Road Cycling - So how long should it take to get something from Mavic?

So I was hit by a truck going on three weeks ago, 3rd March... and had damage to my rear rim of my Mavic Ksyrium Elites. Maybe damage is not the correct term, it was untrued (is that a word) by about two-two and a hald inches. So the next day, 4th March, I took my bike into the bike store and there was not a mechanic in that day. (Let me give you some details about the store, it is the ONLY bike store for 60 miles, and the claim to be a triathlon store, so the sale running shoes and swimming stuff. The managers are the shoe people, everyone has their area, and they run the front and answer the phone and help people with bikes. Yet their knowledge is limited and their answers come from what they have read not what they have ridden.) So I was filling out the repair form to leave my bike there and the shoe guy looks over the counter at my bike and says, "yep, your frame is bent, the seat post does not line-up with your rear wheel. So I guess you will be looking for a new bike?" I responded that I want the mechanic to look over the bike and that I would be in the following day to talk to the mechanic (he is really good, and I trust him). So then I returned the next day, 5th March, durning lunch and talked to the mechanic and he said that the frame is find, the only damage that he say was the rear rim. So we agree and he was going to order a new rim and spokes for it and rebuild the wheel. According to him Mavic takes a week to get the part in, so it was to be done the following Sat, 13th March. By the tue, 16th March, I went by the shop and talked to the shoe guy, mechanic was not in, and he said that the part had not come in, that Mavic had no record of the parts being ordered. They reordered that morning and it would be in on the 23rd. So I went by on the 24th, and my bike is on the stand, two rims hanging from the handlebars, and stack of spokes sitting on the stand. The old spokes were cut just above the nipple. And the mechanic explained to me that he thought that he had the proper tool to remove the Elite niddles from the rim but he did not and that he had called Mavic and was having the tool overnighted and that he would have the wheel built by the afternoon on the 25th. So I went by on the 26th and my bike is still sitting there just like it was two days ago. The mechanic told me that the part had not come in becuase Mavic had not shipped it. And that they were shipping it on that day, Fri. 26th. And that he was not working on Mon the 29th but he would come in and build up my wheel. So I just called my local bike store and they said, shoe dude, that the tool came in but it was going to be tomorrow before they build the wheel. Mind you my LBS has NEVER called to inform me of what is going on with my bike.

Now I admit that I did not buy my bike from them, and I will not. Previously I had to wait six weeks for plates for my shoes, and two weeks for a LX square tappered bb, and now four weeks for a rim.

My question is, for those that have worked with Mavic, are they honestly this bad, or is my LBS this bad? And for those that know the cost, is 150 a bad deal for new rim, spokes and the build-up?

Sorry for the length, I just want my bike back, it is my only road bike.

I bent a Mavic Cosmos rim. I went to the bike shop on Wednesday night after work. It was there the next Wednesday. No hassles.

Were all the spokes bent? Why would they cut them all?

It sounds to me like you are getting a line of BS. Also, are these guys going to know what they are doing with your wheel? It is not rocket science, but still........

I replaced mine myself. It was pretty easy with some reading and a little advice from the forum.

So I was hit by a truck going on three weeks ago, ...
Sorry for the length, I just want my bike back, it is my only road bike.


The following is meant to be partly in jest and partly serious.

You live in Alabama. To expect that things will happen with any kind of urgency is setting yourself up for disaster. If you want your wheels fixed quickly you're looking at shipping them. That is all.

-mark

Sounds like the LBS is feeding you BS.

While you don't paint a favorable impression of the LBS, Mavic truly is a pain to deal with. They tend to be slow and not follow instructions (i.e., customer has Cosmos wheel making noise only when on the bike, we tell them this, they call and say they're spinning it at their desk and there's no noise so they're getting ready to send it back to us). I have had mis-shipments and shipments that never were.

Mavic is known to be one, if not the best company for wheels ( I have a pair of open pro's and cosmic' and never had problems). That being said their are 3 components in your situation : Mavics's design, the Parts dept. and your LBS. My guess is that you were not dealing with a great LBS. I live in a big city and although I could shop around I make the bet to always purchase all my components with the same owner-mech. Some times I pay more but on the long run, I save a lot and get great free services. They get to know me and avoid the BS answers because I can bring them clients.. Mavic has the best design team in the industry .. no contest .. their parts-service dept. ..well, that's probably their weakness .. Just a thought..

I bent a Mavic Cosmos rim. I went to the bike shop on Wednesday night after work. It was there the next Wednesday. No hassles.

Were all the spokes bent? Why would they cut them all?

It sounds to me like you are getting a line of BS. Also, are these guys going to know what they are doing with your wheel? It is not rocket science, but still........

I replaced mine myself. It was pretty easy with some reading and a little advice from the forum.

I decided to replace the spoke because of it being so untrued, some of the spokes where going to be stretched, at less that was my thought. why they cut them... b/c he, the mechanic, was to lazy to unscrew them from the rim. I would have replaced it myself, except I dont have a stand or a dish thing, so I decided to pay them the 30-40 dollars to build it up. Also it trues out that I would have had to buy a tool from mavic.

So the story continues...
So I just got back from the store and sadly, I still have no bike. My bike has been demotted to hang from a hook. There was a guy who I have never seen before in the shop who dominated the conversation that I was having between me and the mechanic whom I have been talking to. So when I called on Mon., I was apparently talking to a "shoe guy" who either knew what was going on and was buying themselves an extra day, or he was just clueless because the tool has still not come in. And this new guy was telling me that it is not there fault, mind you I have not told them that it is their fault because they still have my bike and I am not going to blame them until after I get my bike back from them. And this new guy said that he talked to Mavic today and that they had not shipped the tool and that it was going to be shipped on Thurs., overnight and the wheel will be done on Friday.
So I am getting VERY tired about this, and I am almost ready to go to the store get my bike both rims and spokes and ship it to my FBS and have them build it up.

Will the shop give you a loaner wheel? Of course it would not be your mavic, but it would get you rolling.....

That is the least they could do...

Sounds like your shop definitely has issues. To give you an idea of Mavic from the shop's perspective, here's today's dealings with them regarding a customer's Cosmos front wheel that's been giving him noise since day one. Bear in mind we've already talked to them three times, been told of two different fixes, and sent it in once to have the hub rebuilt. Oh, and they already promised the customer a new wheel this time.
First thing we find out is that the hub wasn't actually rebuilt last time-they left the old bearings in. Second guy I spoke with mentions that that's wrong, they actually gutted a USED hub.
This time around, they've let it sit 3 days while doing nothing with it. They can't replicate the noise so now they decide they want to send the wheel back to us. Seeing as they already promised the customer a new wheel I reiterated that this was unacceptable. They suggested a new hub and balked at expediting it so our customer could have it for his invitational ride this weekend. Talked to customer service instead. Guy (that's his name even) says he can get us an upgrade but we need to talk to the repair guy again. Repair guy says there's no such possibility. Leave a message for Guy-he calls back and denies ever offering such a possibility. Called back, got to the guy in charge and had to leave a voicemail. No response. These people are insane!
Not that any of you care, I just wanted to vent/illustrate that they're not the best people to do business with. This in no way makes up for the actions of the shop, which seem odd at best.

Will the shop give you a loaner wheel? Of course it would not be your mavic, but it would get you rolling.....

That is the least they could do...

You know at this point they, the bike store, has not offered to give me a loaner wheel and in my mind they should offer me a loaner wheel since they had had my bike now for 28 days

Well the story still continues...
So Friday (2nd April), I went to my LBS to pick-up my bike, because it was suppost to be done. So I get there and shoe guy is there, so I walk straight past him and go to the bike repair. I notice that my bike is on the far end of the shop and it has a rear wheel. A new tire is on it, but I was think that they felt bad for it taking so long and are giving me a new tire, the old one had maybe 100-150 miles left on it. At that point shoe guy comes up behind me and ask to help me, there was not a mechanic in. I told him who I was and that the Felt was mine, so he gets it and rolls it over to me, and I notice there is a spoke guard on it, I didnt have one before. Then as he give me the bike I notice that the spokes are not bladed (Elites have bladed spokes), then I look at the rim and notice it is not an Elite rim. It is a Ksyrium Equipe wheel, hub included. I stopped shoe guy and said this is not my wheel, and he looked at me like I was wearing two left shoes or something. He then goes and pulls my repair sheet and looks at it and says, while this does not say anything, let me call the mechanic. So I hear the one side of the conversation and it goes something like this... "What is the store on the Felt?" "He is here now." "No, he is not made, and has not checked his messages." "No, I can handle it." He then addresses me and says, well when the mechanic was relacing your wheel you found that one of your flangs on your hub was broke. He has sent it to Mavic to be warrentied, the mechanic left you a message explaining this on your phone. I then looked at him and said that I am not paying for a new hub, rim, spokes, and then the labor to build it up because that is going to cost more than buying a wheel directly form Mavic. The shoe guy says that hubs are cheap, it will only be about 20-35 dollars for a hub. I just looked at him and said that your mechanic missed the broken flang, it is not my fault, and this hub will be more then 20-35 dollars. The shoe guy then said that I can take my bike with the loaner wheel until mine is done. I asked him how long, knowing there is no way that he really knows and he said that he didnt know. So at this point I left with my bike.
So thinking that it is all over with this part of the store, I check my messages and the mechanic did call (the first phone call made by the LBS in a month), and you could tell that there was something wrong. So it turns out the mechanic dropped my hub as he was getting ready to rebuild my wheel, and it hit the floor just right to break a flang on the hub. He also said that he has ordered a new hub and that he put a loaner wheel the bike until the new hub comes in. He didnt say when it will be in, but I am guessing in two weeks.
So I have my bike, not my wheel, and I still have not paid for anything, good or bad, I dont know.

Please do not use my LBS, and I am on the look out for a closer LBS then my FBS in Memphis, TN, I am leaning towards Birmingham.

I've had a few issues with Mavic...not the product, but the shipping. In your situation though, your shop really isn't doing right by you. I am a custom wheelbuilder and anytime someone leaves a wheel with me, I make sure they have a loaner to ride on! It's just good customer service...

Good luck. I'd at least get 'em to eat the labor...

rounder-
I agree, I am going to get something out of it, either labor or a new tire (the one that is on it is last seasons, so it is pretty much shoot) I will be nice and let them choice which one they want to do

Took 5 days for me to get something from Bianchi and that included the weekend