Bloody Halfords. Inept - no - Damn Dangerous. And Ham-Fisted.

[Venod]

I totally agree with the op and can see why he has posted this (to warn others) and I also agree with him still getting a replacement because the bikes a bargain.

But lets have a bit balance, not all Halfords employ crap mechanics, I usually build my own bikes and sometimes wheels and after 50+ years of doing so like to think I am capable., on a ride on new years day I had a crank come loose, I took it into Halfords, the lad replaced the bolt with a new one and torqued it correctly all for nowt, I have bought stuff off him before and I would have no worries if he a built a bike for me, I would still check it over though as I would a bike bought from a LBS.

Its a bit like saying all cyclists are idiots because you have seen one going through a red light.

 

[wisdom]

Just my take on this thread.
If the op finds a bargain at halfords, and it's not for us to comment on what peoples finances dictate their ability to pay are ,yes he may pay more elsewhere.however we all like a bargain.

He should expect a bike that was assembled by them to be.

1. Safe
2. Fit for purpose.

That is the real point I think he made.He has the ability to build a bike.That is not in question.The reality is the bike in question was sold to him,and was not fit for purpose.
I have only bought 2 brand new bikes and I chose my lbs.Not for cost,but because they had the ones I wanted and their advice and customer care was brilliant.And I want to support them.

For me its abike that was not fit for purpose, the bike was bought in good faith from a major retailer who many first time cyclists will go to.The cost is not the issue.The standard it was assembled is.
Thanks for posting it and I hope some new or potential customers of halfords read it and ensure they do not get the same issues.They may think that with all halfords advertising it is the best place to buy from.They after all do sell a lot of bikes.
Halfords need to be made aware of this problem at a higher level than the store in the hope that quality safety checks are put in place.
It is just not acceptable for a bike to be sold to anyone from anywhere that is wrongly assembled and not checked by a competent person.Yes an apprentice can assemble a bike but it must in my mind be signed off by someone who is competent.
When I served my apprenticeship I was allowed to service 38 ton lorries but my work was checked.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Just my take on this thread.
If the op finds a bargain at halfords, and it's not for us to comment on what peoples finances dictate their ability to pay are ,yes he may pay more elsewhere.however we all like a bargain.

He should expect a bike that was assembled by them to be.

1. Safe
2. Fit for purpose.

That is the real point I think he made.He has the ability to build a bike.That is not in question.The reality is the bike in question was sold to him,and was not fit for purpose.
I have only bought 2 brand new bikes and I chose my lbs.Not for cost,but because they had the ones I wanted and their advice and customer care was brilliant.And I want to support them.

For me its abike that was not fit for purpose, the bike was bought in good faith from a major retailer who many first time cyclists will go to.The cost is not the issue.The standard it was assembled is.
Thanks for posting it and I hope some new or potential customers of halfords read it and ensure they do not get the same issues.They may think that with all halfords advertising it is the best place to buy from.They after all do sell a lot of bikes.
Halfords need to be made aware of this problem at a higher level than the store in the hope that quality safety checks are put in place.
It is just not acceptable for a bike to be sold to anyone from anywhere that is wrongly assembled and not checked by a competent person.Yes an apprentice can assemble a bike but it must in my mind be signed off by someone who is competent.
When I served my apprenticeship I was allowed to service 38 ton lorries but my work was checked.

If a first-time cyclist bought a bike that was not correctly assembled and something happened, it could, at the very least, put them off cycling forever. That is a tragedy in itself. The worst that could happen... it’s the family of the new cyclist that would suffer.

 

[rogerzilla]

It's not Halfords in general, it's certain shops that are rubbish. Also, different bikes in their range come assembled to different degrees. My Boardman TC hadn't needed anything doing by the shop, since it was all pre-assembled and checked at the factory - I just stuck it in the back of the car and turned the bars when I got home. They offered me a bell and reflectors, which I declined.

To show that nothing changes, 35 years ago my parents bought me a new 10-speed from Halfords. The front brake lever exploded all over the road the first time I used it.

 

[Banjo]

I once bought a bottom bracket from Halfords .I knew what the spacers were for but just out of interest I asked a guy assembling bikes.He told me they were sealing washers and it came with 3 incase you lost one .

I find Halfords good for getting parts but no way would I let them fit anything on my bike.

 

[mjr]

It's not Halfords in general, it's certain shops that are rubbish.

Which means it's half ords in general, in that their quality control is to pot and a chain store is only as good as its weakest link.

Sorry but the OP knew what they were getting: £200ish quid off basically as payment for having the bike broken in store potentially to the point of illegal - for having the bike halforded, in other words. I'd have far more sympathy for a new rider being endangered by that shop and we should keep publicising these reviews in the hope of minimising their number. Friends don't let friends halford.

 

[Cycleops]

Like I've always said it's nearly always the case of "Kevin's our bike expert but he's not in today" at Halfords.

 

[Paulus]

Point being is that (aside from the gouged steerer) anything else was perfectly within my capabilities to resolve and set up better than a Halfords "technician". Buying built was purely for ease of not carrying a big cardboard box 2 miles on my shoulder, otherwise boxed would have been my preference

All that is irrelevant to me, it was always going to go straight on the workstand to set up properly. But to have loose bars and important missing reflector bracket under a canti straddle is unforgivable REGARDLESS of cost and not exactly needing full Cytech certification!

I get the impression that although you choose to buy a badly set up brand new bike, you are happy to do the commissioning work yourself when you get home, knowing that the bike is sub standard along with the workmanship to put it together, because it is a bit cheaper. You shouldn't have accepted the bike in the first place. I have never bought a bike from Halfords, knowing that the professionalism of the bike shops I use can be trusted, so I can ride the bike home, knowing that it is fit for purpose before I wheel it out of the door.

 

[KneesUp]

I guess the problem with taking a boxed one home to assemble - aside from the issues of transporting a large and awkward box - is that if anything in the box is broken, missing or damaged, you're possibly going to have a hell of a job persuading the retailer that it was like that in the box, and any damage / missing parts isn't a result of your incompetence. Say, for example, that the steerer somehow left the factory like that - OP would have aright time convincing the retailer that it wasn't his fault if he'd taken a sealed box home. And the alternative is unboxing the thing in the shop, which would be a pain for everyone.

Expecting an assembled bike to be safely assembled is that absolute minimum standard one should expect from anywhere selling a bike. No-one buys a car and accepts that they might have to rebuild the gearbox, adjust the brakes and torque up the steering wheel (well, not since BL closed down anyway) and bikes (and all goods) should be the same.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I get the impression that although you choose to buy a badly set up brand new bike, you are happy to do the commissioning work yourself when you get home, knowing that the bike is sub standard along with the workmanship to put it together, because it is a bit cheaper. You shouldn't have accepted the bike in the first place. I have never bought a bike from Halfords, knowing that the professionalism of the bike shops I use can be trusted, so I can ride the bike home, knowing that it is fit for purpose before I wheel it out of the door.

Without bike-snobbery, explain please how the bike (not the assembly) is sub-standard?

 

[Paulus]

Without bike-snobbery, explain please how the bike (not the assembly) is sub-standard?

Because as I stated, the bike was not fit to be ridden.
Substandard, you wouldn't buy a new car, get it towed home and then decide to get it up to road worthiness.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Because as I stated, the bike was not fit to be ridden.
Substandard, you wouldn't buy a new car, get it towed home and then decide to get it up to road worthiness.

Nor would you take a car home in a box and build it yourself which is another thing I am supposedly at fault for not doing.... And I've never worked as a car mechanic. Apples and oranges.

The bike itself, is not substandard (the assembly is) and logically it made more sense to take home and set it up knowing that I could do so to a higher standard than Halfords can. Rather than let someone who couldn't fit a bell loose on it to wreak more havoc. And I would have done so quite happily if the steerer wasn't damaged (which wasn't noticed until I got home)

And again, missing the point, it's not really about my particular bike - this bike hasn't killed me or injured me because I could see the issues. Not everyone would. Not off the street and I am guessing, not necessarily on this forum!

It's not the customer's fault for the store releasing a dangerous bike and not the customer's responsibility to be a bike technician to buy a bike and inspect it.

 

[vickster]

Have you made a formal complaint to Halfords? Store and head office level. Do so or the staff will not be upskilled

I’ve not bought from Halfords, I did from cycle Republic and no complaints (other than I had to hang around for several hours while they built the bike properly / carefully as it wasn’t ready)

 

[mjr]

It's not the customer's fault for the store releasing a dangerous bike and not the customer's responsibility to be a bike technician to buy a bike and inspect it.

No, that's the shop's fault. It's the customer's fault in this case for still buying from a famously dangerous dealer. Whether it's a good bike or not is largely immaterial when they're the sole dealer - you know that every Carrera is at risk of being halforded before you get it. In this case, you get what you pay for.

Now please go complain, long, loud and hard, in the hope that they have to fix it and stop cutting corners. Edit: but of course, training properly and doing the work properly is likely to put their prices up.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Have you made a formal complaint to Halfords? Store and head office level. Do so or the staff will not be upskilled

I’ve not bought from Halfords, I did from cycle Republic and no complaints (other than I had to hang around for several hours while they built the bike properly / carefully as it wasn’t ready)

Yes, I will be doing so. I just thought that the almost farcical level of service deserved a review as I would certainly advise anyone without the skillset to spot and rectify issues to be extremely wary