Bike Saga with Rutland's Cycles

shahedz

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Thought I would start a thread about this then mixing it up in the Cycle thread.

Absolute nightmare.

23rd May - buy the bike online
28th May - bike delivered woohoo
13th June - bang- rear bottom of derailleur snaps off - travels around the chain.

End results, broken derailleur, buckled wheel and very badly scratched frame.

Most people's reactions is it's a freak accident , doesn't usually happened etc. Thankfully i wasn't going at speed so managed to control the bike and not come off.

Shortage of bikes so Contact Cannondale - they Say contact Rutland's

I contact Rutland's who after after asking for photos send in this reply.

Rutland_Cycling_Logo


Good afternoon


Thank you for your email.
We are sorry to hear about this.
We would recommend taking the bike to a local bike shop in order to identify what the issue may be. We hope this will offer the quickest and most efficient solution to the issue you are experiencing.
If you could ask them to create a report as to what the issue with the bike is and a quote as to how much it would cost to repair.
Once you have the report of what is wrong, what could have caused this to happen, what needs to be done to remedy the situation, and how much this will cost, please email a copy of this over to ourselves and we will reply as soon as possible to let you know how we are able to proceed.
Please refrain from using the bike further or carrying out any work before receiving approval from ourselves. If work is carried out or parts are purchased without our prior approval, we may not be able to cover all costs for this as it might be that we are able to obtain parts at a lower cost, or we may require the bicycle back for further inspection before any action can be taken.

Best regards,
Kevin.
Customer Services

E: [email protected]

T: 0330 555 0080 lines open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 16:00

 
I explain this isn’t possible for the following reasons:

Hi Kevin

The closest bike shops to me are no longer answer phone calls and will only take in bikes on a Sunday- I would need to queue up all Sunday for this and there is no guarantee they'll take my bike in and then it could be a two week wait. Due to Covid all shops are currently way behind their work load.


I am not using the bike as it is no longer usable. I did share pics of the damage on a biking group I am on and it appears to be that the drailauer has snapped off - as you can see from the photos.

I can share a video with you , or do a zoom call or face time with one of your technicians but trying to take it to a shop for them to tell me the derailleur has snapped i think is counter productive.

A new rear deraileuar would fix it but the frame is now scratched to the bare metal where the derailleur went around the chain and hit the frame.


As the bike is barely a few weeks old I would not want a scratched bike. So even if the shop establish a report that a derailleur broke and a new derailleur would fix the this , i would be left with a very scratched up bike which i would not be happy with. I do not see why I should put up with a scratched up frame from a failure of a part.

I would like a replacement , I have been in touch with Cannondale who have said they do often keep stock in the UK for warranty replacement.



Today I get this reply:

Rutland_Cycling_Logo


Hi

Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in reply.

Due to the nature of this issue it is highly unlikely that a warranty replacement would be available. We have the part numbers for the parts required to repair the bike and we can get these sent out to you free of charge as a gesture of goodwill.

Best regards,

Danielle

Customer Services

E: [email protected]

T: 0330 555 0080 lines open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 16:00
 
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So basically they're washing their hands off it and expect me to put up with a damaged bike which is of no fault of my own. Apart sending me the parts which I then have to get installed at my cost and then put up with a damaged frame on a two week old bike .

First question I get asked were you at the highest front gear and lowest rear- No
Were you changing gear? No
Were you going really fast? No

The bikes are set up by Rutland and shipped out ready to ride.

I have no idea why this happened. After Rutland stopped replying to my emails when I said the above wasn't good enough. I saw someone else had a similar problem and had posted their reviews only hours earlier.

It appears that's the technicians are not setting up the rear gear properly. His derailleur didn't snap but the chain came off it. Mine must have been so bad the stress caused its to snap.

His bike was £2000 plus they offered him £30.


So as it stand- I have a damaged bike, no replacement , no refund.

Have got PayPal involved and if they fail to sort it American Express.

Cannondale who are CCed in the conversation haven't stepped in either. But I don't blame them. It's clearly been set up incorrectly.
 
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I've seen similar before with a Trek 8500SHX that had to be shipped back to the States (non replaceable rear hanger) and it was a simple process between me the LBS and Trek.

When I had an issue recently with soft nipples (cue a certain member) on my Specialized Camber the LBS I bought the bike from were a bit awkward to start with. I suggested that I will get back to them to see if the issue I was having had a presence online.
Returned a week later with a list as long as your arm (mostly from the States) showing the same issue I was suffering from and how this had been escalated and settled in the States (I do like how they shout and companies listen and react) and a week later the wheels were returned to be rebuilt correctly and one with too much damage was replaced.

Might be worth having a search online for an issue like you have encountered and returning that back to the place you bought from.
 
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Surely this is an open & shut ‘Consumer Rights act’ case?

Not fit for purpose.
 
I can't offer any advice really but the same thing happened to me a few years back.
First ride the derailleur snapped causing frame damage. I bought it from Wiggle, they were great, collected the old and sent a replacement bike straight away
It was only a £350 GT MTB though and happened straight away out of the box so that probably helped me. Good luck
 
That has snagged and tried to exit through the rear triangle, resulting in the snap.

Did the chain drop off the front and get caught between the chainrings and the frame?


Yep the chain fell off, It happened so quick .

Issue really is replacement - no one has any stock. So I am left bike less .

Rutland haven't be any help - I've asked for call but they take days to reply to emails.
 
Yep the chain fell off, It happened so quick .

Issue really is replacement - no one has any stock. So I am left bike less .

Rutland haven't be any help - I've asked for call but they take days to reply to emails.

Can they offer a similar replacement, £ up or down?
 
Are there no other bike shops in your area that you can take it to for an inspection? I'm in a small town and there are four within 20 minutes of me. They're all super busy at the moment, but they're still contactable with a little delay in replies.
To be honest I didn't think things were going too badly until you put the stop on the inspection. There isn't a replacement available so they've asked for an inspection and quote to look at the possibility of a repair. Whilst not ideal its better than nothing and could get you back on the bike quicker.
 
these idiots sent my the wrong frame size, wouldn't ship the right one and pick up the old one at the same time so I had to get a courier to pick it up etc, comes the replacement - same 'ing wrong size as last time. same 'ing carry one to get it changed. third time was lucky.
 
Are there no other bike shops in your area that you can take it to for an inspection? I'm in a small town and there are four within 20 minutes of me. They're all super busy at the moment, but they're still contactable with a little delay in replies.
To be honest I didn't think things were going too badly until you put the stop on the inspection. There isn't a replacement available so they've asked for an inspection and quote to look at the possibility of a repair. Whilst not ideal its better than nothing and could get you back on the bike quicker.


The bike shop in my area (the only one for miles) is no longer answering the phone due to demand and for inspection , service work etc you have to go on a sunday and queue up and then see if they can take it in- then another two weeks for work.
I actually sent them a link to their website too.


I offered more photos, videos and a FaceTime in lieu of a bike shop report as I don't want to spend hours queuing on Fathers day.
 
I would be happy with that- but they have only offered this goodwill gesture so far.
You’re within the 30 days. Get a refund then you’re free to buy another replacement from them or somewhere else as you please.

No need to rely on their ‘goodwill’ which doesn’t seem forthcoming.
AC9CF19D-C725-4DD2-B063-428F1088F90B.jpeg
 
i had an issue with my wheels not being true and wiggle told me to take it to the LBS
they sorted it and i sent the bill to wiggle
it seems this is the way they do it for 'small' damage. but like you say getting to a bike store in these times is going to be a pain
 
i had an issue with my wheels not being true and wiggle told me to take it to the LBS
they sorted it and i sent the bill to wiggle
it seems this is the way they do it for 'small' damage. but like you say getting to a bike store in these times is going to be a pain

what was the cost for sorting the wheels?

I wouldnt have had an issue with taking it to the LBS if it wasn’t for wait times . Just expected Rutlands to prioritise it as it’s their fault but they clearly don’t want to take responsibility - hence “goodwill”.
 
The onus is on the retailer you brought the bike from send a email stating your rights and state that if a repair, replacement or refund is not actioned you will be sending a final demand letter and taking the issue to small claims.
 
what was the cost for sorting the wheels?

I wouldnt have had an issue with taking it to the LBS if it wasn’t for wait times . Just expected Rutlands to prioritise it as it’s their fault but they clearly don’t want to take responsibility - hence “goodwill”.
it was around £25 just, going back a while.
what groupset do you have?
 
2 by 7 (is that the correct way to quote it ?)
was wondering if it was a 105 / ultegra / sora etc groupset
looking at the pics it could be the Tourney
they are pretty inexpensive

i'm sure LBS could sort you out, just getting them is the issue
 

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