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forum
Rear Dropout Alignment Issue on New Carbon Framed Bike
Hi all,
Hoping for a bit of friendly advice on a couple of issues I've had with an EU made carbon framed bike purchased from a nationwide retailer.
Firstly I've already had the forks replaced after one store split the carbon headtube, they've been replaced (by another more local store), they aren't 100% colour match, they also have a small paint chip and are missing a bit of clear coat on one of the legs. Metallic paint is hard to match so I accepted them just to get the bike I was sold and already love up and running.
After a couple of weeks I swapped in some 25mm tyres and noticed the rear dropout wasn't correctly aligned, with about 1-2mm space on one side of the chainstay and 4-5mm on the other. I flipped the wheel around and it wasn't the dishing so took it the bike back again. The head mechanic wasn't in but we checked the frame with the alignment tools and it was a frame issue. Higher end versions of the bike come fitted with wide Vision Metron rims so the frame should accept 25mm without issue.
Now it comes to the advice, I've been told by the manufacturer that a repair might be possible, I guess by filling down one of the the carbon dropouts. But I'm starting to feel that a crude repair like this isn't acceptable on a new bike from what is supposedly a decent brand. I wouldn't have purchased a bike knowing that it had a mismatched replacement fork and repaired frame and if I ever decided to sell it, it would be have an effect on it's value.
Do you think a dropout repair is acceptable in instance? A replacement frame or bike might be on the cards but I face up to a week of not knowing whilst things are investigated and the shop does their business with the manufacturer so I would appreciate some advice, especially from anyone in the industry dealing with sales/replacements or just as a consumer on what should be acceptable/not acceptable in this situation.
Thanks for reading.
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16 comments
Glad that you finally got it sorted!
You kind of know in your heart that it isn't going to go right when you're in a bike shop and you have to tell the sales assistant how to put on a pedal...
6 weeks after getting the bike and having nothing but problems with it in that time Cyclesurgery have apologised and offered full refund which has now cleared and I am grateful that the whole ordeal is over.
I was half expecting to be offered a replacement bike but that wasn't to be.
My claim went all the way up through their system to their UK buyer who then apparently contacted the manufacturers/suppliers of all their bikes and was told that the standard acceptable tolerance of a rear dropout on a carbon framed bike is 5mm. This seems absurdly high to me, does anyone know if it is true?
If true it does seem Cyclesurgery have at least done the right thing by taking this reject frame back.
It does rather put me off carbon however if it is true, having only this one experience of carbon I'd really appreciate it if anyone with a carbon frame could tell me if it is straight or not. Every other bike I've had has been exactly aligned!
I know brickies who work to tighter tolerances than this!
I can't believe that they'd be able to repair this. If they've misaligned the dropouts during construction, surely that's it? What do you file down?
Thanks for the all feedback so far, it is very much appreciated. As if there weren't enough complications with this purchase the manager of the local branch has now left!
Not my problem though, I am expecting words with them tomorrow and if nothing is sorted will be pressing for a refund.
Hopefully 2015 bikes are still available to order, does anyone know for sure?
Thanks again.
As others have said, do not let the bike shop mess you around with waiting for the manufacturer's reply. Your rights under the Sales of Goods Act mean that your contract is with the retailer and it is their responsibility to solve your issue. How they then get recompense from their supplier is their problem and not something you have to worry about.
If I were you I would simply state that you are rejecting the bike as it is neither 'fit for purpose' nor of 'merchantable quality' and demand either replacement or refund immediately. If the drones on the shop floor won't comply, put it in writing to their registered head office (available from Companies House).
Sale of Good Act - reject the bike as not being of merchantable quality. If you paid by card, raise a claim with the card company. Nationwide dealer has deep pockets, let them suck-up the aggro rather than feeding you BS.
Either new frame and forks and all the bits swapped over, or just a new bike seem like a reasonable expectation at this point. Especially if they've agreed it's not right.
Full frameset inc forks, built up by shop, or a whole new bike!
You bought the whole kit and caboodle, it doesn't work. It's a national chain right? Then quick email to head office if local store mess you about with "it's with the manufacturer" type stuff.
They have a lot to lose- you've been very coy about what type of bike and which store so far.
Hmmm. Now imagining how bad it could possibly get if there is a long delay.
A 2016 frame in a different colour with a completely different 2015 fork.
The frameset was the only thing about the bike I really cared about when I got it (didn't use the wheels and groupset won't last for ever) so is typical that it would be a problem...
Hoping it's resolved with a complete frameset to avoid the mismatching issue. If not refund?
I would be pushing the retailer for a new frame, they can fight it out with the manufacturer but that's not your issue. Neither is the year of manufacture your issue.
Thanks for the replies. The claim is now with the manufacturer so will now have to wait for their decision.
I'm hoping for a least a replacement frameset due to the previous problems with the forks and the paint. I think the shop will either want a repair or a new bike as that will be easiest for them - save building or rebuilding it.
I really hope that it will resolve itself well, it's not unreasonable to expect a frame and fork to match is it? Or to expect a new frame to not need repairing?
Luckily I hadn't sold off my old bike so my Caad 7 has been brought back into service. Pretty sure if I'd stayed with Alu and a new Caad it would have suffered from the creaky bb fault anyway.
Does anyone know when the new 2016 season/ranges become available? The frame is from the first year of manufacture and so I would like replacement from the same year and this is also a bit of a concern, am I running out of time?
I do hope so; that carbon frame I bought in 1999 has really lost it's charm.
Plonker.
change the Frame.... sounds like a dog of a frame to me.... A few of my customers are dropping away from Carbon and back to Aluminium frames again due to quality issues.... I see the carbon bubble about to burst....
Yeah, I imagine in a couple of years time you'll only be able to find them in second-hand shops and museums...
IMO you should be going for new frameset. It is obvious that the original is not fit for purpose !