Should/Can I ask for my money back or accept a repair?

russboy

So I ended up buying the Fuji Gran Fondo 2.1 through the ride2work scheme through Evans cycles as per my thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12908399&p=18317512#p18317512

Ended up paying £1350 for it & have had it since the beginning of June & have used it for my daily commute. Now encountered a problem with the bike for the 2nd time, story as follows……………

All was going well until it went in for its 1st service at the end of July when I returned from holiday. The next time I used it, on my commute to work the next day the chain jumped over the rear cassette, tearing lumps out of the bladed spokes (& the crank arm for that matter where the chain came over the top & then it locked the rear wheel up & dumped me on the floor!!). It had never done this before & I can only imagine this happened to the gear adjustments taking place during the service (which were totally fine & didn’t need adjusting). 3 days later one of the spokes snapped completely, so less than a week after the service I had to drive back to the store to drop it off. I was then called & told it would be repaired with a standard spoke which I advised wasn’t good enough, I wanted like for like, as per the original specification, I pointed out if they didn’t do this I’d demand my money back as this was not my fault. Give them their dues in the end they took a wheel off of another bike for sale & put it on my bike so all up & running again. That was the first week of August, I know that as I was off work after a foot op so couldn’t ride it till the end of August.

So riding it on Tuesday, guess what happened on the way home from work (all 3miles of it), another spoke snapped, this time on a wheel that’s had 2 months of use!! So I now have to do another hour round trip to drop it off & no doubt the same again to pick it up several days later! To be honest if I hadn’t bought this on the Ride 2 Work scheme I would have demanded my money back by now.

I have spoken with a mechanic in store & he said bring it in. So I am going along on Saturday & I’m hoping they can sort it there and then as I don’t want to have to do another round trip to pick it up. If they can’t, what are my options? Demand a replacement bike (not the same though)? Sounds a bit extreme I know & I’m probably required to try to let them fix it but I’ve lost confidence in the bike a bit & I don’t want that when I’m hitting 40mph on it.
Going there with my receipt in my pocket for my 4 month old bike to see what happens really.

Russ

BrandonA

It's not clear what caused the second spoke to snap, was it caused due to the gearing issues? When you took it in last time, apart from putting a new wheel on did they adjust the gears?

I think the answer to your question depends on how much you want the bike. If they can fix the problem without you paying any money then I'd get it repaired and hope that your initial two problems no longer persist. If they want any money to fix the problem I'd consider getting a refund - not sure how that would affect the cycle to work scheme though as I've never used it.

ugo.santalucia

Most people of your size (read 97 Kg on the other thread) will experience problems on budget factory wheelsets. My advice is try get a new wheel and then flog the set for somebody lighter and get yourself a set of 32 holes well built wheels which will serve you well for many thousand miles.

russboy

BrandonA wrote:

It's not clear what caused the second spoke to snap, was it caused due to the gearing issues? When you took it in last time, apart from putting a new wheel on did they adjust the gears?

I think the answer to your question depends on how much you want the bike. If they can fix the problem without you paying any money then I'd get it repaired and hope that your initial two problems no longer persist. If they want any money to fix the problem I'd consider getting a refund - not sure how that would affect the cycle to work scheme though as I've never used it.

To be honest i've no idea what caused it, as the nipple part through the hub is long gone.

When I had the original prolbem I readjusted the gears back to where they were so that I didnt encounter the problem when cycling home that night & they've been fine ever since.

Yeah if they dont fix it for free/under warranty i'll kick up a stink as i've spent 3 hours of car journeys to & fro them wasting time & diesel, initially through their mechanics error & then this time for whatever reason caused it to fail.

russboy

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Most people of your size (read 97 Kg on the other thread) will experience problems on budget factory wheelsets. My advice is try get a new wheel and then flog the set for somebody lighter and get yourself a set of 32 holes well built wheels which will serve you well for many thousand miles.

Yeah, im that weight, more like 95kg now to be honest, but i am 6'1" & do a lot of the weights but I dont suppose the wheels give a monkeys aoubt that, they just know what they can take

The reviews did say they had a good spec wheel:

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47180/

But then spec might not mean strength I suppose.

foggymike

You just need some stronger wheels. Not expensive, just more appropriate to your build as you're not Mr Average. I agree it would be best to sell them on before adding any more wear and tear and choose what you fancy.

russboy

foggymike wrote:

You just need some stronger wheels. Not expensive, just more appropriate to your build as you're not Mr Average. I agree it would be best to sell them on before adding any more wear and tear and choose what you fancy.

Oh dear, I can see me spending a few quid then

WHat should I look for then? Any links? Might look at carbon rims to match the bike if they're up to it.

carrock

forget carbon

good set of fulcrums.

even the superlight fulcrum zero are rated at up to 108kg

russboy

carrock wrote:

forget carbon

good set of fulcrums.

even the superlight fulcrum zero are rated at up to 108kg

Cool, thanks, do you have any links with size etc I need?

ugo.santalucia

Russboy wrote:

carrock wrote:

forget carbon

good set of fulcrums.

even the superlight fulcrum zero are rated at up to 108kg

Cool, thanks, do you have any links with size etc I need?

I would really really not listen to that advice...

kajjal

Also look at Mavic open pro's as well. Most wheels are rated at 100kg max. The open pro's come with up to 36 holes/spokes which makes a stronger wheel under weight / powerful riders . I am guessing you would be a combination of both with the weights work and if you ride on rough roads as well it all contributes.

I weight just under 100kg and due to not doing weights and riding continually on rough roads get away with it but will be buying stronger wheels once my current set wear out.

Ask at a good local bike shop / wheel builder for advice but remember most riders are not around 100kg or powerfully built so will have little understanding of this. Small light riders do not have the weight or the power to rapidly damage wheels.

kajjal

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Russboy wrote:

carrock wrote:

forget carbon

good set of fulcrums.

even the superlight fulcrum zero are rated at up to 108kg

Cool, thanks, do you have any links with size etc I need?

I would really really not listen to that advice...

Definitely agree you need a minimum of 32 spokes per wheel preferably 36.

dnwhite88

Failing that buy a lot of spare spokes....

russboy

dnwhite88 wrote:

Failing that buy a lot of spare spokes....

Or lose some weight

russboy

Well in the end I needn't have worried. Got to the shop yesterday morning & they were waiting for me. As I had a moan on their facebook page their head office had already organised a new wheel package for me

Left it with them for 30 minutes & then took it home with a brand new set of Mavic Aksium wheels & as it was a wheel package they had new tubes & Mavic Aksion tyres fitted so they gave me y original tyres & tubes back to keep as spares







So all in all I have to admit I was very impressed with their customer service & now have more confidence in the bike again

Colinthecop

Russboy wrote:

So all in all I have to admit I was very impressed with their customer service & now have more confidence in the bike again

Remember to update their Facebook page after your initial moan. 8)

russboy

Colinthecop wrote:

Russboy wrote:

So all in all I have to admit I was very impressed with their customer service & now have more confidence in the bike again

Remember to update their Facebook page after your initial moan. 8)

Already have & shared the positive response with all friends on facebook

kajjal

Good deal but at 20 spokes per wheel I am not sure they would stand up to the strain you would put them under. May be better to buy some stronger wheels and then sell them to reduce the cost of the change.