Bought a "new" Race Face crankset from quite a well known shop, no names as yet as I have not approached the shop. When I purchased the crank, I saw some what looked to be mud in one of the bolts holding the chainrings on, I mentioned this to the assistant and he assured me it was brand new. Now I haven't used the bike much, probably 100 miles ish. I took the bike out for a ride on Sunday, after climbing a long hill towards Cherhill I noticed the crank had become a little stiff, i.e. would not back pedal freely. I then stopped to check and one of the small chainring bolts had come undone and had wedged itself against the frame, obviously had worn a groove in the frame where I had been climbing the hill.

Questions,

Would the chainring bolts be set to a certain torque in the factory?

When buying "new" items from dealers, should I have checked how tight all the bolts were even though said item was sold as complete?

Will I have any grounds to complain to the shop, if so what should I say?

I know I always check every nut and bolt I put onto a bike, in the future I will be checking all the others too.

Am I being unreasonable excpecting the shop to do something?

Cheers….

That sort of thing could happen in the first ride…..
I doubt you'd have any grounds for complaint at the shop as it would be nigh on impossible to prove. Im amazed you didnt hear the bolt grinding on the frame.
At the end of the day the onus is on you to ensure you bike is working properly and everything is secure.

Im sorry your frame has damage but shit happens.

Last time i bought a new bike i went over it and checked all the bolts, in fact i remember checking it fairly regularly for the first few rides. I seem to recall the main pivot bolt worked a little loose, so it proves the point.

a) Yes, they should tightened
b) Yes, you should have checked. Easy for something like that to go unnoticed.
c) Unlikely unless they admit gave you a secondhand item. They may send the chainset away to be "checked" but I suspect no compensation for your knackered frame. (That'll probably be tucked away in the manufacturers terms and conditions on the instructions)

d) No not unreasonable. Might be worth explaining the issue but don't hold breath. To be honest if I'd have seen mud on a new item it'd be straight back to the LBS with it. Now you've got 100miles of your own mud on it it's gonna be difficult to prove anything.

if you take responsibility to build your own bike (as I do) then you need to take responsibility when bolts come undone. however new the kit.

on the other hand, if you pay the expense of getting a LBS to built it up for you, then they take the responsibility if they haven't tightened thing up right.

but having said that, yes I would expect the bolts to have been properly torqued at source. and I'd go so far as to say they should have had threadlock applied at the factory to ensure they didn't work loose.

All answers exactly as I thought, I am still waiting for the shop to call me back.

Basically what breatheeasy said. The mileage/time you've had it has muddied the waters to the point where you're relying on their goodwill and you can't really expect them to do anything.

Doubt their goodwill would extend to doing anything about your frame though.