broken saddle

[n.r.evans]

I purchased a new Haibike earlier this year have now completed around 650 miles without any problems then on return home from a short ride the other day noticed the saddle had come loose on inspection a screw has sheared also noticed stamped into the underside made in china. I then contacted the supplying dealer only to be told the saddle is not covered by the warranty has anybody had any experiences like this

 

[soundwave]

saddles are wear parts same as the chain gears brake rotors ect but it will say what is or is not covered in the manual, well it does on mine.

saddles and peddles are going to be the cheapest as most will change them to what they like anyway and the haibike stock ones are crap so not surprised it has failed.

 

[Benjahmin]

I had the mounting bolt on my Wittkop Medicus Gel saddle break abot a year ago. However this was a £7.99 saddle fron Lidl mounted on a Carrera Crossfire, not a saddle on a 2-3 grand bike.
Not covered by the warranty? They're 'avin' a larf!

 

[soundwave]

I had the mounting bolt on my Wittkop Medicus Gel saddle break abot a year ago. However this was a £7.99 saddle fron Lidl mounted on a Carrera Crossfire, not a saddle on a 2-3 grand bike.
Not covered by the warranty? They're 'avin' a larf!

if you buy a haibike the warranty is for the frame only same as the motor system like bosch ect so unless a saddle has its own warranty you wont get it replaced.

 

[sjpt]

Surely 'fit for purpose' legislation applies here? I'm not sure of the details though (or whether it would be worth the effort to chase). https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

 

[Benjahmin]

Surely you can't ride a bike without a saddle, so if it breaks, the bike is not fit for purpose. It'd be like being sold a car with a broken drivers seat.

 

[Fishy]

Many 'minor' parts on a bike won't be specifically mentioned in the warranty, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be covered. If the bike is only a few months old, and something breaks, surely the onus is on the dealer to sort it.

 

[wheeliepete]

This type of claim comes down to how much the dealer cares about his customers. Is having a happy customer worth a cheap replacement saddle that is only going to cost them around £5?

 

[sjpt]

Seems like a pretty odd dealer to quibble on something like that in the first place. (do you want to name and shame?). You could contact Haibike to see what they have to say.

 

[mike killay]

We used to have guarantees, now they have been watered down to warranties.

 

[n.r.evans]

thanks to all for your support and helpful comments and advice. I have reported the matter to Haibike and am awaiting a reply from them. I will post updates and hopefully a satisfactory solution and of course I will name and shame depending on the outcome it could also be praise for the dealer/Haibike
many thanks

 

[Andy-Mat]

I purchased a new Haibike earlier this year have now completed around 650 miles without any problems then on return home from a short ride the other day noticed the saddle had come loose on inspection a screw has sheared also noticed stamped into the underside made in china. I then contacted the supplying dealer only to be told the saddle is not covered by the warranty has anybody had any experiences like this

Have you read through the guarantee to see if it specifically does not apply to the saddle?
Furthermore, even if it does, can that actually legally apply to a saddle?
Ring your local Citizen's Advice Bureau for help.
Also,I would "out" the supplier here so that nobody else on Pedelec gets caught out this way....
Best of luck.
Andy

 

[n.r.evans]

just a quick update:-contacted CAB and spoke again to dealer submitted photo's of broken saddle they have now lodged a complaint with Haibike awaiting a response will keep you posted and once again a big thanks to all who responded!!!!









11

 

[BazP]

You mentioned that it was a screw that had sheared, surely another screw costing £1 - £2 at the most would be cheaper than the petrol to take the thing back.

 

[n.r.evans]

thanks for your reply the cost of the screw would be only a few pence but it has snapped off in a plastic housing impossible to remove without butchering the saddle. I don't think the dealer would be happy with that do you??

 

[n.r.evans]

A massive thanks to all at pedelecs and to all who responded to my problem broken seat. I contacted CAB and then contacted the dealer who then took the matter up with Haibike . Problem solved a replacement saddle arrived Wednesday!!!

 

[Ocsid]

Bike dealers are not alone in needing a little "formal" reminding of the very powerful Consumers Rights Act 2015, and it sharpens their response to be told the ramifications of ignoring it.
Good result and a service to us all for pushing it.

 

[vfr400]

The problem is that things always fail for a reason. Warranty cannot and should not cover all reasons. What about if the seat got a substantial knock when the bike fell over? What about if the owner wasn't happy with the angle of the seat, so they decided to adjust it, and they over-tightened the bolt? The only time I've ever seen a broken seat bolt is on my own bike when my seat kept coming loose, so I did the bolt up nice and tight. About 2 weeks later, it suddenly broke by itself.

During my time fixing bikes, I see all sorts of spurious claims, where the stated facts just don't match what I see in front of me. Someone once returned two batteries for a warranty claim. When I opened them up to see what was wrong, I could see that they had been completely drowned in salt water. Every part inside was substantially corroded and there were white crystals everywhere. Were they not fit for purpose because they weren't waterproof enough to survive a boat sinking or the tide coming in at Weston Super Mare? The owner said he and his partner had ridden in the rain once. When questioned about the salt water, he admitted to riding on a path near the sea, but said he never went lower than the sea wall. In this case I advised the business not to cover it by warranty, but to offer the owner cost price replacements instead.

 

[Ocsid]

"Warranty cannot and should not cover all reasons."
Completely agree, nor should the CRA 2015, where issues are not design, manufacturing or dealer caused problems.

"The only time I've ever seen a broken seat bolt is on my own bike when my seat kept coming loose, so I did the bolt up nice and tight. About 2 weeks later, it suddenly broke by itself".

Interesting one this, are you offering this as a legitimate or non legitimate claim?
That you clearly a competent operative had trouble with the thing continuing to come loose when reasonably tightened to the point you needed to go OTT, suggests I suspect the design was not fit for purpose.

 

[vfr400]

That you clearly a competent operative had trouble with the thing continuing to come loose when reasonably tightened to the point you needed to go OTT, suggests I suspect the design was not fit for purpose.

That's a valid argument, and it would probably win in court, but the honest truth is that I did it up too tight, which I knew at the time, though I was still surprised when it broke.

The point is, though, that there are many ham-fisted owners, who take it upon themselves to adjust their bike. Some even get the brilliant idea to use a higher current charger to charge their battery faster!

It's not just owners either. I had to replace a motor when a guy took his bike into a cycle shop for a puncture repair. The eagle-eyed mechanic spotted the loose disc when he was doing it, which he diagnosed as being caused by the crappy Chinese fixing screws, so he decided to make it better by fitting some nice standard star screws, which are 5mm longer and went straight into the motor rotor.

Then there was the cycle shop that didn't like the wire holding the back wheel after he took it out, so he cut it, fixed the puncture and gave it back to the owner with the wire still cut.

The best one ever heard was when a young guy bought his first motorbike. The dealer showed him all the normal things and handed it over to the guy, who jumped on it and rode of with the motor screaming in every gear. When he brought it in for its 500 mile service, the dealer asked him why he did that. His clever mate had told him that you're supposed to keep the needle in the red band. If the motor had blown up or started smoking 9 months later, should that have been covered by warranty?