Bike arrived with a broken derailleur hanger and bent fork, Ride1up says tough luck. Thoughts?

[EpicTwiglet]

Hey all, just wondering what your thoughts are. Bike arrived couple of days ago, as mentioned above. They sent out a new hanger, but said the fork is fine this way. The LBS said that it should not be this way and should be replaced.

Ride1up said the following: Regarding the assembly of the front wheel and the spacing of the tire between the fork. That is something that is within the normal/acceptable range. If the fork dropouts are off by a couple mm's on either side, this can occur. When assembling the bike, make sure you have the washers on the outside of the dropouts on both sides of the fork. If the washers are on different sides, it will cause an incorrect angle of the wheel. It is best to install the front wheel with the wheel on the ground. So you can center the fork and wheel easier. When tightening the axle nuts for the front wheel, make sure the wheel is centered in the fork. Then tighten the front wheel to around 30 nm of torque. Your front wheel is secured by your axle nuts, and not locked in place by the dropout welds/cutouts. That different amount of separation between the tire and the fork is not actually indicative of a problem.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks of poor quality more than bent by shipping. But if the LBS is willing to put it in writing then you can easily open a dispute with your credit card company for full or partial value.
But first be sure that there is actually a problem as this will be a bit of hassle to end up with a replacement that will be no better.

Additionally, but maybe a different issue or the steer tube is bent as well.
Check how true the steer tube is as well as checking torque on the bearing compression bolt at the top of the stem... It looks as if the bearing is not fully seated.

 

[RGVCycling]

Hmm, is the fork twisted at the bottom?

 

[Dallant]

Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks of poor quality more than bent by shipping. But if the LBS is willing to put it in writing then you can easily open a dispute with your credit card company for full or partial value.
But first be sure that there is actually a problem as this will be a bit of hassle to end up with a replacement that will be no better.

Additionally, but maybe a different issue or the steer tube is bent as well.
Check how true the steer tube is as well as checking torque on the bearing compression bolt at the top of the stem... It looks as if the bearing is not fully seated.

Looks like poor workmanship overall. Problem is trying to get a replacement these days might take months.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks of poor quality more than bent by shipping. But if the LBS is willing to put it in writing then you can easily open a dispute with your credit card company for full or partial value.
But first be sure that there is actually a problem as this will be a bit of hassle to end up with a replacement that will be no better.

Additionally, but maybe a different issue or the steer tube is bent as well.
Check how true the steer tube is as well as checking torque on the bearing compression bolt at the top of the stem... It looks as if the bearing is not fully seated.

Yeah im not trying to start a drama, and if functionally the fork is fine then I’ll be fine to live with it. I’ll double check with the LBS then to get a proper diagnosis.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

Looks like poor workmanship overall. Problem is trying to get a replacement these days might take months.

I agree, especially seeing that bolt mount being skewed. Looks like manufacturing defect. I said that to mechanic but he disagreed.

 

[stanmiller]

Looks to be a bad fork. The hole on the fork should be centered over the tire and is where one would attach fenders and other accessories. It's off to the side.

Attached is a photo from a Core-5 review. It looks better, but still a little askew.

Ride1Up Core-5 Review - Simple, Fast and Affordable - Ebike Escape

The Ride1Up Core-5 is solidly in the budget ebike category coming in at just $1,095. It is the most affordable electric bike I have reviewed and is Ride1Up’s second most affordable ebike. The single-speed and ultra-lightweight Roadster V2, comes in $100 lower at $995. The Ride1Up Core-5 was...

ebikeescape.com

 

[J.R.]

Hey all, just wondering what your thoughts are. Bike arrived couple of days ago, as mentioned above. They sent out a new hanger, but said the fork is fine this way. The LBS said that it should not be this way and should be replaced.


View attachment 86441

Ride1up said the following: Regarding the assembly of the front wheel and the spacing of the tire between the fork. That is something that is within the normal/acceptable range. If the fork dropouts are off by a couple mm's on either side, this can occur. When assembling the bike, make sure you have the washers on the outside of the dropouts on both sides of the fork. If the washers are on different sides, it will cause an incorrect angle of the wheel. It is best to install the front wheel with the wheel on the ground. So you can center the fork and wheel easier. When tightening the axle nuts for the front wheel, make sure the wheel is centered in the fork. Then tighten the front wheel to around 30 nm of torque. Your front wheel is secured by your axle nuts, and not locked in place by the dropout welds/cutouts. That different amount of separation between the tire and the fork is not actually indicative of a problem.

That looks disturbing. I guess lighting could be making it look worse than it is. When you get the hanger all sorted out take the bike on a long, steep downhill to make sure you don't get a speed wobble. The way it looks, it might not ride well and could cause uneven tire wear and braking issues.

 

[MarkF]

Do they have a fender option? If so is the mount centered or off centered. If it's centered and you can't install the fender then they can't claim this is alright. If your never going to install one and the bike rides fine then you have to weigh making a deal of this or not. For me if the bike rides great I would live with it because I got better things to worry about. Riding fast down a hill to see if it holds strait and level is a good test to perform. If you get the wobbles I would return the bike and ask for another. The brand is good for the price so the down hill test is what would make my mind up.

 

[Limeybastard]

Looks fine to me. It’s within tolerance levels. Reminds me of a time when my life got downgraded ( still is) was used to BMWs and now Dodges. I was in shock when the paint and panel gaps on the dodge vehicles were the way that they were.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

Do they have a fender option? If so is the mount centered or off centered. If it's centered and you can't install the fender then they can't claim this is alright. If your never going to install one and the bike rides fine then you have to weigh making a deal of this or not. For me if the bike rides great I would live with it because I got better things to worry about. Riding fast down a hill to see if it holds strait and level is a good test to perform. If you get the wobbles I would return the bike and ask for another. The brand is good for the price so the down hill test is what would make my mind up.

I’ve been around 30mph all day today and no issues, no wobble. I live in Chicago so no hills near me!

 

[EpicTwiglet]

better angle maybe. Also, no washers on either side of the fork, certainly didn’t come with any. Do you guys have washers on yours? Ride1up seems to think I should do.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Yeah im not trying to start a drama, and if functionally the fork is fine then I’ll be fine to live with it. I’ll double check with the LBS then to get a proper diagnosis.

The wheel does look off center in the fork... So maybe missing washers.
The fork may be ok.. But poor quality control on the placement of the hole may make it look worse than it is functionally.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Park sells a fork alignment gauge. I have a set in a tool bag somewhere, but I haven't used it in a few years. It is kind of expensive, but your LBS should have the tool and can check the alignment. If not, try a different LBS. Does this bike have a disc brake. If so, does the rotor line up with the brake and not rub?

It is also possible to roll your own alignment gauge.

 

[reed scott]

Hey all, just wondering what your thoughts are. Bike arrived couple of days ago, as mentioned above. They sent out a new hanger, but said the fork is fine this way. The LBS said that it should not be this way and should be replaced.


View attachment 86441

Ride1up said the following: Regarding the assembly of the front wheel and the spacing of the tire between the fork. That is something that is within the normal/acceptable range. If the fork dropouts are off by a couple mm's on either side, this can occur. When assembling the bike, make sure you have the washers on the outside of the dropouts on both sides of the fork. If the washers are on different sides, it will cause an incorrect angle of the wheel. It is best to install the front wheel with the wheel on the ground. So you can center the fork and wheel easier. When tightening the axle nuts for the front wheel, make sure the wheel is centered in the fork. Then tighten the front wheel to around 30 nm of torque. Your front wheel is secured by your axle nuts, and not locked in place by the dropout welds/cutouts. That different amount of separation between the tire and the fork is not actually indicative of a problem.

This is symptomatic of a company that will soon die a horrible death. Their response should have been, " OH my oh my we can't imagine how this could have occurred. We are sending you a new fork immediately. Would you like a free upgrade for your inconvenience and disappointment? We are SO sorry. "

Only idiots would treat you like this.

 

[rich c]

I'd say you got what you paid for. Personally I wouldn't expect anything differently in that price range. They could probably send you 10 forks and they could all be like that.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

I'd say you got what you paid for. Personally I wouldn't expect anything differently in that price range. They could probably send you 10 forks and they could all be like that.

I agree with you. Getting all of the bike I got for 1150, and having some QC issues is kind of expected. On top of that, selling bikes with such small margins (I imagine compared to the big companies) means they can’t afford to just send new parts out to everyone that asks for one. They need to have some safe guards in place to avoid losing so much. I bought a budget bike and got a budget product with the things I wanted on it.

 

[reed scott]

I agree with you. Getting all of the bike I got for 1150, and having some QC issues is kind of expected. On top of that, selling bikes with such small margins (I imagine compared to the big companies) means they can’t afford to just send new parts out to everyone that asks for one. They need to have some safe guards in place to avoid losing so much. I bought a budget bike and got a budget product with the things I wanted on it.

Sounds like a healthy attitude. I liked the poster's suggestion about a simple alignment tool. Probably worth doing. I wouldn't be doing any jumps on that bike but you can probably get your money's worth out of it just riding normally for a while anyway. Ebikes are an expensive proposition if you want real quality. If I was advising somebody with a limited budget but was jonseing hard for an ebike .... I'd recommend the kit route.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

Sounds like a healthy attitude. I liked the poster's suggestion about a simple alignment tool. Probably worth doing. I wouldn't be doing any jumps on that bike but you can probably get your money's worth out of it just riding normally for a while anyway. Ebikes are an expensive proposition if you want real quality. If I was advising somebody with a limited budget but was jonseing hard for an ebike .... I'd recommend the kit route.

I highly doubt you could get a good kit, battery and underlying bike for 1200. Aside from the fact that you get integrated battery and cabling, and a 1 year (limited) warranty covering the whole thing and the way each part interacts with another. A cheapy bafang 750w kit is 500-600+, plus a decent battery 400+, then find a bike worth putting it on.

 

[EpicTwiglet]

Park sells a fork alignment gauge. I have a set in a tool bag somewhere, but I haven't used it in a few years. It is kind of expensive, but your LBS should have the tool and can check the alignment. If not, try a different LBS. Does this bike have a disc brake. If so, does the rotor line up with the brake and not rub?

It is also possible to roll your own alignment gauge.

Yeah disc brakes and seems ok, doesn’t rub but certainly not anything great. I’ll take a look at this then thank you.