Giant FCR 1

Hi all,

I bought one of these two weeks ago and really like the looks, the frame,
wheels, tyres, bars, brakes BUT the crankset (Tiagra) and gears ( Tiagra
again ) have disappointed totally so far. :( . I bought from a local bike
shop and have been told to bring it back for a service after I have covered
about 200 miles ( almost there puff, grunt ). So hopefully it will be
sorted.
The running gear sounds like a bag of nails it really does. I guess it's the
crankset difficult for a non mechanic like me to judge......Almost the same
noise you used to get when the cotter pin needed tightening all those years
ago.
Also the front derailleur has 'over' derailled three times now, throwing the
chain on to the bottom bracket. and giving slight scratches into the
bargain. The lbs has adjusted once but it still derailled once since.
The bike is a medium frame and I am 14 stone or a little bit less after a
25miler.!!
Has anyone else experienced the same probs? Did I read that gearing should
be set by a special alignment tool?
thanks
Mick

"A.Lee" <alan@darkroom.+.com> wrote in message
news:410d17e9$0$97864$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net...
> On Sun, 01 Aug 2004 16:11:43 +0100, Mick wrote:
>
> > Also the front derailleur has 'over' derailled three times now, throwing
the
> > chain on to the bottom bracket. and giving slight scratches into the
> > bargain. The lbs has adjusted once but it still derailled once since.
> > The bike is a medium frame and I am 14 stone or a little bit less after
a
> > 25miler.!!
> > Has anyone else experienced the same probs? Did I read that gearing
should
> > be set by a special alignment tool?
>
> It sounds like it hasnt been set up properly.To someone experienced, it is
> a 5 minute job - 2 grub screws and the shifter cable neeed adjusting.There
> is the slight possibilty that the derailler is not aligned straight,
> but again, this is a 2 minute job - loosen 1 screw/bolt, and jiggle it
> around.
> Alan.

Hate to say this but last year a friend of mine had the same problem with
the same components on the same bike. Basically his LBS buggered him about
and nothing seemed to work until he lost patience and swapped the mech.
Best bet is to return to the shop where you bought it from and very
politely, but firmly, point out that you should not be experiencing these
problems with a new bike and insist that they fix it or fit replacement
parts. Most LBS's are pretty reasonable places but there's always the odd
one. If you stand your ground they'll understand that they need to put it
right.

I agree with the above comments, assuming it's not a duff part, it ain't too
much of a job I don't think.

Nice bike too!!

Cheers

L

Thanks for your comments. I am rather hoping that the LBS will be reasonable
and fix it for me..I've done so much ' counter thumping ' in the past I
don't really want to go through this again......... and this shouldn't
happen with a £500 bike...When I bought the bike I couldn't take it away
that day cos it had to be checked........So when I go to collect it the
promised ' thrown in ' extras are not fitted or forgotten about and now
this..........I can but hope
Mick

thanks again for your input....The man from the LBS took it out for a little
ride and stated it's like a creaking noise near the bottom bracket....But
these noises can be hard to trace.....Sometimes the sealed unit is fitted '
dry ' and this can cause it.... Sounds convincing to me.
Simon,that adjusting derailleur site is excellent...ta

Mick

Hello again.

Sorry to come back to the group but the problem has not been sorted... I
have now ridden my lovely Giant FCR 1 for 230 miles and 190 of them have
been with this creaking noise. This is a cause of embarrassment and utter
disappointment. The LBS has 1) taken out the bb/ cleaned/greased and
replaced it....with a note stating " one cup was loose " and 2) replaced the
bb with a " better quality one " and again noted one of the cups was loose.

I manage to do about 1/2mile from the LBS and the noise returns.
I have looked at the cup and it doesn't seem as though it has tightened up
completely to the frame. i.e. you can get a fingernail between frame and
cup.

I am wondering whether there has been damage to the bb thread on the
assembly track. I also see there's alot of welding around this
area.......Do frames suffer from unseen cracks?

This noise shouldn't happen with a £500 bike which has Alu 6061 frame and
Shimano Tiagra components.......or should it?

My twelve year old Claud Butler Pagan MTB is very quiet in comparison.

Should I be thinking Sale of Goods Act now?

Thanks for your help.

Mick