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Carbon fork - thru axle ripped out on brand new bike?

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Carbon fork - thru axle ripped out on brand new bike?

Old 05-14-20, 05:49 AM
  #51  
UsedToBeFaster
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Odd Response

I have bought plenty of BD bikes at under $1000.

Overall BD has treated me very well. If parts are not right they just send out a replacement.

Maybe as its a DB they dont have said parts?


Originally Posted by stin
OP Here.

Customer service sent a massive reply, stating that neither the bent chainring, bent rotor or cracked fork was a problem.



I'll be opening a payment dispute.....

Thanks for your input.
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Old 05-14-20, 06:08 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by msu2001la
Would you accept a brand new bike that required you to bend the chain ring with a wrench so that it could be ridden? I wouldn't. $650 may be pocket change for many on this forum, but it's still a lot of money to pay for something that has clearly been damaged during shipping.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading this thread. Even if the fork is just a sloppy paint finish, I would still be initiating a return with Bikes Direct over the chain ring and rotor issues if they are both really "bent" or "warped" as the OP described. It might take a few emails or phone calls to make this happen, but I'd be shocked if they just said "tough, it's your problem now... grab a wrench and bend it back".
If I bought an extremely discounted bike online at a cheap price point, I’d straighten the chain ring myself rather than go through the hassle of returning the bike. It would be nice if they shipped out a new chain ring, but it’s way easier to straighten a chain ring than go through a rigmarole fighting about it.

With BD you’re getting seconds, leftovers, closeouts, and cobbled together stuff of questionable lineage, and little to no service. That’s the trade off for paying dramatically less.

And it’s the reason that I think that BD works best for people who 1) know their fit, 2) can turn a wrench themselves, and 3) have enough knowledge about bikes to recognize the good and bad of how a bike is spec’d out.

Again, with BD you get what you pay for. If you want more, don’t buy from BD
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Old 05-14-20, 06:18 AM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by procrit
I still wouldn't buy from them from just the customer service and quality control standpoint. Either you stand by your products or you don't. Clearly they don't and will keep sending out the "overstocks", which I read as factory blems or problem frames that didn't make the cut for the retail bike shops.
Again you get what you pay for. I would not doubt that many of their frames are seconds with blemishes.

Personally, I think the Motebecanne branded stuff may be a better value. Those bikes are just generic Asian frames made for BD, that BD slaps an old name on, which the French company Motobecanne let their US trademark lapse on.

I totally get why you, and many others wouldn’t buy from BD for the reasons you state. Others who are looking for a cheap deal may reasonably decide to accept blemished.

The problem arises when someone buys from BD expecting a bike that is the same as the brand new fancy name brand bike in the LBS, even though they’re paying a fraction of the price.
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Old 05-14-20, 06:41 AM
  #54  
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Are LBSs on average that much better?

Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Again you get what you pay for.
What would the *typical* LBS do to a brand *new*, lower-end customer?

I keep on hearing this mantra as though the alternative (i.e. LBSs) are much better. Are they? In my area not much but maybe I live in an odd area.
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Old 05-14-20, 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by UsedToBeFaster
What would the *typical* LBS do to a brand *new*, lower-end customer?

I keep on hearing this mantra as though the alternative (i.e. LBSs) are much better. Are they? In my area not much but maybe I live in an odd area.
there are a number of differences buying from your LBS. One, you can test ride the bike. Two, you wouldn’t risk getting parts beat up in shipping, Three, most LBS’s will swap out parts for fit, or for comfort(such as seats) Four, most give free tuneups after the bike is broken in, Five, they can offer expertise in selecting what bike you need, as opposed to what bike you think you want.

A lot of this may not be important to more experienced cyclists, and those that can do their own work. Others may place a high value on these.

As for the bike, buy a name brand bike from an LBS, and you get a current bike, with up to date, we’ll speced components, and a frame engineered, tested, and backed by a reputable company.

Most BD bikes are cobbled together with a mishmash of components. Tires, rims, seats, handlebars, etc are often cheap stuff to cut corners. And the “Utegra level” bike may only have an Ultegra rear derailleur, with a 105 front, and off brand brakes and cranks.

So there’s a difference. The question is what’s important to you and how much it’s worth.
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Last edited by merlinextraligh; 05-14-20 at 07:46 AM.
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Old 05-14-20, 11:23 AM
  #56  
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Fair enough

If your lbs does all of that for you for free if your a new customer spending $600 then that's a great lbs.

I just know that the ones in my area are just way too busy to spend that amount of time on a purchase which I'm guessing nets them maybe $50 to$100 Max. They'll do all the stuff that you mentioned but always at a price. In fact I'm pretty sure that's the way they work. They sell bikes at a small margin and count on making a profit on the service.

But to the op. Bikesdirect has a 100% satisfaction guarantee so I would just take them up on that.

Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
there are a number of differences buying from your LBS. One, you can test ride the bike. Two, you wouldn’t risk getting parts beat up in shipping, Three, most LBS’s will swap out parts for fit, or for comfort(such as seats) Four, most give free tuneups after the bike is broken in, Five, they can offer expertise in selecting what bike you need, as opposed to what bike you think you want.

A lot of this may not be important to more experienced cyclists, and those that can do their own work. Others may place a high value on these.

As for the bike, buy a name brand bike from an LBS, and you get a current bike, with up to date, we’ll speced components, and a frame engineered, tested, and backed by a reputable company.

Most BD bikes are cobbled together with a mishmash of components. Tires, rims, seats, handlebars, etc are often cheap stuff to cut corners. And the “Utegra level” bike may only have an Ultegra rear derailleur, with a 105 front, and off brand brakes and cranks.

So there’s a difference. The question is what’s important to you and how much it’s worth.
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Old 05-14-20, 11:54 AM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
As for the bike, buy a name brand bike from an LBS, and you get a current bike, with up to date, we’ll speced components, and a frame engineered, tested, and backed by a reputable company.

Most BD bikes are cobbled together with a mishmash of components. Tires, rims, seats, handlebars, etc are often cheap stuff to cut corners. And the “Utegra level” bike may only have an Ultegra rear derailleur, with a 105 front, and off brand brakes and cranks.
That's more true than it used to be, but a decade ago my "Ultegra" S1 had Ultegra shifters and derailleurs, but Tektro brakes and the vomitous FSA Gossamer crank. That bike cost well over a grand back then.
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Old 05-14-20, 01:14 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by UsedToBeFaster
If your lbs does all of that for you for free if your a new customer spending $600 then that's a great lbs.

​​​​​​
I think the subject was 'you get what you pay for'.. the BD $600 bike wouldn't exist at the the LBS -- probably a "compare at $1200" (ie. LBS equivalent).
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Old 05-14-20, 02:19 PM
  #59  
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Nice way to look at how much an LBS is Worth?

Very nice point. So we all agree that BD bikes are cheaper than anything you find in an LBS. So the price differential on a BD bike and its hypothetical LBS twin is what we expect to get in way of service from an LBS

I like it but unfortunately finding that hypothetical exact twin is going to be hard and BD MSRP is all BS. That bike was never $1199 at an LBS. At most $800 so $150 of service is expected? Is that your point.

Originally Posted by Sy Reene
I think the subject was 'you get what you pay for'.. the BD $600 bike wouldn't exist at the the LBS -- probably a "compare at $1200" (ie. LBS equivalent).
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Old 05-15-20, 07:08 AM
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Originally Posted by UsedToBeFaster
If your lbs does all of that for you for free if your a new customer spending $600 then that's a great lbs.

I just know that the ones in my area are just way too busy to spend that amount of time on a purchase which I'm guessing nets them maybe $50 to$100 Max. They'll do all the stuff that you mentioned but always at a price. In fact I'm pretty sure that's the way they work. They sell bikes at a small margin and count on making a profit on the service.

But to the op. Bikesdirect has a 100% satisfaction guarantee so I would just take them up on that.


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My LBS offers free fitting & lifetime tuneups to customers who purchase bikes, regardless of the price. It costs nothing to grease up a few parts & turn the barrel adjuster of a RD.
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