Brommie frame issue
TheGardenGnome
Posts: 170
My brommie broke down after almost 11 months of use and when returning it to the store to find out what the problem is (hoping the issue would be covered by Brompton), the manufacturer declined. I've included the justification that was used:
"It looks like the dropouts have been filed away. The non-drive side looks to have been manually deformed with a file. This is not a warranty claim but a misuse of this frame."
The reasoning behind it has me wondering if I'm being accused of tampering/modifying my bike. For clarification: I have never modified my bike. I am getting the impression that Brompton don't know what went wrong with the bike. I will not get the bike fixed if I don't know what the cause of the failure was, I could end up having the same problem again having spent money fixing the rear frame. The store has offered free labor to fix the bike as long as I pay for the rear frame (approx £140) which sounds reasonable but I still don't know what CAUSED the problem.
If there are some experienced Brommie owners, I would appreciate some feedback, maybe in finding out what went wrong with the bike:
On the day the bike broke down:
I was at the traffic lights, and started moving off- there was some "slippage" which I thought was me skidding off which happens often when there's some bags/wet paper on the road. About a minute later, as I went uphill I noticed the slippage kicking in- no acceleration and at that point I knew something was up. I got off the bike, couldn't figure out what was wrong except I found the Sturmey snapped (on the threaded part) and was dangling out. I folded the bike and took the taxi home- I didn't unfold the bike until I made it to the store and at that point I was only able to partially unfold the bike, and from there on it was whisked away by the bike technician.
About the bike itself:
The last time the rear wheel was removed, was more than a month before the break down. The bike was ridden around 10 miles every weekday without issue until the breakdown.
About the rider:
My average daily mileage is approx 10 miles a day, I'm a heavy guy (100kg), used the bike for commuting on-road use only- the bike has not been modified in any way by me. Any luggage I carry is on my (rucksack) and no more than 5kg I'm carrying on the ride.
At this point I'm wondering what may have caused the problem, I'm baffled that no cause has been identified and I'm wondering if Brompton are skiving on the warranty but I would like to be corrected if wrong on this. Could it be that
a) The rear wheel may not have been correctly installed
b) I'm too heavy for the bike and the store owner is too afraid to say it...
c) The bike may have been altered before I bought it (doubtful...)
Anyone?
"It looks like the dropouts have been filed away. The non-drive side looks to have been manually deformed with a file. This is not a warranty claim but a misuse of this frame."
The reasoning behind it has me wondering if I'm being accused of tampering/modifying my bike. For clarification: I have never modified my bike. I am getting the impression that Brompton don't know what went wrong with the bike. I will not get the bike fixed if I don't know what the cause of the failure was, I could end up having the same problem again having spent money fixing the rear frame. The store has offered free labor to fix the bike as long as I pay for the rear frame (approx £140) which sounds reasonable but I still don't know what CAUSED the problem.
If there are some experienced Brommie owners, I would appreciate some feedback, maybe in finding out what went wrong with the bike:
On the day the bike broke down:
I was at the traffic lights, and started moving off- there was some "slippage" which I thought was me skidding off which happens often when there's some bags/wet paper on the road. About a minute later, as I went uphill I noticed the slippage kicking in- no acceleration and at that point I knew something was up. I got off the bike, couldn't figure out what was wrong except I found the Sturmey snapped (on the threaded part) and was dangling out. I folded the bike and took the taxi home- I didn't unfold the bike until I made it to the store and at that point I was only able to partially unfold the bike, and from there on it was whisked away by the bike technician.
About the bike itself:
The last time the rear wheel was removed, was more than a month before the break down. The bike was ridden around 10 miles every weekday without issue until the breakdown.
About the rider:
My average daily mileage is approx 10 miles a day, I'm a heavy guy (100kg), used the bike for commuting on-road use only- the bike has not been modified in any way by me. Any luggage I carry is on my (rucksack) and no more than 5kg I'm carrying on the ride.
At this point I'm wondering what may have caused the problem, I'm baffled that no cause has been identified and I'm wondering if Brompton are skiving on the warranty but I would like to be corrected if wrong on this. Could it be that
a) The rear wheel may not have been correctly installed
b) I'm too heavy for the bike and the store owner is too afraid to say it...
c) The bike may have been altered before I bought it (doubtful...)
Anyone?
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Comments
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Pictures?I don't do smileys.
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Parktools0 -
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Did you buy it new or second hand ?
I can't think why anyone would file dropouts tbh...0 -
It was brand new when I bought it, at least that was the impression I had. The bike was from a reputable store as well.
I forgot to add another bit of info: the bike is stored in the boot of the car always. I'm not sure if this is relevant at all but just for the sake of completeness.0 -
Surely filing would remove any of those burrs/chunks, and not cause them.
My guess would be option "a"0 -
My best guess is that the wheel had worked loose after the repair and it's worn the drop out. Won't happen again if it's secure.0
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I'm grateful for the responses- I wanted some closure on the issue before I splurged some more on the bike, I've gotten far more useful info from you guys (and gals?). So unless anyone else has anything to add (please no, not my weight?)...
Cheers!
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