Wheelset anger!
 

I went to something halfway between a coop and a LBS on sunday and got a new used wheelset, other than the service I really REALLY thought I got a halfway decent deal on very used 26" wheelset... I was wrong. I'm not going to name the place, despite how ticked I am. Turns out the hubs had been spray painted black after original purchase, locking the cone rings and apparently even getting into the BB races... I only discovered this on mounting the wheel and testing the drivetrain, I noticed it was way too much force to turn and then noticed the axle was spinning with the god damn wheel! So I'm tearing down the hub and going to have to clean EVERYTHING. I am not happy and am considering where I can place reviews to save others from this kind of mess without "slandering" this slanderable shop, I don't know if I will or not but I sure did need to vent now, I could forgive the snobbish cliquey and plain rude service since I had thought I got a good deal.. but what the hell people?

No you should drop a dime on them. See where they advertise and let people know what they did. Save some other person some grief. IMHO

It was USED! Chill out. Won't hurt to clean and pack the bearings anyway. I would have spun the hubs and checked them before purchase.

Don in Austin

Um, have you explained the problem to the shop and asked for a refund?

Yeah, you should start by talking to the seller if you haven't yet.

What brand was the wheelset & how much did you pay?

If you got a good deal, teardown & clean is part of the deal. I personally wouldn't mount a used wheelset without tearing it down. Sometimes you get bit buying used. Sounds like you just got nibbled.

You bought a used wheelset without so much as giving them a spin?

Alright I tore it down replaced BB's and a couple races, cleaned out the whole damn mess and regreased it. They have been contacted and it breaks down to tough cookies sucker you bought it. Don I would normally agree with you, but they attempted to jack up the price after giving me a quote and gave me a hard time about giving up such a good wheelset... no refunds offered, no apologies and same attitude as when buying the wheels. I can only blame myself for believing the "experts" that the wheels were great and I should have spun them myself.. as I said in OP I mostly just needed to vent.

The real point is whoever painted over the hub and bearings was trying to defraud you or whoever they work for. If no one says anything they will do it again. Next time it might be a kid or someone who can't afford to or knows how to fix the problem. If what you said is indeed the case when you brought it to their attention they simply don't care and others need to know. It is a bit like going to a resturant and seeing someone drop a hamburger on the floor and then serve it to a customer. If no one says anything they will do it again to someone else. Ever a wrecking yard has a better return policy on wheels than what you describe.

Heh at a wrecking yard I wouldn't complain! I know what I'm getting into there. I'm just gonna knock it up to how low budget the place is and how cliqueish the "volunteers" are. Not a huge deal, but a half hour spent on the wheel is more then my total time fixing up this bike was besides that. Just means they lost me as a customer, that's all.

I think the fraud accusation is a stretch.

The OP bought a "very used 26" wheelset" from "something halfway between a co-op and an LBS". He's disappointed in the purchase. That's understandable but he should have been able to tell that the hubs had been painted and the cones were tight before he made the purchase. He knew, or he should have known, that he wasn't buying an "as new" wheelset but then he didn't pay "as new" price either. He should have realized that a less than mainstream business may have a less than mainstream return policy.

Knocking the place for being "low budget and having cliqueish volunteers" is certainly his right. Losing him as a customer - they deserve that.

1) Maybe they didn't know either
2) Simply tell them and give them the chance to make it right for you

No need to go off mad when the problem may be with how you reacted to it.
Or you may be mad at yourself for "trying to save a buck" and got caught in YOUR OWN TRAP.

Those of us in the retail business call this reaction the "Walmart syndrome". Where if something goes wrong it's ALWAYS someone else's fault. Time to grow up.
You had the chance to inspect them yourself and YOU chose to buy them.

The disappointment should be directed at the person in the mirror. You had the opportunity to inspect the wheels and didn't.

Meh thanks to those guys who showed the support while I needed to vent.. not so much thanks to you guys who just seized on certain points and are looking to blame me rather then understand I had to vent so I could get back to my project (which I finished last night!) I take full responsibility for buying the wheelset, I chose to listen to an "Expert" and that's my fault, and I will treat this as a lesson, new or used or whatever, I will treat just like my junk yard finds, and assume the worst until proven otherwise. The best therapy I found though, was when the bike was done I took it for a ride down my trail and all was forgotten.