Unbelievably bad experience with a Haibike SDURO Trekking S RX

We bought two Haibike SDURO Trekking S RX pedelec bikes on September 30th, 2016, from the Veloactiv bike shop in Paris, France.

On October 21, 2016, (just 3 weeks later) the Magura MT4E brake lever on my bike broke off under normal usage. I had never crashed, nor was there a scratch on the brake lever. It just snapped off as I squeezed the brake.

It's not that surprising since the brake is plastic. And the part that gets the most stress is about one cm by 3 mm.

Unbelievably, Haibike is refusing to cover this obviously defective brake under the warranty.

Looking at the thread title I was expecting something a bit more exciting.

The OP seems to think a fault on one bike is more serious because he bought two bikes at the same time.

Presumably the OP bought the bikes from France to save money.

There should be a pan-European warranty - at least pre-Brexit - but getting a claim paid is always going to be a bit more difficult when you can't push the bike into the supplying shop, look them in the eye and say; "Fix this - please."

Unbelievably, Haibike is refusing to cover this obviously defective brake under the warranty.

It broke 4 days ago with the weekend in between. Have Haibike in Germany actually responded to you with that decision? Particularly in that time frame? Even if they have I would expect them to just refer you to your retailer in Paris.

If you purchased 2 bikes at the same time, have a close look at the other brake levers to see if there is any signs of cracking. If there is any signs, send photos to Haibike.

I don't see how Haibike can deny a warranty claim at just 3 weeks old, surely its for them to prove it was accident damage or miss-use, rather than for you to prove it was a manufacturing defect.

I think it's always best to buy locally, for this very reason. I also looked at Haibikes, and they did look cheap and poorly made.

I have a lot of experience with Haibikes supplied by Raleigh. The odd problem experienced has been dealt with quickly by the reps at Raleigh. I personally have over a thousand miles on my own Sduro Trekking and have had zero problems. A friend of mine has a full seven with almost 6,000 miles and has had his chain and cassette changed out at 4,500 miles. A testament to his care of the machine. He did have a suspension bolt fall out but he will be the first to admit that he did not come in for his six week complimentary service to have his bike torqued. This is the only full seven or full nine that has has this issue that I know of. I called Raleigh for a replacement bolt and it was in the post the next day.

If the bikes were bought in France is the OP trying to have his bike's warranty work done in England? If so Raleigh has no obligation to repair it to my knowledge. I may be mistaken but he will have to deal with Haibike in Germany unfortunately.

As you see Haibike do not have a bad reputation here. (Cable ties accepted EddiePJ)

Unlike someone else (K).

Always difficult when someone joins just to moan.

A really good bit of advice is to search and see what comes up before diving in.

Sounds like you have a back story that needs telling.

Is a Trekking full suspension?

No. Just a front suspension fork.

If you purchased 2 bikes at the same time, have a close look at the other brake levers to see if there is any signs of cracking. If there is any signs, send photos to Haibike.

I don't see how Haibike can deny a warranty claim at just 3 weeks old, surely its for them to prove it was accident damage or miss-use, rather than for you to prove it was a manufacturing defect.

 

I think it's always best to buy locally, for this very reason. I also looked at Haibikes, and they did look cheap and poorly made.

I haven't noticed any cracking. But it could be invisible to the naked eye...

Agree about buying locally. But as we are living in Paris for a few months, with a 10 mile commute each way, we decided to buy them locally here. Sadly the bike shop has been useless concerning this issue.

And yes, I don't understand how they can decide it should not be covered on a three week old bike. But if they don't cover it they can rest assured I will plaster the internet with my story about their shoddy product and service.

As you see Haibike do not have a bad reputation here. (Cable ties accepted EddiePJ)

 

Unlike someone else (K).

 

Always difficult when someone joins just to moan.

 

A really good bit of advice is to search and see what comes up before diving in.

 

Sounds like you have a back story that needs telling.

I did not join just to moan. So you are 100% wrong and I resent your assumption. I joined to find out if other people have had a similar experience/problem, to get some advice, and to warn others about this issue in case they were thinking about buying a Haibike.

I have a lot of experience with Haibikes supplied by Raleigh. The odd problem experienced has been dealt with quickly by the reps at Raleigh. I personally have over a thousand miles on my own Sduro Trekking and have had zero problems. A friend of mine has a full seven with almost 6,000 miles and has had his chain and cassette changed out at 4,500 miles. A testament to his care of the machine. He did have a suspension bolt fall out but he will be the first to admit that he did not come in for his six week complimentary service to have his bike torqued. This is the only full seven or full nine that has has this issue that I know of. I called Raleigh for a replacement bolt and it was in the post the next day.

 

If the bikes were bought in France is the OP trying to have his bike's warranty work done in England? If so Raleigh has no obligation to repair it to my knowledge. I may be mistaken but he will have to deal with Haibike in Germany unfortunately.

I'm trying to get it fixed in Paris by the bike shop where we bought both bicycles. Haibike responded to their inquiry on my behalf by saying they would not fix it under the warranty. I have written to Haibike and Magura but have yet to receive a reply.

If I were to lay out good money for an OEM bike, one or the brands I wouldn't buy as just reading of SW's expensive bike needing cable ties to keep the suspension to gether is bad enough. Eddie very humerous considering the brand involved specifically a long running joke on here, however Scott will be definitely unimpressed. For god's sake plastic levers what next from Haibike, I would have never parted money for a bike with them.

The levers appear to be aluminum. It's the other brake part (reservoir and cylinder) that appears to be plastic.

Hi Scott, Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear about the problem you've had getting support for this issue. In an attempt to help can you tell me who you've contacted at Haibike or their French/UK distributors for assistance and what their view is? We've found Haibike to be pretty good when handling warranty for our customers....so may be it is who you've been speaking to. Have you tried to get support from Magura directly?

Hi and thank you for your response!

So far I have been dealing with the bike shop where we bought the bikes. They said Haibike refused to cover the problem under the warranty. I have sent emails to both Haibike and Magura to find out if this is true. If I get a response I will let you know.

Looking at the thread title I was expecting something a bit more exciting.

 

The OP seems to think a fault on one bike is more serious because he bought two bikes at the same time.

 

Presumably the OP bought the bikes from France to save money.

 

There should be a pan-European warranty - at least pre-Brexit - but getting a claim paid is always going to be a bit more difficult when you can't push the bike into the supplying shop, look them in the eye and say; "Fix this - please."

So sorry to disappoint you with my title.

Yes, I think that a company's refusal to honor a warranty issue when a customer bought two of their bikes is more shocking that had we bought just one. They made a lot of money off of us and now they refuse to fix one brake actuator??

We bought them here because we are working here for a couple months, so you presume wrongly.

I called the bike shop where we bought them and they said they would pursue it. Taking the bike into would have been a complete waste of my time (kinda like this response.)

Edited October 25, 20169 yr by Scott Nelson

The levers appear to be aluminum. It's the other brake part (reservoir and cylinder) that appears to be plastic.

I have Magura brakes on my Rose - it's the German connection.

Mine have been reliable, but the mechanic in my local bike shop told me about the plastic internals which he doesn't rate very highly having had to fix a few over the years.

It broke 4 days ago with the weekend in between. Have Haibike in Germany actually responded to you with that decision? Particularly in that time frame? Even if they have I would expect them to just refer you to your retailer in Paris.

Yes, I called the retailer immediately after it happened on Friday and 2.5 workdays later I got the negative response, from the retailer. But why else would I post this without having received a response? A preemptive strike? ;-)

I have Magura brakes on my Rose - it's the German connection.

 

Mine have been reliable, but the mechanic in my local bike shop told me about the plastic internals which he doesn't rate very highly having had to fix a few over the years.

I can't wait until Hope comes out with an eBrake! (We have Hopes on all our mountain bikes and LOVE them!)

I've had my Haibike for 18 months and have covered around 2000 off road miles with no problems and it would appear that many thousands of others are equally as happy.

I can't wait until Hope comes out with an eBrake! (We have Hopes on all our mountain bikes and LOVE them!)

Disc brakes are one of Shimano's better efforts, even the budget ones are reliable and work well.

The Shimanos I've had worked better than the Maguras, which are OK but don't have brilliant stopping power or feel.

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I've had my Haibike for 18 months and have covered around 2000 off road miles with no problems and it would appear that many thousands of others are equally as happy.

Thank you for this. It's good to know we bought a popular brand.

But high sales don't necessarily mean happy customers (ask Volkswagen owners...)

I did not join just to moan. So you are 100% wrong and I resent your assumption. I joined to find out if other people have had a similar experience/problem, to get some advice, and to warn others about this issue in case they were thinking about buying a Haibike.

Appears not and resent away.

I did a search for "Haibike faults" and "Trekking Faults", NOTHING, tumble weeds blowing through.

Lots of us have Haibikes and longer than three weeks so no need to warn off.

Seems another case of start moaning and hopefully someone else will fix my problem.