How Are Bikes Packaged For Delivery?

edifice666

Hi,

So, I am expecting a new bike delivery this week from Merlin Cycles and was curious as to how they and other companies, typically package their bikes? As in, will all I have to do as I am hoping is to straighten the bars and attach my pedals or, will there be a need to attach the wheels as well as straighten the bars and attach the pedals?

Any insight in to this would be great please as I have read that Evans not only fully assemble the bikes they send via courier but, they also provide full instructions and the tools needed to complete the job, F.O.C?

I am just now beginning to think that I may not have all the necessary tools lying around to complete the job LOL as it has been YEARS since I last bought a "proper" bike!!

Many thanks!!

fenix

Not had Merlin but Planet X bike was just as you say. Turn bars. Add pedals. Adjust saddle. Enjoy.

awavey

not had a bike from Merlin either, but when I had my road bike delivered from a shop,and tbf they had done a pre dispatch fit and check there werent any loose screws on it first. It just turned up in a big cardboard box, handle bars were turned around and the loop locked around the cross bar, so the front wheel cant have been in place as it would have been 90 degrees to the frame.

but just had to turn the bars, add the pedals, adjust saddle, put the front wheel in, and that was it

thistle_

Ditto all the above for a road bike from Start Cycles plus some foam padding on the tubes but no tools provided. I think it said on their website how they package it and that you will need allen keys ready.

Courier carried it up 6 flights of stairs to the office (despite instructions) just for me to take it back down to finish setting up in the car park.

steve_sordy

When it arrives, check carefully for any damage to the packaging before you accept delivery. Look for punctures in the cardboard box, tears, crumpled cardboard on the corners that indicate it may have been dropped and so forth. Note these on the delivery documentation. If it has already been delivered, take pics before you open the box and take pics of whatever damage you find.

Bikes are very well packed normally (they've been doing it a long time), so you shouldn't have any problems, but couriers are paid for speed and accidents can happen!

edifice666

Many thanks to you all, for all your help/advice. I received my bike yesterday and, the outer box was fine and in opening it and having a mate round to help, discovered the rear hangar was bent, as though something had been lay on it?! So, again as I do not live very far from the shop that it came from, said friend was only too happy to stow in his van and drive me there. Upon arrival, mechanics had left at 4.30 and we got there at approx 4.45!!!! Waited in all day took time off work to do so, to receive a bike that was not fit for purpose!!!

I managed to convince them to take a look and, as the mechanics were long gone, he admitted he just bent back the hangar as opposed to replacing it!? I was told to email them the following day saying a free hanger was to be sent, only to be told that that particular hangar was out of stock!!

I am not for one minute laying the blame on the seller or the courier as it's impossible to say and, in that long tradition of being english, I am never normally one to complain but, after shelling out nearly 800 quid to receive a bike that couldn't upon arrival be ridden after having to wait until 3.30pm and booking a day off work, only to feel that initially I was being fobbed off by the seller upon arrival, that the mechanics had gone home and, that it would be easier to have another new bike sent for weekend delivery, was something of poor customer service!!

The bike is useable now, don't get me wrong all is well for the 30 mins I have ridden it up and down the street LOL, but I won't deny I was somewhat annoyed!!

Overall, I am VERY pleased as it was literally half price and the spec is, fantastic. I am not going to slag off Merlin, but I do not feel that I was given the 4.7 star treatment that they are given on TrustPilot!!

Thanks again!!

edifice666

Hi,

Many thanks for your help/advice.

I received my bike on Thursday afternoon and tracked the DPD van ALL day like a giddy child!! I ahve not had a "proper" bike for a VERY long time and, nothing as good as this!!

Bike arrived, box outwardly looked perfect, not a mark on it!! Mate came over who is much more experienced than I am these days and he helped me put it together as was said, attach bars, front wheel and pedals and away we go!! Hold on, hang on a second there buddy, why is the chain when on the biggest cassette wheel, rubbing the rear tyre!? Humph, it appears to be a bent hangar my mate says and as much as I didn't want to agree, it was obvious!! Now, fortunately Merlin are not too far from the area and after finding out what time they closed on a Thursday, he agreed as it still had bubble wrap on the frame, we should take it there and a mechanic will easily replace the whole thing!! Mechanics go home at 4.30, a whole hour before their advertised closing time!? We arrived at 4.45 or thereabouts, talk about fuming!! I had booked off a day from work, waited until 3.30pm only to receive a beautiful looking + bike that when fully assembled was not fit for purpose?!

The chaps that were there were not overly keen initially to help, saying that they were not mechanics and that in their opinion, it would be easier to leave my bike there and to have a second one shipped!? And they were not able to guarantee weekend delivery and I was not willing to waste another days holiday either. So, eventually, one of them took the bike from me and simply went behind closed doors, asking me to wait in reception and simply bent back the hangar!? Now I have a bike that rides and the gears change and all is well, my mate offered to do it but I thought I would much rather return to them and have them look at it rather than potentially void any kind of warranty!?

I was told to try it on their carpark which I duly did and it seemingly rides fine, that it for the 30 mins I have had it out as thats all I have had chance to do so far. I was told that if I email their customer services, they would have a replacement hangar sent out F.O.C and in doing so, was told that it was out of stock LOL!!!

Should I in anyones opinion make a formal complaint in regards to this or, shall I be quintessentially British and put up or shut up?! As although the bike now "works" and, can be ridden I feel that the service I received was not very good at all, I was not even offered something like a voucher as way of apology.

I don't want to come across as a moaning old git but I am, so that's how it comes across!! No, joking aside would any of you guys be complaining about this if it were yourselves?

Many thanks!!

steve_sordy

I would continue to ride the bike, but persist in getting them to post you a replacement mech hanger. They can be quite cheap, but some are not! For me it is the principle of the thing that they should send one, and sometimes they can be tricky to track down!

Google "mech hanger finder" and go from there.

Mech hangers are sacrificial items, meant to bend or break before the expensive mech. There is even a special tool you can buy that is designed to straighten and realign the whole mech that relies upon bending the hanger back to straight again. It is called a mech hanger alignment and adjustment tool. When I went to 12-speed it seemed that I was always having shifting problems that did not respond to the usual adjustments. It was a misaligned mech every time. After the third trip to the bike shop I bought my own tool and adjusted the alignment until it was spot on instead of within 3mm. No further problems.

But if you keep bending and straightening the mech hanger it will weaken and eventually break. So it is always best to have a spare in your backpack.

edifice666

Hi Steve,

Many thanks for all your help and advice, I really appreciate it!! I will of course continue to ride as much as I can, all things considered at the moment!? So I take it lodging a complaint in your opinion, is not worth bothering with!?

And at the very least, I will keep reminding them that they owe me a new hangar!! Fortunately it is fine and all the gear shifting is fine too!!

I am very pleased the overall quality of their Malt + is amazing, you get a lot of bike for your money, including Rock Shox Revelation Debonair forks and Sram 1 x11 groupset all running on 3" Kenda Havok rubber!!

I was just annoyed that less than an hour after if was delivered, I was in their reception and feeling like after paying almost 800.00 was being somewhat fobbed off!!

But again, I really appreciate your coming back to me!!

Many thanks!!!

fenix

Just ride the bike. We all used to bend our hangers back when we had dropped the bikes.

I think there's bigger issues in the world right now. Look after yourself.

steve_sordy

@edifice666 Yep, life is too short to register a complaint over a mech hanger that is working just fine, but may have a slightly shorter life.