Not fit for purpose

[ingenuitylee]

My 'Raleigh U1 Commuter' nightmare is finally over. After a list of defects, repairs and returns I finally said enough was enough and returned the bike to Halfords under the not fit for the purpose it was sold consumer rights rule. If you call a bike a commuter it should be up to the rigours of a daily commute. Fair play to the store they just accepted it back and I exchanged for another bike.

After a return to cycling this year on my old mountain bike I bought the commuter as I remember Raleigh being a good make when I was a kid and I had vouchers for Halfords so couldn't use an LBS. The problem with the bike was it just wasn't up to a 14 and half stone bloke riding to work up hill everyday. I'd had both wheels replaced because of broken or buckled spokes, a defective tyre and the final fault was the crank seeming to flex under my weight when I was standing up to ride. In the end I only did 120 miles on this bike in 9 weeks. Any one else have a problem with this bike or did I just get a bad one?

It worked out quite well as they had some Carrera's on offer and I paid a little extra for the Subway 2 ltd edition with disc brakes, etc which I picked up last night. I tried it out last night and although the gears need setting up it seems bit more robust and up to the challenge. I haven't rode in today until I look at the gears and typically it's not raining.

 

[fossyant]

Good call on the Subway.

Cheap Raleigh's are just as bad as other bikes.

 

[youngoldbloke]

although the gears need setting up - I find this amazing! How long are people going to carry on putting up with crap service from this retailer. In reality this bike is not fit for purpose either. A brand new bike should be supplied ready and fit for use - not in need of immediate adjustment. Do the brakes work or they in need of adjustment too?Take it back and insist that they set it up properly and safely, or undertake to pay the bill for some competent person to do so.

 

[Tynan]

surely it's had the 30 whatever point checklist?

 

[2Loose]

Raleigh seem to be trying to push back into the uk market - their cyclo cross bike reviews are pretty good, but everyone seems to remember the change in quality when they left the country...

 

[Muddyfox]

Raleigh seem to be trying to push back into the uk market - their cyclo cross bike reviews are pretty good, but everyone seems to remember the change in quality when they left the country...

It all went downhill after the Grifter

simon

 

[Garz]

Yep was a nice make in the bygone days, although I do have a soft spot probably cos of those childhood memories. Then again most sub £300 bikes will have inferior components, but should be able to commute you those miles daily with ease!

Hope this one works out better lee!

 

[ingenuitylee]

Had a run out last night on the subway and the rear derailleur needs adjusting, it's smooth on 1st but as you shift up past 3 or 4 the chain isn't sitting right on the sprocket and it slips. There is a Halfords in Glossop that seems to be a bit quieter than the superstore where I picked up so may take it there to have a look at rather than the 15 mile round trip to Ashton and maybe it can be ready for Monday. I agree that the service is woeful though.

 

[Garz]

Lee before you do that try watching this and see if you can adjust it yourself.

 

[ingenuitylee]

Superb, thanks for the link. Watching the video it looks like the tension on the cable I'll have a play with it later.

 

[Garz]

No problem, let us know if this helps with the problem!

 

[youngoldbloke]

Had a run out last night on the subway and the rear derailleur needs adjusting, it's smooth on 1st but as you shift up past 3 or 4 the chain isn't sitting right on the sprocket and it slips. There is a Halfords in Glossop that seems to be a bit quieter than the superstore where I picked up so may take it there to have a look at rather than the 15 mile round trip to Ashton and maybe it can be ready for Monday. I agree that the service is woeful though.

- just imagine that you were talking about a new car, rather than a bike. You would be seriously p...ed off and rightly so. Its disgraceful. Take it back, and demand that it is fixed immediately, or your money back plus compensation for all the hassle, travel etc. If enough people stood up to them, rather than accepting faulty and dangerous goods, maybe this retailer would start training their staff properly.

 

[Bigtwin]

- just imagine that you were talking about a new car, rather than a bike. You would be seriously p...ed off and rightly so. Its disgraceful. Take it back, and demand that it is fixed immediately, or your money back plus compensation for all the hassle, travel etc. If enough people stood up to them, rather than accepting faulty and dangerous goods, maybe this retailer would start training their staff properly.

Yeah, well, I was right with you up to the last line. Now you are just being silly.

 

[Garz]

Sometimes it's not the training but how this training is applied. The general mentality of say a school leaver/student is completely different to someone who is passionate or actually wants to do the job.

I know as a 16-20 yr old I loathed work and my mentality was completely different to that it is now. As I got older I took on more professionalism and thought of the consequences of bad service or workmanship can create. Hard to teach or spot this, but with so many people out of work im sure halfords could select a far superior candidate from the pool on offer in current times!

 

[youngoldbloke]

- you can't get away from the fact that Halfords have in this case replaced a faulty product, (without fuss, to their credit), with another faulty (at the point of sale) product, albeit one that could be adjusted fairly easily. This will cause the purchaser considerable additional inconvenience, and he should not be in this situation. Remember the purchaser has spent X hundreds of pounds on this bike. After all, this doesn't appear to be a rare experience for users of this retailer.