Handlebar Failure

big lewy

Hello,

I would appreciate some advice please. I got my Genesis CDA-20 in October last year from Evans through the bike to work scheme. Since purchase it has had light use, mostly on road or easy trails. In June this year while doing an offload Duathlon event (for which the bike is perfectly suited) the handlebar snapped without warning. Thankfully I was able to control the bike and avoid injury.

I took the bike back to Evans and asked them if they could change the bars under warranty as the bike was less than a year old. They dutifully send the bars away only to be told that as no fault had been found, they I would not be receiving a new bar under warranty.

To be fair Evans have been excellent, but I don't understand how the manufacturer can claim the the bars are not at fault when they fail on a nearly new bike. I am getting the details from Evans so that I can pursue this myself. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this?

Cheers,

Vino'sGhost

big lewy wrote:

Hello,

I would appreciate some advice please. I got my Genesis CDA-20 in October last year from Evans through the bike to work scheme. Since purchase it has had light use, mostly on road or easy trails. In June this year while doing an offload Duathlon event (for which the bike is perfectly suited) the handlebar snapped without warning. Thankfully I was able to control the bike and avoid injury.

I took the bike back to Evans and asked them if they could change the bars under warranty as the bike was less than a year old. They dutifully send the bars away only to be told that as no fault had been found, they I would not be receiving a new bar under warranty.

To be fair Evans have been excellent, but I don't understand how the manufacturer can claim the the bars are not at fault when they fail on a nearly new bike. I am getting the details from Evans so that I can pursue this myself. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this?

Cheers,

Yes, the suggestion there is no fault is bollocks. The bars are broken ergo there is a fault unless of course bars in two pieces held together by tape are "normal" in which case they are right.

dont waste time and energy discussing it. tell Evans they have seven days to replace the bars or take it to a small claims court. they failed under normal use inside a year. Then talk about evans customer service all over the web for the rest of your life

cooldad

And do it soon as they look like going into administration.

Holeysocks

cooldad wrote:

And do it soon as they look like going into administration.

Evans? Really??

redvision

Holeysocks wrote:

cooldad wrote:

And do it soon as they look like going into administration.

Evans? Really??

They are really struggling but still time to be saved:
https://news.sky.com/story/bike-retaile ... s-11492689

timothyw

LOL no fault found... er, the bars are in two bits. They are meant to be one bit.

The bars that came with my Genesis weighed an absolute ton (perhaps over 400g? can't recall off the top of my head) so might be worth replacing anyway... but yeah, no excuse for Evans/Genesis not to replace them, less than a years old, lucky that you weren't injured.

webboo

Your contract is with the shop Evans. If the bike is not fit for purpose then it up to them to sort it out not the manufacturer. As Vino above suggested threaten them with small claims court whilst implying you have been in touch with trading standards.
Who I suspect would agree you have a case.

cooldad

redvision wrote:

Holeysocks wrote:

cooldad wrote:

And do it soon as they look like going into administration.

Evans? Really??

They are really struggling but still time to be saved:
https://news.sky.com/story/bike-retaile ... s-11492689

Yep, just remember reading something but couldn't find the link again. Not looking too good, it's been a few years of sh1t.

Vino'sGhost

cooldad wrote:

redvision wrote:

Holeysocks wrote:

cooldad wrote:

And do it soon as they look like going into administration.

Evans? Really??

They are really struggling but still time to be saved:
https://news.sky.com/story/bike-retaile ... s-11492689

Yep, just remember reading something but couldn't find the link again. Not looking too good, it's been a few years of sh1t.

That doesn’t sound too Rosy:(

DeVlaeminck

Expanded too fast? Too heavily dependent on the high street and outgunned by Wiggle et al for online sales?

slowbike

Your contract & Guarantee is with Evans Cycles ... the manufacturers warrant is in addition to this.


within 6 months of purchase it's assumed that the product was fault at point of sale, after that point the onus is on you to demonstrate that it's faulty..
check - https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights ... rights-act

I assume you have the bars - can you demonstrate that there are no scuffs, dents or other damage on the forks/bike/levers that could be attributed to crash damage? Bars don't just break for no reason - it'll need detailed inspection to give a good idea why they broke.

Handlebars can be bought fairly cheaply though - so whilst you should pursue this - I wouldn't lose any sleep over it - get sorted with replacement handlebars (perhaps Evans will do you some at cost?) - because at the end of the day, you want a bike to ride...

CitizenLee

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Expanded too fast? Too heavily dependent on the high street and outgunned by Wiggle et al for online sales?

That would make sense if they were actually on the high street. I can't speak for other locations, but the Aberdeen store is around 5 1/2 miles out of the city and is located in one of the most run-down areas. It also isn't near any other shops that would encourage passing trade like a store closer to the central business district would, or if it was in a retail park like most Halfords. I appreciate it's most likely a rent thing, but it's probably costing them more in lost sales. It's been here a few years now and I've never even been into the store as I have don't drive and have no other reason to be in that part of the city (maybe if I needed heroin). I'd also never cycle there due to the area it's in, and the bus would cost more than postage would if buying online. If they start closing stores then I guarantee this will be one of the first to go.

luv2ride

Back to tbe bars, where did they fail? If they failed around the stem clamp area is it possible the stem bolts had been overtightened whenever the bars have been adjusted? Some bike light or bike computer brackets also can be overtighted, which I'd figure wouldnt do any favours to the structural integrity of the bars. If you haven't ever adjusted the bar angle since purchase, or used a bolt-type accessory clamp I'd argue it could relate to poor bike assembly, in which back to Evans.