's drive one-way that I'll try the closer, bigger dealer instead. They didn't have my size in stock when first shopping but think they'd be fine with wrenching on a bike bought elsewhere as they're legally obligated to.

The bike is otherwise more fun than ever as I get the cockpit dialed in. The goal is to move me forward and down to apply more pedal pressure to improve climbing efficiency, increase steering leverage for better response, tighten the gearing to eliminate gaps and reduce weight. Everything is working out except for the blown headset and the dealer who blows as the bike is grounded for safety reasons (headset shake while braking downhill) until fixed at Specialized's expense.

 

Bob, nice mods.
I may change out my bar in the future for one like you have, and I am still torn as to what grips to get.

This sucks about your dealer!!!
For sure take it up with the Specialized rep when you can get a hold of him.
Meanwhile I hope you can build a good relationship with the dealer that is closer to you.
I have with my LBS, and I continue to get discounts on stuff when I stop by, even on two pairs of Specialized Comp socks I picked up last week.

I hope the dealer closer to you can warranty the bottom bracket.

As you can see in my "Tool" thread, I am going all out on setting up a home shop to work on mine.
I will still use the dealer as there are certain things I am not capable or feel comfortable in doing, but it will be nice to learn.
I do want to learn how to replace the disc brake pads and bleed the system.

These bikes are getting very high tech.
Also my LBS had the 2010 Mountain catalog in from Specialized, and I grabbed the last copy.

They have a few full suspension 29ers, and a few hardtails.
I will have to get recommendations from my shop which would best suit me (more than likely I will stay hardtail), and I may pick one up sometime around spring.

Very disappointed in the weather this Labor Day weekend.
Rain started in Friday evening real hard when I wanted to ride.
Rain most of Saturday here, and today it is windy and around 1 PM it was dark out just like at sunset, and we had a windstorm, thunder, lightning, and hard rain.
Not the best weather to ride in.
Tomorrow more of the same.

And Tuesday when we head back to work summer is back, and the week and the week beyond Indian summer like weather.
For some reason here in the Pacific Northwest many summer holidays are always a washout.

 

I rode 15 miles over rural hills during a clear two hours near sunset yesterday. Local wx radar shows a break between bands for a few hours STARTING NOW! I'm heading out to ride the Sandy River Gorge (Old Columbia River Hwy.), about 18 miles with 2,500' elevation change mostly up of course. Taking a rain jacket in case.

 

That's a dumb move to make on their part... sounds like someone is jealous that they didnt get to change out your parts...
Both bull... there is no way a set of pedals is gonna make a BB groan, and same thing with the wheels, for the most part. I've never heard of any problem with easton hubs not having enough clamping surface...
That sounds just like a tight headset... try loosening it a bit and that should go away [unless it was overtightened to the point of damage to the bearings]
Unfortuantely, no shop is legally obligated to perform warranty maintenance like this on a bike. That is all stuff that the bike shop itself offers, not Specialized. I'm sure they will be more than happy to help you out, especially if you tell them the story about the other store and make them feel like the good guys, but dont go in there expecting free service.

 

flash, warranties sure are different between cars and bikes. Until reading the fine print yesterday, I didn't realize the Specialized warranty is parts only.

 

Yeah... it sucks, but thats just how it is....
Have you tried loosening the headset yet?

 

Yes, loosening didn't help. The detents are still there and now it feels grindy between detents.

Feeling hopeful, I called the selling dealer to describe the new headset problem. I was transferred to the service manager who promptly blamed me for continuing to ride on a bad headset (the headshake problem) instead of bringing it back. He then suggested buying and having him install a Chris King unit since he voided the warranty.

I'm done with them and will be going to megadealer downtown. This hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for the bike at all and understand it's a bad dealer, not a bad bike.

 

Bob, sorry about that place.
Who knew when you went there?

Will you take it to the new place and see what they have to say, or buy the new headset first?

 

Was the headset doing that when you first bought it? If not, then it's possible that you did indeed overtighten it when installing that new stem... otherwise, it should be a warranty issue, although since you did go ahead and install that stem by yourself, it would be their call on whether to trust you or not.

 

I dropped the bike at megadealer on the way out of town yesterday. They have a good relationship with the factory and offered to install an upgraded headset with credit for parts and labor for a defective OEM Aheadset applied. Sounds good so far, eh? Here's the good news:



I did an 18 mile mixed bike trail/gravel path near home. Very impressive improvement in steering feel. The difference between the Aheadset and King is like the difference between Toyota and Porsche steering feel. More direct, better feedback and a new tingly feel that livens things up.

Now the bad news. They somehow gouged the downtube on both sides clear through to the bare metal. They never mentioned it when I rolled out of the store. If I hadn't seen the damage it would've been difficult to prove once home.

I met with the store manager and to his credit he offered to replace the frame. I agreed and left for the callback. It came a few minutes ago. There are no more frames available. He then offered to either issue a $50 store credit of buy the bike back for what I paid + mods.

Right now I'm steamed and am thinking of starting over but am wondering what others would do? With what I've learned it's tempting to take the cash (after riding until next Monday) and look for something even a little nicer this Winter on Craigslist.

The damage, same on both sides. The manager said their tuneup stands grip the seatpost and has no idea how it happened. I think maybe the tech slipped with the hammer knocking out the OEM cups:

 

OUCH!
Glad the new headset is better Bob, but yes, I would be steamed about the chips.

Do not really have any advice on what to do.

I have the new 2010 Specialized catalog, lot of other nice bikes in there.

 

Dude, just ask em for the fifty bucks and be done with it....theyve been nice to you so far, and if theyve even been willing to replace the frame, that means that they feel for you. Maybe you can get a free tune up or two out of the deal, too. As long as the frame's not dented you can just clearcoat over that... the bikes gonna get scratched and dinged and all that eventually, after all it is a mountain bike. I'll be honest: you don't wanna be known around the shop as the guy who cried over a cosmetic quibble after being offered a cash reimbursement, and I guarantee you that is what will happen if you take the buyback offer. In the long run, it will pay to be the guy who kept his cool and understood that things get knocked around the shop from time to time and didnt make a big fuss over it.

 

But then again, if they marked the frame up like that on both sides from tapping a headset out, perhaps you shouldnt be going back to this shop either...