Thread

[Jim Laslett]

I agree whole heartedly, crazy drama over a link breaking on the chain! Have you ever heard of chain suck?
http://reviews.mtbr.com/workbench-how-to-un-suck-your-chainsuck

I guess you'll spend a month or so with a solicitor to prove your point, when as mentioned, you could be riding in a couple of days if you just fixed it and started riding again.

I wasn’t made aware that the chain was so fragile when I purchased the bike. If my car broke it’s drive shaft I would say the drive shaft is not strong enough or there is a fault.

The bike is under warranty, specialize cover the chain for a year. I don’t have a front chain guide also I would expect the bike shop to fix it under warranty.

If I had ridden for a year then I would fix it and upgrade the chain and sprockets to the ones SRAM make for a EV bikes.

 

[Manu]

use kmc x 11E chain is compatible with your cassette and disk.

 

[Jim Laslett]

This is a review I found on amazon of

XG-899 E-BLOCK™ CASSETTE

Seems I’m not the only one having problems and it’s not just the chain.

 

[Jim Laslett]

Dear All

Just to let you know after a lot of effort and £1400 to a solicitor Rutland cycles have offered me a full refund, as per consumer acts 2015.
If you buy something that breaks within 28 days you are entitled to your money back.
I was told by Rutland cycles the chain was a perishable item but specialized warranty the chain for a year.

It’s a shame I had to go to such lengths to get any sort of customer service and a fair
Outcome as per the law.

This has tainted my experience of EV bikes and specialized. I will never purchase anything from Rutland cycles again as they don’t abide by the law.

 

[Jim Laslett]

Dear All

Just to let you know after a lot of effort and £1400 to a solicitor Rutland cycles have offered me a full refund, as per consumer acts 2015.
If you buy something that breaks within 28 days you are entitled to your money back.
I was told by Rutland cycles the chain was a perishable item but specialized warranty the chain for a year.

It’s a shame I had to go to such lengths to get any sort of customer service and a fair
Outcome as per the law.

This has tainted my experience of EV bikes and specialized. I will never purchase anything from Rutland cycles again as they don’t abide by the law.

 

[christob]

Man, this story sucks (any "reasonably unexpected" gear breakage sucks, but especially less than one month into ownership, AND only 5 rides in!) And it sucks regarding the customer service you "received".
I'm struggling though, to come to grips that, if my math is right, at the end of this saga, you spent the equivalent of what, 63 replacement chains? on a solicitor to get your refund? I understand the offensiveness of the whole situation, on principles alone (the customer service failure really rankles me, as that used to be my job years ago, and we did it very well at my store!) but it doesn't seem like it was a prudent financial decision for you to shell out 1400 to get a refund of the purchase price?
I'm glad the saga is behind you now, regardless... And reading all the replies will definitely have me paying attention more to my shifting while riding (new to ebikes here, no biking for last 15 years, not a mechanical engineer.)

 

[Jim Laslett]

Hi chris

It was not a easy decision to spend £1400 on a solicitor, but my alternative was to keep a bike that was likely to break more chains and have more damage.
If the chain had broken whilst riding fast or on the road It’s quite likely it would cause an accident.
I understand some riders think it’s ok for chains to break.
Considering the price I would expect it to last at least a year.
I see that SRAM and Shimano are designing
Purpose made drive chains for EV bikes which seems very sensible.
Hopefully the new designs will be more robust.
The EX1 looks like a better system but I’m not sure derailleur systems lend themselves to EV bikes with high torque. I think a fixed gear might be a better idea

 

[Jim Laslett]

Man, this story sucks (any "reasonably unexpected" gear breakage sucks, but especially less than one month into ownership, AND only 5 rides in!) And it sucks regarding the customer service you "received".
I'm struggling though, to come to grips that, if my math is right, at the end of this saga, you spent the equivalent of what, 63 replacement chains? on a solicitor to get your refund? I understand the offensiveness of the whole situation, on principles alone (the customer service failure really rankles me, as that used to be my job years ago, and we did it very well at my store!) but it doesn't seem like it was a prudent financial decision for you to shell out 1400 to get a refund of the purchase price?
I'm glad the saga is behind you now, regardless... And reading all the replies will definitely have me paying attention more to my shifting while riding (new to ebikes here, no biking for last 15 years, not a mechanical engineer.)

Hi chris

It was not a easy decision to spend £1400 on a solicitor, but my alternative was to keep a bike that was likely to break more chains and have more damage.
If the chain had broken whilst riding fast or on the road It’s quite likely it would cause an accident.
I understand some riders think it’s ok for chains to break.
Considering the price I would expect it to last at least a year.
I see that SRAM and Shimano are designing
Purpose made drive chains for EV bikes which seems very sensible.
Hopefully the new designs will be more robust.
The EX1 looks like a better system but I’m not sure derailleur systems lend themselves to EV bikes with high torque. I think a fixed gear might be a better idea

 

[Nova Haibike]

JMHO, one incident does not make a product unsuitable for sale. As a long-time technician, I have worked on thousands of bikes. Chains break, spokes break, tubes fail, etc. That the bike is an e-bike is irrelevant; it could have been any bike.

 

[Jim Laslett]

JMHO, one incident does not make a product unsuitable for sale. As a long-time technician, I have worked on thousands of bikes. Chains break, spokes break, tubes fail, etc. That the bike is an e-bike is irrelevant; it could have been any bike.

I don’t agree, I have five other specialized bikes non EV and never broke a chain. I think it is specifically because this bike had
Motor assist that the chain broke. But your entitled to your opinion!

 

[Nova Haibike]

You do not have to agree. Mine is not an opinion, it is a fact; I have seen broken chains on new-ish non-assisted bikes. Does that make chains unsuitable for bikes? Don't get me wrong, I can understand being disappointed or even angry that something would fail on a new product, and the retailer definitely did not handle your situation in the best possible way. Anyway good luck; hope this one instance does not prevent you from getting another bike.

 

[Jim Laslett]

You do not have to agree. Mine is not an opinion, it is a fact; I have seen broken chains on new-ish non-assisted bikes. Does that make chains unsuitable for bikes? Don't get me wrong, I can understand being disappointed or even angry that something would fail on a new product, and the retailer definitely did not handle your situation in the best possible way. Anyway good luck; hope this one instance does not prevent you from getting another bike.

It certainly makes standard chains unsuitable for EV bikes.

I’ll probably have another look once SRAM and Shimano have caught up with the torque curve!

 

[Fitzy]

I also spent 3 yrs at citb in bircham newton doing my city and guilds in plant mechanics including engine rebuilding hydraulics electronics pneumatics welding and so on.
I can play the piano too!
Oh yeh I got an award in bench fitting from CITB
I rebuilt my first engine when I was twelve a Yamaha
Ty80!

I used to be a Mechanical Engineer for the New York City Subway System. These guys were pretty big back then...reminded me of THIS BIT.

 

[Alphbetadog]

I'll bet your solicitor is very happy!

 

[rich c]

Where is that "beating a dead horse" meme when I need it?

 

[bazzapage]

The chain on my Giant MTB also broke after about a month. It was annoying. I bought another chain and it didn't break. I've had the bike over five years and not broken one since.

@Jim Laslett you have uncovered a retailer that offered poor customer service in this instance; that's all. There is no systemic failure in the world of bike chains which handle a lot more torque than a relatively puny 250W ebike motor.

 

[PDXsays]

I don't know it is a design fault, but you seem quite convinced it is. What kind of engineering work have you done to determine that? Any engineering calculations? I too have never seen a chain snap. To me this indicates a simple materials issue and not an engineering issue. You are suggesting that letting a chain sit filled with dirt, water and grime is an accepted way to maintain it? I think you will find yourself in the minority there.

If an off-road bike chain snaps because some mud got on it and even caked, it`s the chain, whether it was engineering, materials, or stoopid to use. It didn`t even last a mooncycle.

If his washing machine isn`t breaking down from the weight of adobe on the cuffs of his pants, and he found his hound in that muck - all activities known to go along with playing outside - then the chain should have been par with the company it was keeping.

No extraordinary use or use beyond standard wear and tear was in play for this type of bike while under warranty. Not like fatigue should have set in. or they should rebrand as #SnowflakeBikes

Dealer should send new parts, and put his supplier on notice that bike needs what it needs to go out the door as advertise, and shorting the customer at his expense is not the kind of business relationship that is sustanable or resiliant. #twocents