Rize refuses to replace or pay for faulty brake pads on leisure and rx pro

[FlatSix911]

What is the male version of "Karen"?

Ken...

 

[EMGX]

So is your advice to people that do not have your high end purchasing power, to not buy at all?

In addition, paying a premium for a well known brand from a bike shop doesn't seem to assure good service or warranty. See this for example:

Beware the Specialized "Warranty"

I purchased 2020 Levo in July of this year which is already failing and two months in, Specialized refuses to honor their warranty. The worst issue at this time is with the disc brake system which has completely failed and has needed to be disabled to even move the bike. The dealer whom I...

electricbikereview.com

That is extremely poor service and lacking reasonable expectations for a warranty (unless there is significant info missing or inaccurately portrayed in the above linked post).

I bought a new/unused BH Rebel Gravel X from bicyclebluebook knowing there was no warranty other than a 30 day return period. BH is the oldest bicycle manufacturer in the world with a good reputation, as far as I have read. They pulled out of the NA market and, if I correctly understand posts on this site, BH claims that they have no responsibility to honor the warranty https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bh-warranty-and-us-market.35131/. So any buyers that bought one at list price from a bike shop paid $3,400 for a bike without manufacturer's warranty support that they thought they had and paid for. People who bought from bicycleblue book paid from ~$1,000 to $1,500 for the same bike with what ends up being the same warranty (none).

 

[Scheidty]

I've also had the same problem with my rear brakes (Rize 17Ah version) and replaced with Shimano B01S organic brake pads. Initial impressions are good for the B01S, however their initial bite isn't as great as the Tektro pads they are replacing (so far). I have a small squeek coming from them but not the same flushing noise as before so they may just need some adjustment. I cleaned the rotors with isopropyl alcohol before installing the new pads.

I've attached photos of the Tektro pads, which appear to be potentially contaminated (black streaks)? The bike arrived with the rear brake and wheel fully assembled, so maybe it's an assembly issue at the factory.

 

[Barzy]

I've got about 160 km on my Rize so far. No issues with the toilet water flushing sound of brakes yet. Would that sound have appeared by now if I had faulty brake pads ?

 

[Spatzi]

I received 2 pairs of tektro pads in the mail last week. Sent by rize, from local office. No note included. They were not in any kind of packaging, just tossed in, naked. I surmise either:

1) they watched my rize videos and noted how much negative publicity they were getting in comments and begrudgingly sent them with a silent “okay, okay, here are your @#$R%! pads.” This is how it appears to me.
2) they kept track of everyone who complained about bad pads and sent everyone new ones.
3) they found out tektro messed up a few orders with bad pads and sent out replacements. I know they were talking to tektro about a bad batch.
4) they finally saw this thread.

Why no note? If I was this company, I would include an explanation. I would explain why they were being sent, which also gives a chance at communication and good customer service follow up. How hard is it to ask “How are the bikes holding up, in spite of the pad issues?” An explanation saying “sorry for the hassle”, or “ sorry for taking 3 months” or “thanks for all the free advertising you did for us in your 15 travel videos which were all spectacular free advertising for the leisure and rx pro.” (Many people asked if I was getting commission from rize) As it is, it’s a bit of a mystery. The company has never contacted me post sale about anything and I have not contacted them since dealing with Mark, who got fired. It’s all a little late as I already spent about $200 replacing their pads. I’m past the point of caring, and I would never put tektro pads back on the bike anyway. That brand is forever tainted.

My wife took a spectactuator shot of a stellar Jay on the handlebars of the bike with rize brand clearly visible. I’m talking poster ad quality. I used to do advertising work and immediately came up with a good slogan for it. I thought about options to sell it to rize for marketing purposes and she said “F...k them. They don’t deserve it.“ My wife is pretty mellow so that gives you an idea of how badly rize handled our case. I don’t really see rize taking advantage of this kind of opportunity anyway, based on their current lack of advertising, and complete disinterest in proper marketing or getting involved in any social media forums, like here or Facebook, etc. Have you ever seen a post anywhere from anyone at rize?

 

[Taylor57]

I received 2 pairs of tektro pads in the mail last week. Sent by rize, from local office. No note included. They were not in any kind of packaging, just tossed in, naked. I surmise either:

1) they watched my rize videos and noted how much negative publicity they were getting in comments and begrudgingly sent them with a silent “okay, okay, here are your @#$R%! pads.” This is how it appears to me.
2) they kept track of everyone who complained about bad pads and sent everyone new ones.
3) they found out tektro messed up a few orders with bad pads and sent out replacements. I know they were talking to tektro about a bad batch.

Why no note? If I was this company, I would include an explanation. I would explain why they were being sent, which also gives a chance at communication and good customer service follow up. How hard is it to ask “How is the bike holding up, in spite of the pad issues?” An explanation saying “sorry for the hassle”, or “ sorry for taking 3 months” or “thanks for all the free advertising you did for us in your 15 travel videos which were all spectacular free advertising for the leisure and rx pro.” (Many people asked if I was getting commission from rize) As it is, it’s a bit of a mystery. The company has never contacted me post sale about anything and I have not contacted them since dealing with Mark, who got fired. It’s all a little late as I already spent about $200 replacing their pads.

My wife took a spectactuator shot of a stellar Jay on the handlebars of the bike with rize brand clearly visible. I’m talking poster ad quality. I used to do advertising work and immediately came up with a good slogan for it. I thought about options to sell it to rize for marketing purposes and she said “F...k them. They don’t deserve it.“ My wife is pretty mellow so that gives you an idea of how badly rize handled our case. I don’t really see rize taking advantage of this kind of opportunity anyway, based on their current lack of advertising, and complete disinterest in proper marketing or getting involved in any social media forums, like here or Facebook, etc. Have you ever seen a post anywhere from anyone at rize?

I hear ya Spatz. Do all these ebike companies have all the business and good will they can handle? Maybe the business model is hump and dump and make as much cache as you can in a short time and move on to the next deal. Very suprised more companies are not represented on the forum. I know Pushkar is here but why no more. It's almost like they are afraid of confrontation...

 

[AHicks]

Geez, they send you freebies and you're STILL complaining? Seems like you made your point regarding the issue, and the cure, some time ago.

I get the fact it would have been nice to receive a note, but it's also possible they had you down for a set or 2 of pads that they had on back order, which they just received, and shipped.

Keep in mind, not all people, not even those with the best of intentions, have the best social skills - myself included.

Possibly different pads, but my new RX Pro, that's now pushing 100 miles, have yet to be heard. Let's move on....

 

[Spatzi]

Geez, they send you freebies and you're STILL complaining? Seems like you made your point regarding the issue, and the cure, some time ago.

I get the fact it would have been nice to receive a note, but it's also possible they had you down for a set or 2 of pads that they had on back order, which they just received, and shipped.

Keep in mind, not all people, not even those with the best of intentions, have the best social skills - myself included.

Possibly different pads, but my new RX Pro, that's now pushing 100 miles, have yet to be heard.

So you think I should never have mentioned that they sent me free pads? I didn’t have do this. It’s a favor to them that I mention it. Like I said, why leave it a mystery? The other comment regarding fear of confrontation is interesting. Who knows what a company thinks until they actually tell you what they think. This highlights a huge contradiction in a couple companies I dealt with this year. On one side there‘s biktrix, with an owner that over aggressively pursues every negative comment on his forums with zeal, revealing his fragile ego, and then rize, which responds to nothing. Where is the middle ground?

 

[Alaskan]

I received 2 pairs of tektro pads in the mail last week. Sent by rize, from local office. No note included. They were not in any kind of packaging, just tossed in, naked. I surmise either:

1) they watched my rize videos and noted how much negative publicity they were getting in comments and begrudgingly sent them with a silent “okay, okay, here are your @#$R%! pads.” This is how it appears to me.
2) they kept track of everyone who complained about bad pads and sent everyone new ones.
3) they found out tektro messed up a few orders with bad pads and sent out replacements. I know they were talking to tektro about a bad batch.
4) they finally saw this thread.

Why no note? If I was this company, I would include an explanation. I would explain why they were being sent, which also gives a chance at communication and good customer service follow up. How hard is it to ask “How are the bikes holding up, in spite of the pad issues?” An explanation saying “sorry for the hassle”, or “ sorry for taking 3 months” or “thanks for all the free advertising you did for us in your 15 travel videos which were all spectacular free advertising for the leisure and rx pro.” (Many people asked if I was getting commission from rize) As it is, it’s a bit of a mystery. The company has never contacted me post sale about anything and I have not contacted them since dealing with Mark, who got fired. It’s all a little late as I already spent about $200 replacing their pads. I’m past the point of caring, and I would never put tektro pads back on the bike anyway. That brand is forever tainted.

My wife took a spectactuator shot of a stellar Jay on the handlebars of the bike with rize brand clearly visible. I’m talking poster ad quality. I used to do advertising work and immediately came up with a good slogan for it. I thought about options to sell it to rize for marketing purposes and she said “F...k them. They don’t deserve it.“ My wife is pretty mellow so that gives you an idea of how badly rize handled our case. I don’t really see rize taking advantage of this kind of opportunity anyway, based on their current lack of advertising, and complete disinterest in proper marketing or getting involved in any social media forums, like here or Facebook, etc. Have you ever seen a post anywhere from anyone at rize?

It may be tempting to posit that this kind of indifference is more typical of fly-by-night, here today gone tomorrow, Chinese bike marketing companies. The reality is that this neglectful attitude can extend all the way to the top.

For the past year I have been the moderator of the Riese & Muller Facebook group, which is now approaching 1,600 members. It is a very active group with many curious and likely prospective owners interacting with R&M riders from around the globe. People proudly share photos of their bikes in glorious locations throughout the world, share ideas about accessories, help one another sort through problems that arise on their bikes, and advise and encourage the curious who don't own a R&M bike.

Never once has anyone from Riese & Muller contacted me to thank me for my work in creating what is likely a significant sales engine for their brand. Nor does anyone from Riese & Muller actively participate in the group.

The arrogance of bike companies, thinking that designing and producing a cool product with a splashy website is a complete business model is all too common. It seems as if the web, has pandered to people's laziness and greed and diminished people's perceived importance of the human factor and relationships in business.

What a world we have wrought

 

[FlatSix911]

So you think I should never have mentioned that they sent me free pads? I didn’t have do this. It’s a favor to them that I mention it. Like I said, why leave it a mystery? The other comment regarding fear of confrontation is interesting.
Who knows what a company thinks until they actually tell you what they think. This highlights a huge contradiction in a couple companies I dealt with this year. On one side there‘s biktrix, with an owner that over aggressively pursues every negative comment on his forums with zeal, revealing his fragile ego, and then rize, which responds to nothing. Where is the middle ground?

I agree with you on this one... the company should have sent a note of explanation. I'm going with your Q&A number 1 below.

I received 2 pairs of tektro pads in the mail last week. Sent by rize, from local office. No note included. They were not in any kind of packaging, just tossed in, naked. I surmise either:

1) they watched my rize videos and noted how much negative publicity they were getting in comments and begrudgingly sent them with a silent “okay, okay, here are your @#$R%! pads.” This is how it appears to me.
2) they kept track of everyone who complained about bad pads and sent everyone new ones.
3) they found out tektro messed up a few orders with bad pads and sent out replacements. I know they were talking to tektro about a bad batch.
4) they finally saw this thread.

Why no note? If I was this company, I would include an explanation. I would explain why they were being sent, which also gives a chance at communication and good customer service follow up. How hard is it to ask “How are the bikes holding up, in spite of the pad issues?” An explanation saying “sorry for the hassle”, or “ sorry for taking 3 months” or “thanks for all the free advertising you did for us in your 15 travel videos which were all spectacular free advertising for the leisure and rx pro.” (Many people asked if I was getting commission from rize) As it is, it’s a bit of a mystery. The company has never contacted me post sale about anything and I have not contacted them since dealing with Mark, who got fired. It’s all a little late as I already spent about $200 replacing their pads. I’m past the point of caring, and I would never put tektro pads back on the bike anyway. That brand is forever tainted.

My wife took a spectactuator shot of a stellar Jay on the handlebars of the bike with rize brand clearly visible. I’m talking poster ad quality. I used to do advertising work and immediately came up with a good slogan for it. I thought about options to sell it to rize for marketing purposes and she said “F...k them. They don’t deserve it.“ My wife is pretty mellow so that gives you an idea of how badly rize handled our case. I don’t really see rize taking advantage of this kind of opportunity anyway, based on their current lack of advertising, and complete disinterest in proper marketing or getting involved in any social media forums, like here or Facebook, etc. Have you ever seen a post anywhere from anyone at rize?

 

[Alaskan]

It may be tempting to posit that this kind of indifference is more typical of fly-by-night, here today gone tomorrow, Chinese bike marketing companies. The reality is that this neglectful attitude can extend all the way to the top.

For the past year I have been the moderator of the Riese & Muller Facebook group, which is now approaching 1,600 members. It is a very active group with many curious and likely prospective owners interacting with R&M riders from around the globe. People proudly share photos of their bikes in glorious locations throughout the world, share ideas about accessories, help one another sort through problems that arise on their bikes, and advise and encourage the curious who don't own a R&M bike.

Never once has anyone from Riese & Muller contacted me to thank me for my work in creating what is likely a significant sales engine for their brand. Nor does anyone from Riese & Muller actively participate in the group.

The arrogance of bike companies, thinking that designing and producing a cool product with a splashy website is a complete business model is all too common. It seems as if the web, has pandered to people's laziness and greed and diminished people's perceived importance of the human factor and relationships in business.

What a world we have wrought

Oh and lest I forget. My experience with Trek over the past 9 months since purchasing the Allant 9.9 has been amazing. The bike is pure joy to ride but has had a number of problems. The local Trek shop has been fantastic in their concern, communication, follow up and overall service. In one case I got several emails and calls from a top tech resource at corporate in Minnesota, something that never would happen with Riese & Muller, a German company with no US HQ or service/tech personnel in the US.

 

[AHicks]

So you think I should never have mentioned that they sent me free pads? I didn’t have do this. It’s a favor to them that I mention it. Like I said, why leave it a mystery? The other comment regarding fear of confrontation is interesting. Who knows what a company thinks until they actually tell you what they think. This highlights a huge contradiction in a couple companies I dealt with this year. On one side there‘s biktrix, with an owner that over aggressively pursues every negative comment on his forums with zeal, revealing his fragile ego, and then rize, which responds to nothing. Where is the middle ground?

No, I think receiving the pads is good news. NEW news! They've followed up on earlier conversations. My issue is with the sour grapes attitude they're STILL getting. The fact your wife took a great picture you aren't going to send them because you think...... Never mind. It's not important enough to escalate the issue.

My bigger point is that receiving the pads is good news. The rest of your note seems to be beating a dead horse.

Moving on.... -Al

 

[Alaskan]

No, I think receiving the pads is good news. NEW news! They've followed up on earlier conversations. My issue is with the sour grapes attitude they're STILL getting. The fact your wife took a great picture you aren't going to send them because you think...... Never mind. It's not important enough to escalate the issue.

My bigger point is that receiving the pads is good news. The rest of your note seems to be beating a dead horse.

Moving on.... -Al

Apparently the OP has lots of time on his hands. He has spent way more time and effort communicating his minor problem here on the forum and in emails to Rize than he would have going down to LBS and buying as set of $15 brake pads. This should have been chalked up to "You get what you pay for and seldom anything more." a long time ago.

Nevertheless the OP does have a point. If the people at RIze had any sense at all, they would have drafted a note to be included with the gratis brake pads, in an effort to restore some good will. Clearly that was an opportunity missed.

 

[Spatzi]

No, I think receiving the pads is good news. NEW news! They've followed up on earlier conversations. My issue is with the sour grapes attitude they're STILL getting. The fact your wife took a great picture you aren't going to send them because you think...... Never mind. It's not important enough to escalate the issue.

My bigger point is that receiving the pads is good news. The rest of your note seems to be beating a dead horse.

Moving on.... -Al

Lol! You’re still asking why we would NOT send them a great picture, and a slogan, on top of the tons of free advertising I already gave them? Good advertising takes talent, and it should not be free. At this point, Rize should have contacted me after all the free video ad work I’ve done for them, maybe offered a commission, as they are already sorely lacking for any good content on youtube. And even if the option of ‘paid’ ad work is offered, you also have to believe in the company you are advertising for, which a ‘fu..k them’ usually constitutes as ‘lack of enthusiasm.’ I think the goal for every company is achieving brand loyalty. Rize completely failed in this regard. This makes me look at companies where I actually have a brand loyalty for, like amazon and london drugs. Why do I keep going back to these places? It’s usually based on customer service. Not overly aggressive, not complete silence or denial, fixing issues quickly with little fuss. Right in the middle of extremes, like a nice warm porridge. I get the feeling rize is run by kids, who either don’t know what to do, or how to be social, or how to gain customers.

 

[Taylor57]

Lol! You’re still asking why we would NOT send them a great picture, and a slogan, on top of the tons of free advertising I already gave them? Good advertising takes talent, and it should not be free. At this point, Rize should have contacted me after all the free video ad work I’ve done for them, maybe offered a commission, as they are already sorely lacking for any good content on youtube. And even if the option of ‘paid’ ad work is offered, you also have to believe in the company you are advertising for, which a ‘fu..k them’ usually constitutes as ‘lack of enthusiasm.’ I think the goal for every company is achieving brand loyalty. Rize completely failed in this regard. This makes me look at companies where I actually have a brand loyalty for, like amazon and london drugs. Why do I keep going back to these places? It’s usually based on customer service. Not overly aggressive, not complete silence or denial, fixing issues quickly with little fuss. Right in the middle of extremes, like a nice warm porridge.

I have clients I have had for over 20 years that stay with me because of service. They don't have to stay with me but they do. I look at problems that may happen along the way (and in health insurance usually do) as opportunities to come to the rescue and provide value and develop the relationship. It baffles me why the bike industry should be any different. Especially the ebike industry.

 

[AHicks]

Lol! You’re still asking why we would NOT send them a great picture, and a slogan, on top of the tons of free advertising I already gave them? Good advertising takes talent, and it should not be free. At this point, Rize should have contacted me after all the free video ad work I’ve done for them, maybe offered a commission, as they are already sorely lacking for any good content on youtube. And even if the option of ‘paid’ ad work is offered, you also have to believe in the company you are advertising for, which a ‘fu..k them’ usually constitutes as ‘lack of enthusiasm.’ I think the goal for every company is achieving brand loyalty. Rize completely failed in this regard. This makes me look at companies where I actually have a brand loyalty for, like amazon and london drugs. Why do I keep going back to these places? It’s usually based on customer service. Not overly aggressive, not complete silence or denial, fixing issues quickly with little fuss. Right in the middle of extremes, like a nice warm porridge. I get the feeling rize is run by kids, who either don’t know what to do, or how to be social, or how to gain customers.

No. I'm saying you're beating a dead horse. Old news. Nothing new here, other than the fact you received a set of brake pads, which have been received without gratitude, only more whining.

I'm sure though, that you will be sending a thank you note, as that's also "the right thing to do"?

 

[Spatzi]

A thank you note? Old news? You have a great sense of humor, I’ll give you that. I suggest a stand up special on hbo. I’d pay for that.

First of all, the horse isn’t dead. Rize is still around. Also, being sent the pads is news, as is my decision to not send them anymore free ad material. This also opens the forum to someone else possibly receiving free pads and posting about it. Would like to know if I was the only one out of dozens of complaints. That’s why I posted. This thread isn’t locked. It‘s meant to be around for updates, hence my update. I post once every two months and it’s still too much for you? Why should there be gratitude 3 months late, with zero explanation, for $30 worth of cheap pads? I just told you it was too little, too late, with not even the base courtesy of communication. Some guy working there stuffed this in an envelope and couldn’t even be bothered to write a note with it? I’d call that a major missed opportunity to fix things. I don’t really give a s*it about the pads. A note by itself would have meant a lot more. A phone call asking how it was going would have meant a lot more. I called them 20 times, but they can’t call me or even write back as follow up?

 

[Timpo]

A thank you note? Old news? You have a great sense of humor, I’ll give you that. I suggest a stand up special on hbo. I’d pay for that.

First of all, the horse isn’t dead. Rize is still around. Also, being sent the pads is news, as is my decision to not send them anymore free ad material. This also opens the forum to someone else possibly receiving free pads and posting about it. Would like to know if I was the only one out of dozens of complaints. That’s why I posted. This thread isn’t locked. It‘s meant to be around for updates, hence my update. I post once every two months and it’s still too much for you? Why should there be gratitude 3 months late, with zero explanation, for $30 worth of cheap pads? I just told you it was too little, too late, with not even the base courtesy of communication. Some guy working there stuffed this in an envelope and couldn’t even be bothered to write a note with it? I’d call that a major missed opportunity to fix things. I don’t really give a s*it about the pads. A note by itself would have meant a lot more. A phone call asking how it was going would have meant a lot more. I called them 20 times, but they can’t call me or even write back as follow up?

$30 for brake pads?

That's not exactly cheap.. at all.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Just talked to Mark at rize. He saw my video of the noisy brake pads. I was waiting on a $100 refund for expenses on replacing their faulty pads. After first telling me the sound was not normal, they backtracked and said it was normal. Lol! I said “wait...you watched the YouTube video and you tell me this is normal? The bike shop tells me this is not normal.“

They refuse to replace or pay for the faulty tektro pads on my leisure or rx pro. He tells me pads are not covered under warranty. There is a thread about this noise on Facebook rize owners group where other people are reporting the same noise. Someone even said tektro released a bad batch of ‘too soft‘ pads this year and other brand bikes that have them are reporting issues as well.

It’s absolutely ridiculous that rize doesn’t own up and replace them. When I mentioned that tektro put out a bad batch he says he knows about it, but still won’t replace them. If the noise was “normal”, my new brake pads would be making the same noise. I already spent 2 days in bike shops dealing with this. Not only will they not pay the expenses, they can‘t even send me a pair of free pads! I asked him “what does that cost you? $10? Is all the bad publicity you are going to get online worth it to you?“ Mark just kept telling me to try and break the pads in, and that it will get better. Sure, after 90 km, the noise will magically disappear. Then he even had the gall to say “Look, now you at least have a back up pair.” like I would put their defective tektro brake pads back on the bike at some point.

I told him I can’t even put the brakes on for fear of scaring wildlife and anyone within 20 foot range. He tells me “as long as they work, it‘s fine.“ like this excuses the fact they are defective. And they don‘t work ‘fine’. The bike actually vibrates badly and won’t come to a solid stop even with both brakes applied. Plus, the brakes now also have a very high pitched squeal on top of the flushing noise. Bonus! It just gets better every day!

Refusing the replacement is one thing, but insisting to me that this massive noise is normal is really insulting. I even told him I was selling the leisure bike and to make it sellable I had to buy new pads for $100 because it was unsellable as is. Even that didn‘t faze him. I mention 6 trips to bike stores, $130 in expenses, time used to make videos, time used to post in forums, time on the phone, time in emails - it doesn’t mean anything to Rize. All I get is “Sorry, can’t do anything for you.”

Considering I spent over 6 grand on this company, you’d think they would help you out on such a small expense, especially when it was defective in the box. I asked to speak to the boss, or manager, but there seems to be no ‘boss’ working at rize.

So take that as a warning. Buy from rize, don’t expect any faulty brake pad replacement. If they don’t even cover this small thing in a warranty, I wonder what else they will tell me they can’t cover. I’ve lost my trust in this company. Can’t recommend them any longer. Better to get rid of the bike before anything else happens to it. Might be lucky this week and trade it for an aventon level.

You did not contact the company first.
You went on your own to a bike store and had the pads replaced. You made 6 trips, you spent $130. You made videos and then you ask for a refund ?
In my opinion... you don't deserve anything.
"Someone" even said tektro released a bad batch of ‘too soft‘ pads this year and other brand bikes that have them are reporting issues as well."
And "someone" thinks that there are a lot of bone heads out there that don't know to break in their pads.

 

[AHicks]

A thank you note? Old news? You have a great sense of humor, I’ll give you that. I suggest a stand up special on hbo. I’d pay for that.

First of all, the horse isn’t dead. Rize is still around. Also, being sent the pads is news, as is my decision to not send them anymore free ad material. This also opens the forum to someone else possibly receiving free pads and posting about it. Would like to know if I was the only one out of dozens of complaints. That’s why I posted. This thread isn’t locked. It‘s meant to be around for updates, hence my update. I post once every two months and it’s still too much for you? Why should there be gratitude 3 months late, with zero explanation, for $30 worth of cheap pads? I just told you it was too little, too late, with not even the base courtesy of communication. Some guy working there stuffed this in an envelope and couldn’t even be bothered to write a note with it? I’d call that a major missed opportunity to fix things. I don’t really give a s*it about the pads. A note by itself would have meant a lot more. A phone call asking how it was going would have meant a lot more. I called them 20 times, but they can’t call me or even write back as follow up?

Sure a thank you note. Were you not commenting how you thought a note of some sort might be appropriate when you received the new pads, for free? So you're going to reciprocate for that rudeness on their part by not thanking them? Do 2 wrong make a right?

And yes, it is a dead horse. Problem noted, and proper repairs were made months ago. It would appear to these eyes that this was NOT the widespread problem you try and make it out to be, and the new Rize bikes seem fine as well. You had a problem, mostly related to proper setup and break in as far as I'm concerned, and you paid to have it fixed. No more issue! That's water over the dam!