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

[Blueberry]

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 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 ). 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!

[mtkitchn]

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.

[Blueberry]

I should call them.

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....)

[Fredwina]

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...)

[emily_in_nc]

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

[DeniseGoldberg]

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