Saturday, May 16, 2009
Whatzup with all the tire problems?
I went to my bike shop for an oil change and to have a new front tire and brake. I took my knitting and planned to sit for the 2 hour wait, but a dear friend called and said he was getting ready to take a ride. He offered to pick me up for a cruise through the countryside and he didn't have to offer twice. We had a lovely cruise and I was back at the bike shop with only a little trepidation that the mechanics might have found extra problems with my bike (Can you tell it's happened before?). I was relieved to see it sitting there ready to go, I paid the bill and threw my leg over. I made it about a quarter mile down the road before I did a u-turn and headed back. I pulled in the service bay door and my engine guy, Jim, said, "What!?" I told him, it wasn't right, that I was getting a lot of wobble in the front end. I threw him the key and told him to take it out for a test ride. The wobble became quite pronounced at 45-50 mph. I'd had just a little wobble when I brought it in, and had been told it was due to cupping on the front tire. When he brought it back, he agreed that there was a problem and thought it might be caused by loose steering head bearings. They put it on the lift and checked it, but that didn't seem to be the problem. Of course I had just had the last tire in stock that fit my bike put on, so now I'll be heading back next week to have another tire put on. There won't be any additional cost other than my time, so it definitely could have been worse, but I can't seem to get away from tire problems, even with the brand new ones!
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2 comments:
WOW....In 38 years of riding, I've never had a new tire that was crappy. That's not to say it hasn't happened...
What I have had that caused a wobble like your talking about in the REAR wheel...was the Mech. PUTTING THE WRONG SPACERS ON MY AXEL! Seems they were doing a rear wheel job on the lift next to me and swapped out the wrong spacers. They never did get it right, it cost me my rear brakes locking up on the 101 in L.A. out in Cali.... the brake rotor got so hot it dished, it almost got me killed. If the bike still isn't right when you get it back...take elsewhere to be checked////PLEASE!
When I called for the tire price they told me they had tires on sale. I asked if they were new tires or if they were old rubber that'd been sitting around for awhile. They assured me that wasn't the reason they were on sale. I've become a lot more assertive in my old age. I won't leave that shop until they make it right. It helps that it's the same shop I've bought three bikes from and they've seen me there with a number of other riders who are customers. They know that if they piss me off I'll be badmouthing them all over town. And I know that it wasn't wobbling like that when I took it in so it's either from the work they did or the tire. The ride should improve with a new tire, not deteriorate.
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