SBcycling

Having been trying to get back into cycling, and having bought a £230 (330USD) bike - which is basic - but more than adept for my needs.

Firstly, this was as my Norco was stuck overseas and I'd never get it back. So I sold it to a friend, got the money through the magic of PayPal and was able to get this Raleigh bike from the UK box store H****ds (censored on many bike and car forums for their terrible staff / service), now I know why.

They build the bikes for you when you buy them, I thought, well it cant be so hard, building a bike. Sure you need to be a bit experienced at it, but if you work in there you're bound to know how to do it more than adequately. I think I was wrong, at least with the particular individual that sold me mine and built it..

Various part of the bike came loose, and I've had to use a basic multitool to tighten them up. Over time I've noticed the gear shifting it terrible - sure it's a cheap Shimano derailleur set but they should still change without having to specially pull and push the levers to prevent the chain coming off.... As for adjusting them myself, I'll need to look this up and try to make sense of the instructions ( is this even achievable for a novice? )

The crank was making a terrible squeak noise continuously and it felt like crap to ride the other day. It was a 9 mile journey too and I was struggling more than usual even for a beginner, I can only imagine this is to do with the bike being poorly tensioned up?!

Surely if the bike isn't put together exactly how it should be then it'll have an effect on efficiency? Do I take it back to that store and demand it be rebuilt in front of my eyes, learn to fix it myself or pay a more competent bike shop in my area to re-build it?

fietsbob

they assemble it there , open a Box put the front wheel pedals and handlebars.

Probably not much different than a Big box chainstore in USA..

the competence of the person doing the work is the big unknown..

IDK if they even have a trained Bike Mechanic..

Consider going to a Real Bike shop? Pay em a few Quid to do a safety and function check..

If the H'ford shop is consistently incompetent.. you won't be the first.

SkyDog75

If you just bought the bike, the shop should make it right. I'm inclined to do my own wrenching, but some things require special tools you may not have and shouldn't be forced to purchase to work on a brand new bike.

On the other hand... There are plenty of great tutorials online, so you can probably do most of the necessary work yourself if you've got a little bit of mechanical aptitude. Starting with shifting, since you mentioned it:
Rear Derailleur Adjustment | Park Tool
Front Derailleur Adjustment | Park Tool

SBcycling

Decided I'm going to take it into the store tomorrow. Did I mention this was clearly a shop floor demo model? My action plan to get some results is as follows;-

Refund or exchange on bike


Reasons;-
Display model, I didn’t mind at start but
Stickers half peeled
Cables all spliced without being touched (gears)
Poor (possible stretched from being a display model bike) cables for brakes and gears
No bell (think thats a legal requirement)
No manual or documentation from Raleigh




When attempted to fit mudguards the frame screw holes were too wide / too thin for the standard sized bolts.
Not good enough quality,
I feel the damage is not something that can be fixed without a new boxed model.








Write to manager.
Write to head office.
Write to trading standards.

dim

I ride a Halfords Carrera roadbike. I bought mine 2nd hand and in mint condition for dirt cheap

you pay for what you get. With mine however, I pass people on Pinarello and De Rosa

it's all in your legs

and BTW, the frame is pretty good .... not much difference between the more expensive Boardman (which has a different label than the Carrera) ... they are made in the same factory as far as I'm aware

SBcycling

I was suspecting that the 'exclusive to Halfords Raleigh Edale' I cycle isn't even a Raleigh, just licensed name on a general frame :-/ Hey, I'm one of the people who did know better than to give Halfords a single penny, that's probably why I'm paying the price now so badly - for doing it and knowing. The 0% finance did help right enough.

My opinion of them will be formed tomorrow I guess, when I take the bike in store and see how I'm treated. Think I have a valid reason in my last post there about why I'm returning it and hope they see it too

Miele Man

Department store demo bikes can have a host of problems. I've seen many people playing w8ith the shifters by running the shifter through as many clicks as they can but without actually shifting a gear because nothing else is moving. in my opinion that is very hard on the shifting mechanism and can through a properly adjusted bike out of adjustment or even damage a shifter.

On top of that, many department store assembles assemble a bike but have no idea as to how to actually set it up so it performs well. Check your brake pads too for allignment and tightness of the pads. i see many department store bikes with the brake shoes rubbing on the tire near the bead (a great way to get a blowout) or running almost under the rim.

I'd start at the front of the bike and go over every bolt and nut to be sure everything is as it should be. i'd salso tke the chain off the crank chainrings and make sure the crank isn't too tight or too loose then do the same with rear wheel. many times bearing on crank bottom brackets and wheels of department store bikes are too tight.

Cheers

hounslow

Mate, cheap Raleighs are among the worst bikes you can buy from any 'bike shop'. Halfords is an obvious target as there is over 400 stores but it has many, many staff members who are better than any LBS.
For the Yanks, Halfords isn't a department store, it's historically a bike shop that moved over to be roughly 50/50 car/bike.

dr_lha

Also many Halfords have the lowest paid most junior staff member putting the bike together. They're no Walmart/ASDA I'll admit.

SBcycling

Halfords have no credibility whatsoever. Maybe 1 in 5 are very good, passionate and experienced bike mechanics.. but even to work with colleagues who are under experienced (risking peoples lives when they cycle on the road) they should be ashamed of themselves, or whistle blow the problems to regional management.

Today I took my Raleigh into them, they said they'd replace the gears and pedals and components that went wrong, and re-build the bike. They did it in front of me, happy enough - going to try it later.

One extract from my conversation:
Me: "So is there anywhere local where I could go and learn some basic bike mechanics?"
Staff: "Not around here buddy as far as I'm aware"
Me: "Ah damn, so did you go farther afield then to do your training?"
Staff: "I taught myself"

Yeah mate, what you've done there is admitted you're not qualified in the slightest. The fact I've had these problems with my bike in the first place is probably down to that fact.. I won't be paying these monkeys a penny again to go near anything mechanical.

But in their defence they did do without hassle what I had experienced as a problem, whether or not it worked, well my evening cycle will uncover.

Ronsonic 

Being a USian I don't know what a H***ords is. But if it's a big box store don't count on them to adjust and dial in the bike. They simply don't have the knowledge or man-power. The manufacturers are shoving these down the assembly line far too fast for their guys to get it really adjusted well. Either you go to the Park tools site and learn how, and it isn't really hard or you take it to a shop and pay them some $50 to get it dialed.

jimc101

They (Halfords) are the UK's largest bicycle retailer (and car parts), yes they had some issues back in the early '00, but now they have pretty good rep, carry a very good range of bike/brands from entry to mid range.

Never worked there, but do buy stuff from them, as they are very competitive with pricing.

MR BIG STUFF

$300 is not enough money to be shopping for a new bike.

You either need to increase the budget or shop used, you are getting what you paid for here.

SBcycling

They have a bad reputation in my area, anyone I know who's serious about their bike tends to overlook the fact that Halfords are even an option.. LBS or mail order online is the only way they see as possible to get to quality brands and build quality.

I knowingly cheap out by going to Halfords and now I'm paying the price. Never again.

I agree with what you say for parts and tools (as they aren't anything to do with Halfords ofc), but then even online retailers make Halfords look like overpriced crap.

On a car forum I also use, they also can't recommend the quality or intelligence of Halfords staff - hence Hellfrauds / H*****ds ..

dr_lha

The US doesn't really have anything that's like Halfords, so you'll excuse the Americans not getting what it is! I'll admit I haven't gone to a Halfords in 15 years, but when I did it was bottom of the barrel place for bike stuff in the UK. Still I miss having a mid-range bike place like it living in the USA now, where your choices are either to go Wal-mart/Target and get a junk (way, waaaaayy worse than Halfords), or go to an small local shop and pay top dollar. I guess this is why many take the 3rd option and buy online.