Pantour Hub Dissatissfies
When I bought my first Recumbent in the USA in September I decided to have it fitted with a Pantour hub on the front wheel. Even though an industry pundit warned me that they were "not perfected".
Three weeks and 200 Kms of sealed road later the hub collapsed in normal conditions dropping the internal mechanism onto the inside of the hub casing.
I contacted Pantour and sent these photographs with a description of the failure. Pantour replied saying I must have bought the "old model" hub and would have to return it for an upgrade that would cost $USD50.00 plus the freight, ($AUD60.00)
This I did, I also had to go and buy another wheel (AUD80.00) or stop riding my bike for three weeks. When the wheel came back I discovered I had also been billed for a wheel alignment that I did not request or authorise. In fact I had the wheel aligned at a bike shop a few days before the failure and the procedure was apparently unecessary
I indicated to Pantour that this was a dissapointing and expensive experience. I asked Pantour if they could suggest a compromise in the fees, given the circumstances of good faith and no foreknowledge of being supplied the "old model" hub.
Pantour stated that the hub, "was not in a condition were it could not be used."
The dealer also contacted Pantour on my behalf believing that the situation was less than satisfactory, unsuccessfully.
I have waited two months for a reply from Pantour but they have remained silent.
Looking at the photos it is hard to imagine how Pantour could realistically say this hub was in a condition where it could be used. Especially since the wheelrim had shifted up past the brake shoes.
Worse, my hub was returned not fixed properly. It is now permanently misaligned with a gap between the hub sides and the rim casing which allows dirt and moisture into the mechanism.
I am not interested in PPL reply posting that their Pantour Hub is fine because mine is patently not fine and never has been.
I can only say that if you are going to buy a Pantour hub make sure that it is not the "old model" as they were obviously not recalled, even though Pantour themselves admitted they were faulty.