Front Derailleur seized

Dubh_Ghaill

Bought my first road bike 3 months ago. Its mainly been used only at weekends and stored indoors.

The front derailleur has seized and according to the shop requires replacement. I'm being charged for this.

Any opinions on wheither this is acceptable considering I failed to clean/maintain the bike while I had it?

Cheers,DG

07Lapierre

Dubh_Ghaill wrote: »

Bought my first road bike 3 months ago. Its mainly been used only at weekends and stored indoors.

The front derailleur has seized and according to the shop requires replacement. I'm being charged for this.

Any opinions on wheither this is acceptable considering I failed to clean/maintain the bike while I had it?:rolleyes:

Cheers,DG

Have you tried cleaning and apply some WD40 to the FD? That should unsieze it. I'd try that before forking out for a new derailleur.

Claen the whole bike while your at it!

shigllgetcha

Dubh_Ghaill wrote: »

Any opinions on wheither this is acceptable considering I failed to clean/maintain the bike while I had it?

Did they decide you didnt maintain it or did you decide that and tell them?

It still shouldnt be any skin off their nose to replace it, they just get a replacement from the manufacturers to compensate them, itd be good from a PR/customer point of view just to replace it.

It is acceptable to refuse to fix something under warrantee if you didnt look after the bike though, if you really misstreated it and three months is alittle short to start. Did they service it at any time?

Hermy

I doubt it needs replacing after only three months even if it is seized. As Lapierre suggests WD40 or some other penetrating oil should resolve the issue. Also check the cable and lever for same.

Dubh_Ghaill

The red chain was a giveaway regarding the maintainence. They left it soaking overnight but it failed to unseize. I also failed to bring it in for its first service.

They're only charging me for the part and will service the bike. Think I'll just accept it as a life lesson and make sure I maintain it in future. Having said that I've an old Halfords piece of junk in garage for shop runs thats never been oiled in 3 years and its working fine!!

07Lapierre

Dubh_Ghaill wrote: »

The red chain was a giveaway regarding the maintainence. They left it soaking overnight but it failed to unseize. I also failed to bring it in for its first service.

They're only charging me for the part and will service the bike. Think I'll just accept it as a life lesson and make sure I maintain it in future. Having said that I've an old Halfords piece of junk in garage for shop runs thats never been oiled in 3 years and its working fine!!

Take the FD off the bike, soak in WD40, then manually pull/push the cage in and out.Soaking on its own won't do it.

funkyjebus

I'd be of the opinion that regarless of cleaning or maintainence a FD should not have to be replaced after only 3 months (even if left in the rain every day), unless it has had some physical impact.

Did they say what specifically is wrong with it to warrant a full replacement or are they just replacing it as its the easiest thing to do? A quick clean, maybe a new cable and you should still be running. I have FD's older than me that still work, there really isn't too much to go wrong with them.

I'd be looking for repair / replacement under warranty.

victorcarrera

Does the cable tension change when you move the gear lever or grip? Which chain ring is it stuck in?

Dubh_Ghaill

By moving the lever the rail moves (with force) to the top ring . Hitting the lower lever that rail wouldn't release and had to be pushed back down onto the lower ring.

Prob now is that shop has the bike and rang me to tell me I had to pay for the derailleur. Agreed but still not happy about it. Bike was never out in rain and at most I had it out 25 times, 20-30km per ride. Hardly hardcore.

Wishbone Ash

Dubh_Ghaill wrote: »

I've an old Halfords piece of junk in garage for shop runs thats never been oiled in 3 years and its working fine!!

That's irrelevant as your "shop bike" is probably only used for very short journeys, is unlikely to be used in very wet weather and won't pick up the kind of mud/grit/crap a road bike will on on the open road.

ford2600

If they have it fixed it's probably hard to argue now.

might be a cheap lesson, it pays to take good care of your bike especially the drive train. It's also cheap, easy and takes little time to do.

Dubh_Ghaill wrote: »

By moving the lever the rail moves (with force) to the top ring . Hitting the lower lever that rail wouldn't release and had to be pushed back down onto the lower ring.

Prob now is that shop has the bike and rang me to tell me I had to pay for the derailleur. Agreed but still not happy about it. Bike was never out in rain and at most I had it out 25 times, 20-30km per ride. Hardly hardcore.