iRob Posted February 28, 2011 Author Posted February 28, 2011 I have a 2010 Giant XTC 29er which I built about a month ago - the paint is super thin and super soft... After Clarens my bike was "dull" - almost like it had been lightly sand blasted - no amount of polishing seems to fix it. I did give it a comprehensive polish when it was just a frame prior to building. Also - I plugged a sidewall cut and didn't cut the end off - in a hurry to finish. The slapping from the plug went through all the layers of paint and I now have two shiny alu bits on my chain stays. I'm not expecting diamond quality paint on bikes and Clarens was not the best outing for a new bike but I am somewhat disappointed in the Giant paint. See, thats something I'd at least like Giant to consider. Review the paint application, adhesives etc. If it makes a bike's frame 100g heavier then flip make it 100g heavier, like the old bikes were, as long as quality isn' compromised. Just a suggestion though.
iRob Posted February 28, 2011 Author Posted February 28, 2011 I still think you have been shafted here. Man, after the lack of interest by Dragons, I'm so over it right now, just glad to be back on my bike again.
pauloc Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Geez - sorry to read about your hassles iRob. I'm currently in the market for a new frame, and have been keeping my eyes open for an Anthem, but with after sales service like this, I'll definitely be looking at other options. There's no doubting that the bikes are awesome, but the local distributors are doing the brand no favours.
Monark Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 Wow I am even more disappointed... Giant for the fail I would be emailing Giant in Taiwan...
iRob Posted March 2, 2011 Author Posted March 2, 2011 I went to a signage company in Milnerton and had a bunch stickers made. True the cut-line could have been done better, but I'm impressed. I even made 2 Giant stickers; oe of the logo and one exact replica of the text on the head tube. They look surpurb! I've chosen this sticker to i) Remind me that this is still a bicycle which will get old, and ii) In keeping with the whole getting over Dragons theme: Don't worry be happy (and get out there and enjoy mountain biking!!!)
PhilipV Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 Man, this sucks. A bit more than a year ago my giant XTC frame cracked on the chainstay.Dragons didn't want warrantee it as they had no hardtails in stock. They couldn't even tell me if they had a frame coming in the shipment that was supposed to arrive in a couple of weeks. I needed a frame ASAP as this was three weeks before a big race. I claimed from insurance and bought a Merida. The guys at Cytek stripped a bike so that I could have the frame in time. Two weeks after that a mate of mine pitched up at a ride with a brand new Giant XTC frame in my size. That made me negative. Needless to say my next bike won't be a Giant.
iRob Posted March 17, 2011 Author Posted March 17, 2011 Jo, that does suck. It seems that they don't keep "just-in-case" warranty stock, and I'm also pretty sure that they do not replace your damaged bike with one from a shop. It just makes little business sense on the latter though. It is such a pity that Dragons is given Giant such a bad name, as the Giant brad, internationally, seems to be incredibly well respected. Anyway, I'm looking to buy a 29r hardtail, and will most probably not by a Giant. I'll probably just "import" one directly if I did anyway. Someone told me that there was no Giant stand at the Argus Expo, I can imagine why, SO many people want to give Dragons a piece of their minds. And perhaps fists too. Maybe someone should look into becoming a new distributor of Giant in SA. Dragons cannot always have been doing it or always do it. But please keep it in Cape Town :-)
Above Average Joe Posted March 21, 2011 Posted March 21, 2011 Hi This is going to sound silly, but when I get a new bike the first thin I do is give the frame a really good coat of polish with a good quality car polish. I believe this goes a long way in protecting the paint work. I normally re-polish every 6 months. I have owned two giants and have never had any issues with the paint work.Is it fine to use the polish on a carbon frame?
iRob Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 Is it fine to use the polish on a carbon frame? Check it with Ghostface (one of the Giant distribution agent employees). I've had issues with the paint quality as this thread tells, so run it by Giant first. It'll help you should something go wrong.
dts29 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 So glad I saw this thread now. Customer service like this is not acceptable and will remove Giant from my list of possibilities for a new mountain bike. Thanks for letting us know guys.
iRob Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 So glad I saw this thread now. Customer service like this is not acceptable and will remove Giant from my list of possibilities for a new mountain bike. Thanks for letting us know guys. Hi I again re-iterate that the point of this thread was not to slate Giant in any way. The irony is that if you buy the majority of bikes available in SA, it most likely manufactured in a Giant owned factory... I was keen to have this sorted under warranty, but am ok with it now. I'll think twice before buying a Giant again, if only because of the local distributor... Anyway, if the bike make sense and is value for money, then buy it. I'm still a huge Giant fan though!
dts29 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hi I again re-iterate that the point of this thread was not to slate Giant in any way. The irony is that if you buy the majority of bikes available in SA, it most likely manufactured in a Giant owned factory... I was keen to have this sorted under warranty, but am ok with it now. I'll think twice before buying a Giant again, if only because of the local distributor... Anyway, if the bike make sense and is value for money, then buy it. I'm still a huge Giant fan though! Agreed, to me there is a lot of value in customer service. Distributors can decide how they will treat customers. Customers can choose how and where they spend their money. Places like theHUB helps us make up our minds, and have silly internet pissing contests but mostly the information stuff. You could have gone off on a rant and slammed Giant, the distributor and everybody that ever sold a bike. You didnt, you gave a clear account of your dealings with a company and their representation in SA. This helped me form an opinion of them and decide where to spend my money. So thanks for that!
iRob Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 Agreed, to me there is a lot of value in customer service. Distributors can decide how they will treat customers. Customers can choose how and where they spend their money. Places like theHUB helps us make up our minds, and have silly internet pissing contests but mostly the information stuff. You could have gone off on a rant and slammed Giant, the distributor and everybody that ever sold a bike. You didnt, you gave a clear account of your dealings with a company and their representation in SA. This helped me form an opinion of them and decide where to spend my money. So thanks for that! I'm glad that you could use the post constructively. I must say, I kind of like the "fix".
Eldron Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Personally I feel every bike comes with positives and negatives. The poor paint quality on my XTC 29er is obviously a negavtive and requires me to treat it with ye olde kids gloves. The positives easily outweigh the kids gloves aspect and I would have made the same purchase if I'd known about the paint problem before the sale... That said - I am VERY proud of my bikes and having the paint lose gloss and scratch so easily does make me kinda heart sore.
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