Excited my new frame arrived...and then I opened the box

[neild]

So, after procrastinating for a while I finally took the plunge and purchased a Kinesis Decade Tripster frame from PBK to build up a drop bar commuter with disc brakes.

The package arrived yesterday and looked to be packed very well. External bubble wrap and heavy plastic over the boxes. First opened the fork and discovered this: A big chip out of the paint (can't really tell how deep but deep enough)



So I thought, that's not good...and then unpacked the frame:
Chip in the paint on the top of the bottom bracket:


Scratches on the chain stay:


And most disturbingly significant damage on the head tube:




As you can see from the last image the damage is enough to cause the head tube to go out of round. On inspection of the box I can see where the frame has been packaged poorly within the box which has caused the tip of the head tube to poke a hole in the box. It must have taken a hit prior to be wrapped for delivery to me. The other chips / scratches could only have come from when the frame was outside the box as there was nothing else in the box to cause it and no way it could have happened otherwise.

Needless to say I'm pretty annoyed and frustrated by this. I've contacted PBK and am waiting for a resposne / return number that is required before sending things back.

So apart from being a bit of a rant to get this off my chest, has anyone sent a frame to the UK with Australia Post before? According to the PBK return conditions, items must be send back via Aus Post (and they will only reimburse costs if you send it this way). I'm guessing I'm going to be getting a refund on the frame as the no longer list that size as available so back to the drawing board again.

Thanks for listening.
Neil

[booge]

That's a shocker! I hope PBK sort it quickly for you, it's annoying enough returning something small let alone an entire frame. PBK were no probs with a refund when a stem I ordered never arrived.

[Mulger bill]

Damn, all those anticipatory endorphins instantly transmuted into bile

Didn't someone else have a similar HT issue recently? Anybody know where their bike came from?

[neild]

Yes definitely a sick in the stomach moment. To be honest I'm not concerned in getting a refund, its more the hassel of repacking, getting to aus post, paying for it, waiting for it to arrive at PBK and then waiting for refund. I'd much rather be building up a new bike than dealing with this. Even if they had a frame of that size in stock, which they don't, at best I'd be waiting another month or so.

Back on the hunt again...Though now I'm seriously considering buying a Boardman CX from Wiggle. Will mean I'll have some parts to sell that I purcahsed for this build.

I think the HT issue you're refering to MB was a custom titanitum frame that someone had where the welding has caused the head tube to distort.

[warthog1]

If it helps I have received a bike frame from Ribble that was well packaged and undamaged. Foam inserts in the head tube and bb. Dont know if they have anything that interests you.

[antipodean]

Goldcross have better pricing on the Boardman CX than Wiggle.

[ray]

So, after procrastinating for a while I finally took the plunge and purchased a Kinesis Decade Tripster frame from PBK to build up a drop bar commuter with disc brakes.

The package arrived yesterday and looked to be packed very well. External bubble wrap and heavy plastic over the boxes. First opened the fork and discovered this: A big chip out of the paint (can't really tell how deep but deep enough)


So I thought, that's not good...and then unpacked the frame:
Chip in the paint on the top of the bottom bracket:


Scratches on the chain stay:

And most disturbingly significant damage on the head tube:


As you can see from the last image the damage is enough to cause the head tube to go out of round. On inspection of the box I can see where the frame has been packaged poorly within the box which has caused the tip of the head tube to poke a hole in the box. It must have taken a hit prior to be wrapped for delivery to me. The other chips / scratches could only have come from when the frame was outside the box as there was nothing else in the box to cause it and no way it could have happened otherwise.

Needless to say I'm pretty annoyed and frustrated by this. I've contacted PBK and am waiting for a resposne / return number that is required before sending things back.

So apart from being a bit of a rant to get this off my chest, has anyone sent a frame to the UK with Australia Post before? According to the PBK return conditions, items must be send back via Aus Post (and they will only reimburse costs if you send it this way). I'm guessing I'm going to be getting a refund on the frame as the no longer list that size as available so back to the drawing board again.

Thanks for listening.
Neil

I had something similar happen to me from c r c. Dent in the top of the the head tube. All I had to do is repackage the frame in the box and DHL collected the frame. Requested a refund so I could re-purchase straight away instead of waiting for the return and replacement (arrived in 4 days anyway). Thing is c r c and I suspect perhaps with PBK as well just put a shipping label on the box and send it as is from their supplier. After my order I ask them to make sure it was packaged well but was too late as they already sent it as is without opening it and placing extra padding around the frame. Good luck with the replacement/refund.

[ray]

So, after procrastinating for a while I finally took the plunge and purchased a Kinesis Decade Tripster frame from PBK to build up a drop bar commuter with disc brakes.

The package arrived yesterday and looked to be packed very well. External bubble wrap and heavy plastic over the boxes. First opened the fork and discovered this: A big chip out of the paint (can't really tell how deep but deep enough)


So I thought, that's not good...and then unpacked the frame:
Chip in the paint on the top of the bottom bracket:


Scratches on the chain stay:

And most disturbingly significant damage on the head tube:


As you can see from the last image the damage is enough to cause the head tube to go out of round. On inspection of the box I can see where the frame has been packaged poorly within the box which has caused the tip of the head tube to poke a hole in the box. It must have taken a hit prior to be wrapped for delivery to me. The other chips / scratches could only have come from when the frame was outside the box as there was nothing else in the box to cause it and no way it could have happened otherwise.

Needless to say I'm pretty annoyed and frustrated by this. I've contacted PBK and am waiting for a resposne / return number that is required before sending things back.

So apart from being a bit of a rant to get this off my chest, has anyone sent a frame to the UK with Australia Post before? According to the PBK return conditions, items must be send back via Aus Post (and they will only reimburse costs if you send it this way). I'm guessing I'm going to be getting a refund on the frame as the no longer list that size as available so back to the drawing board again.

Thanks for listening.
Neil

I had something similar happen to me from c r c. Dent in the top of the the head tube. All I had to do is repackage the frame in the box and DHL collected the frame. Requested a refund so I could re-purchase straight away instead of waiting for the return and replacement (arrived in 4 days anyway). Thing is c r c just put a shipping label on the box and send it as is from their supplier. So PBK adds a bit of protection prior to shipping but damaged from the supplier. After my order I ask them to make sure it was packaged well but was too late as they already sent it as is without opening it and placing extra padding around the frame. Good luck with the replacement/refund. My 2nd frame was fine

[Baalzamon]

I had something similar happen to me from sjscycles.
Ordered a Thorn Raven Nomad frame. As per my usual I take photo of box all sides for damage. Open it up and photo the inside. Pull out the frame and then I got that sinking feeling when I saw the top headset cup had taken a hit. At least it was the cup and could be removed. But when I contacted SJS well darn me, that was the last type of headset that they had put on my bike and wasn't getting any more in and I had to pay to upgrade

[neild]

Unfortunately PBK require you to send via Aus post so I'll need to take it too them. No big deal, I'm not realy concerned just annoyed. I've already had a response from PBK and they've asked me to email them the photos which I have done so hopefully they'll be quick about it all.

They also now list the frame as back in stock so if they can send another one, hopefully it's undamaged this time.

Probably my biggest annoyance is how the damage occurred to the fork & frame (other than head tube). This would have occurred outside the box / during packaging??

Now it's a waiting game of hearing back from PBK as opposed to spending the long weekend building!

[thecaptn]

Damn, all those anticipatory endorphins instantly transmuted into bile

Ha! What a pisser! I'll be laughing about this for days.

[Mulger bill]

As per my usual I take photo of box all sides for damage. Open it up and photo the inside.

This is good practice, the GLW looked funny at me when I pulled the phone out on Wednesday arvo. The box had some damage that looked like a rough grab and tug on one of the handle cutouts had torn the cardboard but my precious was sparkling away inside. neoppg did a great repack job

[AUbicycles]

It's a hassle however look on the bright side, if there is no issue on refunding you essentially come out 0:0 which is better than being one down.

[singlespeedscott]

I don't know how you will go shipping the frame pack via AUSPOST. They have very strict limits with regards to package sizing. A bike box is well outside those limits.

[mattwilkinson]

Maximum accepted parcel size and weight


Length*: 105cm

Dimensions*: 0.25m³

Weight*: 22kg (domestic); 20kg (international)


^^ Auspost might be a problem as SSS pointed out

[ldrcycles]

IME it depends what post office you go to, some are happy to send wheels and frames, others refuse to.

[RonK]

Maximum accepted parcel size and weight


Length*: 105cm

Dimensions*: 0.25m³

Weight*: 22kg (domestic); 20kg (international)


^^ Auspost might be a problem as SSS pointed out

How big do you think a bare frame is? I'd expect it to come within those dimensions.

[ozdavo]

Aus post will actually take parcels larger than their stated max.(if they are not too heavy), but you do pay for cubic weight.

As for the OP, PBK may just say keep it to save paying return post cost.

[neild]

Ozdavo, that's kind of what I'm hoping. I've sent PBK photos and they're currently deciding what to do. Looking on Aus Post it looks like it would cost them about $160 to send it back, and given the damage to the head tube, it's not like the frame is useable.

I did see the size limits of the Aus Post website but I haven't measured the box. Given it was them who delivered it to me I kind of assumed they would take it back? Going the other way might be different though.

Until I hear back from PBK it's all speculation and waiting. Hopefully I'll have so good news next week.

Cheers

[singlespeedscott]

I send frames via AUSPOST regularly. However I don't box them. I just wrap the frame in bubble wrap and tape cardboard around all the protruding bits. Wrapped this way I have had no issues with postage. However I have only used this to send frames within Australia not OS.

[jzr]

From what I understand, PBK have recently had a change of ownership and internal structure. Most items now ship from a warehouse in Belgium. I know of 3 people, myself included, within the last 6 months that have had either incorrect or damaged items sent. You can read about my most recent experience.

However, the way they deal with issues has been pretty good. If you get no love from the standard 'cut and paste' customer service responders, ask for your issue to be escalated. They will do this and you then get one sole contact who will manage the issue for you until it is resolved. They must be churning through a bucket load of cash on refunding postage on returned items - especially from us folks here who are at the mercy of Aus Post's gouging.

FWIW - take out the 'tracking' option if Aus Post will let you for this. Not registered, just tracked. This way you have some idea of if/when it has arrived and can continue chasing your refunds with them. I have sent back to PBK twice using 'pack and track' (it's less than $10 extra on standard for smaller items) and they have not batted an eyelid. You don't need to take out insurance but this just gives you some peace of mind and they have paid up when I've done so.

[neild]

So just a quick update on this.

After contacting PBK, detailing the damage, send them photos, PBK passing the photos to their buyer(?), agreeing to a return, asking for collection details and passing them onto a courier to collect (who took a week and a half to pick it up) the frame is finally on its way back. It's been 45 days since purchasing and almost 30 days since it was first delivered so its a bit frustrating.

No doubt it will now be another 2 weeks for the frame to get back to the UK, a week of faffing and then 2 more weeks before I get a replacement it's all pretty annoying.

PBK have been pretty good in responding and been helpful and apologetic it's just a time consuming process.

Hopefully the replacement will be in better condition.

[im_no_pro]

PBK have been pretty good in responding and been helpful and apologetic it's just a time consuming process.

And that's the downside to buying from the other side of the world....

[Xplora]

PBK have been pretty good in responding and been helpful and apologetic it's just a time consuming process.

And that's the downside to buying from the other side of the world....

Yep, you might have saved money but I'm not sure the couple of hundred was worth it this time around. I've concluded that anything "important" has to come from Oz for this reason. I can afford the stress a lot less than the money I'd save.

[biker jk]

PBK have been pretty good in responding and been helpful and apologetic it's just a time consuming process.

And that's the downside to buying from the other side of the world....

Yep, you might have saved money but I'm not sure the couple of hundred was worth it this time around. I've concluded that anything "important" has to come from Oz for this reason. I can afford the stress a lot less than the money I'd save.

All three of my bike frames have been purchased from overseas. All packed well and no problem whatsoever.