ARGH!!!!!!!! (Bike Fridays - Long)

So....DH's and my Bike Fridays arrived on Monday, and we (of course) stayed up putting them together. Mine went together quickly (except for the front fork not quite fitting on the hub without a lot of *ahem* encouragement - and yes, we were doing everything correctly) - hubby's had a few more problems. Right off the bat, we noticed lots of things missing (i.e. fenders, rack for my bike, return shipping boxes for the custom stems). Hubby's bike had significant brake issues we noticed as we were putting it together. Took him quite a while to try to fix it.

I tried to take my bike on a short ride last night. To fold the bikes, you have to put them in the small/small combination (you want a slack chain). I tried to shift out of the small ring and the pedals locked:eek: :eek: Didn't fall, but came close. The front derallier was running *into* the chain rings. We called Bike Friday. First guy tried to talk us through fixing it. Said it must have happened during shipping (no damage to the boxes). Promised that they had tested it in the shop. NO WAY. It wasn't working - even with the derailleur all the way up, it was still almost hitting on the rear (plus, his fix involved using a tool in such a way that slightly scratched the paint:eek: ). I looked more closely, and the derailleur cage isn't spaced evenly from front to back. There's almost an inch of difference from the front to the back. First guy had to go. Another guy called back. He tried to talk us through fixing it - once he finally *got* the problem, he was horrified. He said that the bike should have never left in that condition, and to *pack it up and ship it back.* He said that it would have been a build error, and that there was no way the bike was tested, as that would have been caught. I had to ask for them to pay for shipping. He also wants hubby's bike returned since the same guy built them. If the build is that bad?!?!?!?!

This is no small investment in time and aggravation (packing up 2 bikes and mailing them). And, quite frankly, I'm really losing confidence in the company and their products. Am I jumping the gun? Should I be more patient with them? These bikes were a huge investment, and I really feel like their customer service (the first guy who was clueless) and the fit and finish on the bikes *suck* (though the colors are purty). Plus, before we realized the giant problem with mine, hubby took his on a test ride. He was less than impressed with the speed (it was significantly slower than his other bike, though of similar weight and geared similarly with similar width tires). I wasn't under the impression that this would be the case. Have others had this experience?

Help! I've really been looking forward to these for a long time, and I'm really upset and thus not sure I'm thinking straight!

You know, I got my BF in the beginning of Sept, finally put it together about a week ago and had the same problem as you with the pedals locking!!! I was too busy to look hard at it and just put it in a back room. I was going to take it to the LBS this week when I have time, but I wonder if there is some crap leaving their place these days? I should call them. Anyway, can't give you any words of encouragement since this is my first dealing with the company and their products.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mtkitchn

I should call them.

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You definitely should! If they're having this kind of problem, they *really* need to know so they can address it. They can't fix it if they don't know (but I'm still not feeling any better....)

I did not have any problems with mine when it arrived. Really no problems since I had it. Not sure about the other TE Gal's experiences (Emily in NC, and Denise Goldberg...)

Carrie Anne, I am so sorry to hear this! Neither Barry nor I had any problems of this sort at all. As you know, I did have to send mine back to shorten the top tube, which was indeed annoying since I'd specified exactly how long to make it, but I guess they didn't believe that anyone of my height could possibly really want a 19" top tube! I did talk to a couple of different people at Bike Friday about that until they really "got it" about WSD, as well as wrote up my experience in a girlbike.com review. They did make it right and paid for shipping both ways without my even having to ask.

We didn't have any mechanical problems at all and have never had to call for service. I am not sure if they have hired some bad folks there or what since we got our bikes in 2004. They should definitely make everything right at their expense, but yes, it is a royal pain to have to pack them all back up and ship them back. So sorry.

As for going slower, ours were slower than our road bikes, but it was really an apples and oranges thing for us since they were also slightly heavier than our carbon roadies, and with wider tires, so we wouldn't have expected them to be quite as fast. We can still ride fast on them when they are stripped of racks, fenders, bags, etc, though. I rode mine once on a Tarwheels line and kept up in a fast B-paced paceline, so I am not sure why your husband's would be slower unless it is heavier than his current bike or if he has a more upright posture, increasing wind drag. I definitely did not buy my Crusoe for speed, though, but for comfort and touring. The "fast" Fridays are the Pocket Rocket Pro and Air Friday, which have skinnier rims and tires.

Keep us posted -- I am so sorry! :(

Emily

Carrie Anne -
I haven't experienced any problems with my Fridays. They both fit, and were a delight to ride from the beginning.

One of my bikes is set up as a road bike, and one as a touring bike. The touring bike has exactly the same gearing as my 700c wheel touring bike, and it doesn't feel any different from a speed standpoint from my 700c-wheeled bike. If anything it is more responsive because of the little wheels. When your husband says his bike feels slow in comparison with his other bike(s) - is the gearing really the same between the two bikes, or is one set up as a road bike and the other as a touring bike?

I'm really sorry to hear about the problems that you are having with your new bikes. It's upsetting to order custom bikes, to wait for delivery, and then to have them not be right. My recommendation is that you give Bike Friday a chance to make them right. You sound very upset though; have you called and talked to the person you dealt with when you ordered the bikes? In my experience this is a customer-centric company, and I would hope that they will quickly correct the problem.

--- Denise

I too had a sizing problem with my bike friday, and I had to send it back but they made it right at no added cost to me. I also did not find my friday slower than a similarly weighted and geared big wheeled bike. I would say give them a chance to make it right, but if they don't you do have the 30 day guarantee, which you have to give them credit for is rare in the custom bike world. WHen you say the gearing is the same, did you calculate for the difference in tire size, that is do you mean the gear ratios are the same, or the gears are the same, cuz you need to choose gears to make the ratios be the same when caluculating for the smaller wheel. Mine was stolen, and I do miss the cost savings when traveling.

compared to my "road" bike, the NWT is slower, but it's also heavier and is set up as a touring bike (wider bike and upright position). I think you really have to compare apples to apples

I purchased a pre-owned (Air Glide with SRAM dual drive rear hub) BF directly from BF last year. On its maiden century (and voyage), I had transported it to the event on my rear hitch rack. On the return from the event, I was rear-ended. I sent the bike to BF for repair/replacement estimate (the guy's insurance was covering the costs). Much to my surprise BF said it was repairable and provided a quote. I authorized the repair. When I received the bike back the first time, the rear wheel and hub were replaced but the frame had not been aligned and the clickbox that attached to the rear hub mechanism was still broken. It was still quite visibly twisted and the crank could not make a complete revolution. Obviously no one had tested the bike prior to shipping! I phoned BF who very nicely said ship it back and they would cover all shipping costs. When I received the bike back the second time, they had aligned the frame but still had not replaced the clickbox. I phoned yet again and they were apologetic saying they would send a couple of clickboxes right out. I never received them and finally ordered & replaced it myself.

I know others have had fantastic service but I will not purchase another bicycle from them. I haven't even unboxed it this year because I really don't trust the assessment that the bicycle was repairable in the first place. I suppose they should know the integrity of the frame but if you ship it out without the crank even being able to make a complete revolution ... who's to say you really checked the frame out for structural damage in the first place!

I can't offer any help to you, but I just wanted to say how sorry I was you both are having to go through this with your bikes. It's suppose to be a fun time and exciting time and you both are having so much frustration with it.
I hope they get everything straightened out for you and you get great bikes back after sending them in. :D

...and I really wish I could say that things are better, but they aren't. In fact they're worse.

Apparently the packing folks just didn't put the chain protectors on, so the chain rings darned near went through the suitcases on both bikes. Don't yet know if there's damage to the chainrings (I don't think the shipping company did this because they were at the upper end of the case for both, and there's no real way for them to get from A to B). Hubby's bars are now taped/aligned way off center.

My bike had a plastic bike broken off in the rim, and the paint jobs on both bikes are in bad shape. Somehow they killed the paint on the stays for the quick release seat mast. It's flaking off. And they adjusted my rear brake such that it has taken the paint off a significant area of the chain stay. GRRRRR.......

So...what to do...we will call the company Monday and see what the story is. If we have to ship the bikes back again, it will be ridiculous. We've "had them" for a month, and only really had then a few days. I don't know if we have a 30 day option to return them or not due to the time they've had them "for repairs."

I feel like crying. These bikes were a dream of ours for so long, mine was a birthday present, and the company just can't get *anything* right.

Thanks for letting me vent (and please feel free to offer perspective if I'm off base - I just think when you're dropping $3k per bike, you should expect that they will be adjusted correctly, packed correctly and have the paint in tact when they arrive).

Carrie Anne

Looks like UPS did some of their own damage too - just noticed that the suitcase (which was in a box) is cracked. UGH!

Good Grief, CA, what a bummer!
My DH bought a bike friday used and broke it trying to assemble it the first time.
At least we think he's the one that torqued the derailleur. iF you're going to design a bike that is made to be assembled and reassembled, don't you think you should make it EASY to do?
sigh..
His opinion of said bike has gone down since then (for a number of reasons). He flew to Phoenix this week with his Raleigh, not his bike friday.

I am glad that some folks are having great experiences with them though, especially Denise,who continues to entertain everyone with great photos.

mimitabby-
If I may ask, what other problems has your DH had that cause him to not want to fly with the bike? We may still have the option of returning the bikes, so I'm trying to gather as much information as possible to make that decision.

I do want to be able to travel with it, and it's by far the most expensive bike I've bought, so I'd rather know sooner than later that it won't work for me...

The noodle/barrel adjuster of the rear brake actually hits the frame when you brake still.

It is a pretty bike, though. Most of their problems (thus far) seem to have been either 1) adjustment or 2) packaging problems. So, maybe there is hope...

He found a bike mechanic he really likes and the bike mechanic said a lot of negative things about BF's in general. I think that more than anything has colored his opinion, unfortunately.
There's a gizmo that screws into another gizmo.. what is it? (I don't remember) sigh...when he was putting it back together after taking it to Louisiana, the threads were stripped, again, his fault, but still... I was stunned. This is supposed to be a bike that you can put together and take apart over and over again; isn't that the point?

he took it to the shop and they fixed it, and we had a discussion about the bike.
Now he goes into some vague reasons why he likes the raleigh better (like, Well, i'm not sure i want to ride 100 miles on the bf..) why not?

He has a big huge case for the Raleigh. It fits in it quite well. The problem is that the case itself will only fit into some kinds of cars..
with the BF, the case fits almost anywhere.