New bicycle assembled wrong & told its dangerous

ARandomMiser

kevj99uk wrote: »

I purchased a brand new bike from and assembled by Halfords 2 years ago but until I purchased a new bike for my partner recently I have hardly used it. We now go out every weekend on our bikes but today a gentleman stopped me while on my bike and he pointed out the front fork is assembled the wrong way round and said it was dangerous and I shouldn't ride it. He said he has been in bike trade for years and knows his bikes. When compared to my partners bike I can see what he means.
So question is where do I stand with Halfords by riding a dangerously fitted bike?
Any advice appreciated.

You say you "go out every weekend" so the amount of 'danger' you are in is probably tiny. After 2 years (during which I assume you made sure it was properly serviced), It is going to be your word against Halford's.

It is a simple fix, maybe put your effort into that.

Pennywise

The moral is don't buy a bike from Halfords if you have any choice at all. I've had no end of trouble with them over the years. Unfortunately they have a monopoly in many areas as the competition shops are often expensive and specialist.

I bought my young son a bike years ago - Halfords assembled it and fitted stabilisers. One of the stabilisers fell off and he injured himself. Turns out they'd used the wrong bolts - too short - apparently, they sell a longer bolt but the thicko who built it just used the short ones and the nut was literally hanging by a thread. An accident waiting to happen.

Then as a teenager, we bought him his first "adult" bike. First time out and he mentioned the front wheel felt a bit "floppy". When I looked at it, the Halfords Muppet hadn't tightened the front wheel nuts.

Just last year, we bought him a racing bike - Halfords couldn't set the gears right at all - we had to go back several times until they were usable.

Yes, you'll all say "go somewhere else", but there isn't around here. Halfords have the monopoly unless you want to pay huge amounts of money. There are only two independent bike shops and neither will assembly bikes bought from Halfords. In fact, one of them won't do repairs/servicing to bikes bought from anyone except him, won't even d a puncture repair!

kevj99uk

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, however I was expecting someone experienced and who had worked with bikes to be able to confirm with myself if my bike was dangerous or not as I personally know very little about bikes.


The guy that stopped me said he had seen me at a mini roundabout and he obviously thought it was important enough to pursue me in his car along a road and shout after me to express his concerns for my safety. Is there anyone with experience of building bicycles on here that can confirm what he says.... I'm aware of the people that can't and I am just looking for confirmation. Thank you.


Someone else that responded also missed the point about the person in Halfords that assembled my bike. I don't wish for him to be sacked but it does concern me that he could assemble a bike for a child which could be dangerous and cause an accident. If Halfords have someone like this then they need to be made aware that they need to give him the necessary training.


I am unable to post a picture, but if you google an image of a Halfords 'Apollo Evade' bike then you will see a black arch above the front wheel. This arch is on the other side facing the rider on my bike and this also means that the brakes are on the wrong side.


I intend to pop into Halfords later today as this fault was only discovered Sunday afternoon and I was hoping on some constructive advice to go in there with.

SouthUKMan

If you believe the bike is assembled incorrectly just go back into the Halfords store - preferably with a couple of images saved on your smart phone or printouts showing how the bike should be assembled - so that you can show the store manager / staff. Ask them to correct their mistake. It is so simple. It will be a five or 10 minute job for them. Just explain that although you've used the bike for a couple of years without incident, you've now been made aware of the mistake and you would like them to correct it. If you have the original receipt - so much the better, but any reasonable store manager will recognise that it will cost him or her nothing more than a few minutes of a staff members time.

One of the problems of the internet is that it complicates life! You don't need specialist advice. You just need to go into the store have a polite and reasonable chat - ideally with the store manager - and ask them to put right their mistake. What you're asking is reasonable. They should recognise this.

neilmcl

kevj99uk wrote: »

I am unable to post a picture, but if you google an image of a Halfords 'Apollo Evade' bike then you will see a black arch above the front wheel. This arch is on the other side facing the rider on my bike and this also means that the brakes are on the wrong side.


I intend to pop into Halfords later today as this fault was only discovered Sunday afternoon and I was hoping on some constructive advice to go in there with.

If this the case then yes it seems the fork has been fitted the wrong way round and will be an easy, straightforward fix. It isn't dangerous as such, particularly on a £150 bike you hardly use. Take it to Halfords and complain and get them to put it right or sort it yourself.

bris

After 2 years what do you expect? You do realise that they can just deny it, anything can happen in 2 years. You don't exactly have a strong case but in the end they will just fix it for you out of goodwill.

warehouse

There is nothing wrong with the range of bikes available at Halfords. As the OP has seen, there is a problem with bike assembly as they are simply too busy to do this properly, (IMO). I purchased one of the Voodoo range back in September 2016 and assembled and set it up myself. I've now done almost 1200 canal miles on it and it's just a great bike.

Is it dangerous to have the forks the wrong way around? Well if you're regularly hurtling down the side of a mountain then the shorter wheel base and centre of gravity being nearer the front could be some danger when using the front brake, plus I'd imagine it wouldn't as stable as having the wheels correctly spaced. However, on a regular bike ride I can't see there being anything to be particularly concerned about, (apart from looking a bit silly).

Keep_pedalling

Although not correct, those forks have no rake whatsoever so it is unlikely to be dangerous.

It is a simple fix so hopefully they will sort it out for you. If not treat it as a project to get you started into the wonderful world of DIY cycle maintenance.

Pennywise

SouthUKMan wrote: »

One of the problems of the internet is that it complicates life! You don't need specialist advice. You just need to go into the store have a polite and reasonable chat - ideally with the store manager - and ask them to put right their mistake. What you're asking is reasonable. They should recognise this.

Obviously you've never come across unhelpful and hopeless shop workers and managers. In our experiences with Halfords, you have to really be assertive to get them to do even the most basic of things when it comes to returning bikes for rectification. But, yes, it will be down to the individual and I'm sure some Halfords workers/managers are helpful and co-operative.

Norman_Castle

kevj99uk wrote: »

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, however I was expecting someone experienced and who had worked with bikes to be able to confirm with myself if my bike was dangerous or not

Fitting the forks backwards is potentially dangerous as the bike will not handle as it should and they and other components attached to them, particularly the brakes are being expected to work in a way they are not designed for. Its very unlikely the manufacturers would condone using the bike this way.
Hopefully Halfords should accept they are at fault and refit the forks. If you are concerned about their level of competence with regards to other bikes they work on try writing to them and explain your concern.