Boardman Nightmare!

GT_Dave

Picked up my lovely new Boardman HT Team on Wednesday and I couldnt have been happier, took it for a quick ride that night and then parked her up. No problems.

Rode the 5 miles to work this morning and spent all day staring at her across my office, (shes too lovely to park outside) started the 5 mile tip home and about a mile from my house just as I was crossing the road my pedal arm sheared off! I fell off, damaged my helmet, my jacket, and scratched the lovely paintwork and to top it all off when I took my watch off my wrist swelled up and im fairly sure ive sprained/damaged it in some way. :evil:

I took the bike back to halfords tonight and they straight away pointed out that it had been assembled incorrectly.

The Bike Hut manager is going to phone me tomorrow morning, what do you think I should say? :?:

Should I get my money back or ask for a new bike? I do love the Boardman but if i had been on a road and not a cycle path i could easily have been squashed, do i risk another Halfords bike or get my £900 on something else?

Any advice welcome!

matt581

Personely from what i've seen the boardman bikes are great value bikes with good spec. I would get them to repair/replace and if your not 100% checking it over yourself after. see if they will compensate for getting another bike mechanic to check over?

GT_Dave

I will need to get someone to look over it as I have no idea what im looking at!!!!!

supersonic

GT_Dave wrote:

I will need to get someone to look over it as I have no idea what im looking at!!!!!

Is something you need to learn really. OK, the crank arm shouldn't have fallen off after 5 miles if Halfords had PDId the bike, but bikes should be checked ideally before EVERY ride ie checking the tightnes of bolts, safety check, adjustment and so on. Otherwise you are going to be very disappointed.

Northwind

TBH I'd wonder how they could tell it was assembled incorrectly, or how that would affect the pedal shearing.

GT_Dave

Northwind wrote:

TBH I'd wonder how they could tell it was assembled incorrectly, or how that would affect the pedal shearing.

The bolt that holds the pedal arm on had threaded and you could see where the it had sheared out when weight was applied, im 15 1/2 stone so im suprised it didn't happen earlier.

@Supersonic, im new to this game and this is my first proper bike so a lot to learn, when i picked it up the guy advised me to check the stem, handlebars and saddle and that was it really. they didnt even show me how to use my forks properly (I know how to put air in but there is another red knob that turns, I am leaving it alone for now!) but my Mate is going to explain that to me if i ever get the bike back!

supersonic

They should have given you a list with all the PDI checks - is a good one to follow. If they haven't also given you manuals for the forks, brakes and gears, give them an ear full ;-).

Park Tools website is good for maintenance. Just a few basic tools is enough to get you going.

GT_Dave

supersonic wrote:

They should have given you a list with all the PDI checks - is a good one to follow. If they haven't also given you manuals for the forks, brakes and gears, give them an ear full ;-).

Park Tools website is good for maintenance. Just a few basic tools is enough to get you going.

I will beast them tomorrow, the manager is supposed to be phonong me first thing to see wh at we can do to get me pedalling again!

*AL*

GT_Dave wrote:

damaged my helmet, my jacket, and scratched the lovely paintwork

GT_Dave wrote:

Should I get my money back or ask for a new bike?

If you're happy with another Boardman I'd ask for a new bike and for them to replace your jacket and helmet.

camerauk

as it's damaged the paintwork I would be asking for a new replacement bike and a new helmet and jacket as you say you have scratched/damaged yours when you fell off
I would say you have a very good case for this and maybe more they have put your life at risk really as you could have gone under a car etc
as said above you should be learning to do a bit of maintenance on the bike(although not this early lol) but would be a good idea to get get someone to check the new one over when you get it

diy

If the facts are as you say, there is a bit more than a repair/replacement issue here. You may well have a claim for your injury. If you have legal insurance on your house or similar give them a call to discuss the situation. You can't claim for what would/could have happened, but you can claim for the damaged property and your personal injury.

GT_Dave

Im not bothered about the claiming, all i did was bruise my ego really, new helmet and bike are a must though!

Northwind

GT_Dave wrote:

The bolt that holds the pedal arm on had threaded and you could see where the it had sheared out when weight was applied, im 15 1/2 stone so im suprised it didn't happen earlier.

Ah, the crank arm? Makes sense. Hell of a thing to crossthread though! Could have been messy. Well- one thing to bear in mind when you speak to them is that the cranks often come fitted from the factory rather than being fitted in the shop, and that it quite likely wasn't obvious when (if!) they PDI'd it. So while it's the company's fault it doesn't have to be the shop's fault. That seems to make it easier to deal with people sometimes (and means you don't need to be paranoid of using the shop again! Though tbh paranoia is a good basic standpoint with many bike shops)

Hope you get a result that you're happy with.

diy

personally I'd get a refund. You'll probably be able to get it cheaper in January.

benpinnick

Id ask for Pro as a replacement. They will not lose money on that, so its a fair trade.

Briggo

supersonic wrote:

GT_Dave wrote:

I will need to get someone to look over it as I have no idea what im looking at!!!!!

Is something you need to learn really. OK, the crank arm shouldn't have fallen off after 5 miles if Halfords had PDId the bike, but bikes should be checked ideally before EVERY ride ie checking the tightnes of bolts, safety check, adjustment and so on. Otherwise you are going to be very disappointed.

Do you check all the bolts on your car are nice and tight too before driving?

supersonic

I don't drive. But I check my bike over as recommended.

delcol

park tools is a good site to visit.. also look for a book zynn the art of mtb maintinence. and youtube can be a good source of info to.....

i would not accept the damaged frame back unless they were to give me a discount. me personally would want a replacment helmet and jacket to,.. if they are accepting that the bike was not assembled correctly then i'm guessing they leaving them selves open... were there blame theres a claim.....

Briggo

supersonic wrote:

I don't drive. But I check my bike over as recommended.

You don't drive and you meticulously check all the bolts are nice and tight on your bike everytime you use it? You're a real catch :P

supersonic

Hehe! It's cos I is fat. Have to cjeck my flies every half hour too...

wordnumb

GT_Dave wrote:

I will beast them tomorrow, the manager is supposed to be phonong me first thing to see wh at we can do to get me pedalling again!

No need to give the manager a hard time, be polite and point out how fortunate that it didn't happen while you were riding off road, as you had been planning a proper ride. Make him want to offer to replace the helmet and jacket as well as replacing the bike.

GT_Dave

The manager phoned me this morning at 0900 Hrs and the Boardman mechanic is assembling my new bike on Monday, hes going to hand it over and talk me through the bike on Monday Night and a new helmet thrown in for good measure!

The lads there have been really good to deal with and very helpful, new bike and new helmet so im happy

Now i just need to learn how to ride and maintain it :oops:

cooldad

I would expect nothing less, but good result anyway.

camerauk

GT_Dave wrote:

The manager phoned me this morning at 0900 Hrs and the Boardman mechanic is assembling my new bike on Monday, hes going to hand it over and talk me through the bike on Monday Night and a new helmet thrown in for good measure!

Did you get an upgrade on the bike?

cooldad

camerauk wrote:

GT_Dave wrote:

The manager phoned me this morning at 0900 Hrs and the Boardman mechanic is assembling my new bike on Monday, hes going to hand it over and talk me through the bike on Monday Night and a new helmet thrown in for good measure!

Did you get an upgrade on the bike?

Why should he?

GT_Dave

cooldad wrote:

camerauk wrote:

GT_Dave wrote:

The manager phoned me this morning at 0900 Hrs and the Boardman mechanic is assembling my new bike on Monday, hes going to hand it over and talk me through the bike on Monday Night and a new helmet thrown in for good measure!

Did you get an upgrade on the bike?

Why should he?

I dont think so, Im happy with the team, its the one i saved up for and had my heart set on so no probs there, the next one up is an extra £100 more than i paid so a bit above and beyond really. Happy with the helmet and the replacement

camerauk

thats good if your happy with the bike but you may have been able to talk them into giving you the next one up always worth a go

GT_Dave

camerauk wrote:

thats good if your happy with the bike but you may have been able to talk them into giving you the next one up always worth a go

Im happy mate, the helmet costs £60 so i think i have proffed, dont like to push my luck

camerauk

give it a go bud can only say no

386ka

GT_Dave wrote:

camerauk wrote:

thats good if your happy with the bike but you may have been able to talk them into giving you the next one up always worth a go

Im happy mate, the helmet costs £60 so i think i have proffed, dont like to push my luck

Some are never satisfied.

Anyway, it is a great result, I would stick to that LBS for sure. And would not brag about it as above.

cooldad

camerauk wrote:

give it a go bud can only say no

You sound like my ex. Grasping.