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New Wheel issue - help needed!

richardfjrichardfj Posts: 91
edited August 2014 in Road general
Hi All,

After a few years in the wilderness I'm back road cycling (yea!)

I bought a Cannondale Supersix and swapped out the stock wheels for some Cole Rollen a Elite...very nice wheels

Okay here's the stupid bit, I was riding the other day, free rolling lime I'd just one the TDF when I lost control and so nearly fell off, the bike had a massive wobble but I 'just' managed to get control at the same time as realising that clearly I hadn't won any race let alone the TDF.

Shortly after it was clear that I had an issue with my rear wheel, it was no longer true...no spokes were damaged it seems, maybe the rim is warped, I'm not sure

I took it back to Evans and they claim it has had impact damage (that might explain the bruised knee I've now got also) I advised I hadn't hit a pot hole but was too embarrassed to tell them the full story.

Anyway I've had the wheels just two weeks, Evans seem reluctant to fix or replace under warranty or suchlike...where do I stand with this? Even if I had hit a pot-hole wouldn't under 2 weeks give me some lee way after all the roads are full of them and avoiding isn't always easy?

Any advice would be very much appreciated...

Posts

  • MountainMonsterMountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    I think the manufacturer *may* do some repairs on the cheap for hitting a pothole and damaging the rim, but that would be purely based on good faith.

    Unless you can prove these wheels had problems when they were bought it is going to be tricky, as impact damage is pretty noticeable.
    My London Road
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 26,779
    If it's impact damage (as you seem to half admit/ but not fully admit, not quite clear from your post) it's morally wrong to seek compensation from the retailer. I suppose if you smash their balls long enough you might even get somewhere, but would you ask for a repair under warranty if you scratched your car against a wall?

    I'd say if the wheel can be trued, the shop should do it as good will free of charge, as it takes 10 minutes, but if it requires a new wheel, then you should pay
  • Bar ShakerBar Shaker Posts: 2,313
    Your warranty is to cover manufacturing defects, it is not to cover any damage you may cause through negligent riding.
    Boardman Elite SLR 9.2S
    Boardman FS Pro
  • richardfjrichardfj Posts: 91
    Okay looks like being a costly careless mistake then, I guess as I hadn't hit anything (pot hole etc) I dint feel like it was an impact damage but In The midst of nearly falling off it's likely that my knee could well have hit the wheel plus the actual stress of the huge wobble itself...how I stayed up I don't know...two weeks in is pretty stupid/unlucky...thanks for the advice though
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 26,779
    richardfj wrote:
    I dint feel like it was an impact damage but In The midst of nearly falling off it's likely that my knee could well have hit the wheel...

    You are not telling it right... how can you hit the rear wheel with your knee? You realise it doesn't make any sense at all, unless you actually fell off... :shock: :?
  • MountainMonsterMountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    This story gets stranger by the minute.

    I can see why the retailer was extremely hesitant to offer anything.
    My London Road
  • laurentianlaurentian Posts: 2,007
    Notwithstanding your mystery injury, are you saying that the "wobble" caused the "warp" or that the "warp" caused the wobble?
    Wilier Izoard XP
  • andy9964andy9964 Posts: 930
    Bar Shaker wrote:
    Your warranty is to cover manufacturing defects, it is not to cover any damage you may cause through negligent riding.
    /\ This /\

    I flat spotted a rear wheel on a pot hole on my 3 month old bike.
    It couldn't be repaired
    I bought a new one
  • keef66keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Speaking as a rider who once managed to stick his foot in his own front wheel (forward somersault with two twists and a pike, followed immediately by having testicles pinned to the road by the bike as it returned from orbit) I am at a loss when I try to imagine a near fall resulting in a knee making contact with a rear wheel, with sufficient violence to cause damage to said wheel. I suspect the term 'wobble' doesn't really do it justice.
  • StorckSpeedStorckSpeed Posts: 291
    Strange story !!!
    It's fairly common for a new wheel to need a little bit of adjustment as the spokes bed in. Maybe one or 2 spokes are a little loose causing the problem. If your able to do this yourself then take it to an LBS and see if they would do it for you. It depends how much work is involved and how regular a customer you are, as to whether they will charge you. But if your wheels are true once more it'll be worth it.
    There's warp speed - then there's Storck Speed
  • richardfjrichardfj Posts: 91
    Sorry if I've miss-lead, not my intention, on reflection it couldn't be my knee, that must have hit the frame or something, as I didn't fall off it could only therefore be my right foot perhaps? Or just the wobble itself, wobble is probably an understatement I totally lost control of the bike as I didn't have my hands on the handle bars ( I know I know)it tried hard to crash but somehow I just managed to stay upright. I can't say with any assurance how the 'impact' was sustained I didn't hit a pothole before, during or after the 'impact' I'm just guessing really

    it's a weird one I know so not easy to explain to Evans either as it sounds made up but it isn't, I've no reason to tell porkies here...it was just me being dumb...if I'd actually fallen off or hit a pothole I'd be open about it to them and you guys....I guess my thought process was as neither of the aforementioned happened I would have expected the wheels to have been a bit stronger and a big gutted after just two weeks usage.

    I'm in there hands now so I'll just pay whatever they want me to mend..
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