mr,grumpy 

About three weeks ago I bought a Salsa Journeyer Apex-1 from a long standing local bike shop of excellent repute. The very first ride the left brake lever came loose almost causing a crash and putting me in danger of grave bodily harm. This also caused the front brake to be inoperable, necessitating a daily long walk back down a dirt road in the woods. I immediately returned the bike to the store where they quickly and cheerfully diagnosed and fixed he problems: the bolt was not tight enough from the factory. the bolt was tightened, the breaking system inspected and off I went down the road.

A day or two later I was inspecting the lovely orange-red paint of my new pride and joy and noticed that the cables were rubbing it off of the head tube! I found a solution in the form of clear vinyl tape. But, I was now slightly annoyed.

I sent en email to Salsa explaining my concerns and eventually got a reply:Hi Kenneth,

Thanks for contacting Salsa, we're sorry to hear your first ride on your Journeyer was not what you expected. To your points, the shop that assembled the bike should be doing a safety check on all bolts, including the shifter/brake lever clamps. While this may have been a simply oversight on their part it is worth addressing with them. Secondly, we don't install vinyl protectors on any bikes (I don't know that any manufacturers do), but there are many affordable aftermarket frame protection options out there and we leave it to the customer to determine their desired type and level of protection.

Thank you,

Jared Stengel | Customer Service & Warranty Support
support@salsacycles.com | (877) 668-6223
So, the official position of Jared Stengel, and thus Salsa Bicycle Company, is that the local bike shop exposed themselves to lability and bad publicity by negligently delivering a defective bicycle. After delivering thousand and thousands of perfect ones over decades in business. That sounded more like Salsa dodging responsibility to me. It was point number two that stumped me though. My 2023 Salsa Journeyer has not one but two vinyl protective sheets applied to the frame. One on the down tube and another on the chain stay. For something that they don't do on ANY bike, they did it twice to mine. Hum.

Needless to say, it can only be assumed that negligence and lying are just the tip of the iceberg at Salsa and, by extension, Quality Bicycle Products. I certainly will NOT be purchasing another Salsa or Surly product and would urge you all to take similar caution in ANY dealings with Salsa, Surly or other QBP brands.

If they will lie about something trivial, you KNOW that they will lie about important things.

jadmt

perhaps the dealer applied the vinyl patches. I did just buy a Canyon and it has vinyl patches on the head tube.

mr,grumpy 

The same dealer that allegedly negligently assembled the bicycle? No. They are factory.

Atlas Shrugged

Your issue appears to be with the bike shop followed by yourself for not going over the bike yourself. You have been a member of these forums for 14 years thus familiar with bicycles.

As for the protective film just put some on if that’s important to you. Frankly I really don’t care about scuff marks etc.

nomadmax 

So this is about some shift cables touching a bike frame ?

tomato coupe

Jebeez, some of you see lies and deceit everywhere you look.

bargainguy

So let me get this right.

Your brake lever came from the bike shop not secured to the bar. That's on the shop. Simple safety check would have prevented this. Salsa is right. The dealer gets compensated for (proper) new bike setup, and if the dealer screws up, it's on them. Salsa cannot prevent this from happening at the dealer level because they're not the ones doing the setup. That's what the agreement is all about.

As to the cable rubbing on paint issue, it would have been nice if the cables were equipped with the little rubber doughnuts designed specifically for preventing this. But if they don't, you decide how you want to protect your frame.

rsbob 

I always thought that bike shops received bikes to be assembled in boxes and then it was the shops responsibility to assemble. Have never seen ready to go bikes wheeled off UPS trucks (or any other) and set on the sales floor. As far as culpability, I would go with the shops’ negligence. Salsa gets a pass.

t2p

hmmm ... mr grumpy

mr,grumpy 

The bars come assembled. Just put them in the stem. If the stem was the point of failure, then yea, its on the shop. The pre-assembled components from the factory? THAT is on Salsa.

Russ Roth

OP is referring to housing so no donuts, would be cool if they made a donut version.

OP, no one has really lied to you although the shop didn't do the best assembly. When building a bike all the bolts should be tested and most of the time the brake levers need some degree of adjustment and therefore the bolt should be dealt with at that time. MTB isn't as important since no one puts weight on them, but any road lever like apex should be since people ride on them. Not certain why this would necessitate a walk, just a slow ride relying on the rear brake, obviously don't ride on the hoods.

As to the protectors, most bikes for decades have come with some sort of basic chainstay protector, no surprise there, and many mtb and gravel bikes come with an underside of the downtube cover. Not surprised that Salsa would tell you companies don't send protectors or put them on bikes and not think of these, they're just a basic thing. What you're asking for, which is a protector from cable rub isn't a common thing and companies aren't going to install them because cables rub in different locations from bike to bike. Hydraulic hoses especially can have weird bends that may cause no rubbing or excessive rubbing since they don't self straighten like a regular cable housing. But housing length and where it leaves the handlebar tape can all influence where it rubs, companies don't want to guess where to put it and they don't want to stick a giant clear sticker over the whole head tube. Just take some electrical tape, watch where the cables rub, and put some down over those exact lines and the problem is solved.

mr,grumpy 

I absolutely hold the manufacturer at fault for the assembly not being produced correctly. The bike was checked over and only failed in a real-world application.
The Cable rubbing is actually a known flaw on these bikes. I (incorrectly) assumed that Salsa would make the necessary corrections for this.

Nothing is perfect and no real harm was done,

The point is that the Salsa representative straight out lied to me.

rsbob 

Well, the last sentence above sums up Mr. Grumpy’s position, so there really is nothing more to be said or discussed.

Darth Lefty 

I’ve had two Salsas because I like their frame designs and colors, and I’d get a Surly for the same reason. But my opinion of their paint quality and finishing touches is decidedly mixed. Both of them chipped and scratched easily and the “armor” on the Stormchaser fork proved to be stuck on top of the paint with 2 sided tape

Camilo

I put 100% responsibility on the shop that assembled and delivered the bike. Blaming Salsa is dumb.

Flaw?? Cable rubbing can and does happen on every bike in the world with cables. Why do you think it (1) is a "flaw" and (2) is somehow unique to Salsa. Put it on yourself and do it when the bike is new. Normal.

No harm but you've tied some major knots in your undergarments. And no, no lies were told to you.

mr_pedro

Tightening screws properly is exactly what the LBS is paid for and is their responsibility. I also don't understand the argument of the OP that somehow the LBS "delivering thousand and thousands of perfect ones over decades in business", even if true, makes it the responsibility of the manufacturer.

As to the grand conspiracy about the protective film, that reminds me of an old Dutch saying: Antf**ker

Maelochs

People who seek medical advice online should be forced to read this thread.

PeteHski

Loose brake lever is a shop fault. They should have checked it pre-delivery. They obviously didn’t in this case.

Cable rub is also a minor shop issue. A really good shop would have anticipated this (pretty much all bikes with cables are prone to rubbing) and applied clear patches as appropriate. They obviously didn’t go into that level of detail here and IME most shops don’t.

The reality here is that your bike shop is not very thorough with their pre-delivery checks.

TiHabanero

"The pre-assembled components from the factory? THAT is on Salsa."

I take it you have read the Dealer Agreement. It is a legal and binding document outlining the relationship between the dealer and the supplier. Within that document Specialized, Giant, Trek, Ritchey, Cannondale, and Raleigh (these companies are the ones I have direct knowledge) specify the dealer is responsible for final assembly of the bike, which includes checking for safe operation. I must assume it is the same with Salsa as it seems to be an industry standard agreement.

Of course one can pursue the company legally, however ultimately it will end up in the lap of the dealer as it is, in the end, their responsibility. As for cable rub this is a defect of what sort? How do we define the category of the defect? Paint defect? Lack of forethought defect?

Mr,Grumpy, chill out and go for a ride on your new bike!

Garthr

The blame game .... aka : cause and effect, as told by Tom, Jerry, and Spike !

badger1

An amusing thread,

DorkDisk

This is why I build my own bikes.

dedhed

See #2.

​​​​​​https://off.road.cc/content/feature/...-new-bike-1634

Outrider1

Sounds like the bike is rather new. You're displeased. Take it back to the shop, demand a refund. Go to another shop and purchase another brand.

fishboat

The OP has certainly uncovered a major conspiracy and should sue...somebody...for $100,000,000...not for the money, but to protect others on this planet.

or

Perhaps such a long term member of this place should man up, take responsibility for his own safety, stop being a drama-queen, go for a friggin bike ride, and get on with life.