Jac41721

Hi

I got a bike 6 weeks ago thru the cycle to work scheme but it did not fit me. I was advised to get a M size bike with the seat tube shorten, but the cross bar is a bit high and not easy to get on/off or when I need to stop and wait at traffic light. I am a newbie so didn't know much about bike then.

Could I exchange it somewhere? Would they exchange it for me? I read the receipt it said it only allow exchange for brand new and I have ridden on it.

Jac

Iride01 

Are you saying your saddle is all the way down on the top tube? If so, then your bike might be too large for you or.... your saddle height is incorrect.

If while trying to mount the bike you are bringing your leg and foot over the top tube, then that's wrong. That is only appropriate for a step-thru frame, IMHO.

The conventional and more proper way to get on your bike is to swing your leg over the rear tire with your butt winding up either in the saddle or in front of the saddle, depending on whether you are ready to ride or just planning on remaining stopped for a while.

In any case, whether you go over the rear or over the top tube, you can tilt the bike toward you as much as needed to to help you get that leg up and over. Then just pull the bike frame up between your legs afterward.

Variations on this might have your other leg remaining firmly planted on the ground or on the pedal to do a rolling start.

I don't know, I'd think you'd need to ask them, not the mob.

velojym

Maelochs

Take it back to wherever, explain the situation, and see what you can do.

Jac41721

Thanks velojym, the video is useful

yes, saddle is all the way down on the top tube and I have to tiptoe to stand over the cross bar

Iride01 

If you are standing tip toe just to clear the top tube of the bike with your crotch, then likely it's too big a bike.

But without knowing the make, model and year of the bike as well as what your height and inseam from crotch to floor is, I'd be hard pressed to definitively say with out a doubt they put you on the wrong bike.

Ryno317

How tall are you? We need more information about you and the bike so we can give the proper advice.

mstateglfr 

Did you ride the bike before buying? It seems like that big of a fit issue would be noticed quickly.

'cycling scheme'- I think I will forever chuckle each time I read that since it means something different in England than the US.

Jac41721

I felt I should have checked carefully on website before buying in the shop. No test ride, just stand over the bike and I can just stand over the cross bar so as a newbie was told okay. I should have checked more carefully,

161cm bare foot, 163cm with trainers

Trek Dual Sport 2 Women's Size M

Iride01 

Even if you were 165 cm, the USA site for Trek shows a Small as being the appropriate size for a Dual Sport 2.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...omens/p/32890/
(hit the "Sizing & Tech" tab near top of page)

Only if your inseam is 77 cm or more should they have considered a larger size Medium frame for you IMO based on just numbers without being there in person.

Probably that is all they had in stock.

I'd go back to the seller and find out if they'll do anything about it. If not, then I'd write the entity that handles the Cycle To Work program or whatever it is. It'll be a waste of both yours and their money or tax dollars if you have a bike you can't ride comfortably.

Jac41721

Thank you all.

No test ride. After I bought it I rode outside the shop for a minute and thought it was okay

It was not until I found that out when I rode on road that if I need to stop suddenly and my feet, even tiptoeing, couldn't touch the ground and I would fell, as the road is steep and uneven

The shop won't take it back. I asked them if they could take it back for a discount and they said they couldn't resell it

I felt being lied to, the shop sales did said if would fit me.
NEVER NEVER NEVR again trust the bike shop

trailangel

They could resell that bike in a heartbeat.

Chickenwings

I'm sorry to hear of your problem Jac. I agree that you need to find a new bike shop and if I were you I wouldn't buy anything from them ever again nor would I ever endorse that shop.

Okay with that out of the way, I suggest you take your like new - cause it is bike to another shop and see if a few more dollars will get you to a properly sized bike. I know it stinks but it's your only way out, I really hope it won't be too expensive.

Finally, please don't give up get a properly fit bike and give it another try.

Jac41721

agreed

Jac41721

Unfortunately I think I can't sell it like new and bound by cycle scheme rules. The shop cut an inch or two off the seat post tube because I cannot ride on original spec. I was misled by them this is kind of a standard procedure. Sorry I am a newbie and did not know much about bike so I think by going to a national big chain, recommended by a reputable local bike shop as they cannot redeem the cert, and thought the experts will help me.

Thanks for your encouragement I will find a properly sized bike. It is too dangerous to ride on a bike too large. Several times I have to dance on one leg when I suddenly had to stop on uneven terrain and had to let the bike felt because even max lean to I can't really balance. I only realized the bike did not fit as I saw the cyclist before me waiting at a traffic light was straddling across the crossbar comfortably, with both feet on the ground, while I was leaning to the higher pavement tiptoeing, unable to slide down to the crossbar straddling position. The other issue I had is difficulty in steering and too far to reach the handlebar.

This is very a very bad experience I really enjoy cycling. I will pay out of pocket and go to the local bike shop to get a pre-owned bike.
Thank you all for your advice! It really helped me to understand the bike didn't fit me, not as the experts claimed to be

Jac41721

I am sorry and need some encouragement here.

I woke up middle of the night depressed, unable to sleep. Thinking about the money I have wasted. Thinking about the injustice I got. Thinking I was cheated. Thinking I was too naïve. I felt I am ashamed of myself.
I know I need to get over this and put the thing behind.

sorry just ranting out.

kahn

I will quote this one and leave your well-deserved rant alone.

I would sit down and write a nicely composed letter to your local or state consumer affairs org. I would also contact a local news station or paper's ombudsman name the shop and get your point across. Also the local Better Business Bureau. If you can, have someone take a picture of you on this misfitted bike. What they did is take full advantage of a bike novice. Emphasize this is not the way to attract new people to biking to work or anywhere else for that matter. I would again, also contact the organization in charge of this program.

Best of luck but don't get an ulcer.

Maelochs

@kahn raises an interesting possibility. Some local news stations have reporters who specifically cover injustice. if you went out of your way to take advantage of a government program which would lower traffic density and pollution and improve life for all citizens---and got screwed---they might report it.

Bug Shield

Did you pay with a credit card? Maybe the card issuer can help you out?

jgwilliams

I presume, since this particular cycle to work scheme has presumably been endorsed by your employer, that they may be able to bring a pressure to bear if you feel you have been poorly advised?

Phil_gretz

^ this is the right line of thinking. Try to think of who else is a stakeholder in this bike to work program.

Is there public money being spent? Then, the local government. Reach out to them.

Is there money from your employer? Then go through the program administrator or your chain of command. Express frustration.

Did you spend from your own savings, or on credit? Then the credit card company can assist if the product is not to your satisfaction. Especially true if deceptive sales practices or other-than-best-practices were employed.

Does the program have a published comment page or feedback method? Then post there, and cite specifics about the transaction. There's nothing wrong with naming the bike retailer in your explanation. Make no judgments, simply post a factual account of what transpired.

Finally, if you attempt all of these avenues and still have no satisfaction, then you are no longer bound by the agreement, and should consider privately selling the bike to recover your costs. Make certain that you document all that you attempted, and make certain that you purchase a replacement bike and continue to fulfill the intent of the program, which is to bike to work.

Good luck.

VegasTriker

Cutting the seatpost is no big deal as you can find a replacement online for around $12 if it needs to be replaced to make the bike saleable for a new owner. Unfortunately it seems as though your only option is to sell the bike, take somewhat of a loss, and buy one that fits. Just be sure to measure the diameter of the current seatpost before ordering one so you get one that fits. If you know anyone who is an avid cyclist, enlist their aid to make sure you don't make a bad choice a second time.

One thing that would turn me off right away by your current bike is the suspension fork. This is an entry level bike and it is always better to buy one with a rigid fork (no suspension) so that the manufacturer used better parts elsewhere on the bike rather than devoted to suspension forks that are mostly for show.

Retro Grouch 

What is your objective?

It sounds to me like you bought the bike to cycle to work but you are finding the bike that you bought doesn't fit you so you are finding it inconvenient to ride to work.

Do whatever it takes to meet your objective. A year from now, if you don't replace the bike, you will forgotten whatever else you spent the money on but you'll still have a bicycle that you don't want to use.

Iride01 

Have you contacted the entity that handles the Cycle to Work scheme? I'm assuming that must be a government entity or some philanthropic organization that should not think very highly of the shop stealing their money and giving you a bike that doesn't fit.

The fact they cut the seat post is an indicator that the bike wasn't a proper size for you. The bike manufacturer would have put the size seat post in it that fits all the range of people sizes they expect that frame size to fit.

While some people have cut a seatpost to get a bike to fit them, many were probably used bikes that someone had put a longer seat post in them because the bike was too small for them and the new owner needed a lower saddle height more normal to the. And probably only a few have ever had to cut a seat post in a new bike unless they also let someone sell them a oversized bike and then tried to live with it.

Was the shop that sold you the bike an authorized seller of that manufacture of bike? If so, write a letter to the bike's manufacturer. They might like to know if their representative is making them look bad. Be truthful, factual and avoid non-sensical emotion.

But remember that the shop stole money by improperly fitting you. I'd bet there are some performance guidelines in the cycle to work scheme that the shop is supposed to abide by. And certainly giving you a proper sized bike must be one of them. But on that, you'd have to find out. Maybe the cycle to work scheme is just that ...... a scheme. Which over here in the US, a scheme is usually thought of as something underhanded.

livedarklions

This is a UK program, right?

Have you spoken with the program administrators about this? We here in the US probably have no idea how this scheme works, but usually the private entities that get paid through programs like these are deathly afraid of getting into trouble with the plan's organization.