Missold a bike? Advice needed

gg1knm

I bought a bike in July and think that the shop has mis-sold me the bike. When I went to the cycle shop I went through with them what I needed - the bike was primarily for commuting and I needed a rear rack for what I was carrying on my commute; secondly I wanted to start biking more at weekends.

With advice from the cycle shop and a couple of test rides I got a road bike and paid extra for the rear rack and mudguards. Since I got the bike the spokes on the rear wheel have broken twice, the cycle shop repaired it first time and I paid for the replacement spoke, then within 4 weeks another rear spoke broke. The shop has replaced all the spokes on the rear wheel free of charge as they didn't have the tension needed. He said the ones he replaced them with are better quality and hopefully should fix the problem. He asked me about what I was carrying on my bike, told him pannier plus cycle locks, lunch, work clothes, spare tyre, light pump, purse, phone and on Monday and Friday's towels. He told me my bike can only cope with a light load and what I'm carrying isn't a light load, he said it the bike shouldn't have been sold to me if that is what I am carrying. I asked him for advice on what I could do and he said try the bike with the new spokes if that doesn't work then I'll need to get new wheels with more spokes to cope with the weight, which is expensive. Before buying the bike I asked if the bike would be ok with my weight and my luggage weight and was told it wouldn't be a problem. My bike is now 4 months old and found out that it isn't suitable for my commute.

Where do I stand with consumer rights on this? Any help is appreciated.

maninthestreet

What make is it? Spokes breaking on a bike can't be a common occurrence.
How much does all that stuff you carry on the bike weigh?

gg1knm

Hi its a Cannondale Synapse Tiagra Disc. I weigh 116k, the pannier weighs 6kg (normal day), with towels its an extra 3kg.

neilmcl

gg1knm wrote: »

Hi its a Cannondale Synapse Tiagra Disc. I weigh 116k, the pannier weighs 6kg (normal day), with towels its an extra 3kg.

So by your own admission sometimes the weight you carry on the rear panniers is much heavier than your "normal" commute and probably exceeds the weight the bike, or rather the rear wheel, can comfortable carry. Unless you specifically asked whether the bike could carry nearly 20 stone, with a good weight over the back wheels then I don't think you've been mis-sold, particularly as the bike manufacturer doesn't publish maximum loads for it's bikes so I'm not sure how the guy in the shop would know this either.

Having said that I would question why you'd want a racing bike over a more "sturdier" hybrid or commuter bike given your weight.

Have you thought about carrying some of your stuff in a backpack instead?

Keep_pedalling

I would not describe the Synaps as a racing bike, I have an older CF Synaps which I mainly use for long fair weather day rides. It is not a great choice for a commuter though, although they are pretty strong bikes built for endurance rather than straight out speed.

All you can do is see how it goes with the heavier grade spokes on the rear wheel.

Norman_Castle

I had a succession of spokes break in my rear wheel in a relatively short time which I suspect was from one particular wooden step on a new route. I avoided this step and from memory have only had one broken spoke since.
Your broken spokes may be due to a combination of the weight and what you are riding over.

NotRichAtAll

Its an endurance bike, can i ask how long your daily commute is and whet type of ground your on? i also think your carrying too much on the bike, its not really designed for that.

hollydays

NotRichAtAll wrote: »

Its an endurance bike, can i ask how long your daily commute is and whet type of ground your on? i also think your carrying too much on the bike, its not really designed for that.

But presumably that's why the op sought advice.

photome

hollydays wrote: »

But presumably that's why the op sought advice.

Indeed and as he was there in person the bike shop knew what size the OP was.

lincroft1710

photome wrote: »

Indeed and as he was there in person the bike shop knew what size the OP was.

It's not always easy to gauge someone's weight just by looking at them.

marliepanda

lincroft1710 wrote: »

It's not always easy to gauge someone's weight just by looking at them.

This. Unless the OP asked for a bike to carry 20stone (which is a larger weight without being rude) then it wouldnt necessarily be known.

Some people can be very heavy due to height or muscle without necessarily looking large.

There is also a lot of weight being carried which seems a little excessive for a normal commute. A spare tyre could surely be subbed with a puncture repair kit? (I'm not a biker though!)