Cube town bike - pannier track broken *again*

[damian]

Hi everyone.
I'm posting here to see what people think I should do with a problem I have been having.

I bought a Cube town bike from Chain Reaction last January (2016) in order to commute to work, a journey of about 11.5 miles return.

After a couple of months one of the bolts holding the pannier rack broke and CRC fixed it.
A couple of months later the actual rack broke. After a couple of months of not fixing it they actually have me a new bike. I was obviously very happy with this, as I liked the bike.

Then inJanuary this year the pannier rack broke again, and was replaced under warranty. Full marks to CRC for that.
I didn't use the bike last week but when I set off yesterday there was no power. The battery was loose so I pushed it in and immediately saw that the rack was broken again.

I haven't contacted CRC yet but I am at a loss as to the nature of the problem.
My commute is about 2.5 miles on cycle paths and 3 and a bit miles on the road.
I don't go up and down kerbs, I know where the potholes are and avoid
them.
Even if they replace the rack under warranty I just feel that on another 6 months it will happen again.




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[grldtnr]

Hi everyone.
I'm posting here to see what people think I should do with a problem I have been having.

I bought a Cube town bike from Chain Reaction last January (2016) in order to commute to work, a journey of about 11.5 miles return.

After a couple of months one of the bolts holding the pannier rack broke and CRC fixed it.
A couple of months later the actual rack broke. After a couple of months of not fixing it they actually have me a new bike. I was obviously very happy with this, as I liked the bike.

Then inJanuary this year the pannier rack broke again, and was replaced under warranty. Full marks to CRC for that.
I didn't use the bike last week but when I set off yesterday there was no power. The battery was loose so I pushed it in and immediately saw that the rack was broken again.

I haven't contacted CRC yet but I am at a loss as to the nature of the problem.
My commute is about 2.5 miles on cycle paths and 3 and a bit miles on the road.
I don't go up and down kerbs, I know where the potholes are and avoid
them.
Even if they replace the rack under warranty I just feel that on another 6 months it will happen again.




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Hard to reply,without knowing the bike, I assume rack holds battery pack,ideal solution would've to be a steel rack as they are easy to weld,reweld, I should think your rack is alloy.
Can your pack be mounted elsewhere? Alloy racks, specially cheaper ones won't survive long,ask for a steel replacement or get another bike.

 

[Mac_user82]

I think some pictures would do your explaining more justice if i was been honest with you

Sometimes a picture can explain 1000 words very easy and quickly

 

[damian]

I think some pictures would do your explaining more justice if i was been honest with you

Sometimes a picture can explain 1000 words very easy and quickly

Yeah, I'll post a picture later. In work fretting over it at the minute...

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[damian]

Hard to reply,without knowing the bike, I assume rack holds battery pack,ideal solution would've to be a steel rack as they are easy to weld,reweld, I should think your rack is alloy.
Can your pack be mounted elsewhere? Alloy racks, specially cheaper ones won't survive long,ask for a steel replacement or get another bike.

Steel rack could be a good idea. I would have thought that the one that is on was of reasonable quality but obviously not

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[Deleted member 4366]

I don't like the look of that rack at all. IMHO, it'll always break sooner or later because the lower member gets a bending load, so it'll suffer from metal fatigue (assuming it's light alloy). It's just a question of when. Also, the battery is too far back for good handling. they've done it like that because a normal rack has to be that far back to keep panniers far enough away from your heels, but then that's no place for a battery - really poor design IMHO.

A battery rack needs to be made from steel if you want long life, otherwise, it's design must eliminate any bending loads and the welds need to be relatively free from stress.

What to do is a difficult one. If it were my bike and it was out of warranty, I'd cut the lower structure off and fabricate something out of steel that positioned the battery much closer to the seat, but then you can't use panniers like that. I can't see that further replacements will solve anything.

 

[damian]

I don't like the look of that rack at all. IMHO, it'll always break sooner or later because the lower member gets a bending load, so it'll suffer from metal fatigue (assuming it's light alloy). It's just a question of when. Also, the battery is too far back for good handling. they've done it like that because a normal rack has to be that far back to keep panniers far enough away from your heels, but then that's no place for a battery - really poor design IMHO.

A battery rack needs to be made from steel if you want long life, otherwise, it's design must eliminate any bending loads and the welds need to be relatively free from stress.

What to do is a difficult one. If it were my bike and it was out of warranty, I'd cut the lower structure off and fabricate something out of steel that positioned the battery much closer to the seat, but then you can't use panniers like that. I can't see that further replacements will solve anything.

Hopefully you can see the break from these pictures.
I'm annoyed, as I took it in for its 6 week check and for it serviced after 6 months.
It's kept indoors and cleaned very regularly. I can understand things wearing out but surely a pannier rack isn't one.
I've done 1100 miles on it and it had been really enjoyable.
Kind of wish I'd gone for the much cheaper woosh Karoo or even the Volt Pulse. Maybe they would have had their own problems though

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[soundwave]

is there no where you can take it to get fixed as looks like the welds are no good and not enough of it and the vibration has caused it to snap.

 

[soundwave]

http://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/Akku-Gepaecktraeger/Gepaecktraeger_Racktime_Bosch_Shine_artikel57d404955fc1c.html

 

[grldtnr]

http://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/Akku-Gepaecktraeger/Gepaecktraeger_Racktime_Bosch_Shine_artikel57d404955fc1c.html

That's a lot of money for a rack, that might not solve the problems, what the OP needs is a steel rack,suitably altered, I was thinking a steel Tubis rack, surely CRC reaction, could fund this ,since they are liable for repairs.

 

[grldtnr]

That's a lot of money for a rack, that might not solve the problems, what the OP needs is a steel rack,suitably altered, I was thinking a steel Tubis rack, surely CRC reaction, could fund this ,since they are liable for repairs.

maybe a piece of hardwood ,epoxy glued and screwed will fix the problem, but my opinion is to replace with a steel rack

 

[Danidl]

Hopefully you can see the break from these pictures.
I'm annoyed, as I took it in for its 6 week check and for it serviced after 6 months.
It's kept indoors and cleaned very regularly. I can understand things wearing out but surely a pannier rack isn't one.
I've done 1100 miles on it and it had been really enjoyable.
Kind of wish I'd gone for the much cheaper woosh Karoo or even the Volt Pulse. Maybe they would have had their own problems though

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Am I wrong in assuming that the tubular section has come adrift from the flat plate? If so and it has occurred on a number of occasions, then it is probably as stated a vibration problem. Consider using a large blob of a flexible epoxy or the ge lexan polymer and a number of Tieraps

 

[Deleted member 4366]

http://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/Akku-Gepaecktraeger/Gepaecktraeger_Racktime_Bosch_Shine_artikel57d404955fc1c.html

I don't think that one will fit. they've come up with the strange OEM design to clear the disc brake.

 

[grldtnr]

http://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/Akku-Gepaecktraeger/Gepaecktraeger_Racktime_Bosch_Shine_artikel57d404955fc1c.html

Thats expensive for a rack,CRC bikes are responsible for repairs under warranty,but if it were me, a modified Tubus rack would be fitted.
Or a bodge with a screwed and Epoxy glueded piece of hardwood, that should put up with being rattled about.

 

[Danidl]

Hopefully you can see the break from these pictures.
I'm annoyed, as I took it in for its 6 week check and for it serviced after 6 months.
It's kept indoors and cleaned very regularly. I can understand things wearing out but surely a pannier rack isn't one.
I've done 1100 miles on it and it had been really enjoyable.
Kind of wish I'd gone for the much cheaper woosh Karoo or even the Volt Pulse. Maybe they would have had their own problems though

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A rack should not just fail like that unless it was grossly overloaded. If the welding was defective, it could have affected an entire batch, both the original and maybe all the replacements in the CRC stockpile. Welding and brazing are arts as well as a science and if the temperatures were incorrect or the wrong brazing stock used, then they can fail. It is unlikely that a company making ancillary items like carriers would have invested in x-ray joint verification.

 

[damian]

Update on this issue, and praise for CRC
I brought the bike in and they looked and agreed there was a problem and where perplexed. Were going to order the part and the guy mentioned that he had only seen the issue once before. Realised it was me had had it and immediately said to replace the bike, as I had already been through enough hassle.

I can't argue with that approach. So what had been a problem became a very positive experience.
Well done CRC! And let's hope the replacement doesn't have any more problems. I'm going to cable tie it all together just in case

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