Rose Bikes Germany - A WARNING!

thechangingman
thechangingman Posts: 61
edited October 2011 in Road buying advice
I'll put the story bluntly to save time...
I paid £143 to rent a carbon bike from Rose on the understanding that I'd get this money back if I then bought a bike from them. So far so good.
The bike arrived but the SRAM Force gruppo was set up badly so I couldn't enjoy my test ride - it just wouldn't go onto the big ring consistently. I sent it back and they kindly had a look at it, 'mended' it and sent it back to me.
The gruppo was worse than ever!!!
It was impossible to ride it properly (and yes, I've ridden SRAM before!) so my test-ride was ruined. I contacted Rose and they said their mechanics would have a look at the problem.
Nope - no problem with the SRAM at all!!!!! So, I've paid £143 to ride a frustrating bike TWICE!!! Think VERY hard before getting a Rose 'bargain'. I've now ordered a bike from my FLBS and the personal care, being treated like a valued customer and in a face-to-face manner have been worth the extra cost. I am also supporting a local business who I know will look after me in the future.
It has certainly been a steep learning curve - let others be warned... :cry:
"There's more to life than bikes you know, but not much more..." (with apologies to Morrissey)

Comments

  • Slow Downcp
    Slow Downcp Posts: 3,041
    Couldn't you have looked at the gears yourself or got someone else to look rather than sending it back to Rose?
    Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos
  • lemoncurd
    lemoncurd Posts: 1,428
    thechangingman wrote:
    be warned

    Heard this before somewhere...
  • solboy
    solboy Posts: 368
    Dont care how good a deal it was i wouldnt pay to have a test ride like that as regardless of the gear issue you may not have liked the bike anyway.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Blame Wiggle ;-)
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • fleshtuxedo
    fleshtuxedo Posts: 1,858
    You paid £143. For a test ride :shock:
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • mouth
    mouth Posts: 1,195
    FleshTuxedo wrote:
    You paid £143. For a test ride :shock:

    Bear in mind they probably sent it from Germany, you have a serious interest and if they're gonna knock it off the sale then fair enough. Evans charge £50 to order in a non-stock bike on the same basis. It's to stop people test riding a Madone 5.2 just for a laugh.

    I blame Wiggle. But not for the Haribo.
    The only disability in life is a poor attitude.
  • solboy
    solboy Posts: 368
    Mouth wrote:
    FleshTuxedo wrote:
    You paid £143. For a test ride :shock:

    Bear in mind they probably sent it from Germany, you have a serious interest and if they're gonna knock it off the sale then fair enough. Evans charge £50 to order in a non-stock bike on the same basis. It's to stop people test riding a Madone 5.2 just for a laugh.

    I blame Wiggle. But not for the Haribo.

    Yes but evans refund you regardless of if you buy the bike or not :roll:
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?

    Yea like to know.

    I run Rival and Red and both shift up front perfectly.
  • Mad Roadie
    Mad Roadie Posts: 710
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?

    Yea like to know.

    I run Rival and Red and both shift up front perfectly.
    ride Campy Super record, and your view on perfect shifting may be different I suspect

    oh, oh.... another Campag vs Sram, vs. Jap debate looms?
  • rich164h
    rich164h Posts: 433
    For £143 I'd have got a cheap flight and hotel and gone and tested the bike in Germany! At lease they'd have been able to tweak everything until it worked properly at the time so the test ride wasn't wasted.
  • chriscdesign
    chriscdesign Posts: 40
    Mad Roadie wrote:
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?

    Yea like to know.

    I run Rival and Red and both shift up front perfectly.
    ride Campy Super record, and your view on perfect shifting may be different I suspect

    oh, oh.... another Campag vs Sram, vs. Jap debate looms?

    Sorry, compare Rival shifting to Super Record?
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    Mad Roadie wrote:
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?

    Yea like to know.

    I run Rival and Red and both shift up front perfectly.
    ride Campy Super record, and your view on perfect shifting may be different I suspect

    oh, oh.... another Campag vs Sram, vs. Jap debate looms?

    Have done and that is why I chose SRAM on my bikes :D
  • zippypablo
    zippypablo Posts: 398
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?
    Andy Schleck 2010 Tour deFrance maybe?
    If suffer we must, let's suffer on the heights. (Victor Hugo).
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    What the hell is a "gruppo" :?

    And paying £143 for a test ride :shock:
  • lemoncurd
    lemoncurd Posts: 1,428
    danowat wrote:
    What the hell is a "gruppo"
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruppo
  • EKIMIKE
    EKIMIKE Posts: 2,232
    Yet another caveat (that is your responsibility remember, not theirs) to the bargain online bike market.

    ***These bikes (Rose, Canyon e.t.c.) are not suitable for your purchase unless you 1) know your size (this bit takes time and care) and 2) know how to use/adjust bike components competently (this bit is surprisingly easy).***

    I'm still yet to hear a genuinely founded complaint about Rose or Canyon. The only ones i've heard relate to; complaints about stems (should have got your size right in the first place), petty complaints about imperfect communication (eerrrr they are German so they may make grammatical errors just like you would if you wrote to them in German), malfunctioning front mech's (if you can't search google and learn how to dial in a front mech then please, get someone to show you. Front mechs often drift out of sync during normal use and almost certainly will in the first few weeks of installation front brand new. Stop moaning.), surcharges for changing parts (why do you think the bikes are so cheap? They wouldn't be if they were employing wrenches to spanner on different stems or different chainsets all day long. Think about it. Efficiency.) :arrow:
    Canyon Endurace CF 2014 | Canyon Ultimate CF 2010
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    EKIMIKE wrote:
    Yet another caveat (that is your responsibility remember, not theirs) to the bargain online bike market.

    ***These bikes (Rose, Canyon e.t.c.) are not suitable for your purchase unless you 1) know your size (this bit takes time and care) and 2) know how to use/adjust bike components competently (this bit is surprisingly easy).***

    I'm still yet to hear a genuinely founded complaint about Rose or Canyon. The only ones i've heard relate to; complaints about stems (should have got your size right in the first place), petty complaints about imperfect communication (eerrrr they are German so they may make grammatical errors just like you would if you wrote to them in German), malfunctioning front mech's (if you can't search google and learn how to dial in a front mech then please, get someone to show you. Front mechs often drift out of sync during normal use and almost certainly will in the first few weeks of installation front brand new. Stop moaning.), surcharges for changing parts (why do you think the bikes are so cheap? They wouldn't be if they were employing wrenches to spanner on different stems or different chainsets all day long. Think about it. Efficiency.) :arrow:

    That's a fair post and to be honest could be extended to any bike brought online, foreign of domestic.

    Recently brought my eight year old a bike online from Halfords and was expecting to basically have to rebuild it myself. But was perfect out the box! She's had it two months and I haven't even had to adjust the gears, not even for cable stretch! It has SRAM fitted by the way.
  • EKIMIKE
    EKIMIKE Posts: 2,232
    Exactly.

    Ultimately the OP is despairing about his inability to adjust a front mech. Unfortunately he is bringing the name of a perfectly decent retailer into disrepute. Shame on him. I guess all Rose has to do now is be the first ever manufacturer of an entirely stretch resistant cable (that remains practical to use: Powercordz aren't!) :roll:

    All he had to do was turn a barrel adjuster a few clicks (he said it was shifting into the big ring sometimes, not others). Simple job. Would have saved himself £143.

    I am aware i'm being a 'dick'. I am also aware i am telling the complete objective truth. :wink:
    Canyon Endurace CF 2014 | Canyon Ultimate CF 2010
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    zippypablo wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?
    Andy Schleck 2010 Tour deFrance maybe?

    That was operator error... Fuck all to do with the front mech!...
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • thechangingman
    thechangingman Posts: 61
    Hmmm, the usual wide spectrum of responses that one gets on this site - ranging from the very helpful to the absurd.

    Thank you nonetheless for ALL of the comments, if nothing else they are entertaining (I am also glad that our Norfolk brethren was able to learn a new word! :D )
    "There's more to life than bikes you know, but not much more..." (with apologies to Morrissey)
  • sandyballs
    sandyballs Posts: 577
    So, last time I snapped a bolt (on my stem clamp) I promised to buy a torque wrench but was put off by the prices and so didn't bother. "I've learnt my lesson and won't be so heavy-handed next time..."

    Hmmmm

    Today, as I was prepping a Spesh Roubaix for a test ride (on loan from my LBS) I have just sheared off a bolt - d'oh!!!

    Please advice me - which torque wrench should I get so that I don't snap number 3?

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12804674

    I think this other post from the OP explains why he never set up the FD himself.

    I suggest the thread should be changed to "LBS Beware - Incompetant Rider"
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    Sandyballs wrote:
    So, last time I snapped a bolt (on my stem clamp) I promised to buy a torque wrench but was put off by the prices and so didn't bother. "I've learnt my lesson and won't be so heavy-handed next time..."

    Hmmmm

    Today, as I was prepping a Spesh Roubaix for a test ride (on loan from my LBS) I have just sheared off a bolt - d'oh!!!

    Please advice me - which torque wrench should I get so that I don't snap number 3?

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12804674

    I think this other post from the OP explains why he never set up the FD himself.

    I suggest the thread should be changed to "LBS Beware - Incompetant Rider"

    :lol::lol: Bang on, mate!... Classic.

    See, I never used my 'new' word, either!
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • StageWinner
    StageWinner Posts: 202
    So you mean it was impossible to do a test ride and evaluate the bike simply because the front mech wasn't working correctly? :shock:
  • zippypablo
    zippypablo Posts: 398
    hopper1 wrote:
    zippypablo wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?
    Andy Schleck 2010 Tour deFrance maybe?

    That was operator error... Fuck all to do with the front mech!...
    Merely explaining the reference, not saying SRAM is pish mate.
    Never used it.
    If suffer we must, let's suffer on the heights. (Victor Hugo).
  • Dodger747
    Dodger747 Posts: 305
    Could you not have ridden in the small ring to learn how the frame and components felt to you and then made a decision? Seems to make more sense then sending it back and forth for a simple adjustment...
    VO2 Max - 79 ml/kg/min
    W/kg - 4.9
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    zippypablo wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    zippypablo wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    A problem with sram changing onto the big ring? Well I never...

    Explain!... :?
    Andy Schleck 2010 Tour deFrance maybe?

    That was operator error... Fuck all to do with the front mech!...
    Merely explaining the reference, not saying SRAM is pish mate.
    Never used it.

    Nothing personal, mate :wink:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!

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