from this point, it might get ugly

[Trek420]

I don't know if it's b/c you're a woman (I hate to play the gender card, but man, it's used often!), but I find that retailers and sellers in general often give women less respect. And I can't tell how many ladies of color are out there on this forum, but people of color get it all the time too, man or woman.

Oh yeah, ask me about my cleats.

Mimi, you wanted braze ons, you were told you would get braze ons, it does not have braze ons....tell Learning-Disabled Cycles you're sending it back. You should be delighted with a Mondonico not dissapointed.

I PM'd you Chairman Bill's e-mail address juuuuuuuuust in case you need to escalate further up.

Trek-loves my Mondonico-420

[mimitabby]

Oh yeah, ask me about my cleats.

Mimi, you wanted braze ons, you were told you would get braze ons, it does not have braze ons....tell Learning-Disabled Cycles you're sending it back. You should be delighted with a Mondonico not dissapointed.

I PM'd you Chairman Bill's e-mail address juuuuuuuuust in case you need to escalate further up.

Trek-loves my Mondonico-420

Trek, thanks for the email address. I'm not sure that it will help. After all,
at this point, if he was going to make it right (and i don't believe he will,
after all he said: "I can sell this frame over and over and over....if you don't want it, it doesn't phase me at all."

he doesn't sound like the make it right kind of guy; he sounds more like
he'd just rather take it and resell it to someone else who isn't so difficult " I put more time into this sale than I usually do since you had special interests and requests."



yeppers, i have a paper trail a mile long.

[lizbids]

Some people are suggesting sending the bike back and asking for the following changes, but I think you should send the bike back with a certified letter/return receipt rejecting any charges he will put on your Visa bill. I wouldn't use this d**ckhead anymore. He's better off just taking it back, and if you have ANYTHING in writing via email, print it and save it for future legal battle. I think he will probably just give you what you want to make you go away. If not, all of us on the forum can take a little trip to Conn. and do donuts on his lawn.

[mimitabby]

LIzbids;
The visa payment charge was on my February bill. It's already paid for.

I have already printed it all out (oh, i LOVE gmail)

and What you are suggesting is just about what I was thinking... Registered
is a good idea.

[mimitabby]

PS no one from Connecticut has surfaced yet (to go visit him)

[Triskeliongirl]

LIzbids;
The visa payment charge was on my February bill. It's already paid for.

I have already printed it all out (oh, i LOVE gmail)

and What you are suggesting is just about what I was thinking... Registered
is a good idea.

I am absolutely sure you can protest a credit card charge after paying your bill. Credit card companies are great at this sort of thing, so if I were you I would phone the credti card company before I did anything else for their advice. Be simple with them, explain the item did not have the promosed specificiations and you want their help in returning it for a full refund. I would not let him make it right, because it can't be made right. You told me the fork does not have clearance for fenders. Even with a braze on, does the bridge have room for a tire to clear with fenders mounted? My impression is that this is a racing frame, and it is much harder to modify a racing frame to accept fenders, than to build the frame that way in the first place. I know this cuz I did buy a sport bike that I converted to a lite tourer, and that was when I realized these differences. If you look at a frame designed for wide tires and fenders, you'll see the bridge is higher, and the distance between the seat stays in longer. Likewise, the fork crown is higher and distance between the fork blades are also longer. Not all bikes can be retrofit and its seems like, as beautiful as this frame is, its just not a good candidate. You are lucky. You have in writing his promise that it would be fit with fender braze ons. Its not. You paid with your credit card, so your credit card company should be able to advocate for you to get a refund. Good luck, but PLEASE PLEASE return this bike and do not continue to deal with this DISHONEST man. I would also be careful about bringing it to this other shop. You don't want it damaged carting it around. You also can't say the fit is better than the bianchi without knowing the seat tube angle. I have told you this over and over and you never get it, but reach is dicated by BOTH the seat tube angle AND the top tube length. Before you decide to keep this bike you need to know EXACTLY how the reach will compare to your bianchi so you aren't disappointed again when it is built up. I would return it because even if they can put those fenders designed for racing bikes, they do not work as well as real fenders (see sheldon brown's discussion of this). You are paying a lot of money for this, and I think you will really regret it later if it doesn't have full fenders. Also, don't you want to use tires wider than 25c? Despit its aesthetic appeal, I really think this bike was a mistake for you, so use their screw up to get you out of this. I agree with your husband. If you go with a local builder, there is a real person responsible for your satisfaction. This screwed up cuz Smart Cycles sells bikes on the internet. THey don't care about repeat business, they don't care about their local community of cyclists, you are nothing to them. Whether its Davidson or that PT you went to, go to someone you can visit with, who can observe you on your veloce and see what you like and don't,who'll ask you want you want your bike to DO.