New bike woes - dangerous setup
alexm77
Posts: 23
Hoping I can get some opinions about an issue I've got with a full bike supplied by a big online retailer. I'd rather not mention the name at this point.
They've supplied me a gravel type bike with hydro brakes. The bike was poorly set up, with one of the tyres bulging with a gash in it's surface (they're sending out a new one). Critically though, the front derailleur cable had been incorrectly routed on the down-tube. Instead of running parallel to the rear brake hydraulic hose, it had run over the top of/around it. Basically, the gear cable was cutting in to the hose. If I hadn't spotted this, I'm pretty sure that in a few months I would find the gear cable had eroded the brake hose, resulting in sudden fluid loss/brake failure.
I'm pretty livid to be supplied a bike with an issue that could have potentially resulted in a serious accident. The company have offered a very paltry voucher as good will, with the option to send it all back to be sorted out (and a couple of weeks wait for the privilege). It would probably be simpler for me to fix it myself than to box it all up to send to them to sort.
Not really sure how to proceed at this point, or what would be a satisfactory resolution. Other than the setup, I like the bike, and can have it all sorted myself within an hour or two (new correctly routed gear cable, and detailed check of all bolts, torque settings, etc). However, I feel the company need to prove to me that they are taking the issue seriously and it won't happen to someone else's bike. Be interested to hear how others would deal with the situation.
They've supplied me a gravel type bike with hydro brakes. The bike was poorly set up, with one of the tyres bulging with a gash in it's surface (they're sending out a new one). Critically though, the front derailleur cable had been incorrectly routed on the down-tube. Instead of running parallel to the rear brake hydraulic hose, it had run over the top of/around it. Basically, the gear cable was cutting in to the hose. If I hadn't spotted this, I'm pretty sure that in a few months I would find the gear cable had eroded the brake hose, resulting in sudden fluid loss/brake failure.
I'm pretty livid to be supplied a bike with an issue that could have potentially resulted in a serious accident. The company have offered a very paltry voucher as good will, with the option to send it all back to be sorted out (and a couple of weeks wait for the privilege). It would probably be simpler for me to fix it myself than to box it all up to send to them to sort.
Not really sure how to proceed at this point, or what would be a satisfactory resolution. Other than the setup, I like the bike, and can have it all sorted myself within an hour or two (new correctly routed gear cable, and detailed check of all bolts, torque settings, etc). However, I feel the company need to prove to me that they are taking the issue seriously and it won't happen to someone else's bike. Be interested to hear how others would deal with the situation.
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Comments
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Send it back and claim a refund.0
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I'd accept the voucher, sort it myself and forget about it.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Go to local LBS and ask for a quote to sort and then ask retailer to pay, if they say no just return it0
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You sound like you know what you're doing.
Take the voucher, fix it yourself and go ride it.0 -
The concern for me would be, has the incorrectly routed FD cable caused any hidden damage to the hydraulic brake hose, as if that needs replacing it will require re-bleeding, are you happy to do that yourself? If you are confident you can do all the work yourself and the rest of the bike is up to standard, keep it and invoice them for your time and parts needed.
If it is a matter of principle with you that you should not have received bike in that condition, which you should not have, send it back and either ask for a replacement or refund if you have lost confidence in their abilities.
Is this bike built to order or an off the shelf production bike?0 -
It's built to order. I've only ridden the bike round the block to set up the fit, and can't see any marks on the hose, so pretty sure I don't need to do a bleed, though pretty confident doing this on mountain bikes anyway. They don't want to give me a voucher worth any more than postage to send the bike back to them, which does annoy me as it doesn't take my time in to consideration.
If I was feeling more principled I'd send it back and post the photos on all the forums to ward people off them. But maybe I'll just suck it up and go for a ride this weekend instead.0 -
Sending the whole thing back for an incorrectly routed cable sounds like a bit of an overreaction TBH. If you can fix it yourself, do so and take the voucher. If not, ask them to pay a LBS to fix it for you, and take the voucher. If they refuse that, send it back.
FWIW I think it would take a very long time for a FD cable to saw through a hydraulic hose...0 -
My PX london road has the FD cable crossing over the hydraulic hose. They're all routed this way. Not a mark on the hose after >1500 miles, no issues with shifting either - I can't see there being any more friction between cable/hose than cable/BB cable guide. Are you sure you're not overthinking this?0
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I guess one of the biggest issues is, what if you accept the voucher to the value of posting bike back; do the work yourself; then something happens within guarantee period to something you fixed yourself?================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
@ryanshattered - yes, possibly I am over thinking this and it's not a big deal. It is the same bike as yours, and Planet X have told me that it shouldn't be set up this way and it is a mistake. It may be the same friction as on the cable guide, but a hose outer isn't designed to have a cable rubbing on it. It may be fine for a year or two or more, but I don't want to be riding it at the point it's suddenly not fine anymore.
Anyway, decided to hold on to it as it is a decent bike - I've rerun the cable, all in a nice straight line as it should be and everything is fine now. Can't see that just replacing a gear cable would have any impact on warranty so not worried about that really.0 -
My PX London Road is the same. I hadn't noticed until I checked this evening after reading this thread. 1200 miles in and no sign of any wear on the hose.0
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Mine actually runs across the cable tie that ties the hose to the frame, then tucks in against the cable before going over the cable guide, so most (if any) pressure would be over the cable tie. Pretty sure PX have set them all up this way as somebody else mentioned the same on the big London Road thread, so I'm dubious of them saying it's a mistake...0
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Having looked again, mine is exactly the same with the cable running over the cable tieryanshattered wrote:Mine actually runs across the cable tie that ties the hose to the frame, then tucks in against the cable before going over the cable guide, so most (if any) pressure would be over the cable tie.0
