37 mins!

Well I did it. Made it to work today in 37 mins.

Beer can shim!

So I'm not waiting a another week to get back on my bike. I will have to make adjustments and get it in final working order tomorrow as I ran out of daylight this evening. 

Beer can shim!

Thanks to http://www.instructables.com/id/Front-Derailleur-Shim-from-Aluminum-Can/ for giving me the idea.

Customer service at its finest (NOT)

So I called Huffy customer support this morning and explained to them their error. Frankly I'm not too thrilled with their customer service. The people are not very friendly and did not even offer an apology for sending me the incorrect part. In fact when I explained that my tube diameter is 28.6mm and they shipped me a derailleur with a clamp size of 31.8mm her response was, "you just can't make it fit?". After explaining that this was not possible (you think a bike company would know something about bikes), she agreed to send me a new part (hopefully the right one this time). I asked how long would it take to receive the part, as I had already waited a week to get the last shipment. She replied "I'll mail it today" in a rather condescending and irritated tone of voice. Come on Huffy you screwed up and sent me the wrong parts after I gave you the serial number from the bottom of my bike. I waited patiently for this incorrect part to show up, the least you could do is overnight me the correct part.

Houston we have a problem!

Ok so Huffy screwed up and sent me a derailleur with a wrong clamp size. I need a 28.6mm but they sent me a 31.8mm. Now I have to wait till tomorrow morning to call customer service and complain then what wait another week for the part to get here. I'm pissed to say the least!

Just an observation

 Before I got into cycling, I did a lot of research about bike purchases. I weighed the pros and cons of purchasing of a higher quality, higher cost bike from a local bike shop(LBS) vs a cheaper bike from a chain department store like WalMart. Most everyone on the internet forums will point you right to your LBS. I went to a local shop hoping to find a good used bike. The shop owner was nice but said he didn't have anything used, although I could see a rack or two of obviously used bikes in the shop. I have the feeling he really wanted to sell me something new. The shop I visited sold some very nice Fuji bikes and I must say If I had the money I would have got one, but a starting cost of $400 was just not in my budget.

 I saw the Huffy Savannah at my local WalMart, I went home and did a bit of research. I had owned a Huffy many years ago as a kid and I can say it was quite a good bike. I found a few good reviews from people who hand purchased this model. So I got two of them one for me and one for my wife. Also note that my kids all have WalMart specials.

 If you are on a budget and can't afford  a bike shop bike, go to your local big box store and see what they have, go back home or hit up your smartphone and look for reviews of those specific models. I will admit that some of the big box brands are total crap. But some like Huffy are not that bad and you have to remember the forums are full of local bike shop owners, who in my opinion have a bit of an elitist attitude. The frame on my huffy appears good the problem is the quality of the drive train components. On mine the shifters and rear derailleur are made by Shimano. These are entry level low end Shimano but are still ok. The original front derailleur was made by Falcon. Falcon is a Taiwanese company that makes knock off of Shimano components. The part Huffy sent me under warranty is Shimano. In my opinion after comparing the two parts the Shimano appears to be of slightly better quality, however I'm no expert. 

 It is my opinion the worst thing about getting a bike from a store like Walmart vs a local shop is the assembly quality. I just don't think the assembly personnel put in the required effort to make sure the bike is assembled the best it can be. So if your going cheep review it and if you buy it just assemble it yourself.

Repair work update #1

So I got a few minutes today to start the repair work. I've removed the chain and rear wheel. I cleaned the chain, rear derailleur and freewheel. The freewheel seems to be in good condition, perhaps the chain slippage after removing the front derailleur was caused by a misalignment or too much gunk build up on the chain. I took some pics of before I started the process. 

Bike parts are here!

Just got a text from my wife letting me know my parts have arrived. I'm glad they are here, I've missed riding my bike. I just wish they would have got here on Friday so I could have worked on the bike this weekend. Is gonna be hard to find the time to get the repairs made during the week.

[UPDATE]