Recourse for sh!te "free servicing"

gypsy79 · 23-10-2014 11:09am #1

I purchased a bike from buildabike last summer.

It has been trouble since I got it. It is a Turas bike. The frame is the only thing that hasnt caused me huge grief. It has been in for a service at least once a month since. At 3 days a time, this has also been a huge disappointment. The gears have broken at least 6 times for example

The back wheel buckled and collapsed on me. They put a replacement wheel on months ago and are supposed to be rebuilding the wheel. Not a word from them yet

At this very minute
-the front wheel buckled about a month ago
- the gears wont change from small ring to the big ring when cycling. It will do it without me on the bike.

These problems are nearly all are as a resulyt of poor servicing. As the second wheel buckled on a sportive a mechanic showed me that it was largely down to the spokes not been tightened.

I am on the verge of giving up on this bike! I presume I dont have any recourse at this late stage? Anyone any advice before this bike gets ****ed under a bus

quozl · 23-10-2014 11:38am

Don't f**k the bike under a bus, at the worst case bring it to another LBS as problems like that with gears and spoke tensions should be fixable by a competent mechanic. I know it'll cost you money when you feel - and probably are right - that you shouldn't be paying any but the bike is probably still ok!

I am surprised that buildabike haven't sorted it for you, I haven't heard bad things about them but I've no personal experience with them.

You'll get recommendations on here. I've been happy with thinkbike in Rathmines.

Also if you're at all mechanically minded then there's tonnes of videos on youtube of the park tools website showing you how to do things like set up your gear shifting. Truing a wheel is at the harder end of bike stuff but setting up your front gear shifting isn't too bad. You might even enjoy it and it's nice not to be dependant on other people - especially if they haven't exactly been reliable!

Wishbone Ash · 23-10-2014 12:05pm

Have you spoken to Darren or Terry (the front of house lads) or have you been dealing directly with the service department? In my experience that department lets the business down.

ba · 23-10-2014 12:05pm

That is really bad luck. What brand are the wheels??
Yer man above is right, look up YouTube and learn to service gears yourself. Put the money you save from servicing into decent wheels.

Bloggsie · 23-10-2014 1:01pm

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Have you spoken to Darren or Terry (the front of house lads) or have you been dealing directly with the service department? In my experience that department lets the business down.

my front wheel was left loose after my last "service" with this lot. Darren & Terry are really good at the front of house side of the busines & I cant recomend them enough, but I have no faith with the service side & I wont be going back to them. one local LBS wants €25.00 plus parts for a service, is this the ball park others are paying?

gypsy79 · 23-10-2014 1:31pm

I have spoke to Darren and Terry so many times that I am sick of their sales talk. Just because they are good sales people it does not make them good for us. I have had so many promises that have not come close to fruition

They just care about the next sale which is the wheels, gears etc that break as a result of their poor servicing.

And I agree, servicing it myself is the way forward!

Lumen · 23-10-2014 1:49pm

Bloggsie wrote: »

one local LBS wants €25.00 plus parts for a service, is this the ball park others are paying?

Very much depends on what's involved.

lgk · 23-10-2014 2:02pm

Surely there's more to two buckled wheels in a year than poor bike setup??

gypsy79 · 23-10-2014 2:49pm

lgk wrote: »

Surely there's more to two buckled wheels in a year than poor bike setup??

The spokes were never tightened during any of their services from what I can gather. The second time it happened I caught as

The gears have never worked properly
First I had problems going from big to small ring and for about 4 months I couldnt go the lowest gear on a ring but didnt bring it in to them as I was actually happy that they worked apart from that (that is how little I trust them)

I am only learning about how bikes work so was (like alot of their new customers) on B2W a fool for their sales sh!te and amazing promises of servicing

Bloggsie · 23-10-2014 4:30pm

Sorry, I meant to add to my 1st post that I dont trust the servicing with them, for me cost of isnt a big issue, I have to have trust in the person that is doing it.

gypsy79 · 23-10-2014 4:45pm

ba wrote: »

That is really bad luck. What brand are the wheels??
Yer man above is right, look up YouTube and learn to service gears yourself. Put the money you save from servicing into decent wheels.

They are Mavics.....as I said before I didnt have a clue what I wa sdoing initially and put all my faith in these clowns

lennymc · 23-10-2014 7:45pm

I've bought several bikes from the guys in there, and recommended the shop to friends. I have always been happy, as have my friends with the level of service from both the front and the back of the shop, and would have no hesitation on riding a bike that they have worked on.

martinescu · 23-10-2014 9:33pm

Generally speaking, i suggest to anyone who collect bike from workshop, take a bike for short spin before or right after paying for service. Im foreigner and i really like that people here generally trust each other and are kind and polite, but in this case it can save some money and time. Bike mechanics works with stands, there is no proper tension or weight on bike to make sure it is really ok. In theory, bike should be checked outside after work, but sometimes is for example rainy or some mechanics thinks they dont need this. It can helps with cases like this.

Squeak99 · 24-10-2014 9:16pm

gypsy79 wrote: »

I purchased a bike from buildabike last summer.

It has been trouble since I got it. It is a Turas bike. The frame is the only thing that hasnt caused me huge grief. It has been in for a service at least once a month since. At 3 days a time, this has also been a huge disappointment. The gears have broken at least 6 times for example

The back wheel buckled and collapsed on me. They put a replacement wheel on months ago and are supposed to be rebuilding the wheel. Not a word from them yet

At this very minute
-the front wheel buckled about a month ago
- the gears wont change from small ring to the big ring when cycling. It will do it without me on the bike.

These problems are nearly all are as a resulyt of poor servicing. As the second wheel buckled on a sportive a mechanic showed me that it was largely down to the spokes not been tightened.

I am on the verge of giving up on this bike! I presume I dont have any recourse at this late stage? Anyone any advice before this bike gets ****ed under a bus

Have you ever thought that it is you, the user at fault?

- The wheels buckled/collapsing
- Bike changing gear on the stand but not on the road
- The gears have broken 6 times?

Before you ask, I have been a bike mechanic since the age of 14 years of age and have been in the industry in Ireland since then. Also a mechanic for Pro teams over the last few years.

The shop sounds like they are doing a lot for you but it seems that you have made yourself believe that they are poor mechanics and that the bike is a terrible bike and that it deserves to go under a bus. Just my 2c.

Bad news and negative opinion will spread a hell of a lot quicker than good news so I thought I ask the questions to reconsider your position..

gypsy79 · 28-10-2014 10:29am

Squeak99 wrote: »

Have you ever thought that it is you, the user at fault?

- The wheels buckled/collapsing
- Bike changing gear on the stand but not on the road
- The gears have broken 6 times?

Before you ask, I have been a bike mechanic since the age of 14 years of age and have been in the industry in Ireland since then. Also a mechanic for Pro teams over the last few years.

The shop sounds like they are doing a lot for you but it seems that you have made yourself believe that they are poor mechanics and that the bike is a terrible bike and that it deserves to go under a bus. Just my 2c.

Bad news and negative opinion will spread a hell of a lot quicker than good news so I thought I ask the questions to reconsider your position..

Thanks for following up your eamil on the forum. I will point out that the bike was given to me with the gears not working!

The gears not going the lowest gear was not resolved in two services and was not resolved until the first wheel buckle.

And yes, I purposely loosened the spokes before I set off on a 180km cycle just so the wheel would buckle after your service just so I could come on here to complain.

I was looking for advice as to what recourse I have. In retrospect I shouldnt have put details up to make me identiifiable!

smacl · 28-10-2014 4:06pm

Squeak99 wrote: »

Have you ever thought that it is you, the user at fault?

- The wheels buckled/collapsing
- Bike changing gear on the stand but not on the road
- The gears have broken 6 times?

Ok, not a mechanic but have to ask, short of taking a road bike down ticknock, what exactly is someone going to do to make the wheels buckle and collapse. I guess you could try mounting a high kerb, but it really shouldn't be that easy. I've had a pair of Fulcrum 7s on my bike for the last couple of years and they've survived a fair amount of abuse including the odd light off road jaunt, and they're a pretty low end wheel. Same with gears, a broken chain maybe, but breaking the gears (levers? derailleurs?) six times seems bizarre.

gypsy79 · 28-10-2014 4:30pm

I am happy to find out about how I was discussed about other than the nice faces I received at the front of the shop.

Lesson learned.

easygoing39 · 28-10-2014 9:44pm

Id like to know what parts of the gears broke 6 times too,as even low end stuff will only break in a crash or the bike is dropped.

BofaDeezNuhtz · 28-10-2014 10:50pm

Squeak99 wrote: »

Have you ever thought that it is you, the user at fault?

- The wheels buckled/collapsing
- Bike changing gear on the stand but not on the road
- The gears have broken 6 times?

Before you ask, I have been a bike mechanic since the age of 14 years of age and have been in the industry in Ireland since then. Also a mechanic for Pro teams over the last few years.

The shop sounds like they are doing a lot for you but it seems that you have made yourself believe that they are poor mechanics and that the bike is a terrible bike and that it deserves to go under a bus. Just my 2c.

Bad news and negative opinion will spread a hell of a lot quicker than good news so I thought I ask the questions to reconsider your position..

PR campaign kicked in Yo!

Recourse for sh!te "free servicing"

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