Old 11-09-10 | 05:28 AM
  #66  
Roland Owens
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 111
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From: Massanutten, VA
Originally Posted by TejanoTrackie
Roland, I respect your opinions, however in this case you seem to miss the point. The problem in the OP is not a defect in the frame, but a problem caused by an incorrectly sized part (seatpost) being supplied by the OEM, and compounded when the OP replaced it with another incorrectly sized part. Furthermore, this problem was reported not once, but twice (see post #25), so it is not a statistically rare event such as being hit by a meteor. As to the problem described by Gyeswho, I disagree with you that the customer should have to modify a frame in this way to make it right. I had to cold set the rear triangle of my Kilo WT frame because the dropout spacing was off by almost 5mm, making it very difficult to install the rear wheel and get proper chain tension. Although I did it right and left no marks, in hindsight I should have just returned the danged thing. Furthermore, bd's many spec errors have cost me $$ when I bought the wrong size part based on their info. They spec the stem / bar at 26.0mm, but in fact mine were 25.4mm. I almost made the same type of mistake with the seatpost (26.8mm instead of 27.2mm), but fortunately read a post of yours explaining that it was in fact 27.2mm. And yes, there were a number of other problems with the bike, such as a stripped seat binder bolt and paint flaws and / or damage, which I simply accepted as the price of buying a cheap product. So, really, I have no personal axe to grind with bd on the bikes I bought from them, but it really pisses me off when I read some long pr diatribe from Mr. Mike about how wonderful and perfect and great his bikes are and how we should all just be grateful that they are such great deals and just accept all the quality flaws as normal.
I too respect your opinions, I'm just looking at it a slightly different way. If the original frame came with the wrong seatpost and the damage resulted the OP has every right to be pissed. But I also understand Mike wanting to get the original bike back to see what is going on. The replacement frame getting damaged in shipment was just bad luck/typical crap that happens during shipping. I always cringe whenever I have to ship a bike.

But here is where I think we disagree. When the OP got the undamaged replacement frame, it should have been obvious the seatpost was the wrong size for that frame. With a 0.4 mm difference that seatpost would have been rattling around in there pretty good, and the clamp would have had to been way overtightened. I think most of us who have been working on bikes for a long time would have known something was wrong.

The bottom line in all of this is that when you buy from BD you are the bike shop and must deal with any issues. That's where the $$ savings are. When I got my WT I had a slightly bent front fork dropout...I just dealt with it myself as would any bike shop with a slightly bent steel fork dropout. As I mentioned above, I just bought a $2500 Cannondale tandem from a bike shop in Richmond, VA that has been around forever. The setup problems on that bike with the brakes were amazing (the whole brifters, v-brakes, travel agents thing) but I just fixed it myself because I knew it was right. I do hope the OP gets the bike he wants...I really love my WT and have a blast on it.

Anyway, just my take on it.
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