Halfords bike, wobbly wheels

tim_n

Bought a bike from Halfords for my tall 7yr old son. It wasn't the cheapest (https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/junior-bikes/carrera-subway-junior-hybrid-bike-26-wheel) and since we took it out on the first trip round a car park, the wheels started rubbing. It's flat carpark and he's only just learnt to ride, so no wheelies, jumps or even kerbs! Before purchasing I did check reviews and there were no warning bells.

I took it back, they trued the wheels as best they could, but as soon as he's on it, it's making rubbing sounds again.

We're off on a trip this Saturday to ride round the local cycle trail. I'm intending to drop it back to them after. What's my rights on this - I don't want a bike that's already failing after a single hours use that cost about £180. Is it unreasonable if they can't true them to ask for new wheels? I'm sure I'm probably just unlucky.

NB, no need to bash the brand/halford specifically, it was the bike he liked and could afford, local bike shop closed last year (and ran off with a lot of peoples money)

spadoosh

Who built it?

You should be able to reject the goods as not fit for purpose and be entitled to a full refund. Thats assuming this is a christmas present or bought within the last month? Although probably more agreeable all round if they just swapped your wheels with another set of new ones?

Are the wheels rubbing against the frame?

Aylesbury_Duck

From memory there's a minimum standard for this and it's got a surprisingly high maximum deflection tolerance. Look it up and ask them the check if it exceeds that. If it doesn't, you have no entitlement to anything but if it does (and the problem isn't a consequence of wear and tear or unnecessary stress0 then they should make the necessary adjustments or replace the faulty parts.

ETA: I think it's 2mm lateral tolerance at the rim, which is less than I thought but still enough to cause rubbing if the wheel isn't centred properly to start with. I suspect the wheels haven't been properly fitted in the forks if both are rubbing. You'd be very unlucky to have two separate dodgy bearings or hubs.

tim_n

Wheels are rubbing against the brakes. There's a visible wobble on them even after truing.

He bought Sat 28th Dec, in store, with vouchers. I've kept the repair receipt as well.

They built the bike, I did inspect it before we left. I did see a little wobble in the wheel, but there was no scuffing sound as has developed. I probably should have made an issue when I picked it up!

Aylesbury_Duck

tim_n wrote: »

Wheels are rubbing against the brakes. There's a visible wobble on them even after truing.

He bought Sat 28th Dec, in store, with vouchers. I've kept the repair receipt as well.

They built the bike, I did inspect it before we left. I did see a little wobble in the wheel, but there was no scuffing sound as has developed. I probably should have made an issue when I picked it up!

ah, if it's the brakes they're rubbing against then I'm almost certain they haven't adjusted the brakes properly to give the right clearance.

Block brakes or disks?

tim_n

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

ah, if it's the brakes they're rubbing against then I'm almost certain they haven't adjusted the brakes properly to give the right clearance.

Block brakes or disks?

Blocks, but there's at least a 5mm wobble in the wheel. If you push the bike it'll stop if you don't apply pressure.

Aylesbury_Duck

5mm is beyond the permissible standard (if I recall correctly) so they need truing or replacing. Ask them to demonstrate the wheel deflection (hopefully the lack of...) in the truing stand before they fit them.

DoaM

They've messed up the assembly ... wheels should run almost true, and the blocks for block brakes don't need to be any more than 2 mm (max.) from the rim on each side.

I'd suggest getting it fixed before taking it on a big ride, as taking it back afterwards (knowing that there's a fault) could make things more difficult for you/him.

Keep_pedalling

tim_n wrote: »

Blocks, but there's at least a 5mm wobble in the wheel. If you push the bike it'll stop if you don't apply pressure.

Wheel trueing is a bit of an art, which unfortunately few of the mechanics in Halfords have mastered. It’s one of the few bike maintenance jobs I pay a professional to do.

tim_n

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Wheel trueing is a bit of an art, which unfortunately few of the mechanics in Halfords have mastered. It’s one of the few bike maintenance jobs I pay a professional to do.

quite, I'm loathe to take it to a "professional" shop to do, because frankly, a new bike shouldn't be borked.

I'll take it back in and ask about the deflection.

General_Applause

Are all the spokes present and tightened correctly?


I had a broken spoke on my bike that was not noticed and caused the wheel to rub against the brakes.


Once the spoke was replaced the problem disappeared.