Fulcrum wheel problem

Sandman6491
Sandman6491 Posts: 2
edited August 2019 in Road general
My first post on here, sorry to complain. I bought a new Bianchi Intenso the end of June from a dealer in Omaha, NE. It was a carryover 130th Anniversary but it was new. It came with Fulcrum Racing 5.5 wheels (yes I know these are inexpensive wheels). A little background on myself. I have been a serious rider for over 40 years. Some of that time was spent in amateur road racing. I have had many bikes, Treks, Basso, Casati, Felt and now my Bianchi. My experience with the Fulcrum wheels has only been with my current Bianchi. After the first 100 miles on the bike I noticed that one spoke nipple on the rear wheel had completely unscrewed and fell inside the rim. I took the rim back to my dealer and he replaced the nipple and trued the wheel. One week later after 80 miles the same thing happened. I shipped the wheel to him. He contacted Bianchi and was told it was not their problem, to contact Campagnolo. He did and was told to ship my wheel to their California location. They determined my wheel was defective and would ship another wheel. Then they forgot to ship it and after another week, my dealer called them and they found the replacement and shipped. When I finally got the new wheel, I found they had replaced it with a Fulcrum Racing GT. This wheel could best be called a department store wheel. The wheel is a 24 spoke, heavy wheel. It has very heavy gauge spokes that are 90 degree bent into a large flange on the rear hub. I complained to my dealer, Campagnolo FB page, and sent an email message to Fulcrum. In the meantime I have ordered a new Mavic wheel set. I feel this lack of warranty service is totally unacceptable.

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    That sounds completely rubbish customer service / blatant attempt to fob you off with an inferior wheel. No idea about consumer protection in the U.S. It's pretty clear your original wheel was defective so they should replace it like for like, or refund you the cost of buying a replacement yourself.
    Here in the UK your complaint would be with the retailer. If they didn't resolve it to your satisfaction and depending on how long you've had it, you could reject the bike completely and get a refund, easier if you paid by credit card.

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