Good morning,
.........
@IanSmithCSE you are having a streak of bad luck.......
I sure am, I bought a Clarks chain for the Raleigh in January and it broke in January, I used a quick link to get home and planned to replace it, but the Ribble arrived and I forgot.
Back on the Raleigh and on Friday (8 days ago) the chain broke again, both times on a normal link not a quick link, so I was off at a very slow speed, it was then that I remembered that I needed to replace the chain.
I don't blame Ribble for the choice of components, I knew what I was buying and despite many votes for 5,000 miles being okay, I am still bugged by their indifference. Don't forget that they are still selling X35 equipped bikes today.
A couple of years ago I bought a pair of Tiagra/Mavic inhouse built wheels from SJS Cycles and the Shimano freehub failed after only a couple of thousand miles. I spoke to SJS, said I was happy to replace the freehub myself and they said, please try soaking it oil to see if that helps if not we will send you a new freehub. Oil didn't help, they sent me a new freehub, they didn't lose much and I still put a small steady stream of business their way and am very positive about them.
I won't be going down the small claims route as the amount is in my mind too small, but if I were I wouldn't argue that the product was defective, as it probably wasn't. Instead the argument would be unfit for purpose, by stating that the product is a consumable and has been consumed Ribble have established that 5,000 miles is in their minds a reasonable lifespan. I suspect that they would have a very hard time with the consumable argument given the cost of the tool required to replace it.
As to the freehub is a consumable disclaimer,
Consumable items such as gear cables, freehub bodies, inner tubes, brake pads, wheel truing and bearings are non-warrantable items and not covered by this policy.
this is not ebike specific, but wouldn't be much of an issue on a non ebike given the low cost and ease of replacing the part, unless it was Dura-Ace.
.... It's a moot point but if it were mine, I'd make my own spanners (at least have a try) but then I had access to materials, drills, welders etc etc. .......
It's disappointing, but I'd swallow it and move on.
I have become a modern middle class person without a workshop and the tools necessary to make them.
I don't really have any choice do I?
But this will make it an expensive month,
£140 hub and tools
£118 - 3 new Inner tubes
(oh, I did also get a Lezene light, some tyres and something else)
£58 - 6 spokes
(4 more inner tubes and a new set of pedals)
Most months seem to be like this, something that is only 1p or 2p mile needs replacing.
I've been gobbling though inner tubes as it has been raining a lot and I have been riding through puddles sufficiently deep that my foot is in the puddle at the bottom of the stroke. This seem to result in water with very small bits of hard mud, gravel etc finding its way inside the tyre and causing a small puncture. I do patch them but patches, like me, don't seem to like being soaked in water.
Bye
Ian