Postby Gregg » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:59 pm
I have only just got back into riding - primarily for transport to and form work.
As such I was looking for a low cost bike to get back into it.
I am just responding to this post as I checked out BNA forum when doing a bit of research for a bike.
In saying all this I decided to go with a Reid Osprey (via the internet as I do not live in Sydney or Melbourne) and I thought I would let others know my less than positive experience so far.
The bike arrived fine and was assembled easily - basically attaching the front wheel and 4 allen key bolts for the handle bars.
Anyway took the bike out for a brief test ride and the first down hill section I encountered, where I built up some speed, the back wheel started shaking violently and within a couple seconds the rear tube had blown (after later inspection it appeared to have been pinched between the tyre and rim). I had ridden a total of about 400m.
I thought no problem I'll just replace the tube, but after doing so I noticed the wheel was untrue. I understand that the Reid cycle were cheap and component etc would wear faster etc and I was prepared for this, but I wasn't prepared for the bike essentially unridable or not fit for purpose.
I figured that truing the wheel wouldn't be a big issue to fix if I took it to a bike shop, but at this point I contacted Reid cycles via email, primarily just to see how they would respond and also to see if they might care about their customer - esspecially as Reid cycles seems to state on their website and other forums responses that their customer service is great.
I must say I was very disappointed with their response. They essentially stated that their bikes were assembled properly and that I must have done something to the bike (even though the rear wheel comes completely assembled)(so denied any possibly that the could have been the result of an oversight on their part etc). They also mentioned that I may void the warranty. However after the response they have given I hold very little faith that they would actually honour any of their warranties and if I was to get them to honour it, I would have to push the issue though the Office of fair trading etc.
So the cheap bike I had purchased has become less cheap and a fair hassle, and instead of having the enjoyment of riding a new bike, I now have a bad taste in my mouth. (Anywayit's about a month later now and I've got the rear wheel trued now and hopefully I will have no further immediate issues with the bike).