dobeen

Hello everyone,

I just bought a brand new Kona Smoke Bike a week ago.
I bought it at the local bike store and rode it home.
However, as soon as I started riding it the gear didn't shift right at all.
Kept making noises, changing gear on its own etc... I almost fell from the bike on the hill.

I called the bike shop and told them I wanted to bring the bike in so they can check.
I was expecting that to a quick adjustment.

I brought my bike in the store, they told me to wait for 10-15 min.
Then told me they can't find the problem and can't fix it that day so I had to leave the bike there.

Next day I got a phone call from them, they told me
"Crank has a dent so we have to replace the parts. We have to order it from Kona so you have to wait."

I was shocked that they sold me a bike that had broken part on it.
How could they miss something like that? Or bent on crank is common problem that mechanics can easily miss?

I did test ride on other bike and the other bike had pedals that were bent too. This makes me worried about the quality control at the bike store.

This was my first time buying a bike.
I am not sure if this is common things for the bike store to sell bike that has dent on crank.
The bike store told me during the display time it happens sometimes.
He said the bike stand doesn't take the wheel size well and that might have casued it which did not make any sense.

When I buy a brand new bike, I expect the bike to have no broken parts and have few adjustments after a month and I should be able to ride that bike with trust and joy.

I don't know anything about bike and just makes me worried that the bike store sells the bike with broken part without testing it before I left with the bike.

Do you think I should get my money back?
Or I'm being too paranoid about it I shouldn't worry about it and get that bike from the bike store.

I would greatly appreciate your opinions on this.

operator

Since you can't adequately describe the problem it's hard to tell you anything. Bike shops will miss things sometimes, it's not indicative of anything.

LarDasse74

I am a little confused:

I cannot imagine how a "dent" in a crank can cause bad shifting, let alone how a crank can get dented in the first place. Very unusual problem, so possible that the shop missed it.

And how could you tell that the other bike had bent pedals?

dobeen

Thank you for your response.

All what bike store told me was that on the crank had dent on it so they had to replace the crank.
They said display stand spot had one wheel guide that doesn't grab the tire size properly (I don't understand what this means) and that might have caused the crank to dent.

Could you help me what I need to ask to get more details?
I don't understand what they say sine I know nothing about bike so I don't know what to ask.

thank you

dobeen

Thank you for your response.

The reason I could find out about the pedal issue was because I did a test ride on that bike (it was Kona Dew Plus).

When I rode it, every time I pedaled it went down on the left and up on the right side.
I told the mechanic that the pedaling felt weird and asked if this is unique to this bike.
The mechanic tried on it and told me the pedals were bent (probably during the shipping, he said).

I end up not getting the bike for other reason.

Do you think I should ask more details about the issue the bike to investigate?
I'm helpless because the mecanics tends to go on using terms that I don't know and I don't know what to ask...

The gear wasn't shifting right at all whole time and then chain eventually fell off .
I didn't wanna touch anything because it was brand new bike (I didn't want people at the store to tell me what I did caused it etc...) so I walked to the bike store with chain being off from the crank.

z415

A brand new bike is bound to not be perfect in terms of shifting performance and that is why all shops I have been to offer free tune ups. There is cable stretching and what not and I doubt they test ride and fine tune every bike they set up. When I overhaul my bikes, fine tuning everything takes more time then reinstalling everything.

As LarDasse said, a crank dent won't cause those problems. And dented pedals cause no problems. I got hit by a car and the right pedals looked like a giant paper clip and I rode on it for a while with no problems.

I suspect that they noticed the crank dent when they were fine tuning it as you requested and are in the process of swapping it out for you under warranty and perhaps you misunderstood them or they explained it in a not-so-eloquent manner or some combination thereof.

I would not worry about it if safety and performance are all you are worried about. If it were me and I saw that ding, I would have tried to get them to knock a bit off the price if it isn't a LBS I am familiar with.

EDIT: a chain falling off is pretty bad assuming you were using the bike correctly. Were you cross-chaining? Or trying to shift past your low/high gear when you were already at the low/high gear (respectively)?

dobeen

Thank you very much for your reply.

Yes, the bike store provides free adjustment after about 5 rides and 1 free tune-up.

I noticed right away there was a problem with gear shifting so I brought bike back a day after I bought it.
When i bought it back they said they should be able to fix it 10-15 min. but they couldn't find the problem or fix it so I had to leave the bike.

Then they told me they have to replace the crank because of the dent.
Yes, it is under warranty so I didn't have to pay anything for it.
They are going to adjust bike after another 5 rides and will give me free tune-up after this if I decided to keep this bike.

I was curious if it is common to miss things like this because I have no knowledge about bike.
I was worried because both of the bike I tired had problems and the bike store has bad reviews in general.

joejack951

On a showroom floor, about the only part of a crank that could be damaged is a chainring, and these would more likely be bent than dented, though I guess you could dent one if you tried hard enough. It's possible that whomever you talked to at the shop just simplified the issue for you as you do sound very new to bikes.

With that said, making you wait while they order a new crank from Kona seems a bit off to me. I would have asked them to either install a good crank from another bike they have (and let me keep it assuming similar spec) or provide me a loaner of some sort. They sold you a new bike with a defect so it doesn't seem right to me that you have to let them hold it for any number of days waiting on a part to make it right.

dobeen

Thank you for the response!
I didn't even think about the loaner bike! That had been a nice thing to offer. If they did that I would have felt differently about the bike store probably.
The next day I brought my bike back, they called and said "sorry about the inconvenient. we don't know when we can get the parts until Monday".
this conversation was held on Saturday.

Then I didn't get call back on Monday so I called to find out what the status of the bike.
They said warranty department at Kona didn't answer the phone so they have to call tomorrow.
Then I asked if they check bikes before they sell. Because the problem was obvious when I changed the gear for first time on the road. They said yes they do but they miss things sometimes and it was unfortunate that both of the bike I tried had problems.

joejack951

For the record, I was suggesting a loaner crankset to replace your damaged one and allow you to continue riding the bike without devaluing one of their other new bikes.

dobeen

you meant loaner crank... right but it would have been nice too. I guess they just assumed the fix won't be major...

z415

Some shops are more considerate than others. I remember I needed something and wasn't sure about fit and instead of going to find measurements, they just opened the package and slapped it on to see - turns out it didn't.

Of course, you have to have some level of competence, or very deep pockets to still be in business so I would not worry.

Good luck.

dobeen

Thank you very much for your feedback.
Listening to what you had to say made me feel that I should go back to the shop again test ride it and if it feels the safe I should probably not worry about it...

The bike store told me they can give me full refund if I want.

urbanknight

I'm guessing the chainring was the actual part that was bent. If you just bought it that day, I would demand that they either take the part of another bike to make yours work within a day, or give you a refund so you can shop for another bike. I can imagine those things might be missed, but as someone who used to assemble bikes at a shop, we were supposed to check all fasteners, gears, brakes, and take a short (100 feet) test ride before putting it on the shelf. It's a liability risk not to.

Also, I'm not sure if asking the shop questions would help you to be more clear. You're just hard to understand. I am guessing English is not your original or most comfortable language?

illwafer

personally, i would ask for a refund and go to another shop. these guys are treating you like you a first time bike purchaser who doesn't know anything and taking advantage of you (i know this is a lot of speculation).

like the previous poster said, if i built a bike i would at least ride it and test it out before i felt comfortable selling it to someone else.

dobeen

Thank you both of your responses.

I was angry that they didn't prep the bike properly before they sold it to me.
I felt it was their responsibility to do a test ride and made sure all the parts are assembled correctly and all the functions are working properly.

I'm glad to hear there are professionals who can say "if i built a bike i would at least ride it and test it out before i felt comfortable selling it to someone else."
The bike store might have told me the truth but "display time, bike stand not holding the tire size properly etc" made no sense to me and made me angry.

I bought this bike few days before I actually picked it up.
So I felt that they even had time to check the bike before I came to pick it up.

Since this is my first time buying a brand new bike, I didn't know how much I could expect from the bike shop (how much prep they are supposed to do etc).

They told me they test every bike they assemble but something can happen while they are displayed.
That made me question about the quality of the bike if this "bent" occurred while it was displayed rather than they missed this "dent" on crank when they assembled it.
I wanted to hear what other bike mechanics would say about this situation so that I can make an informed decision.
I thought I might have become too upset and paranoid about what happened.

I live in Philadelphia and commute by bike everyday through bad neighborhood so it is important for me to make sure my bike will be reliable and I can trust my bike store.

thesmokingman

It's a faux pas to let a defective/damaged bike leave the shop on a new purchase. They're supposed to check the tune/condition of the bike before it leaves the store.

urbanknight

Those are just excuses. If the bike did get damaged while on display, it was by bumping it into another bike. It does happen, but as said above, a mechanic should have looked the bike over before you left the store. The shop is owning up to their mistake by offering a refund. Now you just have to decide if you're willing to give them another chance, or take your business elsewhere. Best of luck.

dobber

It had a defective, damaged part. Their fixing it. Life goes on.

CCrew

I'll agree that they should have caught it, but these things do happen. Sounds like they're trying to make it good. That's really all you can ask for.

dobeen

Thank you for your feedback.

I think my conclusion to this is this.
Kona Smoke is nice bike but shifters and crank seem to be made cheap.
Since I ride on hills everyday, having these parts lasting long is important.

So I should get refund and get another bike.
I don't mind paying extra to get bike that will last longer.

I might re-consider Kona Dew Plus.
I felt this was little too sporty but maybe I can change the seat to make it more comfortable.
Can anyone recommend comfortable replacement seat for Dew Plus?

Someone else recommended Raleigh Cadent FT1 too.
I am planning to spend up to $600.
If you have any recommendation for a good hybrid bike I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

AndrewP

I think the Kona Smoke should be fine, but I suggest you get the money back and then find a more helpful shop.

cbchess

+1
get your money back and find a better shop

dobeen

sad thing is that bike store is the only bike store carries kona around this area...

EDIT:
I got refund today.
I'll think about if I really want this Kona Smoke or not. If I do I'll go back to the shop and buy it again.
I rode on Dew, Dew Plus, Smoke and Fuji Palisade and liked Smoke the most.
It felt really sturdy and handled the shock and vibration the best.

LarDasse74

The Smoke is real nice... it is almost summertime, people make mistakes.