staehpj1

What was the specific failure mode?

Bekologist

regardless, all boxed bikes sold in the USA are required to be assembled by a 'qualified' bike mechanic. Consumer Product Safety Commision requires this, and is on every bike container and bike owners' manual I've ever seen.

Unless he's working as a bike mechanic or holds certification from BTI, he's NOT QUALIFIED, legally, to assemble the bike.

Since the OP assembled his bike at home, his claims of warranty issues are likely null-and-void because he violated on of the prime tenents on bike warranties in the USA- the other being 'original owner with receipt'

blow either of those two caveats, any warranty claims on bikes are pretty much readily and legally deniable by the manufacturer.

people come in with second owner bikes all the time, looking for that 'lifetime frame warranty.'

m_yates

If this is true, then I'm sure the vast majority bikesdirect.com customers have no warranty at all. Also, bikesdirect actually sells a DVD for showing people how to assemble their own bikes. They sure don't make it clear that doing so would invalidate a warranty.

The business model of bikesdirect definitely fills a niche and has potential. Given the wide customer base of the internet, they can sell high end or specialty bikes (like touring ones) that local shops typically don't carry. However, the customer service and communication is lacking. If what you said is true, then they definitely should make it more clear the specific terms of the warranty, specifically stating that warranty is void if not assembled by a professional bike mechanic.

It makes sense to have a bike mechanic go over it the first time. In my case, I was learning by doing and didn't even purchase the assembly video sold by bikesdirect. I learned, but made some dumb mistakes along the way. If I were bikesdirect, I'd be concerned about the liability if something it not assembled properly at the factory (or by the customer) that causes a crash.

Bekologist

this 'qualified assembly' CPSC requirement and how unqualified assembly voids warranty is on EVERY mass manufacture boxed bike sold in the USA.

jkmartin

You may want to see if you can get a response from Bikes Direct first. I've been trying for the past week to reach them about a part that failed with less than 200 miles on it. They seem to have gone dead.

wahoonc

One the axle broke the other was making a heavy clicking noise, the interior cup was not seated and would not seat. Probably a tolerance issue. The broken axle was at about the 90 day mark on a daily rider. The other was around the 6 week mark on a week end rider.

Aaron

staehpj1

OK thanks.

alanbikehouston

The warranty provided by BikesDirect under the twenty or thirty names it uses (CycleSpectrum, Windsor, Motobecane, etc.) is essentially worthless. They are based in Houston, Texas, and the Houston Better Business Bureau has drawers full of unresolved complaints against them.

They sell lots of bikes to students in the University of Houston and Rice University. When a brake caliper or seatpost breaks on a two month old bike, Cycle Spectrum says "No parts are available...the bike is beyond repair...we can sell you a new bike". The owners then take the defective bikes to a REAL bike shop and dig into their own pocket to pay for the repair.

Have your wheel checked by a REAL bike shop. Some wheel problems can be fixed fairly easily. If the rim is of decent quality, a good bike shop could also put in a better quality hub. Also, Nashbar has "sales" on pairs of wheels that are often very cheap...cheaper than what local bike shops would pay for the rims and hubs alone.

RCordone

Cycle Spectrum
5950 C FM 1960 West
Houston, TX 77069
281-583-5466

jkmartin

Thanks I think I'll give them a call tomorrow. The part that failed on my bike was a Rock Shox Dart 3 fork. I took it to the shop today and they estimated a $70 repair on an item that cost $190 new. The fork has a 2 year warranty from SRAM but now that I look for it, I can't find that Bikes Direct ever gave me a receipt. Caveat emptor and all that.

bikesdirect_com

This thread is a little confusing; in that some mis-info is posted about warranty.
Of course, there are the typical lies by haters and competitors that pop up in posts; everyone expects those.


First, matter that confuses me is that the OP has had an e-mail response from us. But from time to time, e-mails can be stopped by servers or spam filters. This is why we post 5 e-mail addresses. Every e-mail sent in gets answered.

Then there is confusion about warranty. Every bike we sell has a warranty. Defects are covered under the warranties as stated. In addition, eventhough labor is not covered under any bike warranty, we almost never charge labor {many LBS do charge labor on warranty claims}.

Warranty claims are rare in the high grade bike biz, actual defects are super rare. So we have no problem professionally handling the few we get. In addition, in most respects our warranty is handed better than most LBS. Difference with bikesdirect is: customer needs to send in the bike or part. Often this is as cheap or cheaper than driving to a dealer.

Once we get the item; we make the defect claim determination, fix or replace the item, and send it back. Really very simple. Anyone with a warranty claim should e-mail us at our normal address for quick professional service; if you do not hear back in 24 hours {not counting weekends}; check your spam filter and also e-mail bd4alternative@yahoo.com

I know it burns up some LBS, some workers at bike shops, and one ex-employee who was fired that our business keeps increasing at a rate that is so high we find it hard to get enough bikes {bikesdirect sales have more than doubled every year for the past five years}. But after awhile of reading the silly unfounded attacts; intelligent members see what is going on with the sour apples.

m_yates

It is nice of bikesdirect.com to reply. I'm actually not a hater or disgruntled former employee. I'm a real customer, and generally satisfied. I know that you cannot control what people post on forums (I have seen several about lack of response of bikesdirect to "problem" e-mails). However, bikesdirect.com has a poor rating with the better business bureau from not responding to customer complaints. When a customer goes through the effort of filing a complaint with the BBB, the company could at least make a good faith effort to resolve it and keep a good rating. It would put a lot of customers at ease.

In my case, I didn't even bother trying to get a warranty replacement for my faulty bottom bracket on my Windsor Tourist because I was assuming that I would get a slow or no response and didn't want the hassle for something I could fix myself for $30.

RCordone

If your business is doing that good and you are that concerned about customer satisfaction Why not just post your phone number like every other legitimate internet retailer ? I don't have a dog in this fight, but when I see complaints about customer service about the same business over and over on many cycling related forums and email lists I would probably hesitate to do business with you.

bikesdirect_com

Thank you
I am glad you are happy with your purchase

On BBB, I have posted several times why I do not even respond to BBB requests
In summary, I do not think the BBB system is a good way to evaluate a company; unlike the ebay feeback system; which actually gives the buyer a true look at seller performance

The BBB system is in no way weighted by sales volume and the BBB takes direct payments from companies. This system is not up with the times. And thus very few buyers use it.

bikesdirect_com

This is an interesting question that I have answered on this and other forums many many times

Bottom line is; most our customers are happy with e-mail AND they do not want to pay an extra 7% for their bike to cover phone conversations. Anyone who has read my posts knows lanuage is not my strong suit But I am real good with nunbers. Phones and extra staff to man them would make a $1200 bike go to $1300 or so -- ost customers prefer to use e-mail and keep the $100 in their pocket.

Can not please everyone; so e go for what most buyers prefer


Mike

Bekologist

hey bikes direct guy,

glad to see you purport you willingly deal with customer complaints in a timely manner despite posts to the contrary.

admirable too, that you honor warranties counterindicated by the Consumer Product Safety Commision's legal requirements on boxed bikes sold in the usa. highly noble of you.

what do those boxed bikes you ship out say about unqualified assembly?

I imagine you are still allowed to offer your own warranty coverage, but it sounds like - judging by recurrent complaints about your business- that you do not provide much in the way of after sales support.


would you send a carbon fiber seatpost back to a vendor for warranty to cover your bottom line after john q public crushes it during assembly? or crashed a bike that had an improperly installed stem?

do you eat the cost there, deny the warranty, or send them back to the manufacturers?

m_yates

Well, call me old fashioned, but I check the BBB on most companies I deal with. E-bay feedback is a response to a sale only. As in, "wow, I ordered it today and it was shipped 5 minutes later! Yippee!!". It does not reflect customer service or warranty issues, which is where you have an apparent problem with your company. In my case, bikesdirect shipped the next day, so I would have given positive feedback on ebay. Service after the sale is the issue.

Given the unresolved complaints with the BBB and pattern of posts on forums from customers having problem settling warranty issues. I think what I said earlier in this thread is true. A customer makes a trade off choice between price and customer service when dealing with bikesdirect and should expect to be on their own after the purchase.

bikesdirect_com

Thanks
and of course you are free to belive as you wish

but he truth is we give very good backup; better than any shop I know of

example: we are selling backup and replacement parts at cost all the time
Customer bends their frt heel; needs a new one; we sell it to them at cost
Customer wants to upgrade fork after 2 years; we get them one at cost
Cusomer wants a bargin bike with shop wear for wife; we try to find hem one
Customer chrases frame; wants to go from AL to CF; or HT to FS; we get them a deal, many times under cost

the list goes on and on

Plus anything stated in a warranty we gladly do; and almost always throw in labor and transit back [neither covered in warranty]

I really after having bike shops for 30 years; know of no LBS that does these things
There are losts of great LBS - but few will see a customer that got his Front Ritchey WCS wheel stolen a new one at below normal dealer cost; we can and do -- all the time

This is just part of the reason our business is growing way faster than we can get more bikes

mike

wahoonc

I am not a fan of BBB but if you make an attempt to address the complaints lodged it would work in your favor. As far as ebay feedback system..PULEEZE!

Aaron

Bekologist

WOW. that bikes direct fella's business plan.

for all the bikes he's selling, he cannot have a phone line, but will send you replacement bike parts AT COST or even a LOSS even if the customer has mucked things up. WOW. incredulous.

m_yates

It seems your version and others versions are quite different. I don't know who to believe, but in this thread alone are two different people claiming that they can't get in touch with bikesdirect for a warranty issue. One person who posted earlier thought bikesdirect.com had gone dead because of no reply after one week of repeated attempts. In any event, it is not my business, so I am done posting on this thread.

jkmartin

After sending 3 emails over a weeks time, I finally got a response from BD. As previously noted I've already taken the bike to the shop and now just want BD to provide me with a copy of receipt from the original bike purchase so I can possibly pursue the warranty from SRAM.

If the fork had been OK I would only have minor problems with the bike. The saddle, seatpost, and peddles are junk but I was expecting that. The seatpost collar was not quick release which surprised me. It is a fair bike but in retrospect I wish I had a brick and mortar shop to hold my hand through the rough parts.

I could send the fork back to BD but I'm tired of all these emails and who knows when I'd get the fork back and even then I'd probably have to take it to the shop to have them install it.