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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - General Discussion
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Warranty, or no warranty (5 posts)
|  Warranty, or no warranty | Steel
Sep 4, 2002 5:47 PM | | All,
I have a couple of threads in the "What Bike to Buy" forum, but think this is more appropriate here. I am getting my first bike in 20 years (or so...) and have asked opinions there. Please go comment if you have time and care to!
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/crforum?viewall@@.ef69e3c
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/crforum?viewall@@.ef69e10
Anyway, I have also considered building (I am mechanically adept) or buying used as well. The thing that has concerned me is warranty. Obviously I won't get one if I do either of those or buy a new bike from say, e-bay (maybe on a frame and parts if I build - depending upon where I source it). BUT, I have been to a few shops and asked about the warranty service. As I see in another post it actually seems to suck! I could not imagine waiting weeks (not even two) for replacement of a failed component that was not my fault (I understand that the longest wait would be for frames - components can likely be replaced at the dealer) AND have to pay shipping! I just can't imagine that this is worth the extra money for buying a new bike from a dealer. I do understand that some dealers give some good levels of service (lifetime tune-ups), but beyond that I am not so sure it is the best way to go. I intend to learn how to repair and tune my own bike as I live a ways from all but one dealer and am pretty independant minded. :)
Thoughts? |
| re: Warranty, or no warranty | Steel
Sep 5, 2002 6:08 AM | | hmmm....anyone? Am I too long winded? :)
Helmut "Steel" Fritz |
| re: Warranty, or no warranty? | Steel
Sep 5, 2002 9:02 PM | | One more time, then I give up... :( |
| re: Warranty, or no warranty? (Long) | Jeff_from_boulder
Sep 6, 2002 8:44 AM | | All of the main manufactures will have a warranty, the question is how good is their warranty and how much trouble will they give you with problems that are borderline (i.e. maybe should be covered in the warranty maybe shouldn't). And that is a big part of the problem right there, most of the bike warranties are for deffects in craftmanship and things like that. A lot of what you will hear about it taking so long for is just due to wear and tear on the bike. For instance, the only thing I have heard of people having to replace on a somewhat normal basis that would actually be a part of the frame and not just a componenet is bushings in full suspension bikes. In genereal, if the bike is assembled correctly, and runs fine for the first month or so the problems you are likely to incur are related to parts wearing out, or to improper use of the bike and therfore the warranty wont help you that much. By that I mean, either things like the chain wearing out and needing to be replaced, or using a bike designed for racing to do 5 foot drops and breaking the frame. On a hardtail bike like everyone is suggesting you get, there isn't much that can wear out on the frame. The bigger advantage of buying from the store for a first bike is their help in fitting you right, and then latter on help with maintenence. Many of the shops will let you watch them so that you can do the stuff by yourslef in the future, and also if they are offering service, you can take it to them when you have tried everything and it stil isn't working. Over time each of the components will eventually break due to falls/improper maintenence/time, but the frame should be solid of many years to come. THe important thing to do is get some good adviceo n how to take care of the bike, and make sure it is well adjusted. After that and of the bikes you mention should take pretty good care of you, and when things do break, hey it is an excuse to upgrade the component a little.
Fortunately for me, I have never had to find out about a companies warranty, all of the bikes I have owned have been great from that aspect, but it doesn't help you too much. I have however had to found out my insurance companies policy, so my advice is to mmake sure to get a good lock and keep the bike locked up, even if you think it will be fine there for just a second, or it iwll be safe inside this building. The reason I say this is that I had a bike stolen from inside my church, not by memebers of the church, but by a couple of bike thiefs who were using the parking lot as a base for their vehicle. Hope some of my rambling helped and that you find a bike you like.
Also one last thing, as much as you want to get the best components for the money, that really isn't that big of deal, it can all be upgraded. The most important part is fit, try as many bieks as you can out and see what you think of them, also decide whether you like the headtube to have a steeper angle for climbing and quick handling, or a slacker angle that would be better for downhill portions of the track. There isn't a right answer to that one, only personal preference. Basically, make sure that the things that can't be changed such as size and angles are good, and then try to find the bike with better components for the price. Good luck
jeff |
| re: Warranty, or no warranty? (Long) | Steel
Sep 6, 2002 3:02 PM | | Finally! Thx Jeff... I am glad for you that you have never had to rely on warranty, and you advice about locking the bike up will be well heeded. I bet that is something a lot of folks overlook or don't think about, unless they live in a city (then they are usually used to it).
Thx for the other info as well...
Helmut |
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