In response to: "
Complaining about a design to either the LBS or Rider Care would certainly set you up for disappointment in an expected response"
How am I to know unless I ask??? Hence my asking. Who else would I ask? Why would the inquiry not be answered? Hence my frustration.
In response to: "
Reading your post would make one believe that you have issues and concerns with every e-bike, you have purchased:
No, it's just that for $4k, $5k + more my expectations are that I am buying a higher level e-bike, not a cheap, sub-par, inexpensive, throw-away, Chinese knock-off that will exhibit tons of issues.
I had issues with Trek, they tried to resolve the problems, with great customer service, but in the end, their products did not live up to my expectations, hence the move to Specialized.
Specialized GREAT bikes, but miserable customer service (at the Rider Care level).
Again my expectations are the items at play here, what I feel should be expected for a $5,000 + e-bike.
The manager of Hilltop Cranford is pissed because he "personally built the bike for my wife" (she tipped him $50), and he's not happy that I called him out because I said he obviously did not validate the operation of the bike (how do you let a bike out the door with a frozen piston in the shock????)
Not all are in agreement with my views and have the right to be critical of my expressions of dissatisfaction.
Some have a 100% satisfaction rate, while others do not.
This is why some states have 'Lemon Laws' for cars...
Remember, the planting of the seed with the entire Specialized saga for me was the purchase of 2 Vado 5.0 IGH's that mine had motor errors on 2 occasions and the BS excuse of a former employee of Hilltop telling me that it will continue to keep happening, and just turn the bike off and then back on to clear it. Then the nobody has a clue about how to return web-purchased bikes that were shipped to my choice of LBS to assemble and no communication for the return of $11,000 of bikes, prompting a BBB complaint, opening a dispute with the credit card company (the very best way to get the attention by ripping the money out of their pockets....it wakes them up). But I stayed true and bought 2 new Como 5.0 (non-IGH's), with one now having a manufacturing defect that is from a 3rd party supplier of parts, so I'm told there is nobody but SRAM to address and resolve the issue, sorry sir, we cannot do anything, have a good day.
Staying even truer, I bought a 2022 Vado 5.0 (non-IGH) <---the very best bike I've ever had<-----and have questions that I send to Rider care about Mission Control, but no answers, I have an inquiry about a piece of the kickstand falling off and being lost, no reply.
So I have no right to complain, no process to get resolution, other than to vent here and make sure that the world knows that Specialized is a "f-ed" up company and to be very, very careful about reading the warranty, knowing your rights. limits, and what is and is not covered.
It may not be better with any other company, but again, I love the bikes, hate the company, and they are horrible.
As an ongoing addition to the fork issue, not wanting to wait until August or September for a replacement fork (not having a choice), my wife suggests we just buy her another $5,000 COMO 5.0, and when they get the parts to fix the one that has defective parts, to sell it. The geometry of the Large and Medium headtube is different by 10mm, so even if I wanted to take my Como 5.0 (large) fork so my wife could get her bike back on the road this Summer, I'm not comfortable knowing if the replacement option by SRAM will "remember" to accommodate my substitution and be assured that the correct fork is supplied at the time it does ever get shipped. (see attached diagram)
(to recap, I have a Como 5 Large, and my wife a Como 5 Medium, I've offered to use my fork so she can ride her brand new bike this Summer and not wait until August/September)
It's not about the money, obviously, it's about the goodwill of the company (Specialized) not coming into play.
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