Anyone have anything they'd like to rant about?

[californiagrown]

I have a 2017 slayer with a RF Turbine dropper post on it which just recently stopped working. Mind you my bike is beat the hell and has multiple components noticeably limping along. I took the bike into the LBS next to work and said hey the dropper isnt working can you take a look? they said sure and i left for the day. I get a call 2 days later saying that "RF Turbines are terrible droppers and we reccomend that you replace it with our instock BikeYolk XXXX dropper, along with a new lever, and labor we can get you riding out the door this afternoon for $650". I audibly snorted, declined, and said id be by shortly. When i dropped in i showed them a PNW dropper that Evo had on sale and asked if they could match the price and atleast collect a little profit on it, otherwise id just buy it and bring it in for them to install... and they proceeded to give me a whole bunch of attitude. So now i have that $150 post in the mail, will reuse my beat up Turbine lever, and am getting the LBS next to my house to install the dropper for $50. All in cost $200.

Its shitty when a LBS tries to upsell a gucci component for a gucci price to a bike owner who clearly is extremely frugal if they took one look at my bike and then gives attitude when the customer declines and proposes a cheaper route instead.

[smmokan]

$650 for a BikeYoke dropper? The Revive is ~$300 everywhere online, is the lever dipped in gold maybe?

[californiagrown]

$650 for a BikeYoke dropper? The Revive is ~$300 everywhere online, is the lever dipped in gold maybe?

$350 for the dropper, $60-$70 lever, tax and the rest labor. On a bike that is beat to hell with multiple parts (including wheels) bent/dented/scratched and really probably should be replaced but technically still work so their last few trail miles are being milked. Know your audience guys! It wasnt getting put on a fresh $10k 2023 Santa Cruz.

Its kindof whatever, IDK if my mountain biking days are over as i have a really bad arthritic shoulder, but i am looking forward to getting my 19month old out on the Shotgun Pro on the state park trails a block from my house this summer and kinda want a dropper for safety.

[John_B]

Cable dropper posts are quite easy to install if you want to pocket that extra 50 bucks too. I bet you could drink a beer and figure it out in the time it'd take you to drop it off & pick it up at the LBS.

[toast2266]

I have a 2017 slayer with a RF Turbine dropper post on it which just recently stopped working. Mind you my bike is beat the hell and has multiple components noticeably limping along. I took the bike into the LBS next to work and said hey the dropper isnt working can you take a look? they said sure and i left for the day. I get a call 2 days later saying that "RF Turbines are terrible droppers and we reccomend that you replace it with our instock BikeYolk XXXX dropper, along with a new lever, and labor we can get you riding out the door this afternoon for $650". I audibly snorted, declined, and said id be by shortly. When i dropped in i showed them a PNW dropper that Evo had on sale and asked if they could match the price and atleast collect a little profit on it, otherwise id just buy it and bring it in for them to install... and they proceeded to give me a whole bunch of attitude. So now i have that $150 post in the mail, will reuse my beat up Turbine lever, and am getting the LBS next to my house to install the dropper for $50. All in cost $200.

Its shitty when a LBS tries to upsell a gucci component for a gucci price to a bike owner who clearly is extremely frugal if they took one look at my bike and then gives attitude when the customer declines and proposes a cheaper route instead.

2017-2018 is right when raceface changed the turbine. The old version was fussy and kinda sucked. The newer version is essentially just a re-badged fox transfer, and is pretty good. And, I believe, rebuildable.

Might be worth figuring out what you've got; it might be fixable. Might also not be worth the effort though.

[g_man80]

semimembranosus tendinopathy!!! Ugh

[mmmm...pow!]

Why the fuck is every comment about every trail on Trailforks someone bitching about what color the trail is or should be? Since when are trails assigned colors? Just ride the damn trail!

[Cocximus]

Trailforks should have at least 3 shades of blue.

[east or bust]

Some mountain bikers can’t seem to grasp the concept that trail ratings are based on the corresponding network of trails, not what they ride at home.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[jackstraw]

Trailforks should have at least 3 shades of blue.

That's funny and true. As a person that has had to choose a color for several trails, I will say it's difficult to do. The TF guy who made me an admin (because of my building) said to color it to the most difficult section or feature. So if you have one techy 20 yard section with no B-line on a half mile or whatever length trail, then it's the color of that 20yd section. Even then it's difficult because I'm basing it on my and my friend's riding abilities.

[toast2266]

On our little local network of trails, we just run into the problem that there are only really 3 colors to choose from for the descending trails. None of the trails are hard enough to be considered a pro line, and none of the trails are easy enough to be a green. So the ones that are mostly rollable are blue (there's lots of jumps, but they're rollable), the ones that are steep and / or have some gaps are black, and the ones with bigger jumps and drops or more steep tech are double black.

But that still means the blues are pretty heavy compared to a lot of other places. They're just the easiest trails in this particular network. So yeah, we could use a few more shades of blue.

[climberevan]

My good friend just bought this baller Santa Cruz Stigmata CC and had his LBS set it up.

They left the steerer 2mm too long so it was impossible to adjust the headset. They mounted the front derailleur crooked. They mounted both tires backwards and, of course, didn't align the valve stems.

How do businesses expect to retain customers when they are clearly terrible at their jobs?

[Thaleia]

What's the big deal? Not like it's a big ticket item or anything. /s

Wow that's brutal. Not nearly as bad as my last experience buying a bike - first shift on my maiden ride and the chain slipped right off. Got it back on and the shifting was just completely fucked. Not a huge deal but just kinda funny given the name of the shop - "Gears".

[bamboocoreONLY]

I have a 2017 slayer with a RF Turbine dropper post on it which just recently stopped working. Mind you my bike is beat the hell and has multiple components noticeably limping along. I took the bike into the LBS next to work and said hey the dropper isnt working can you take a look? they said sure and i left for the day. I get a call 2 days later saying that "RF Turbines are terrible droppers and we reccomend that you replace it with our instock BikeYolk XXXX dropper, along with a new lever, and labor we can get you riding out the door this afternoon for $650". I audibly snorted, declined, and said id be by shortly. When i dropped in i showed them a PNW dropper that Evo had on sale and asked if they could match the price and atleast collect a little profit on it, otherwise id just buy it and bring it in for them to install... and they proceeded to give me a whole bunch of attitude. So now i have that $150 post in the mail, will reuse my beat up Turbine lever, and am getting the LBS next to my house to install the dropper for $50. All in cost $200.

Its shitty when a LBS tries to upsell a gucci component for a gucci price to a bike owner who clearly is extremely frugal if they took one look at my bike and then gives attitude when the customer declines and proposes a cheaper route instead.

As a manager of a LBS, I hate these kinds of stories. I just don't get why it's so hard to give customers a positive attitude about allowing them the freedom to make their own decisions for parts, etc. Sure they didn't buy your part in-store and it's kind of a bummer, but if you're cool about it and stay friendly they'll be back for something else, especially if it leads to a part replacement on something more urgent.

No wonder so many people are weary of bike shops, since most act like car dealerships.

Also, $50 for a dropper install is absolute madness (I really hope you didn't pay that much), even the droppers where the cable is cut under the post itself with tiny little hard-to-get-to crimps only takes maybe 20 minutes.

[Abies]

I haven't worked in a shop for over a decade but 50 dollars as a base labor price for pretty much anything beyond replacing a tube or whatever seems reasonable to me, especially during a busy time of year. You never know what you'll run into on a used bike, plus there's the transition time between jobs, etc.

The egregious part is trying to upsell to the super expensive dropper. There's no law against shops keeping PNW, OneUps, and TransX droppers in stock, and a good shop should carry parts they think are a value to their customers, not the fanciest options available to exclusively put on dentist builds. If anything it's the pricey stuff that should be special order.

[Eluder]

$40-50 seems fine on labor, mechanics deserve to eat and 1/10 don't go as planned.

The local shop has like 10-15 one ups in stock in all the flavors. If you want something expensive they order it.

[grskier]

I had some flex in the back of the bike and I went pivot by pivot and loosened and retightened each to the spec. Figured out some of it was in the wheel. I had a feeling the bearings might be toast and that was confirmed by a local shop. I brought it in and discussed the flex and how it was in/around the wheel, how it was diagnosed, etc. They said they'd chase it down and check the wheel. Wheel bearing was swapped out and some of the slop was gone but not all... mechanic said it wouldn't be a big deal/wasn't unsafe etc.. which, I don't 100% agree with but whatever. Anywho, finally tore down everything else and figured it out when I was playing with the axle with the wheel out. The 2mm set screw in the flip chip that adjusts the chainstay length wasn't set. Clue one was feeling that chip move when we discussing flex with shop guy. The thing that, in retrospect befuddled me is they are an SC dealer and build up those bikes all the time with the chip.

Oh well. Bike is humming along nicely right now and the flex is gone.

[Boissal]

Rockshox rant. I'm still dialing in the Stumpy I got last fall and holy shit am I annoyed at dealing with their products.

First one is not RS specific, I'd be equally pissed about Fox products: having a fork with a single positive air chamber is FUCKING IDIOTIC. Tearing into the air spring to adjust progression is such a pain in the ass after 2 seasons doing it with a shock pump, and it's so coarse... I started with no volume spacers, the fork was way too linear, went to 2, couldn't touch the last inch of travel, split the difference with 1, still feels a little too linear, now what? Cut a spacer in half and open the fork for a 3rd time to see how it feels? I hate having to ride something that feels off and not being able to do shit about until I get home and gut my fork. With the Mezzer I'd just throw the shock pump in the pack and would have the thing feeling like a million $$ within 3 laps and 2 minutes of adjustment. Now it's a weekend project. Not to mention the fact that changing the travel means getting another air shaft... The level of general acceptance of what is clearly inferior tech is puzzling to me.

Next shitshow was a slightly lesser annoyance: opening a SuperDeluxe to add spacers. I get that the air can has to be tight, but impossible to open without a strap wrench or weird shenanigans with old tubes and belts? Who in the fuck set a torque spec of a milling Nm before designing this thing with a 1/2"-wide gripping surface and the piggy back located in the exact spot to rip open your thumb when the can finally comes loose? Doing it with the shock in the frame is my usual go-to so I don't have to fully remove the shock, but the Stumpy has a silly frame brace that makes it even harder to get a good grip on the can. Took me just over an hour to do 10 minutes of suspension tuning and I wouldn't be surprised if my bath oil was 1/4 blood by now...

[skaredshtles]

Rockshox rant. I'm still dialing in the Stumpy I got last fall and holy shit am I annoyed at dealing with their products.

First one is not RS specific, I'd be equally pissed about Fox products: having a fork with a single positive air chamber is FUCKING IDIOTIC. Tearing into the air spring to adjust progression is such a pain in the ass after 2 seasons doing it with a shock pump, and it's so coarse... I started with no volume spacers, the fork was way too linear, went to 2, couldn't touch the last inch of travel, split the difference with 1, still feels a little too linear, now what? Cut a spacer in half and open the fork for a 3rd time to see how it feels? I hate having to ride something that feels off and not being able to do shit about until I get home and gut my fork. With the Mezzer I'd just throw the shock pump in the pack and would have the thing feeling like a million $$ within 3 laps and 2 minutes of adjustment. Now it's a weekend project. Not to mention the fact that changing the travel means getting another air shaft... The level of general acceptance of what is clearly inferior tech is puzzling to me.

Next shitshow was a slightly lesser annoyance: opening a SuperDeluxe to add spacers. I get that the air can has to be tight, but impossible to open without a strap wrench or weird shenanigans with old tubes and belts? Who in the fuck set a torque spec of a milling Nm before designing this thing with a 1/2"-wide gripping surface and the piggy back located in the exact spot to rip open your thumb when the can finally comes loose? Doing it with the shock in the frame is my usual go-to so I don't have to fully remove the shock, but the Stumpy has a silly frame brace that makes it even harder to get a good grip on the can. Took me just over an hour to do 10 minutes of suspension tuning and I wouldn't be surprised if my bath oil was 1/4 blood by now...

You're paying the price for owning a Specialized. Fuck Specialized. You deserve all the woe, and then some.

[Boissal]

You're paying the price for owning a Specialized. Fuck Specialized. You deserve all the woe, and then some.

Yeah I'm learning that the hard way.

Other rant could be their kinked seat tube, it's really frustrating to have to run a shorter dropper these days because they make a straight tube with decent insertion. I have shortish legs and had to go back to a 180mm post on a S4 Stumpy after running a 210mm on my Orbea. Even the 180 (OneUp) is touchy, no way to get full insertion, I need about 1" of post exposed or it will actuate itself. And I have about 1 mm to play with between knee pain or a post that will slowly creep up and down on its own.

The clearance and lack of protection around the lower portion of linkage seems to be designed to maximize the chance of driving a small piece of rock between the BB and rear triangle. I'm sure that will immediately explode the carbon.

I should sell this bike before I ride it enough to seriously devalue it with my "gentle" style.

[Roxtar]

You're paying the price for owning a Specialized. Fuck Specialized. You deserve all the woe, and then some.

"It's fair. A touch indelicate, but fair."
Originall posted by Bill the Butcher

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
The clearance and lack of protection around the lower portion of linkage seems to be designed to maximize the chance of driving a small piece of rock between the BB and rear triangle. I'm sure that will immediately explode the carbon.

[Labcabin]

……..

[J. Barron DeJong]

On the bright side, the carbon doesn’t appear to have exploded…

[skaredshtles]

On the bright side, the carbon doesn’t appear to have exploded…

Yet.