Hey guys so this is my 2015 Specialized allez, its equipped with rim brakes and shimano sora groupset. I bought it second hand a year and a half ago and dearly love it, have done a fair few kilometres on it. I've just taken it for a service today and they have:
Replaced shifter cables
Replaced cassette possibly?
Replaced chain
Some other standard service things
At a cost of 270 AUD
Great right?
But now whenever I put big power through the pedals my chain skips or jumps off of both the small and big chain rings.. I am assuming from a quick google that this is due to worn chainrings?
The shop didn't mention anything about my chainrings being worn but did say the bottom bracket would need replacing on the next service. I haven't taken it back yet as I only just got the bike back this evening and went for a ride.
now this is not a brilliant groupset and I feel like I am in a hole where throwing any more money at it is unwise. I only serviced it so it could last me another few months before I upgrade to a bike equipped with 105 etc…
So what do I do? Replace the chainrings and stomach it or ride it as is until I buy a 105 equipped bike?
Pictures attached. Cheers for any advice!
by Gloomshrew
6 Comments
Chainring looks fine. I’d go back to the shop and explain the issue post service and if they’re any good will be apologetic and fix it for free (unless new parts are needed)
This is the moment you should learn bike maintenance. chain rings are very easy to replace and as long as you match the tooth number, bcd and bolt pattern you can use any aftermarket or shimano ( 105) rings depending on your budget. Look for the numbers stamped on the rings and order, you don’t need fancy tools, just an allen key of the right size and a large flat head screw driver for the inside face. Also recommend using a thread lock liquid( although not critical just good policy)
You’ll need new chainrings, I’d expect it to be $50-60 for both. If you want to sell the bike at any point, you’ll probably have to replace them anyway, so it won’t be an unnecessary cost either way.
My guess is the bike chain was ridden past the point where it needed to be replaced. This leads to permanent damage to the cassette and chainrings. At this point, you need to replace the cassette, chain and chainrings. You don’t say if your bike shop replaced the chain (I hope they did), but they needed to replace the front chainrings as well. Once you do this, it’ll stop skipping.
Looking at the teeth of your front chain ring, this damage is pretty obvious, I’m surprised your bike shop didn’t recommend replacing the chain rings.
Whether this is worth the expense is up to you, but if you want to sell the bike, you’ll likely have to anyway.
New big chain ring it is worn. Easy to install
Don’t ride as is. That shop did not do their job. That big chainring is absolutely worn. You can replace that yourself for cheap. That FSA crankset is easily removed with an Allen key. You may want to invest in a chainring nut wrench (less than $10). Also if the shop replaced the chain I would hope they replaced the cassette as well, but if they couldn’t even tell that chainring is worn, all bets are off. Also, if they can somehow tell the bottom bracket “will need to be replaced next time”, the bearings are already crunchy and should be replaced now, or they’re blowing smoke.
Haven’t they given you a breakdown of what they did? 270 AUD is a lot of money to have a customer leave with a bad drivetrain, the most essential part of a bike maintenance. This kind of shenanigans is why it’s 100% worth it to learn bike maintenance yourself.