Bike repair dispute and advice

[steveindenmark]

So it is not the not for profit shops fault but you would rubbish them all the same, is that not a tad contradictory. We are of course only getting one side of the story.

I think both parties could be at fault. If the buyer does not know what they are looking at. They should take someone who does.

Not totally sure on the hub. But if it is supposed to be inspected and greased and isnt. Then the cycle shop has either forgotten it, didnt know it needed servicing or knew and just could not be bothered. In either of those cases it is the cycle shops fault and they should be taking responsibility for it. For them just to put their hands up and say the warranty has run out. May be legal but is awful customer service. I am always willing to rubbish bad customer service.

 

[davidphilips]

I think both parties could be at fault. If the buyer does not know what they are looking at. They should take someone who does.

Not totally sure on the hub. But if it is supposed to be inspected and greased and isnt. Then the cycle shop has either forgotten it, didnt know it needed servicing or knew and just could not be bothered. In either of those cases it is the cycle shops fault and they should be taking responsibility for it. For them just to put their hands up and say the warranty has run out. May be legal but is awful customer service. I am always willing to rubbish bad customer service.

Steve if you sold the bike and given the buyer a 3 month warranty and after 6 months they returned wanting a rear hub repaired would you repair/replace it?

As a seller you would have no way of knowing if the hub had been power hosed or how many miles it had done? Personally i think the bike shop was more than reasonable, try taking a second hand car back to a dealer after twice the warranty period has lapsed and ask for a repair.

 

[Lee_M]

6 months of use and abuse, no maintenance of the hub or any other part of the bike probably and the wheel is shot.

Hands up anyone that is surprised.

How can anyone look at a wheel that has been used in all weathers and say "6 months ago it wasnt greased"?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I would get it back from the bike shop and tell them that you will spread the word that they are a bunch of cowboys. Then get it repaired somewhere else.

The lesson here is Buyer Beware.

Badmouthing someone without understanding the exact circumstances is cowboy behaviour in itself.

Surely the lesson here is: Buyer, go educate yourself about things mechanical? Speak to the mechanic, try and understand what went wrong and how to prevent it. Believe you me, he doesn't like incidents like this and would rather spend a few minutes with someone explaining, than have to deal with threats and storms in a teacup.

I am always willing to rubbish bad customer service.

Steve, you've made up your mind about this, haven't you?

I've seen so much of this in my time working on bikes. I've been accused of rusting a bike headset within the 24 hours that the bike was in our shop, I've been accused of ruining a hub's bearings, races, cassette and looks just by opening it in front of the customer and also of supplying very weak rear derailers that jump into the spokes all by themselves each time Godzilla the owner makes a monster forced shift.

Each time with each the these cases there were three common denominators: 1) I was apparently at fault - even by remote and proxy 2) The owner had not a degree of mechanical sympathy at all. 3) The owner threatened to make a scene and go to social media and tell his friends and shout his head off in the shop.

In about 20 such cases over seven years, only one man ever looked me in the eye and said sorry, he now sees that he is at fault. He's the one who ate rear deraillers for breakfast. I cured his problem by taking him out for a ride and teaching him how to shift gears. I wish I could do it for every customer but there's not enough time in the day to do that.

I also wish my skin was thicker so that when confronted by people like you, I could just shrug it off and smile. But, I couldn't.

 

[screenman]

A bloke brought a car in to my workshop years ago complaining of a misfire and that we had only serviced it 2 months ago, I dug out the paperwork it was 17 months and 18,000 miles ago, the bonnet had not been up since. He expected me to fix it FOC.

 

[pclay]

As the bike is second hand, how do we know the mileage of the wheel? Perhaps it had already done 10,000 miles before the OP purchased the bike. Therefore I would say that the wheel has had a good life, and if ever buying second hand goods, always check the condition of the equipment yourself before buying.

At the end of the day, a new set of wheels can be had for £80, which will last 10,000 miles with no maintenance. (Shimano R501)

 

[steveindenmark]

Steve if you sold the bike and given the buyer a 3 month warranty and after 6 months they returned wanting a rear hub repaired would you repair/replace it



As a seller you would have no way of knowing if the hub had been power hosed or how many miles it had done? Personally i think the bike shop was more than reasonable, try taking a second hand car back to a dealer after twice the warranty period has lapsed and ask for a repair.[/QUOTE

I agree with you. But if you had supposedly greased a hub and it came back 6 months later bone dry. I think you would realise you had not greased it in the first place. Of course you do not have to do anything, the warranty is over. But it would be good customer service, in my view to make a gesture of goodwill. The buyer on the other hand. Should have taken someone with a bit of experience, when they bought the bike.

 

[PhilDawson8270]

People keep talking about 6 months use. But that is not known to be the case. It's a used bike, those wheels and bearings could be a few years, and several thousands of miles old by now, and ready to fail.

 

[overmind]

Once one of the bearings starts to fail how quickly would the others start to fail ?

(a) with enough grease
(b) without enough grease

 

[uphillstruggler]

If I were you, I'd ask the guy in the shop to replace the wheel and hand over the cash.

That's a good bike and with some maintenance will last years, who knows, you may even like riding bikes enough to buy your own.

Get to know the guy in the shop, it will pay dividends in the long run

Edit: I've noticed that the bike may have spent the winter commuting in Cardiff, no wonder the wheels goosed If they weren't maintained

 

[Bonacentral]

A bloke brought a car in to my workshop years ago complaining of a misfire and that we had only serviced it 2 months ago, I dug out the paperwork it was 17 months and 18,000 miles ago, the bonnet had not been up since. He expected me to fix it FOC.

Yeah - but you gave him a 3 month warranty didn't ya?!!!!

 

[davidphilips]

Yeah - but you gave him a 3 month warranty didn't ya?!!!!

Guys remember 3 month warranty means 3 = free, m = millions, o = of, n = no, t = time limit, h = healing repairs, and warranty = warranty simple.

 

[jonny jeez]

My sister purchased a secondhand hybrid and D lock for £155 from a bike recycling centre and workshop on 19th November 2016. The bikes are fully serviced and have a 3 month guarantee. She used it for commuting, so it would cover about 10 miles per day on average. Bike seemed in good condition when it was purchased. Bike was stored in a shed at home and a bike shed at work so was kept dry and stored properly.

She left the country on 21st February 2017, so the bike was in proper use for about 3 months. After this, I used it occasionally on weekends for short journeys.

Fast forward to Tuesday 2nd May 2017, when I started to us it for commuting. The first day was fine, but on the journey home on Wednesday 3rd May, I noticed some grinding/scraping noises from the back wheel. I used it on the Thursday and Friday and then took it to Go Outdoors to see if they could fix it.

They called me to say it wasn't economically viable to fix it as the back wheel and brake pads needed replacing. The bearings in the hub were pitted and he said it was completely dry so the rear wheel needed replacing. He also said the chain was stretched and worn, which was affecting the cassette.

I took it back to where the bike was purchased on 12th May 2017. He kept insisting it was out of guarantee so they had no obligation to do anything. I stated that less than 6 months had elapsed since the bike was purchased and that it had only really been used for just over 3 months. I questioned if it was reasonable for a back wheel to only last for such a short period of time. He stated although the bikes are serviced, the hub of the back wheel may not have been inspected. Anyway, he said he would have a look at it, but would make no promises.

He called me later that day to say that there was considerable wear on the brake pads and that the chain was worn. He stated this was evidence the bike was used considerably. I queried what the definition of 'considerable usage' was as I knew it wasn't used that much. They offered to replace the back wheel and waive the labour costs. Therefore I would have to pay £32 for the replacement wheel. I said I would get back to him, so they have the bike at the moment.

Should I just pay the £32 and be done with them? Is there anything I can do and is there any recourse regarding the guarantee? Based on what I've said about the usage, should I expect the rear wheel to last longer?

I'm with the bike shop on this one.

You bought a second hand bike that had a 3 month warranty. Rode it through the winter, then stored it. When you next rode it some 3 months later (is that about right) it was knackered.

I service my bike pretty much every week (basic stuff like adjusting brakes, cleaning off grime/salt) cleaning and oiling the chain and every month I do a more vigorous service, removing the chain, wheels, block and sometimes crankset to clean/ grease/ replace.

In 7 months it sounds like your sister rode a bike through all weather and then left it in the shed, no servicing, no lubrication, no checking for wear. I think that £32 for 7 months riding is a pretty good deal, I probably spend more n oil and lube than that over the same period... and it seems the bike shop are doing all they can to help.

Get it fixed and keep an eye on it in the future, invest some time keeping it ship shape.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

 

[jonny jeez]

Thanks for the responses. Just a question though. Has the tyre lasted a reasonable amount of time? Should I expect it to last longer considering what I deem (maybe incorrectly out of naivety) to be fairly light usage.

I didn't pick up on tyre wear in your posts, how worn was it when you first bought the bike. Could your sister have been locking the rear brake (see earlier mention of wear to blocks) and inducing skidding on the rear as she went downhill...is it worn generally or on patches.

 

[Milkfloat]

@jonny jeez I think you are talking to thin air - the OP has not been back, well not to this thread.