warranty / bike shop help

The Northern Monkey

I bought a works angleset for my Canyon and got it fitted by a lbs here.

1st attempt, I noticed the cups werent aligned so took it back and got it sorted. .. or so I thought.

While he'd re-aligned the cup, he didnt re-align the crown race... something I didnt spot, but tbh shouldnt have to.

So last weekend the headset felt very stiff at the end of the ride and I've only jist got round to taking the forks off to see whats going on.

The bearing cage has split in 2 and the crown race and bottom cup are very badly pitted and will definately need replacing.. if not the whole headset.

So where do I stand? I bought the headset online and paid the bike shop to fit it.

Should I be expecting the lbs to foot the bill for a new headset and fit it correctly?

Very pissed off.

arthur_scrimshaw

Yes they should replace the headset at their cost (unless they can prove the headset was faulty) Your contract with them was to fit the headset correctly and they have not done this so they should be liable for your losses. If they refuse take it somewhere else and file a claim against the bike shop in the small claims court to recover your costs.

The Northern Monkey

Cheers, I know the owner and was in direct contact with him on FB originally when the headset was 1st installed incorrectly so have a bit of an audit trail of the monumental balls up.

Annoying thing is I've only ridden it probably 5 times since it was installed late August becuse all my riding has been on the Spesh training for the CCC2CC.

Will go by today and drop the bike off I think.

mike hunts alpine

They will probably try and blame the part, however if they thought that the part wasn't good enough they should not have offered to fit it. They carried out the work and are responsible for the possible poor workmanship, if that's what it was. So they should offer to fix the problem cost free as you payed for the work and it was not up to standard. If part is to blame seek free replacement and lbs will fit it for free. Its probably going to be difficult to find the culprit but you are not to blame so they have to sort it. That's as long as there was no misuse or damage on your part.

Hope that sheds a little light on the situation.

97th choice

Hopefully a polite chat should sort it.

The Northern Monkey

Aye hopefully. Going to call the shop and speak to him 1st instead of explaining in front of his other customers.

The Northern Monkey

mike hunts alpine wrote:

They will probably try and blame the part, however if they thought that the part wasn't good enough they should not have offered to fit it. They carried out the work and are responsible for the possible poor workmanship, if that's what it was. So they should offer to fix the problem cost free as you payed for the work and it was not up to standard. If part is to blame seek free replacement and lbs will fit it for free. Its probably going to be difficult to find the culprit but you are not to blame so they have to sort it. That's as long as there was no misuse or damage on your part.

Hope that sheds a little light on the situation.

Thanks.. I can't prove it I suppose, but I haven't touched it since it was done until today.
There are marks on the crown race that show where/how it should be aligned and they are miles off so hopefully that will prove it.

pic of the crown race:

The Northern Monkey

Hmm... just called, not sure what to think as he's putting it down to a machining issue straight away.

But if the cup isn't aligned with the race, surely it will wear something and the bearings won't be aligned properly?

The Northern Monkey

not the best pic, but if the notch on the bottom cup and the notch on the race aren't aligned, surely something is going to wear. Which is a fitting issue not a machining issue?

The Northern Monkey

better photo:
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The half moon notch in the cup should be aligned with the notch by by thumb.

mike hunts alpine

Id take it in and show him and be stubborn, then he won't fob you off like he did on the phone.
He must be the best mechanic in the world to know that it was a manufacturers error without looking at it.
Plus he should have inspected the part for flaws before install so the resulting damage is his responsibility.
Hell be doing the old " not down to me" over the phone, thinking you won't pursue it to save him self the money and embarrassment of his poor work, In my opinion.

The Northern Monkey

Well I've been down to have a chat. Basically he believes the bearings have failed (after 5 rides) which has caused all this.

I'm still not convinced though. Basically IIRC the bearings are tapered so if they've gone in off centre, they're going to wear something. However the LBS were convinced that the bearings weren't tapered.

Luckily, Works Components have been absolutely brilliant so far. Speaking to them on Facebook and keeping them updated.

The Northern Monkey

Again, absolutely outstanding customer service from Works Components.

Rick has been messaging me all evening on Facebook going through possible causes and explaining things to me. He offered to replace the race and bearings free of charge, however as the bottom cup is pitted he's happy for me to send the whole thing back so they can inspect it and advise me better.
If it turns out its a machining or bearing issues I can't see there being any issues with a warranty replacement.

If they advise its a fitting issue I'm not too sure yet, but the LBS have agreed to speak to them direct if needs be..

mike hunts alpine

Hopefully you'll get it sorted pretty soonish then good to hear.