Schwalbe customer service stinks

[Charly Banana]

I just got my Schwalbe HS440 Marathon Plus tires from xxcycle.com. Unfortunately, one of the tires has a manufacturing defect and I'm not sure if it's safe to ride on. So I contacted Schwalbe customer service about the problem and sent pictures to them.

Well, they came back and said because I bought the tires from another country I have no warranty. Even though Schwalbe is an international company that sells tires to many countries they will not warranty a tire sold outside one's country. Here's the manufacturing defect they refuse to help me with. These tires have not even been mounted yet and still have the tags on them.

 

[Aushiker]

Not unusual I am afraid. Garmin is another company that for example does not offer "international" warranty. It also used to be common with cameras as well, maybe still so.

Have you contacted xxcycle.com about the issue? There email address which can be hard to find is [email protected]. In my experience they respond to emails, sometimes it takes a couple of days but. They should be happy to resolve it. In my experiences dealing with the UK retailers warranty problems (the exception being ProBikeKit) are easily addressed and they pay the return postage if they want the item returned. See my experience with Wiggle in the UK documented here; I ended up keeping the bag and getting a full refund (the bag is still usable BTW).

Andrew

 

[Charly Banana]

Have you contacted xxcycle.com about the issue?

Yes, I sent an email to xxcycle. So far my experience with xxcycle.com has been excellent. Hopefully, they will help out.
I was really disappointed that Schwalbe couldn't care less that one of their tires has a manufacturing defect. That says a lot about a company!

 

[Aushiker]

I was really disappointed that Schwalbe couldn't care less that one of their tires has a manufacturing defect. That says a lot about a company!

Did you contact Schwalbe in Germany or Schwalbe in Canada?

From Schwalbe North America ...

Schwalbe North America - Schwalbe Tires North America, Inc. is the exclusive importer/exporter for North and South America. We are not the manufacturer of Schwalbe brand products.

The only warranties applying to products sold by Schwalbe Tires North America, Inc. are those, if any, specifically provided by the manufacturer, Ralf Bohle GmbH.

As an importer, we make no warranties, expressed or implied, of performance, merchantability, workmanship, quality, durability, or fitness of particular purpose. Included are those instances where changes or modifications are made at the request of the purchaser. Our obligation is limited to the credit or replacement of a qualified factory defect warranty, or at our sole discretion, to refund the purchase price.

Andrew

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Some credit cards have provision to deal with these kinds of situations. Most VISA signature cards can reimburse you for that. Another reason to purchase from Amazon, their customer service.

 

[Charly Banana]

I filled out the customer service request at your German link and here's the reponse I got back:

VIELEN DANK FÜR IHR INTERESSE
Wir haben Ihre Nachricht erhalten und werden uns schnellstmöglichst mit Ihnen in Verbindung setzen.

I have no idea what that means...

 

[Charly Banana]

Some credit cards have provision to deal with these kinds of situations. Most VISA signature cards can reimburse you for that.
Another reason to purchase from Amazon, their customer service.

If I had found somewhere in the US that sold the size I needed I would have purchased the tires in the US. Unfortunately, the US distributors seem to be less able to provide bicycle parts than European distributors.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I filled out the customer service request at your German link and here's the reponse I got back.

VIELEN DANK FÜR IHR INTERESSE
Wir haben Ihre Nachricht erhalten und werden uns schnellstmöglichst mit Ihnen in Verbindung setzen.

I have no idea what that means.

Google translate:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST
We have received your message and will contact you as soon as possible.

The bicycle/ebike market is minimal in US compared to EU or Asia. I bought mine from UK too. I hope XXcycle will resolve this problem for you.

 

[James]

That sucks. XXcycle would be responsible for sure. They should get a new replacement from Schwalbe because they are the distributer

 

[Aushiker]

That sucks. XXcycle would be responsible for sure. They should get a new replacement from Schwalbe because they are the distributer

XXCycle.com is in France. It has nothing to do with Schwalbe North America who it seems where contacted in the first instance. I think they should be given a chance to respond.

Andrew

 

[Aushiker]

I filled out the customer service request at your German link and here's the reponse I got back.

Hopefully they treat your concerns seriously. Past reports here in Australia suggest that they do so. Please keep us updated on what happens.

Andrew

 

[James]

It doesn't matter where they are from. XXCycle is the retailer and any retailer worth anything stands by what they sell. They should be replacing the tire IMO

 

[DashRiprock]

Thanks for the heads up, Charly. My same tires from the same vendor arrived today. I didn't like them all folded up like they were yet I'm guessing that's the norm and that there's no harm in doing so (they're obviously deformed pretty bad). I'll be checking them out tonight and report back if I find anything also. Good luck with the return and I feel your pain as this vendor was the only one who actually had them in stock at the time.

 

[Charly Banana]

I was also surprised at how they shipped the tires. However, after the tires were out for a bit they seemed fine and I saw no damage to the wire bead or the tire from the twisting. I guess it's their way of sending a smaller package. The damage I have to one of my tires is a Schwalbe manufacturing defect.

On the plus side, this morning I did get a very nice email back from xxcycles asking me to reply back with the pictures I told them about. I have a good feeling about the tone of the email and I think xxcycles is going to take care of my problem.

 

[Charly Banana]

After I wrote the last email I decided to try the twisty technique on my bad tire. It turns out to clever technique. First, you twist it into a figure 8 and then fold the two "0"s together to make one "0" and you have a circle half the diameter of the original tire diameter. Then, I did an internet search and apparently twisting tires is fairly common. I even found instructions on how to do it.

Apparently, the three fold technique is better than the two fold that I tried. Interesting!

 

[DashRiprock]

Good stuff. I'm really wondering whether I need to carry a spare with these MPs after getting a feel for how robust they seem to feel yet "1 is none" goes against my nature (as does drilling a hole in that brand new rim to fit the Schraeder valve/RideOn goop...even though I have the rubber adaptor!).

 

[Charly Banana]

The Marathon Plus flat-less does not mean flat free. It means less flats. People still get flats with the Marathon Plus tires, but less often.

I like to carry a spare tube with me. It is so much easier to put a new tube in rather than repair a tube on the road. If the tube has just one hole, it's not too bad to put a patch on. However, I've had tubes that a nail has punched multiple holes in. Trying to repair multiple holes is a real pain.

As far as the hole, it's not really drilling a hole, it's more of slightly enlarging a hole. Going from 1/4" to 21/64" increases the radius of the hole about 1mm. However, if you don't feel comfortable doing it, I wouldn't do it.

Did you buy AV19 or SV19 tubes?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The Marathon Plus flat-less does not mean flat free. It means less flats. People still get flats with the Marathon Plus tires, but less often.

Did you buy AV19 or SV19 tubes?

This is true. For city riding and light fire trails, HS440 should hold up well.

I have been lurking on several bicycle touring forums and many of them have put ~3000 miles on these tires without getting flats. No tire can withstand a 2-inch thorn but the frustration of pushing the bike or being stranded in the middle of somewhere can be reduced using these.

I was so frustrated on that day because I was stuck in the middle of a long trail. HS440's have excellent reputation among touring community.

 

[Aushiker]

Thanks for the heads up, Charly. My same tires from the same vendor arrived today. I didn't like them all folded up like they were yet I'm guessing that's the norm and that there's no harm in doing so (they're obviously deformed pretty bad).

Schwalbe do make some foldable wire bead tyres. Maybe these are in the category?

Andrew

 

[Aushiker]

The Marathon Plus flat-less does not mean flat free. It means less flats. People still get flats with the Marathon Plus tires, but less often.

Yep. I got a flat on a 3,000 kilometre tour. Just one but and interestingly on the trailer. Patched the tube up the road at the Murchison River. Didn't have a problem after that which made me happy



Andrew