Pedal fell of relatively new bike, who's fault? Mine, bike shop or manufacturer?

lindhouse

Hi,
Just need a bit of advice as his is my first proper bike purchase. The bike is a new Specialized Crosstrail disc XL. It was bought 6 months ago and has been used for maybe 50km on a good week and considerably less on a bad week all road cycling.
Last week the pedal feel off on the right hand side and when further inspected I discovered the threads were worn out inside the cam arm. I called the bike shop and was told that the repair would cost €60-80 for parts plus labour. The repair guy said it won't be covered by the shop as I hadn't had maintenance with them, but he would contact specialized to see if they would cover anything.
Not having a great deal of cycling experience, would this be a fault that could be expected at this point in a bicycles life? Should I expect Specialized to cover the cost? Any help would be appreciated.

Tonyandthewhale

Who installed the pedal? You or the bike shop?

drunkmonkey

Who fitted the pedal? It sounds like they put it on the wrong threads, i'd be laying the blame at their feet.

lindhouse

Bike shop installed the pedal. I have done no work on them. Only basic maintence on the rest of the bicycle.

Now the repair guy claimed that it is not their fault as they offer a free bike service post purchase which I had not availed of yet(I know I probably should have but didn't have a chance to). Do I have a leg to stand on?

lindhouse

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Who fitted the pedal? It sounds like they put it on the wrong threads, i'd be laying the blame at their feet.

How can I tell if they put it on the wrong threads?

Tonyandthewhale

The pedal threads shouldn't be stripped after 6 months if they were installed correctly, nor should they be stripped after 6 years. There's something wrong there, either dodgy pedal or incorrect installation.

You should not be obliged to take them up on their offer of a free service and even if you had at best they would have spotted the problem then and replaced or re-installed the pedal before it fell off, the problem would still exist.

I'd be pretty angry at the bike shop if I were you OP.

lindhouse

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

The pedal threads shouldn't be stripped after 6 months if they were installed correctly, nor should they be stripped after 6 years. There's something wrong there, either dodgy pedal or incorrect installation.

You should not be obliged to take them up on their offer of a free service and even if you had at best they would have spotted the problem then and replaced or re-installed the pedal before it fell off, the problem would still exist.

I'd be pretty angry at the bike shop if I were you OP.

Any advice on how I could tackle this, as I've already gotten a firm no on the subject from the shop. They are a large well known shop in the Dublin city centre, so while I don't think the repair man is personally trying to make a buck, its more of a shop policy issue.

Again I am a novice to bike repair and owning decent bikes so I will be at a disadvantage when debating with the staff.

ck101

Small claims court with this.

They sold the bike, pedals and installed them? If this is indeed the case and you have not damaged them you are 100% right in requesting that they resolve this at no cost.

lindhouse

Here are a few pictures, perhaps they could confirm that it was the shops fault? http://imgur.com/a/w8uhr

AltAccount

I'd think the shop should definitely be looking after you for this. I've a pair of cranks that are probably 18-20 years old and have seen several different sets of pedals over their life, but the're not worn on the threads in any way. It's not a wear and tear area.

Certainly it couldn't happen in a properly manufactured, fitted and maintained crank/pedal in 6 months.

The only caveat I'd have is that, if the pedal was gradually twisting itself loose because it wasn't tightened enough, and you didn't spot or remedy it, you'd have to shoulder some or all of the blame in that instance.
If it loosened halfway, and you continued to cycle it with the pedal only being supported by half the expected number of threads, I could imagine you'd have a similar situation with the threads being damaged in the crank.

Did you notice any looseness or clicking noises when pedalling in the last while?

Mcofferon

+1 with ck101

Bikes are shipped without pedals attached so the final build of the bike would be completed by your local bike shop. It is 'possible' that its a manufacturing defect bu this is a matter between the lbs and the manufacturer.

I'd suggest you get back onto them, be polite but firm. Its best done by email if possible, then you'll have a paper trail to show the court if it went that far. The sale of goods act requires that the bike be "fit for service" and this wouldn't include your pedal falling off! Mention that you've been in touch with citizens advice and you feel sure they wouldn't want you to take this case to the small claims court. Especially as the loss of the pedal was a serious health and safety issue!

Details of small claims procedure here:- http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

The complimentary 'first service' is as far as i know totally discretionary. Neither your consumer rights nor the manufacturers guarantee should be dependent upon you taking up this option. if it was you should have been informed of this at the time of purchase. I'm appalled that any lbs should try this sort of thing.

I have no legal training and th above is just common sense advice

lindhouse

TBH I didn't notice the pedals loosening. I did inspect and service the bike myself, and didn't notice anything out of place. I think I will pay them a visit tomorrow with the bike and see what comes out of it. Thanks to all who gave advice

Beasty

Based on what you are saying the bike was not put together properly (presumably by the bike shop) - the shop is who your consumer rights rest with. They should fix it. If not immediately, I would hope the threat of the small claims court should suffice. However before going that far I would suggest you speak to the shop manager (if you've not already done so) and explain the issue. I am sure, if they value their reputation, they will sort it out without you having to threaten court action.

Surinam

Out of interest what brand is the crank arm? I know someone whose pedal ripped out of the crank arm mid cycle one day after buying the bike, it took all the threads with it too. The shop blamed the manufacturer and presumably the manufacturer would blame faulty installation. In any case the bike shop immediately replaced the whole crank set.

Beasty

If the shop blames the manufacturer then they (ie the shop) wouldn't have a leg to stand on so far as the consumer is concerned. They would have to replace the faulty part or offer a full refund, then they would need to take it up with the manufacturer

Frere Jacques

A problem like this has nothing to do with the manufacturer so don't let them distract you. Chances are the mixed up the pedals and the left hand thread damaged the thread on the crank. You are looking at a mild steel pedal screwing into an aluminium crack. As soon as the crank arm was damaged anyone with half a brain would have pulled out a taper tap and cleaned the threads before fitting the other pedal. It looks like this didn't happen. Instead they got the pedal with the right hand thread and forced it in and unfortunately the thread start on the pedal didn't line up with the one on the arm so the mild steel pedal spigot essential started cutting its own thread (crossthreading).
This is why you are left with the thread in your pic, full of a sliver of aluminium. That was originally the high part of the thread ridge cut across on two consecutive pitches and then sheared into pedal pitch trough.
At about this stage the idiot with the spanner knows he's completely screwed up but the spanner won't tighten it anymore as the thread is seized. He also can't loosen it so he says" Sure that's going nowhere".
His boss sells it to you unknowing and then you cycle it with only half the thread holding in the pedal but also you are now putting a much higher force on that section of metal as the boss of the pedal isn't flush with the crank to help share the force. And if you want to be technical about it the pedal is now further was from the cantilevered point so the bending moments have shot up. In the end it just pulls out shearing the rest of the threads.
Quite easy to miss visually before it happens even when oiling your chain.
Anyway, I wouldn't give them an inch. I had a friend in this situation during the cycle to work scheme when they were flinging out bikes and I said I'd write a report for the small claims court if they didn't rectify it but fair dues to the shop in question, they sorted it out without quibble.
They know damn well it was their fault, don't take no for an answer.

victorcarrera

AltAccount wrote: »

... if the pedal was gradually twisting itself loose because it wasn't tightened enough, and you didn't spot or remedy it, you'd have to shoulder some or all of the blame in that instance.
If it loosened halfway, and you continued to cycle it with the pedal only being supported by half the expected number of threads, I could imagine you'd have a similar situation with the threads being damaged in the crank...

+1
I think this is the problem and just another example of insufficient torque being applied as frequently happens with BB's and crank arms also. The reason is that most people don't have torque wrenches and most mechanics don't bother to use them or even have the correct fittings for them. It is also nearly impossible to apply that force (34 Nm) to to a pedal spindle while on a work stand. Those who don't use a torque wrench underestimate the force required because they are afraid they will damage something. I also think the first service for a new bike is very important because this is one of the things that should be on the check list.

lindhouse

Surinam wrote: »

Out of interest what brand is the crank arm? I know someone whose pedal ripped out of the crank arm mid cycle one day after buying the bike, it took all the threads with it too. The shop blamed the manufacturer and presumably the manufacturer would blame faulty installation. In any case the bike shop immediately replaced the whole crank set.

The crank arm is a Shimano Octalink.

I will go to the shop tomorrow and report on feedback. Thanks for all the help.

Also am I allowed to name the shop?

AltAccount

You bought a Specialized from a Dublin city centre bike shop, I don't think there's any need to name any shop specifically... :P:D

lindhouse

AltAccount wrote: »

You bought a Specialized from a Dublin city centre bike shop, I don't think there's any need to name any shop specifically... :P:D

Ha didn't realise there was only one .

Ant

I'd agree with the other posters that this is the fault of the shop. However, I noticed that you refer to the crank arm as a "cam arm" in your imgur gallery. Proceedings might be less complicated if you to use the correct terminology when emailing the shop in question and/or bringing this case to the Small Claims Court. Best of luck with getting this resolved.

Karma

easy way to see if cross threaded is to take off the other pedal... then its the shops responsibility
if its not, it may be you not going for the free followup/shakedown service and servicing it yourself may have let the problem fester.
good luck with it.