Accidental damage on a newly purchased bike... arrgghhh!

[cisamcgu]

Good luck Win, hope you get it fixed easily and cheaply as well as getting a good relationship with the LBS

 

[Peteaud]

Thanks cisamcgu, I'm more inclined to follow your (as well as other members) advice on coming clean and hoping for the best. And I did purposefully choose to buy the bike from an independent retailer, whereas I'd be more likely to be dishonest if it was a big retailer like 'Hellfords'

[Edit: Made some minor changes.]

In the long run it will probably pay you. Get a good relationship with the lbs and you will be set.

 

[Win]

Good luck Win, hope you get it fixed easily and cheaply as well as getting a good relationship with the LBS

Thanks cisamcgu. I'll be sure to let you all know how things turned out in the end.

 

[subaqua]

Errr....illegal ? Definitely immoral, and not fair to the LBS

Take it back and explain what happened

the irony of reading that from someone on merseyside makes me giggle a little at the stereotype associated with scousers

 

[MarkF]

Sorry OP but your post made me chuckle! I had my bike stolen and needed another urgently, a 2011 Sirrus was quickly found. I am used to taking bikes apart, it's not like I am cack handed or anything, but, every time I so much as touched the Sirrus, something broke, collapsed, fell off etc. The small component quality would not have been acceptable on a supermarket £99'er. Your brake adjustment screws have a lifespan of maybe 6 turns!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Amazing that anyone could think this was a warranty issue.

 

[screenman]

After 40 years of the motor trade you would be suprised what some people see as warranty. The one that got me most was the customer who wanted a refund because the rubbing strips on the side of the car did not stop it getting damaged when she drove hard into a gate post. Or the customer who drove their car 20 miles to the garage after ripping a large hole in the sump and dumping all their oil on a parking post, wanted a claim on a noisy engine.

I could go on.

Dishonesty is seldom the best policy.

 

[akb]

Take it back and explain what happened

This; at least give them a chance to offer replacment. They may even give it to your free.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Take it back and tell the truth. If they fix it for free then you know that you have yourself a decent LBS. If not then I doubt it will cost too much to put right and for that money you will have bought yourself the information that the LBS can be a bit tight, an incentive to learn how to do it properly and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you have been honest. How much is your integrity worth to you. In this fast paced consumerist worlds our integrity and our word are amoungst the very few things we can really call our own, over which we alone have complete control. Do the right thing. You know it makes sense. Don't sell your integrity for a handful of change. (My inspirational motivation speeches are available on various formats for various prices from various places. Order now to avoid or create the rush)

 

[Win]

Contacted my LBS yesterday and they said that it was very likely that the cracked component would be covered under the warranty. This would involve contacting the manufacturer (Specialized) to report the problem, and they said they would almost certainly receive a replacement part from which to fit for free.

They informed me that the replacement part would probably be different to the original one that was on my bike, but could not guarantee that it would be a good quality part. So today I decided to buy a replacement part from the LBS instead, as it was likely that it would be of a better quality than the one that Specialized would have sent through. I also made some inquiries about the cracked component, and one bike specialist told me that you would not expect the casing to break from screwing in a brake-alignment screw.

 

[Win]

I noticed the new back brake was rubbing ever so slightly against the wheel rim last night, and had no hesitation in using the brake alignment screws to ease the pad off the rim. Definitely an improvement on the inferior one that was replaced.

 

[cisamcgu]

Excellent result