Thinking bout going back to...

Tom_Fox

biking.

ok..

i bought a bike from halfords.

. :shock:

Bad idea.

basically riding the first one home... i turn left..and the bike wants to carry on going straight...

handlebars were FOOOKED.

took it back to halfors they said sorry built me a brand new one in front of me..

2 days past - i ride home and wake up in hospital..

the bike threw me into the road and knocked me cold.. cuts, bruises lump on my head the size of a freaking mango.

blood everywhere.. intravious drip the lot. funfunfun.

i would'nt of minded if it was a £50 lump of shite bike but this was £220's worth of shit....

anyhoo...feeling better now.. wanna get a bike but thinking about buying one and stripping it and redoing everything and replacing stuff so i know it'll be ok... well better piece of mind...

i'll be riding around town and maybe occasionally dirt for fun...

help? please like frames? maybe even complete bike which i could strip and start again.

i've seen a Gt which has caught my eye.. http://www.thecyclepeople.com/productde ... sp?id=2416

any good?

thank you

Tom.

supersonic

so what was wrong with the bike?

Anonymous

and, provided that it was something they did wrong with the bike, this really is a case to sue, I reckon.
I don;t mean that lightly, I usually hate people just trying to get compo, but this really would seem like a just cause.

supersonic

depends what happened! Who built it to start? Was it checked before that days ride? Is it a manufacturing defect?

Tom_Fox

ok.

we are sueing them yes.

the manager made the silly mistake of admiting it could be a manufacters fault.

he said it could be a dodgy batch.

erm to be quite honest i dont know what was wrong.

i remember coming home and stumbling my bike with crutchs and looking at it.

besides my totally WRECKED brand new lights ¬_¬ there was nothing wrong with it.

but when i looked properly at it another time... both wheels were RUINED totally buckled.

they "safety check" everything at halford...so ajust the deat and send you on your way...

its now all in the hands of our solicitors.

supersonic

Really sorry to hear about your injuries, and hope you have recovered. But you'll need to prove the bike was defective, and you didn't just fall off or hit a kerb or something!

If they have admitted liability though ;-)

As for the Tempest, its more of a dirt/jump bike, and not one for longer trail rides like say the Avalanche.

Wherever you get it from, give a thorough check ;-)

Get well soon.

Tom_Fox

thanks dude =]

well that was just an idea - i just liked the look of it to be honest.

whatever i get will be coming to bits and tottally re-done in my back garden =]

LOL.

oh and i forgot to say i was with my mate so i have a witness lol

also a guy heard me hit the road in his house and wanted to ring an ambalence my mate said lol

supersonic

Well good luck with it! I worked for a few years in a bike shop, and assessed a few bikes that had been in similar circumstances. It can sometimes be hard to say who was at fault, and Halfords will be saying this, so be ready! You need to get the bike assessed by a 3rd party, and a report made on it. Was this on the way back from the shop then, on the road?

Always good to learn bike mechanic skills, and bikes should be checked over and maintained/serviced regularly (could be that Halfords missed something). I'd budget for some tools and a good book too.

Tom_Fox

yeahh thanks man - that will be done - i will be learning as much as i can!!

i was on the road on the way home...

i think the bikes being assessed but its all taking soo long...

this happens bout 2 months ago..

Anonymous

what exactly happened then? if your friend was a witness, then he must know?

Tom_Fox

he said that i was riding and litrally the bike threw me over my bars..

i remember seeing the floor come towards my face at a vast rate of knots..

but dont remember how..

Anonymous

hmm

I once had a wheel on a saracen collapse under heavy braking, the rim had come apart where the joint was pinned. Luckily, I had already reduced most of my speed, and I managed to tuck-and-roll out of it, without any injuries.
whilst walking home, carrying my bike, my (then) history teacher passed by, and gave me a lift!

But in that instance, I couldn't really see blame with anyone, as it was the rim that gave way, and it had been used well beyond it's intended use.

sc999cs

Glad you're not throwing the towel in on cycling. I have a Halfords' bike as do my wife and one of my children. We've never had any problems but then I have built every one myself. It isn't that I don't trust them, I just feel happier having tightened all the bolts my self.

Agree with Supersonic - learn how to do it yourself and follow the Park Tools' link on nicklouse's signature if you need any guidance.

Steve C

supersonic

Over the bars can happen for a number of reasons:

1) Pothole or object
2) Too much front brake
3) Wheel collapse (rare, you usually get some warning or have hit it hard)
4) QR opens, and safety tabs fail. Shouldn't happen if clesed correctly.

Papa Smurf

Is the fork stem too small? I had a bike like that, when it came to stripping it I undone the stem and handlebars, lifted up the frame and had a pair of forks fall onto my foot, was way to small and used to affect steering alot, because it was always wobbling about.

Brought that from cycle king though

Bikedevil

This sounds like it may have in fact been a defect in witch case it may not have been the mechanic who built the bike's fault (being an ex-halfords employee I do take some offence to be labelled an idiot and the blame always associated with the mechanic because of the the company they happen to work for)

You said yourself that the bike was built in front of you and by taking the bike away you are agrreing to being happy with the work done. I'm not saying tough luck or any of that, I do have apoint :roll:

With a comany such as Halfords the way that they are operated is such that its maximum profit minimum cost (naturally) and this does mean that al ot of the stock aquisition is somewhat questionable

( I remember a Shockwave that boxed was actually above the Health & Safety maximum weight for lifting unassisted!)

Combined with the borderline servicability of some of the products is also the ridiculous amount of pressure placed on staff to sell as many bikes as possible and churn them out PDI'd (Pre distribution inspectiin or some such) as fast as possible it is very hard for the mechanic to stop these products leaving the shop having only just met the requirements.


To summarise: I don't argue that Halfords aren't at fault, however, please consider the that the mechanic is only doing what they are told/ordered to do which is sometimes contrary to their better judgement

It wouldn't surprise me if the bike was defective, even before it left Thailand or it's box

Anonymous

Bikedevil wrote:

( I remember a Shockwave that boxed was actually above the Health & Safety maximum weight for lifting unassisted!)

holy crap, is that true? I thought the maximum you were meant to lift on your own was 20Kgs? that's a bloody heavy bike!

supersonic

Bike plus box often approached 20kg!

Bikedevil knows what it is like ;-)