Newbie advice - Carrera Vengeance

[crazy about cars]

Hi all,

Recently got back into biking after a long,long while as this is an exercise I enjoy. Got myself the Carrera Vengeance from Halfords as it was half price.

Been to a few park rides with the family and am enjoying so far. However today I decided to take front wheels off to try out quick release and ran into some problems so I hope I could get some advise...

1) I've lost one of the 2 springs on the quick release skewer. I can still tighten it and the wheel doesn't wobble and is stable. Will this be safe? I don't plan to do any extreme trail biking just mostly road and parks. Also how right should the quick release be? The rear which was untouched is really tight. I don't want to tighten front too much as I fear ill break something ... Edit: looks like replacement quick release skewers are cheap so I've just ordered alloy ones on eBay

2) Front disc now rubs against the calliper. I've tried adjusting (tighten/loosen) the calliper but doesn't seem to make much difference. When I'm riding I can't really hear the metal grinding noise though. Can anyone suggest what I should do?

3) The front reflector and bell is too big to tighten around the handlebar. I've temporarily used some cardboard to make the bar thicker but would like some better suggestions if possible.

Sorry for the questions, my last bike was much simpler than this one

Edited by crazy about cars on Saturday 28th September 21:39

Edited by crazy about cars on Saturday 28th September 21:40

[TheLemming]

A few simple answers, all of which boil down to "take it back into Halfords and ask them to sort it"

They will have some springs knocking around or will just grab a skewer off one of the bikes in the shop display (The display Vulcan at my local Halfords has donated any amount of bits to my MTB).
Remember this is something new and under warranty (that will also get a free service at around six weeks).

Edited to add, if I remember correctly the handlebar on the vengeance is thicker in the middle than at the handlebars, they may need to be mounted towards the stem

Edited by TheLemming on Saturday 28th September 21:54

[Sarkmeister]

Does the spring on quick release skewers actually do anything?

[crazy about cars]

TheLemming said:

A few simple answers, all of which boil down to "take it back into Halfords and ask them to sort it"

They will have some springs knocking around or will just grab a skewer off one of the bikes in the shop display (The display Vulcan at my local Halfords has donated any amount of bits to my MTB).
Remember this is something new and under warranty (that will also get a free service at around six weeks).

Edited to add, if I remember correctly the handlebar on the vengeance is thicker in the middle than at the handlebars, they may need to be mounted towards the stem

Edited by TheLemming on Saturday 28th September 21:54

Thanks ... I managed to mount the bell and reflector towards the middle bit. Not a tight secure fit but it fits without cardboard at least

I guess I will need to think of something when buying lights for the bike then - unless they come with adaptors.

As for the skewers, I found the spring (it was actually "joined" with the first one!). The wing nut is plastic anyway for I've ordered alloy ones from eBay which will be my first mod :P

[crazy about cars]

Sarkmeister said:

Does the spring on quick release skewers actually do anything?

It's a spring at both ends so pretty sure they are there for something, tighter hold when locked?

[Carl-H]

The brakes can be sorted by yourself or a local bike shop. Spring is nothing to worry about and personally I'd ditch the reflector and bell. I can't think I've even needed a bell and lights are a much better idea than a reflector.

I know it's not right but I wouldn't take it back to halfords either. I've always said I'd rather any bike from halfords arrived in the box and I assemble it myself. Most of them really are useless lol. Stick to a proper bike shop.

[yellowjack]

crazy about cars said:

Sarkmeister said:

Does the spring on quick release skewers actually do anything?

It's a spring at both ends so pretty sure they are there for something, tighter hold when locked?

The purpose of the two springs is simply to centre the hub between the two ends of the skewer, keeping the space free at either end to make re-fitting of the wheel easier. Once you've got the skewer up into the dropouts correctly, the springs serve no further purpose. They do 'actually do something' but that something is not vital to their function of 'securing the wheel to the bicycle'. If one is missing it may be annoying when it comes to lining up the hub between the dropouts, but once you've fitted the wheel, a missing spring is nothing to be concerned about.

[TheLemming]

crazy about cars said:

Thanks ... I managed to mount the bell and reflector towards the middle bit. Not a tight secure fit but it fits without cardboard at least

I guess I will need to think of something when buying lights for the bike then - unless they come with adaptors.

As for the skewers, I found the spring (it was actually "joined" with the first one!). The wing nut is plastic anyway for I've ordered alloy ones from eBay which will be my first mod :P

Its the same as the bar on my Vulcan I'm sure, any decent light will fit without an issue on a variety of bar diameters.

I'd agree with the ditching of the bell and reflectors - although some people swear by them I can't help but feel an idiot tinkling a bell....
Then again I broke two bikes today as well as myself so I should probably be ignored....

[crazy about cars]

Thanks for the advice so far chaps, appreciate it

Noticed another niggle today, the front shifter (SRAM X9) seem to struggle shifting from the smallest front chainring to the middle. I can shift from all other gears except this. I did the high/low adjustment but made a mistake of adjusting the index barrel when not in the front middle/rear largest gear combo.

This is turn made the index shifting barrel stuck. I can't adjust it by hand but still adjustable using pliers...

Is there anyway to relieve the tension for the left shifter so I can unstuck the barrel? I am hoping shiftin into front middle ring and largest rear will help but wonder if there are any guides for this...

[anonymous-user]

Carl-H said:

The brakes can be sorted by yourself or a local bike shop. Spring is nothing to worry about and personally I'd ditch the reflector and bell. I can't think I've even needed a bell and lights are a much better idea than a reflector.

I know it's not right but I wouldn't take it back to halfords either. I've always said I'd rather any bike from halfords arrived in the box and I assemble it myself. Most of them really are useless lol. Stick to a proper bike shop.

Shame you think that. Halfords service is always spot on in my experience. Open all hours too & far cheaper than other 'local' bike shops.
Whats up with your one then?

[crazy about cars]

Jimboka said:

Shame you think that. Halfords service is always spot on in my experience. Open all hours too & far cheaper than other 'local' bike shops.
Whats up with your one then?

Halfords bike hut is a bit of hit and miss. My local one used to have a very knowledgeable and helpful young lad but he left for uni. The current staff couldn't care less. When they are busy the standard just dropped. Last time I went in to collect my daughters first bike they didn't even do the safety inspection. I had to point out the front brakes are still not working.

Most bikes comes half assembled in a box as is a good way to learn your around bikes.