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06-13-23 | 12:08 PM

#2383

astage

Newbie

Joined: Mar 2018

Posts: 15

Likes: 0

From: NW Surrey

Bikes: Birdy Rohloff

My suspicion is that Birdy owners will replace parts more on usage and distance travelled by the bike, rather than bike age – especially with the current economic restraints that owners are living under.

However, from personal experience, I would urge all owners to regularly go over their bike very carefully.

Whilst cleaning and preparing my bike for the new year in February 2021, I noticed a crack along the weld edge on the front fork/’steerer tube’ (Gabelschaftrohr) after only 42-rides, totalling 797km (=495 miles) according to the bike computer. It had never been dropped, or taken off tarmacked roads, and had been pampered since new.

As the photographs show, the crack runs down the entire length of the steering boss

In my case, the suspicion is that this resulted from the outside part of the right side Fork-Pivot-Bolt having fallen out - discovered when I queried handling/steering unhappiness at the 357km (=222 miles) first service. Whether the pivot was badly fitted or not thread-locked at the factory or at pre-delivery assembly is unknown.

Riese u. Müller did replace the assembly, but I had to pay for a local bike shop to fit it. He did keep to his one-hour quote, even though it took him well over two hours to remove and fit the new part – his first time in doing so.

Side view of steerer tube

View from below - circled in red

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