Halfords part 2

[abo]

After getting it replaced the other day I went for a ride out with my son on Sunday, and we had a great time!

Went out for a lunchtime ride, rode down that bit of steep with a bit more confidence

Going up the other side I needed the lowest gear. The first time I shiftes into it and pedalled, there was a bang from the back and it skipped out of gear. When I looked the big sprocket was bent...

Anyway, they're swapping it again but for a different model with better spec. I notice that none of the components are the same as the old model. They're also putting an SRAM cassette on to replace the standard one.

Fingers crossed this one goes for longer than two days. Maybe I'm just pedalling too hard

 

[chewy]

you Animal!!!!!

 

[abo]

lol!

Ended up with an Apollo Phaze. Things seem better with this bike anyway, the rear shifts smooth enough and is hopefully stronger than the jelly metal used on the other Slant's cassette.

I took it out for a ride at dusk yesterday and I was happier but it was just on the roads. I'm going to take it down the trail at lunchtime and see how it goes.

I put a nice review on Halfords website, don't think they have published it yet (I suspect they might not )

Ironically it is my son's birthday on Sunday and it would appear both sets of grandparents have clubbed together and bought him a Carrera

 

[cyberknight]

lol!
bought him a Carrera

Carreras are great bikes for the price i have 2

 

[abo]

Carreras are great bikes for the price i have 2

Yes, I'd read a couple of posts on the board about Carreras so hopefully he'll have a ball with it.

In other news I took the Phaze out for a 10 mile trail ride at lunchtime and it seemed to perform ok. I had to adjust the front derailleur as I couldn't get low gear but to be honest I hadn't done anything to the bike other than set the height of the saddle so I was expecting something. A quick tweak on the barrel adjuster and we were in business.

But... I can't decide whether the forks are too spongy. I haven't ridden a bike in so long I've never had a bike with suspension so I've no experience. Think I might give my LBS a visit tomorrow.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

After getting it replaced the other day I went for a ride out with my son on Sunday, and we had a great time!

Went out for a lunchtime ride, rode down that bit of steep with a bit more confidence

Going up the other side I needed the lowest gear. The first time I shiftes into it and pedalled, there was a bang from the back and it skipped out of gear. When I looked the big sprocket was bent...

Anyway, they're swapping it again but for a different model with better spec. I notice that none of the components are the same as the old model. They're also putting an SRAM cassette on to replace the standard one.

Fingers crossed this one goes for longer than two days. Maybe I'm just pedalling too hard

What your story tells me, is that the original bike's cassette, as well as the replacement they gave you were made of cheese. Being from Halfords, that must mean potentially tens of thousands if not more bikes are out there with folks riding on such rubbish components that are liable to fail anytime, with potential safety implications on the road. I doubt any of us would like to ride a bike with such a cassette even if it was free.

If I were you, I would raise this with their head office, asking to be told what they will do about it, and see whether they will initiate a public recall and replacement. To me that is probably what they should do. The reputational and financial implications will hopefully mean that they will be more careful sourcing and doing quality assurance on supplies in the future.

If they do nothing, the world should also know about it, in terms of which model it is and what happened in your experience, so that if other owners experience the same, or if people get hurt as a result, Halford's inaction despite being brought to their attention is known to be a conscious corporate decision, with potential consequences for the company and the directors of the company.

I just feel that a company that sells a million bicycles a year in UK has a certain responsibility.

 

[abo]

What your story tells me, is that the original bike's cassette, as well as the replacement they gave you were made of cheese. Being from Halfords, that must mean potentially tens of thousands if not more bikes are out there with folks riding on such rubbish components that are liable to fail anytime, with potential safety implications on the road. I doubt any of us would like to ride a bike with such a cassette even if it was free.

If I were you, I would raise this with their head office, asking to be told what they will do about it, and see whether they will initiate a public recall and replacement. To me that is probably what they should do. The reputational and financial implications will hopefully mean that they will be more careful sourcing and doing quality assurance on supplies in the future.

If they do nothing, the world should also know about it, in terms of which model it is and what happened in your experience, so that if other owners experience the same, or if people get hurt as a result, Halford's inaction despite being brought to their attention is known to be a conscious corporate decision, with potential consequences for the company and the directors of the company.

I just feel that a company that sells a million bicycles a year in UK has a certain responsibility.

I agree; I told the store manager that I felt the cassettes on the first two bikes were made from plastic As for what they will do; well, I got another bike out of them plus they swapped the standard cassette on the new bike for an SRM item too.

But you raise a good point, how many dodgy bikes are out there? Also, I wonder how many first timers (like me) bought one of these bikes, busted the cassette, thought 'sod this' and chucked it in the garage and not got back on another bike?

 

[Hannah]

I (stupidly) took my partners old raleigh mtb to halfords with the intention of getting the gear mechanism fixed as wouldn't change gear and throw the chain off (resulting in my partner getting off the bike and throwing it into the ditch on several occasions). Any way they replaced all the working shimano parts with sram shifters that didn't work and the bike had the same problem still and so I ended up buying a bargain new Ridgeback mtb for him off ebay. Bunch of morrons, would not ever get anything fixed there or buy a bike any thing that invlolves the children they hire to touch a bike!

Hope the new parts/bike works out for you!

 

[abo]

Hope so! To be fair, the last two guys who worked on the bike(s) seemed to know what they're doing. Elvis (I'm not kidding) talked me through the process for adjusting the rear mech and took the time to explain what he was doing and why.

 

[hotmetal]

Halfords have a bad rep and not entirely without justification. I've seen bikes come out of there that were frankly dangerous - at very least assembled in such a way as to accelerate wear and probably put someone new off cycling.

In their defence, not all the bike mechs that work there are goobers though - some of them actually do know about cycling and bike mechanics. I know one personally (well, one who used to work there). It's just that the few are let down by the majority of them who are just kids that have had to be taken away from the in-car entertainment and 'tuning' department because they kept putting hardcore jungle on and turning it up!

They do sell some decent bikes at good prices, like Boardmans in particular, but it is a wise investment to spend some of the money saved by taking the bike to a 'proper' local bike shop for a once-over. (Assuming Halfords sold you the correct frame size of course)

 

[andy0001]

I was in Halfords today in town, thought i'd ask about a new set of tyres, what sort of price etc, he tried to tell me the road bike i have isn't good enough for the Lejog I'm planning but i need a bike with full suspension 'for the bumps in the roads'
He looked like he'd never ridden a bike let alone could find a bike to hold him up.

 

[abo]

Hey cool, my review of the Slant is up on the Halfords website

Review

edit: it doesn't direct link to the review, you'll have to click 'customer reviews. Ironcially they have listed me as a 'quality seeker'

 

[ian turner]

Think you would have got better value for money buying that decathlon mountain bike they reviewed on the gadget show next to a bunch of other £100 mountain bikes.

 

[LosingFocus]

Just to balance this out, I recently purchased my roadie from Halfords in Basildon. The staff, the experience and the bike were the total opposite. Friendly, helpful, informative. The bike was set-up brilliantly to match me and my ever growing requests ("up a bit more", "tilt that"). The bike is, which being a Carrera is also a Halfords 'brand' the same as Apollo, is very well made from what I can tell and the components all work so far. I went in originally to look at the TDF, but the young chap went through the Virtuoso and the TDF side by side showing me where they were the same and the differences, and I came to the conclusion that for the extra £20 the Virt was a better option. In the end, the price didnt matter as the only one they had in my size as the display model - which had only been on display for 2 weeks, allegedly. They set it up, then notice a small (and I mean small) paint scratch on the side - he promptly knocked 10% off for me.

Will be interesting to see if my positive views on them stay after my 6-week check over.

 

[abo]

Think you would have got better value for money buying that decathlon mountain bike they reviewed on the gadget show next to a bunch of other £100 mountain bikes.

You're probably right, but I no longer have that bike now...