Leif-fire-eater

Alright I had an experience where I blew up, seized, destroyed a surly rear hub a couple months ago. I sent it back with a letter explaining what happened and accepting fault if in fact I did cause the damage.
I Just received a new hub with the following letter. HUge Props to Surly!!! Makes me love my Steamroller even more!!


"Dude-

Got your hub and read your letter. Thanks for the info surrounding the failure and your willingness to accept reality ( "If it was operator error..."). In truth, it's our belieff that the failure technically was operator error.
Our hubs, as you may know, use adjustable cartridge bearings. This means that although better sealed than loose ball hubs, they require almost the same care as loose ball hubs. Simply put, they need to be checked for adjustment every so often. Bearings wear and develop play. Left unchecked and unadjusted, this play can allow the cone nut to tighten due to pedal forces. It only happens a little bit at a time, at least until it finally becomes too tight and seizes up. I have had a Surly hub do this too, but it can also happen on other hubs. It happens more frequently on fixies simply because you're pedaling more on a fixie. The moral of the story is to check your hub once in a while. A few times a season, more or less depending on the amount you ride.
Now, having said all that, we replaced your hub. You were open and honest and not demanding. That means a lot. And you ride enough to destroy a hub (the beearings--the actual balls--were pressed so hard into the hub shell that there are pock marks INSIDE the hub shell, half spheres indented into the aluminum!), and dammit, we dig that. So enjoy, and for the love of pete check your bearings. Cool?

Cheers,

Serendipper 

Gives "back that thing up" an entirely new meaning.

If only "willingness to accept reality" was rewarded more often. I think I'm going to put that on my resume as a skill set.

mihlbach

WOW! I just bought a pair of Surly Hubs that are waiting to be laced up. Looks like I made a wise choice.

visitordesign

i destroyed a phil and they backed it up as well, (lockring threads eventually wore out--not so much from anything like cross-threading as it was from a lot of cog changing with a lot of torque on the lockring each time) but since it was a pink one, i have to wait until the winter/fall when they anodize that color again to swap hub shells. props to phil. props to surly. companies who back up their products against the kinds of torture we subject them to really earn their reputations.

Leif-fire-eater

I'm so stoked that Surly was cool about this. I love their products and abuse my Steamroller daily. I'm really happy to see a company that really backs their products. Even if people like me need to learn how to adjust cones.

mattface 

I like that they returned it with a "Dude you rawk" letter.

Aeroplane

Word. That's a nice touch.

freebird

That kicks so much ass.

youth

well, this thread was a picker-upper. i love seeing people being good to each other. it's so posi.

Ready to Ruck

We need to make a list of companies with awesome customer service. Tony (IRO), Surly...who else? Not Campy (when it comes to their Pista hubs)
That way I know whose products I would feel comfortable riding.

queerpunk

velocity, phil wood (based on their interactions through people on this forum, not my own experience)

shants

yeah, velocity is pretty much the jam of jams for customer service.

wearyourtruth

NYCbikes... j/k

it's not a bike company... though it is still worth mentioning, i want to throw out Yakima racks. this guy i used to work with owns a Mitsubishi Evo (i.e. much faster than necissary) and he and a friend were going out to do some mountain biking in New Mexico. the bikes were properly (as far as i know) attached onto his roof rack, but while he's doing 150 (yeah...) through the middle of nowhere he gets a strong crosswind and the bikes are ripped off the rack. you might think it's a little "user error" for going 150 but Yakima replaced the rack, repaired the damage to his car (bent the roof where the rack connects) and replaced both bikes (a couple grand each) all at no cost to him or his friend. i consider that commitment to a product.

Sin-A-Matic

Wow, that is awesome.

dmg

I also had an issue with a surly hub (locknuts shattering consistently on the same side for no appearant reason)... they were cool enough to not only replace the hub but also send me a new one before I sent back the old one (so I could minimize time spent without a wheel). Thumbs up.

No_Minkah

Also I didn't know to check hubs with sealed cartridge bearings to make sure they don't get too tight; good to know.

Cost to my company spending all day on BF? A lot.
Benefit to me of learning one useful thing a week? Priceless.

Eatadonut

NM is insane for sudden crosswinds. I once saw an 18 wheeler that was doing 95 (just like everyone in NM on the long highways) come out from under a bridge and instantly turn sideways. Scary stuff.

roadfix

I've often received great customer service from merchants simply by admitting fault.