Avanti Competitor S1

[Pennoir]

Does anyone have any first hand experience on this bike?
Please dont reply unless you have owned one or done a fair bit of riding on one.

I am having serious issues with the drive train, snapped 2 chains and twisted another seriously enough to require replacing it.
Its a long story and the bike is only about 3 months old - please help.

 

[shauncwz]

Hi mate,

First off I do not own a competitor, but I do own the Torrent (almost 1 year now). So perhaps the question carries over.

Anyhow, how did you manage to snap the chain and how did you manage to twist the chain? Was it just during normal riding? Was the chain jumping around the cassette or falling off the chain rings all the time? How is the shift quality? Are you having troubles shifting gears front and back?

Initially my Torrent had shifting problems at the front, would take a lot of effort to shift between the 2 chain rings up front. Later found that the bottom bracket was not tightened/pushed in properly which threw the chain line out. After pushing the BB in properly all issues were fixed. Before that the chain used to drop a lot at the front as well.

Since then I've gone 1x 10 and never had to deal with front shifting anymore. Now I can take the bike anywhere without worrying about dropped chains and miss-shifting.

 

[stirk]

Pennoir, asking people not to reply unless they have your particular bike is missing out on the help others can offer as the problem may not be frame specific but something else entirely such as a munted derailleur hanger, twisted cage, cross chaining much?

 

[MARKL]

Pennoir, asking people not to reply unless they have your particular bike is missing out on the help others can offer as the problem may not be frame specific but something else entirely such as a munted derailleur hanger, twisted cage, cross chaining much?

Nobody wants to be told it is user error...much better to blame the bike.

 

[schred]

Pennoir, asking people not to reply unless they have your particular bike is missing out on the help others can offer as the problem may not be frame specific but something else entirely such as a munted derailleur hanger, twisted cage, cross chaining much?

Stirk whilst your claims for drivetrain mishaps may be valid, he shall decide who posts in this thread and the circumstances in which they post!

 

[PJO]

Stirk whilst your claims for drivetrain mishaps may be valid, he shall decide who posts in this thread and the circumstances in which they post!

Judging by the fact that this thread is 3 weeks old, I think there ain't many around here with an Avanti Competitor. I think once its that old, its fair game isn't it?

The two times I have snapped a chain have been down to either: user error (applying power while shifting) or rough terrain (applying power while the chain is jumping all over the shop). That second type of incident was using older style derailleurs, with the newer clutch derailleurs the chain doesn't jump around as much and I reckon it is much less likely.

Having said all that, we need a bit more info to answer the question...

 

[slowmick]

I have a 2012 competitor and i split a crank along it's length - most likely due to being a pie eating fat bastard. chain was fine though...

 

[stirk]

Judging by the fact that this thread is 3 weeks old, I think there ain't many around here with an Avanti Competitor. I think once its that old, its fair game isn't it?

The two times I have snapped a chain have been down to either: user error (applying power while shifting) or rough terrain (applying power while the chain is jumping all over the shop). That second type of incident was using older style derailleurs, with the newer clutch derailleurs the chain doesn't jump around as much and I reckon it is much less likely.

Having said all that, we need a bit more info to answer the question...

Since Johnny's taken his modly leave newbie post approval takes weeks!

 

[pink poodle]

Pinot noir,

Sorry for the intruders above, they are just trying to derail your valid thread. They just can't help themselves!

I snapped a chain once. Well I thought I did. I was bombing a chute in the quarry of doom at the bottom it had a mega g-out into a near vertical kicker that would shoot you about 5-8 feet up and 20 feet forwards at the same time. It was an awesome jump for pulling tricks on! As happens on these kinds of trails, it is a rough rumbling approach and a thumper of a landing (not much steeper than flat!). My tractor had about 9 inches of rear travel and when it bottomed out I pinged the sram quick link open. I spent 10 minutes looking and found the chain and half of the quick link. I rode chainless the rest of the day. It was a sick day. I have a few quick links in the back pack these days. I learnt my lesson.

I'm not at all familiar with the type of bike you're talking about. Are you doing the same riding as me? If so, just be prepared for mishaps.

 

[Pennoir]

OK the bike is being ridden for fitness on fairly regular MTB tracks such as Ourimbah Awaba and Glenrock.
I am 53 so I dont push the bike to extremes but I am a good rider and have ridden pushies all my life so I know how to change gears, having said that I have never snapped a chain until I got this bike.
The gears were fine until I took the bike in for its 10hr service when they must have adjusted the gears for some reason, dont ask me why because it was working fine before that.
It turned out that the front derailer was loose and tightening it fixed issues with shifting at the front.
How does the front derailer even come loose on a new bike?

The rear gears do not shift reliably, they will jump after the new gear has engaged (randomly) there is sometimes a delay when trying to shift in either direction and sometimes the shift does not happen at all until I click the shifters another click.
The shop now agrees with me that the freehub is worn out, it growls like a worn out bearing and there is freeplay when you test the cassette for lateral movement.
This bike has been a real disappointment and I am on the verge of demanding a full refund or replacement.

 

[JTmofo]

If the Freehub is buggered (and that does happen), it should be replaced under warranty, but I would be asking questions as to why the bearings have shit themselves in such a short time.
Unless the frame/dropouts are bent, then some 5 minutes of checking alignment and tuning should have the shifting back in order once you have a solid freehub.

I can't imagine that a shop will offer you money back tho. Owning and riding a MTB is a ongoing maintenance scenario, cables stretch, bearings need cleaning and greasing, gears will need tuning, tyres will need pumping, bolts can loosen and will need checking (yep, even a front mech on a new bike) etc etc.

Best investment you can make is sitting down and reading how to maintain your own bike...... and understanding how things work.

PS- I dont own the same bike as you... but I use common sense in my reply. I hope thats ok?

 

[Pennoir]

Yes I get that.

 

[Knuckles]

Yes I get that but what are dropouts?

dropout/ˈdrɒpaʊt/
noun

a person who has abandoned a course of study or who has rejected conventional society to pursue an alternative lifestyle.
the restarting of play with a drop kick.
a momentary loss of recorded audio signal or an error in reading data on a magnetic tape or disk, usually due to a flaw in the coating.
a U-shaped slot at the end of a fork or stay on a bicycle, made to receive the axle and enabling the wheel to be changed rapidly.

I think that hippy, mofo, was referring to the first, but the last would relate to your issue more.


#knucklesisachunt