Offered Bike Swap - Good Idea?

rushandy

Hi all,

Cut a long story short, I've had a bike replaced due to warranty and have been offered a bike swap. I purchased a Rockhopper Comp 2011 a few months ago that needs replacing, specs as follows:

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bc/SBC ... spid=51628

I've been offered the new Rockhopper 2012 expert as a replacement, again specs below:

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bc/SBC ... e=Mountain

Do you think there's much in it? The newer version has alivio mechs (vs deore on the old one) and a different fork. I'm pretty inexperienced with this so would appreciate any input you have.

Thanks
Andy

supersonic

The 2011 Comp is better than the 2012 Expert - forks and drivetrain especially.

Why are they offering a new bike? This could have an impact on things.

rushandy

Thanks Super.

There is an issue with the frame that means it vibrates like crazy whenever I use the back brake, apparently it's happened to others and cant be fixed.

toastedone

I had the same issue with my RH, under braking the frame would vibrate like crazy, i got a full refund

rushandy

Which model did you purchase toasted? I was potentially thinking of going for an upgrade (the 2011 Pro) but if it's an issue with the frame across the board that would put me off.

jsync

I had the exact same issue with the noise and couldn't get the juicy 3s setup correctly. I tried different discs, new pads, recentering the caliper etc but no joy. So i replaced the brakes with oro 24s and it's nw fine. Can the bike shop fit an alternative brake to test it?

rushandy

I'll ask them jsync. The bike shop told me that it's an issue with the frame, but from the web searches I've done it seems to be that loads of people have this problem with avids on all sorts of bikes / frames.

I think I've come to the conclusion that I really like this bike and am not goin to swap it for something I'm not happy with. I'm going to go back to them and have them look at putting some different brakes on. Just offering a bike swap seems a bit lazy really.

felix.london

The pattern with Rockhopper's seems to be the newer the model, the worse the spec. Can they give you a 2010?

rushandy

Ha! I doubt it. I do know what you mean. I purposefully sought out a 2011 to get the better spec.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether I'd be within my rights to ask them to swap out the brakes entirely? They have tried to swap the rotors up to now, that's all.

supersonic

Get the shop to swap all your existing components on to the new frame. Your consumer rights are above rwarranty here, this is no warranty issue. They have admitted the fault, you have had the bike a short amount of time. They must replace like for like, repair (not possible) or offer a refund minus some money for the time you have had the bike.