New Bike not as Advertised

[ephemeric]

Hi,

I apologise if this is the incorrect place to post on this topic.

I need some advice please.

I bought a new 2023 Silverback Stride Sport on the 03-02-2024 from Cycle Lab in Lynnwood. Bike was marked down from R12,000 to R8,000. At the time, I thought it was a good deal.

I am 49 years old, 85kg, plus bike and gear altogether is about 105kg. Well within the max total of 120kg.

After about 32 days the freehub started slipping. Took me a week to diagnose and confirm the issue. Both hubs drone/squeak. Said freehub slips when in 7th, 8th gear on an incline pedalling hard. I ride the bike on dirt roads in and around Bashewa, Pretoria East. Nothing heavy.

Took back to CL and I must say the staff were very helpful. Great team. I am awaiting a warranty replacement which is been done as we speak. There are freehub issues on this model, not sure if other Silverback models are affected for those thinking of buying.

My main complaint however, is: the bike is advertised on their site with a certain spec. The bike I bought has a different spec.

https://www.cyclelab.com/product/1017956-bike-mtb-ht-alu-slvback-stride-sport-my23

Bike is advertised as having:

- SRAM chain (PYC chain supplied)

- Shimano rotors (Tektro supplied, which is reasonable given the brakes are Tektro)

- Shimano TX505 hubs (cannot see a name on FH or RH?)

- chain guide (no chain guide supplied)

Of all the things, the most upsetting is the hubs. I feel the supplied hubs are simply awful. Besides that, I feel it is false advertising and I have been cheated.

I am going to ask Jaco, the store manager next week when I collect the bike, what, if anything can be done.

What are my options? Am I over reacting? Do I file a complaint with the CPA? First speak with the store manager and take it from there?

I am well aware that manufacturers and hence retailers cover themselves with the typical legal jargon of "specifications are subject to change without prior notice" and "images are for illustrative purposes only". Sigh.

Thank you.

 

Edited March 16 by ephemeric
spelling

[thebob]

Going into the store and asking for some entry level components on an entry level bike to be swapped for other entry level components is going to get you nowhere. Get the bike fixed under warranty and ride it. If it continues to break, continue to take it in under warranty and get it fixed until the warranty is no more. Hopefully by that time you'll be ready and able to go for something nicer

And no, you were not cheated. Manufacturers regularly had to substitute parts on bikes in the recent past just to be able to have units to sell. Not the case now, but could have been when your bike was manufactured

Edited March 16 by thebob

[RobertWhitehead]

1 hour ago, ephemeric said:

Am I over reacting? Yes

 

I won't go that far to say the bike is not as advertised, I mean you will most likely find that those unbranded hubs are in fact some early level Shimano with cone and ball bearings. Have you looked at that model hubs? They go for R399. As @thebob mentioned, no point.....

Other than that the chain guide was most likely forgotten during the assembly process 

[ephemeric]

I mailed Silverback and got told that the model I bought is available in different specs. There is a "high" spec and a "low" spec.

After reading 

it seems that CL is advertising a "high" spec online and selling a "low" spec.

It seems that "not as advertised" and "false advertising" are open to interpretation...

Oops, I'm guilty after reading

and will take that post as the "standard welcome" to BH.

As @thebob posted: ride the bike for 12 months and get "something decent". I just spent 8K on a bike and I won't have 20-30K 12 months later for something better. 8K, at least to me is a _lot_ of money. I'm happy for BH users that have loads of cash to buy bikes but I don't.

Thank you for all the free, good advice everyone.

 

[sirmoun10goat]

Hi vs low spec is hardly going to come down to just chain, disks and hubs being different. It would be more like fork, drivetrain, complete wheels, etc

Still don’t think you were misled by the advertising. Chains and disks are often substituted with what is available.

And there is no basis to assume you have inferior hubs just because you don’t see shimano branding 

[Koos Likkewaan 2]

I think for R8,000 that is not a bad bike at all. Maybe spend the R4,000 "saving" and add about another R3,000 over the next 12 months to upgrade it a little (wheelset), and I think you will have a very nice bike that will give you a lot of happy km's.

[Skubarra]

3 hours ago, ephemeric said:

I mailed Silverback and got told that the model I bought is available in different specs. There is a "high" spec and a "low" spec.

 

In principal I am with you, if I buy a bike new I would not be happy if I get "low" spec parts and someone else gets "high" specs.

Just to clarify, what would be the price difference between the low spec and high spec parts?

[ephemeric]

52 minutes ago, sirmoun10goat said:

Hi vs low spec is hardly going to come down to just chain, disks and hubs being different. It would be more like fork, drivetrain, complete wheels, etc

Still don’t think you were misled by the advertising. Chains and disks are often substituted with what is available.

And there is no basis to assume you have inferior hubs just because you don’t see shimano branding 

Noted. Point taken. Thank you for your input.

[ephemeric]

29 minutes ago, Koos Likkewaan 2 said:

I think for R8,000 that is not a bad bike at all. Maybe spend the R4,000 "saving" and add about another R3,000 over the next 12 months to upgrade it a little (wheelset), and I think you will have a very nice bike that will give you a lot of happy km's.

In theory the idea is great... but 3K gets you nothing. I looked at wheelsets: 10K for something solid with sealed bearings. But, appreciate the input @Koos Likkewaan 2! Is it just me or has the Rand gone to a complete ball? Everything is so expensive.

I regret buying this bike: the *classic* case of "goedkoop is duurkoop"! I am an idiot.

[Rowl]

Allow me to ask the question, you took delivery of the bike with what we'll call lower spec parts. Did you not inspect and note at that point that the bike is not the same spec as advertised and raise it then?

Then the freehub etc has been/will be replaced under warranty? And you received good service from CL?

You mention you ride Pta East, has the bike been up to spec? Shifting/braking/etc?

My opinion, I wouldn't expect for R8k new to get anything but entry level and if things break, then just happy to get them replaced under warranty. Yes things are not supposed to break, but free of charge replacement addresses that.

So your R8k investment is still solid in my mind. But we may feel different about this🙂

 

FYI many 2nd hand wheel options available:

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/mountain-bike-wheels?meta_brake_type[is_multi_select]=true&meta_brake_type[value]=29"

 

[agentorenge]

On 3/16/2024 at 5:58 PM, ephemeric said:

Hi,

I apologise if this is the incorrect place to post on this topic.

I need some advice please.

I bought a new 2023 Silverback Stride Sport on the 03-02-2024 from Cycle Lab in Lynnwood. Bike was marked down from R12,000 to R8,000. At the time, I thought it was a good deal.

I am 49 years old, 85kg, plus bike and gear altogether is about 105kg. Well within the max total of 120kg.

After about 32 days the freehub started slipping. Took me a week to diagnose and confirm the issue. Both hubs drone/squeak. Said freehub slips when in 7th, 8th gear on an incline pedalling hard. I ride the bike on dirt roads in and around Bashewa, Pretoria East. Nothing heavy.

Took back to CL and I must say the staff were very helpful. Great team. I am awaiting a warranty replacement which is been done as we speak. There are freehub issues on this model, not sure if other Silverback models are affected for those thinking of buying.

My main complaint however, is: the bike is advertised on their site with a certain spec. The bike I bought has a different spec.

https://www.cyclelab.com/product/1017956-bike-mtb-ht-alu-slvback-stride-sport-my23

Bike is advertised as having:

- SRAM chain (PYC chain supplied)

- Shimano rotors (Tektro supplied, which is reasonable given the brakes are Tektro)

- Shimano TX505 hubs (cannot see a name on FH or RH?)

- chain guide (no chain guide supplied)

Of all the things, the most upsetting is the hubs. I feel the supplied hubs are simply awful. Besides that, I feel it is false advertising and I have been cheated.

I am going to ask Jaco, the store manager next week when I collect the bike, what, if anything can be done.

What are my options? Am I over reacting? Do I file a complaint with the CPA? First speak with the store manager and take it from there?

I am well aware that manufacturers and hence retailers cover themselves with the typical legal jargon of "specifications are subject to change without prior notice" and "images are for illustrative purposes only". Sigh.

Thank you.

 

R8000  doesnt buy you a new bike, get a grip. 

[RobertWhitehead]

3 hours ago, ephemeric said:

In theory the idea is great... but 3K gets you nothing. I looked at wheelsets: 10K for something solid with sealed bearings. But, appreciate the input @Koos Likkewaan 2! Is it just me or has the Rand gone to a complete ball? Everything is so expensive.

I regret buying this bike: the *classic* case of "goedkoop is duurkoop"! I am an idiot.

Hang on, wait. I have had a look at this bike. It has very nice lines, reminds me of the Marlin from Trek (the brand you should have gotten ). 

I see from the specs that it tips the scale at 15.55kg - flip that's heavy. No wonder you think you bought a dud. 

As mentioned before, it is a decent looking frame, what's letting it down is it's baggage (the fluffy Christmas fat if you want). You will be able to get the weight down to around 12-13kg even more if you upgrade some of the parts: 

Fork will likely drop: 1 - 1.5kg

Crank and BB: 800g - 1kg

Tubeless - unsure really, can't recall if this drops the weight 

Upgrading the microshift 1x8 to some Shimano or SRAM 1x12 may add weight 

You can always have the wheels rebuilt with proper sealed bearing hubs but I'm not sure what the rim quality is like

Total savings in terms of weight 1.8 - 2.5kg

15.55 - 1.8 = 13.50 ish

15.55 - 2.5 = 13.00 ish 

13 is still on the heavy side but at least you'll have a proper jumping off point for future upgrades. 

Just a side note: 

I can guarantee that the freehub on the back wheel will not cater for a wider cassette. I can also not confirm from the kiekies if the steerer on the fork is straight or tapered and lastly it also does not say if it's boost or non boost and because I am lazy and it is late I don't want to explore other websites .

The above will have a big impact on the price of the upgrade parts. 

Edited March 21 by RobertWhitehead
Skarramoesh

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, ephemeric said:

In theory the idea is great... but 3K gets you nothing. I looked at wheelsets: 10K for something solid with sealed bearings. But, appreciate the input @Koos Likkewaan 2! Is it just me or has the Rand gone to a complete ball? Everything is so expensive.

I regret buying this bike: the *classic* case of "goedkoop is duurkoop"! I am an idiot.

 

Sealed bearings vs cup-and-cone .....

 

 

Cheap sealed bearings is a money pit !!

 

Cup.and.cone can be serviced easily and can give you many years of good service.

[Robbie Stewart]

At the end of the day I understand OP's issue in that money is tight and when you spend it you want the highest return on the investment and in that he has a valid point, on paper. In practice on the other hand the perceived value does not align with actual value. And therein lies the rub.

The main problem from my understanding is actually the fact that mountain biking, as like any hobby these days, is super expensive. If you don't want to spend money hand over first with no end in sight, then exit the sport now. Stop the drainage, cut your losses and run without looking back. 

Failing that and he decides to stay then it's best to understand that buying the bike is just the beginning. Wait till it needs servicing, or you start doing events, or you fall and need new gear to replace the shredded gear and smashed helmets. Or the trip(s) , yes - trips with an S, to the ER. Replacement parts, new chains, new tyres, new grips, new brakes, new chains rings, new cassettes. I can go on.

What I'm getting at is that this is a very pricey sport and you have to decide how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.

I bought a new specialised stumpjumper Evo last November and within less than 100km it completely deleted the freehub body ending in a warranty replacement. Do I still ride the bike? Yes, and it's a complete beast of a bike at that. Since then I've had no issues. But I was willing to spend on a decent bike and still had a issue that was resolved immediately like OP has.

[OVERDRIVE]

Return the bike. Try get you money back. Get in touch with @Titan Racing Bikes directly for a new bike and never set your foot in Cycle Lab again. 

Edited March 21 by OVERDRIVE

[RobertWhitehead]

3 hours ago, OVERDRIVE said:

Return the bike. Try get you money back. Get in touch with @Titan Racing Bikes directly for a new bike and never set your foot in Cycle Lab again. 

On paper that's a great idea, in reality the chances of that happening is very close to zero. 

foot in Cycle Lab again - you can't say that. There's a lot of folks who believe that going to a biiiiiig LBS will give me the best bang for buck. It's the Marko model . Buying 6 years worth of handy Andy and 3kg of polony in one go is the bees knees 

Edited March 22 by RobertWhitehead
Skarramoesh