Cycle Science in Broadacres Sells Fake Pinarello

[marko35s]

 

Yeah, we all know there is only one Ferrari of bicycles.

Any broken one thats red and way off the lead?

[Cellar]

Any broken one thats red and way off the lead?

 

No man, I was talking about the ugly over priced colnagos wif ferrari stickers.

[Shebeen]

CS...

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/f-p.gif

 

Just joking

???http://cleanmtb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/santa-cruz-logo.jpg

[Fast Forward]

Minimum Sentences - Act 105 / 1997: section 51(2) schedule 2 part 2 - first offender - 15 years imprisonment for ie. 'Any offence relating to exchange control, corruption, extortion, FRAUD, forgery, uttering or theft (b) involving amounts of MORE than R100 000.00, if proved the offence was committed by a person, group of persons, syndicate or any enterpriseacting in the execution or furtherance of a common purpose or conspiracy." Just saying....

[jmaccelari]

OK - I finally watched the insert.

 

ASG came out well. They owe AA nothing. He knew he was buying a grey import (not a fake, notice) so he absolved them of any responsibility in the matter. However, they inspected his bike for him and the other parts, so good on them.

 

As for Cycle Science... Wow. I could not believe these two guys performed like that on TV. Ronald Biggs and Al Capone could not have looked and sounded more guilty and less convincing. They sold cr@p to people, they know it, they admit it and they try to wriggle out of any culpability. The bit where they phoned 'Colin' and asked him if he know is bike was a fake was classic!

[Kona Kula]

Just watched the clip to. The guys in question appeared very dodge. Must say I don't think CB reporter was that great. Got very emotional and heated without needing to be.

Anyway, I feel sorry for the guys who got caught out in this scam. No one expects something like this from an "official" bike shop.

[Shebeen]

OK - I finally watched the insert.

 

ASG came out well. They owe AA nothing. He knew he was buying a grey import (not a fake, notice) so he absolved them of any responsibility in the matter. However, they inspected his bike for him and the other parts, so good on them.

 

As for Cycle Science... Wow. I could not believe these two guys performed like that on TV. Ronald Biggs and Al Capone could not have looked and sounded more guilty and less convincing. They sold cr@p to people, they know it, they admit it and they try to wriggle out of any culpability. The bit where they phoned 'Colin' and asked him if he know is bike was a fake was classic!

I can't believe they allowed the cameras in. They must have known that their line of defence was a piece of turd, how could they have come out of a video interview ahead of the game?

 

man, someone needs to do a mashup of that vid. when they were fumbling for excuses and clutching at straws it made Lloyd and Harry look like rocket scientists.

 

http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dumb-and-dumber-to__oPt.jpg

Edited April 8, 2014 by Shebeen

[Tumbleweed]

I can't believe they allowed the cameras in. They must have known that their line of defence was a piece of turd, how could they have come out of a video interview ahead of the game?

 

man, someone needs to do a mashup of that vid. when they were fumbling for excuses and clutching at straws it made Lloyd and Harry look like rocket scientists.

 

Were they door-stopped?

 

Didn't watch it, just read the transcript.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Tumbleweed

[MeridaHFS]

Anybody have a link to the video segment available for us plebs that did not watch or record it?

[scotty]

Just watched the clip to. The guys in question appeared very dodge. Must say I don't think CB reporter was that great. Got very emotional and heated without needing to be.

Anyway, I feel sorry for the guys who got caught out in this scam. No one expects something like this from an "official" bike shop.

The CB reporter has a medical condition, she's allergic to hearing BS.

[SwissVan]

Were they door-stopped?

 

Didn't watch it, just read the transcript.

 

Where did u see the transcript...for some reason I cannot see the CB clip?

[Shebeen]

Were they door-stepped?

 

Didn't watch it, just read the transcript.

dunno, would LOVE to see the unedited exchange!

 

but ja, Devi just lay it on them thick and they were backtracking like a long on who walked in too much in the final over with a maximum sailing over his head. Then when they put it to her that Andrew was talking ***, she produced him out of the shadow of a clothing rack selling Discovery channel GO Lance replica jerseys.

 

ok, i might have sliced that up a bit..but Andrew flew in from the cold and klapped them like a taxi driver with an ice cold Stoney

[gummibear]

Where did u see the transcript...for some reason I cannot see the CB clip?

Cycling is the new golf… It’s gone from a weekend pastime to a serious and pricey hobby.

Devi Sankaree Govender (Carte Blanche presenter): “Believe it or not, bicycles are big bucks. Serious cyclists can fork out anything up to R200k for one – and apparently the better the bike, the better the ride.

Andrew Armstrong - no relation to Lance - is a recreational cyclist. Last year, he upped his game and began training for the 235 kilometre ‘Three Peaks’ race in Australia. He went big and ordered a Pinarello Dogma from a Jo’burg bike shop, Cycle Science in Broadacres. The price tag - R91 000.

Andrew Armstrong (cyclist): “I like the brand, I like the bike, and I’ve had one previously. It’s an emotional decision more than anything else.”

Italian brand, Pinarello, is considered the Ferrari of bicycles. Chris Froome won the 2013 Tour de France on one.

In preparation for his big race, Andrew took his new pride and joy for a service at a bike shop in Sydney, Australia.

Andrew: “I went into the shop with my Pinarello, I was so proud to show them my new bike. And I was in the shop for literally two minutes and the guy said, ‘This bike is fake’. I thought he was joking at the time, but then he called everyone in the shop to come around and look at this fake bike and then it dawned on me it wasn’t a joke, it was actually fake.”

Devi: “As if it wasn’t bad enough to have a fake frame, it would appear that Andrew’s prized Pinarello was more “Chinarello” than he imagined.”

Andrew: “By this stage I’m close to tears - as you can imagine. The shop manager called me aside and said, after they saw the frame was fake, they did an inspection on the rest of the bike. They said the wheels were fake. So they advised me not to ride with those wheels - and the handles were also fake.”

Concerned for his safety over 200-odd kilometres, Andrew dug deep and coughed up R80 000 for a new Pinarello frame and replacement parts. Incensed, he sent a text message to Cycle Science back in South Africa. The reply made him even more indignant.

Andrew: “They said that I knew all along that it was a grey import.”

Devi : “ Is that true? Did you know that it was a grey import?”

Andrew: “No, I didn’t know. If it was a grey import, I would have kept it – because as long as it was a genuine Pinarello, or genuine Swiss DT wheels. But the fact is that there was nothing genuine about it. It was all fake.”

But Andrew wasn’t the only one to be taken for a ride by Cycle Science. His cycling buddy Michael Govender paid R75 000 for what he thought was a genuine Pinarello in November 2013. He was mortified when Andrew pointed out some of the tell-tale signs.

Michael Govender (cyclist): “I feel cheated, obviously. I mean, waiting for your dream bike for so long. I’ve been riding for 14-odd years, I’ve waited a while and now... [laughs]… paying that kind of money, you’d expect it to be real.”

Novice cyclist Grant de Ridder says he also got taken – he paid Cycle Science R71 000 for his bicycle in August 2013.

Grant de Ridder: “I was quite new to cycling. I didn’t even know you had a fake Pinarello, so there was no reason for me to check.”

Devi: “How did it feel knowing that you paid so much for a fake?”

Grant: “I was horrified. The worst part was, I was friends with the guys… they looked me in the eyes and they sold me something that was a complete fake – and it’s a risk to my safety when I’m riding the bike.”

Cycle Science responded in writing to both Grant and Andrew, insisting the bikes were grey imports and not fake.

Devi: “There is a big difference between grey imports and fakes. A fake is a copy, not made by the manufacturer. A grey import is an original, made by the manufacturer.”

Bruce Foulis (Pinarello, South Africa): “A grey import is a genuine product that did not come through the correct channels; it wasn’t bought through a certified agent in a particular country. And therefore that agent has a difficulty in supporting that product. “

Bruce Foulis is the agent for Pinarello in South Africa. He confirmed with the Italian manufacturer that Andrew’s bike was nothing more than a cheap Chinese knock-off.

Bruce: “R91k for a fake bicycle is a lot of money to pay – essentially that bicycle is worthless.”

The real deal would have cost between R150 000 and R160 000.

Devi: “What would you say their profit margin could have been?”

Bruce: “A fake frame you could pick up for a couple of hundred US dollars, maybe three or four thousand rand.”

But who would know and why does it matter?

Bruce: “The big concern about fake bikes is the safety to rider. The inferior materials that are used in manufacturing those frames or those handlebars are extremely dangerous when you take the bike out on the road.”

We asked Bruce to look at the bikes bought from Cycle Science by Andrew, Michael and Grant.

Bruce: “The quality of the carbon fibre that is used, you’ll see a very fine weave here [on screen], where you’ll see a very coarse asymmetrical weave used on that one [on screen]– and that’s the core of it. One of the other very important ones is - underneath the genuine article you will see a barcode that has a specially encrypted code. That barcode cannot come off; it’s under the clear coat of the paint and if you don’t have that serial number or that barcode on the product, which that one doesn’t, it is not the genuine product.”

It was time to get some answers from Cycle Science. When we arrived, owners John Fitzsimmons and Robbie Gallinetti were in the shop.

Devi: “Why are you selling fakes?”

John Fitzsimmons (Owner: Cycle Science): “We don’t, we don’t even stock them – they’re requested from us…”

Devi: “Why did you say you’ll do it? Why are you even dealing in fake anything?”

John: “Some people want a look-alike.”

Robbie Gallinetti (Owner: Cycle Science): “Some people want a look-alike, but can’t afford to pay the price.”

Devi: “Then they mustn’t buy it then.”

Robbie: “Tell them that!”

Devi: “No, tell you that – you’re selling them the fakes!”

We asked them about Andrew’s fake bike.

Devi: “He says that your version is incorrect and that you are lying.”

John: “His version is incorrect.”

Devi: “Here’s Andrew here… they say that you knew you were buying a fake?”

Andrew: “If I knew I was buying a fake, how come when I was in Australia I bought another bike?”

Robbie: “You were told it was not an original bike.”

Andrew: “Not at all.”

Robbie: “Really?”

Andrew: “Not at all.”

Robbie: “Why don’t you do a lie detector test?”

Andrew: “You can do any test you like. You’ve never ever told me – even in your letters you wrote ’it’s a grey import’ you never ever said it was fake.”

Devi: “No, now they admit that it is a fake and not even a grey import.”

Andrew: “They never ever told me it was a fake.”

Devi: “Are there other people that you sold fake Pinarellos to?”

Robbie: “Um… maybe.”

Devi: “Maybe?”

Robbie: “No, no, I’m just trying to think. I think there’s another one – Colin?”

Robbie and John say Colin also knew he was buying a fake – they gave us his number, so we called.

Devi: “Are you aware that that Pinarello is a fake?”

Collin: “No.”

Devi: “No?”

Colin: “No.”

It was also news to Colin…

Devi: “I asked him if he knew if his bike was in fact a fake and he said no, he didn’t! What’s this now?”

Robbie: “You know what?”

Devi: “What’s this? What do you want me to think?”

Robbie: “You know what… you can think what you like?”

Devi: “Do you agree that you shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place?”

John: “We know that…”

But John and Robbie still insist that the fakes are good quality.

Robbie: “I ride a fake bike.”

Devi: “Why would you ride a fake one… you run a bicycle shop?”

Robbie: “You know what? I’ve ridden most every bike that is out there - I can tell you that now, and it rides as good as any other bike.”

But Andrew, Michael and Grant want what they paid for.

Andrew: “What I want is them to pay me for the fake components – because I never ordered a fake anything.”

By Friday, Grant got his cash back, while Andrew and Michael were still waiting for their promised refunds.

[Tumbleweed]

Where did u see the transcript...for some reason I cannot see the CB clip?

 

http://carteblanche.dstv.com/story/Bicycle-Baddies-2014-04-06

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

OK - I finally watched the insert.

 

ASG came out well. They owe AA nothing. He knew he was buying a grey import (not a fake, notice) so he absolved them of any responsibility in the matter. However, they inspected his bike for him and the other parts, so good on them.

 

As for Cycle Science... Wow. I could not believe these two guys performed like that on TV. Ronald Biggs and Al Capone could not have looked and sounded more guilty and less convincing. They sold cr@p to people, they know it, they admit it and they try to wriggle out of any culpability. The bit where they phoned 'Colin' and asked him if he know is bike was a fake was classic!

 

Erm, listen again. He didn't claim anything of the sort.

[SwissVan]

Erm, listen again. He didn't claim anything of the sort.

 

According to the transcript above AA knew he was getting a Grey...

 

Andrew: “You can do any test you like. You’ve never ever told me – even in your letters you wrote ’it’s a grey import’ you never ever said it was fake.”