Bad experience with bikestore, your opinion.

ck101

A new bike shop opened where I live, I popped by and the guy running it seemed decent. He was a young guy starting out and we had a chat about bikes, cycling etc. and he seemed to know his stuff. I had been contemplating Di2 for some time and he told me that he had sold a good few bikes / upgrades with Di2.

He then offered me a Pro Level frameset at an excellent price. I decided to go for it with Di2. The Di2 was a considerable premium to online but as he was local and starting a new business I decided to pay the premium.

During my time dealing with him I felt that he wasn't looking after his stock. The original frame he had put by for me was hanging on the wall and had developed some scrapes. I addressed this with him and he sourced me a new frameset.

In an effort to look after him I didn't negotiate on the price despite the fact Di2 was €400 cheaper online and I paid him cash.

To cut a long story short the bike was supplied without grommets for the Di2 cabling, cables just hanging out of holes sitting on bare carbon. The crankset was loose and the the Di2 was set up so incorrectly there was no way to charge the internal battery. Despite me asking he also hadn't charged the battery and I was stuck 25K from home in the one gear.

Anyway I had it out with him and he said he would sort everything out. In the course of this he managed to damage the frame (took a fair size chunk out of the topcoat on the stay) which he denied saying I must have done it when I took the bike out of his shop. The bike has been back in numerous times for days on end and still isn't correct.

What was a dream build has turned into one where my old bike is less damaged and just seems more appealing.

His response is to say he did his best and all that, what is apparent is that he was out of this depth with top level bike builds and Di2 for certain. Hi shop is small and bikes tend to get piled on top of each other of which mine was a victim.

This all came to a head today when I collected a set of wheels from him which I supplied that were to be used for my build but he didn't manage to source an 11 speed freehub, he had lost the skewers which I was not surprised at.

I had enough at this point and told him along with expletives he'd lost me as a customer and that enough was enough and I'd get the bike fixed up myself. I'm down some skewers now, have a cosmetically damaged frame and am pretty annoyed about the whole affair.

I have found the bike shop owner to be arrogant and blasé about the whole thing, stating the damage is minor and that electronic groupsets are cutting edge and problems are to be expected. Suggestions that I had damaged the frame myself while I had been accommodating and fair totally pissed me off.

I'm contemplating flogging the frame just to rid myself of this saga.

This is just a rant but interested in other opinions.

Iamnot Wiggins

Ask him for a full and unaltered refund on account of not knowing what he's doing and wasting your valuable time in the process. if he declines, report him to trading standards. Or burn his shop down.

Bozman

That's why you should stick with the internet. or buy a frame and build the bike up yourself.

Anonymous

I think you asked for it to be honest.
I might buy a stock bike from such a shop, but no way a build, and certainly not a Di2 one :shock:

One of your objectives was to help him out so guessing you have at least done that in both cash and experience.

damocles10

That does sound extreme. In my experience when I used to take the bike in to a LBS for repair or build there would always be a scratch or something somewhere.....I have since taught myself how to build a bike which I think is a useful skill to know.

Like above, your intentions were good, it's a shame it hasn't worked out for you. Are you able to return and get a refund?

ck101

To go down the refund / trading standards route would prolong what has been a total pain in the arse.

I can appreciate that some would say I deserved what I got but this guy maintained that he was an expert, talked a good game and used to work for some of the biggest companies in the business. While he had these positions without doubt what has become apparent is the fact his customer care and attention to detail is appalling.

ck101

Just got a txt off him re the fact he found the skewers and also subtly mentioning the I bought the wheels elsewhere. Where do these guys get off, yes I bought components for the build elsewhere, he got the frame and the full gruppo. I picked up a seriously discounted set of hoops from an online retailer. I suppose for some this is a way of justifying they did their best in the face of adversity and I'm some sort of crank.

The reality is I spent some serious cash there and won't be going back.

Grill

Name and shame... There's no excuse for such poor service.

JayKosta

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I hope the troubles can be resolved and that you will get to enjoy the bike.

Sad truth is that many 'craftsmen', etc. exaggerate their ability and don't understand that 'doing their best' is NOT enough. The customer expects the final product to be done CORRECTLY at the stated price, regardless of what the seller might have to do to make that happen.

Not directed to you specifically, but for others to hopefully avoid similar situations.....

Personally, I prefer to buy 'off the shelf' instead of 'special order', so that I can inspect the specific item that I will be buying.

The trouble with the skewers could have been avoided by not having them with the wheels in the first place. When leaving an item at a shop it is wise (if possible) to remove all the parts that don't need to be there.

Also, it's usually better to have the dealer obtain the parts (rather than customer supplied). It might increase the cost, but then at least the dealer is reponsible for their condition and function.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

pilot_pete

Depends what you want from this. It sounds like you have had enough and just want to sound off and cut your losses.

However, under the Sale of Goods act you are entitled for a full refund or replacement as the goods supplied are of unsatisfactory, not fit for purpose quality. Print it off, pop in to see him, know your rights and ask what he is prepared to do to put things right. If this is not acceptable to you then you will have to take action through Trading Standards and possibly the small claims court.

Put it in writing to him and he will have to do something or he will inevitably end up losing. You should gather all evidence you can; receipts, photos etc etc.

PP

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Yes, if I was you I would persist and get a full refund. By doing that you have taught him a ĺesson' and he will be less likely to try the same again with another customer. Hopefully he will learn by this and improve his customer care etc if he wants to carry on in business.

andyrr

If you really don't want to ever cross the threshold of his shop again then you probably just want to have got vent of
your rant and be done with it but the situation could still be resolved/helped.
If this is a guy who is starting out and is not just going to chase the bottom of the market for fixing cheap MTBs and hybrids then you could go back telling him that you regularly race and are a member of a local club and if he cannot get you back to a satisfactory position with your bike then there is no way that you would ever recommend his shop to your mates etc.
I don't think you are looking for miracles (yet another new frame for example) just for him to do a good job of putting you in a better position than you are now. He is maybe more a bike enthusiast than either an expert mechanic or great businessman so is not particularly well equipped to run the shop but he might see sense if he thinks that sorting you out will help bring more people to his shop.