I bought a very expensive (to me anyway) pair of steel track forks NOS and I needed to get 25mm of thread cut to fit them to my bike. I took them to a local city bike shop and was assured they would be finished that day.
I got a call in the afternoon to state that they were not done and in fact the Park Tool thread cutter had broken in the process. They assured me that they would take them to one of their other shops and be done over the weekend and ready for me Monday. I picked them up yesterday and was told that they had broken a second Park Tool thread cutter.
The thread they cut is a right mess. It works but it’s been butchered and I think if I put some ‘pull’ with a headset it will pull the thread off totally.
I’ll post some pics when I can.
What am I entitled to claim from the shop?
I haven’t called them yet but might later in the day.
Once you have raised your issues with the shop, assuming their response is unsatisfactory…
You would probably need some form of opinion from an ‘expert’ (another bike shop, or a framebuilder) that the fork was a ‘right mess’. Perhaps a quote for the cost of replacement.
Then write a formal letter of demand to the store asking for the cost of the replacement. Give them a set period of time to respond (eg a week, two, three days - whatever). Know that you will likely burn any bridges/relationships you may have with the shop.
If they ignore the letter or tell you to get stuffed, then:
3. Small claims court? OR
4. Complaint to fair trading in your state?
I’ve spoken to them and they’ve said to use the forks and if I am not satisfied with the condition take the entire bike into them to see what they can do. If I am not satisfied then they ‘might’ replace the forks.
I’m not confident that they’ll actually do this but I have to trust them. They do not have a dodgey reputation.
I should say that they rang before I picked them up and told me how much of a mess they had made of the forks but assured me that they still worked.
I’ll post a pic shortly
if you are happy to use the fork as it, assuming it works as required, then at least make sure they refund you whatever they charged.
if you are not happy, and not confident in the functionality of their work, then get them to refund what they charged, and replace the fork. they are professionals, if you pay them for work and they cock it up, its their responsibility.
I didn’t I needed thread further down because the tube was too long. I was going to saw off what wasn’t needed after I did a trial installation and measure everything twice.
Yeah sorry, that was pretty obvious… the forum is running ins super slow mo and I didn’t a chance to edit that question… anyway, yes, it looks like a very didgy job.
Sounds like you don’t need to do any of what I suggested.
Instead, just tell them you feel like they have ruined the forks by screwing up (sorry bad pun) the threads. Explain that you are not happy to use them from a safety perspective, and that you would like a replacement set. Find another NOS set of similar/same forks and ask them to cover it. Or ask a framebuilder if it is possible to fix the steerer and get a quote for that.
If you get new forks, then expect to give the shop the current forks or accept less than the total amount. Some people want to have their cake and eat it too. I’m not suggesting you’re like this, just that if someone is asking for compensation it shouldn’t put them in a better position than when they started. (You may find the old forks in the bin out the back of the shop that night - But at least the shop has the option of fixing them/binning them itself).
I am using my bike (with current forks) in a photoshoot on the weekend so early next week I will take bike and forks and get them to install them. I’ll ride it for a while and see what happens.
(Posting full of piss) I like you Aaron, but sometimes I get annoyed why people want to save money, but then go to a bike shop rather than ask a friend. I could give you half a dozen shops in Bris who could have done the job properly but you would pay for it. One of those shops is probably your closest bike shop - which I have used to cut and thread spokes when no-one in Aus could supply the right spoke.
Im respect what bike shops do - and they all are trying to meet a market. In Bris I have particular loyalties, but will go to one of 15 odd to get the right part or service that I know can be provided instantly.
IMO that’s fvcked… put a price on dental work lately?
Print out a receipt or ebay auction for the value of the forks and demand they reimburse you for the total amount. You may have compromised the steerer, or the threads may not hold the headset. I wouldn’t want to be the test dummy to find out when/if they go whilst riding and if the shop can’t swallow the cost they shouldn’t be in business. There’s no excuse for such a butcher job like that.
