Hi,
Anyone else had a letter from your bike shop for a recall of their Specialized bike (see http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/09/bikes-and-tech/specialized-recalls-12000-globe-bikes_239896)
I'm quite surprised by the length of time it takes, since their advice is to "stop riding affected bikes immediately" I thought it would be a question of days, but it's been 2 weeks now (and seeing the links above, more than a month since they know about that). Do they really expect people to stop using their bike completely (for commuting, for ex) for weeks or months?
Is it worth complaining, or is it common practice?
Also, last years, my seat post broke. It was a sharp clean break, as a twig. At the Bicycle Co-op they said it's not normal and probably a defect in the metal, but seeing this recall, I'm wondering now if I could/should have complained to them at the time and ask for a refund of the new seat post!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Specialized recall
(39 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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The front fork on my old Specialized snapped in two after many years of faithful service. Thankfully not while it was being ridden. Admittedly that bike was probably bought in the 80s so this isn't entirely relevant, but when has that ever stopped someone from posting to CCE?
My current steel framed [Paper] bike is likely to last a lot longer, or so they say.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm literally just about to set off on an errend on my Globe Vienna from 2009. Though as it's a Vienna 2, which does not appear to be affected? Different forks maybe?
My neighbour has an older Globe bike, I'd better check what model it is...
Posted 12 years ago # -
According to the Spesh web site it's just the models with aluminium forks that are affected: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/support/safety-notices
Presumably the CrMo forks on my Vienna 2 will last until they rust away...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Hmm. Looks like my neighbour has a 2008 Globe Sport (Women's) with alu forks. Better tell her about the recall!
Posted 12 years ago # -
After their full recall of all 2011 Tricross models to replace the carbon forks, Specialized aren't having a good couple of years !
Posted 12 years ago # -
Had a phone call from the Bicycle coop saying they are ready to process my bike, but I didn't realize that the way Specialized wants to deal with it is to send the new fork only when they receive the old fork, meaning I have to leave my bike at the shop for up to 2 weeks... I'm quite pissed off...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Can borrow a bike from LB. Got a single speed Paper Bicycle with hub lights. EBC don't have extras ?
Posted 12 years ago # -
They didn't offer (despite making quite clear that I was annoyed not having my bike for all this time)...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Send in a claim to Specialized for travel costs while without your bike!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I had a recall on a crank before. The deal was that I had to remove it myself, post it to them and await a replacement. I was less than impressed that they expected me to pay any labour costs on a defective product myself, although I can understand why they wouldn't want to ship out a replacement until they had the original in their posession to check off serial numbers, etc.
EBC's aftersales care and their "we can book it in some point next month" service system has never impressed me (i bought a bike from them once).
I think with any defective part where manufacturer or supplier is at fault, you should be at liberty to have any bike shop you choose to fix it (so long as they're qualified to do so), at the expense of the guilty party.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Borrow Laidbacks paper bike and get him to write up an invoice for the rental then send it off with your forks. If they ignore you at least you'll not be much out of pocket.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I had my globe booked in for the 15th to be called back and told they couldn't get the replacement forks. So far they haven't called back. Mine is a bike to work. Given the letter I received from the EBC dated 16 of last month, I wasn't impressed that they hadn't been in touch with me earlier. I made this point to them. They never said the bike would be in the workshop for a fortnight. I will check this out when I call them back today.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Well, I might have been exaggerating a bit when I said 2 weeks, but they said "it's probably going to take up to 10 days, but we cannot guarantee it, it might be longer...". Also, the EBC sent letters mid-October, but the Specialized recall message was published on 25th September (see link in my original post), so, if we'd followed their recommendation at the time, this could be a total of almost 2 months without bike!
Posted 12 years ago # -
At least they sent letters. I only found out about my crank by accident, the retailer of the bike it came with was of an opinion that it was up to me to find out and deal with the supplier directly. As the retailer was in the Lake District and it was most convenient to deal with the problem by post, I didn't end up arguing the toss. Then again, a crank-arm is easier to get through your postbox and install than a fork.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I have just called EBC again and apparently there's still no sign of the new fork :-( They say that they want things to go as quickly as possible but have to wait for Specialized to send the new ones.
When I complained to Specialized, they say they have plenty of forks in stock and can send them overnight by courier! To be fair to EBC I guess it depends on the fork model, colour, etc... I don't know who is lying but I'm more and more annoyed... I reiterated to EBC that I find that incredible and not happy, but they don't seem to care.
£3.5 bus day ticket times ~40 days without bikes (If I had followed Specialized notice) = £140!Posted 12 years ago # -
Another week and still no fork (and no bike). It's beyond a joke now!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Crazy. I think unfortunately this says more about EBC than Spesh.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Balls. i gave my bike in to get the fork exchanged yesterday and would be very out of sorts if it stretches beyond a week to get back on the road..
Posted 12 years ago # -
I called EBC again, and they put all the blame on Specialized. However, I suspect they took their time before sending of my fork. Anyway, they say that it was confirmed by Specialized on 12th September (I brought my bike on the 4th) and they are still waiting. So, I guess it's both EBC and Specialized's fault. What I find unbelievable is that the original recall was published on 25th September, and the advice was to stop using our bike immediately... 2 month ago!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I collected my bike last night so i've had better luck with this recall.
EBC had even given the bike a quick check over and included one of their vouchers on top.
I did see a few other Globes in the workshop so maybe they have done a batch this week.Posted 12 years ago # -
They explained that some forks take a lot longer than others (depending on model, colour, etc) and that unfortunately, mine seem to be a "slow one" and not part of the last batch, despite me contacting them as soon as I received the letter! I hope they'll give me some vouchers too (or a rebate on the expensive service I asked for...)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Unbelievable! After complaining for the second time to Specialized Customer Service, they sent me an email this morning to apologize and add "We are expecting another consignment of forks to arrive with us during the second week of December. As soon as they arrive, we should be able to fulfil all the backorders."
So, adding one week for them to send the fork to EBC and for them to fit it, I'll probably be without bike for 6-7 weeks!
To be fair, they offer me "£100 worth of Specialized accessories of your choice as a goodwill gesture" (not even sure what I could get!) but still, I'm not too happy!!! If only they didn't insist on sending the old fork before them sending the new one, I could have taken the risk and use my bike for all these weeks...Posted 12 years ago # -
Sorry to hear about the continuing saga. I think this is where the n+1 phenomenon is a winner. If you have more than one bike, who cares if one is stuck at EBC for a couple of months? If I'd been you, I'd have picked up a second hand beater from GumBay and ridden it into the ground these past weeks...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Thanks, yes, I realize now that's what I should have done, but I guess in my naiveness, I never believed it could be that long!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I’ve just caught up with this thread.
As a Bike Co-op employee, first I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone rendered temporarily bike-less by the recall of 2008/9 Specialized Globe bicycles with aluminium forks. I can totally understand your frustration.
In the spirit of openness, allow me to share our take on recalls.
Believe us, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op (and any other bicycle shop) would love a world were product recalls were unnecessary. Changing the forks on hundreds of bikes takes up hundreds of workshop hours that would otherwise be used catering for our customers’ everyday servicing needs. However, when we hear of a potential issue with any bicycle we take the view that the rider’s safety is paramount.
In days gone by, when there were fewer global brands, recalls were extremely rare. So much so, throughout the Bike Co-op’s 35-year history, we have frequently found ourselves negotiating the best possible solution on behalf of our customers when manufactures were initially unwilling to admit a problem with a bicycle or component.
The fact that today’s more enlightened bicycle companies, such as Specialized, take responsibility for potential issues is a good thing. Their willingness to proactively announce product recalls illustrates their commitment to the riders’ safety.
This takes us to the current Specialized fork recall. When they became aware of potential fork steerer failure that could be attributed to a manufacturing fault, Specialized initiated a recall of every Globe bicycle sold worldwide between 2007 and 2009. We are talking tens of thousands of bikes here.
Specialized’s UK arm instructed us in October to alert every one of our 2008 or 2009 Globe customers with clear instructions that they must stop riding their Globe and return the bike to us so we could replace their forks.
Because so many Globe models were affected by the recall, Specialized UK (who are based in outer London) insisted that rather than supply us with a batch of forks, we had to send every fork individually back to them, so Specialized could replace the fork with one that best matched the style and colour of the original.
When Specialized UK had the fork in stock, they could get the replacement fork to us within around a week.
Unfortunately for you who have been kept waiting longer, Specialized had too few replacement forks, hence the bottleneck in supply. Believe me, we are extremely frustrated by the resulting delays. Naturally, we asked Specialized UK the fundamental question: ‘Why did you not have sufficient replacement forks in stock when you announced the recall?’
Specialized reiterated the principle that, in situations like this, rider safety is paramount, so their first concern was to urge 2008/9 Globe bicycle owners to stop using their bikes.
The next step was sourcing replacement forks. Replacing forks is, logistically, far more complicated than previous recalls for handlebars or cranks for instance, where the potentially faulty component can be replaced with a new one ‘off the peg’. Forks have to be manufactured from scratch to exacting CN standards. They have to match the bike’s frame in colour and style. They have to be shipped to every corner of the world from the far east.
Having passed on Specialized’s instructions to advice every one of our 2008/9 Specialized Globe purchasers to stop riding their bikes, the Bike Co-op now finds itself in an invidious situation. We want to do the right thing by our customers but we are frustrated by the inability of our supplier to deliver as quickly as you have every right to expect. This is not a slight on Specialized. Generally speaking, they are among the most professional companies in the cycle industry.
While this is no comfort for those of you still waiting to get your bicycle back, despite the logistical complexity of this process, to date we have replaced the forks of around 50% of the bikes affected by this recall. I assure you that the Bike Co-op are doing everything in our power to hasten this process for the owners of Globe bikes still awaiting replacement forks.
Thank you for allowing me to use this forum to help explain this recall.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Well that's a comprehensive explanation!
Thanks HB.
I suppose there is still the issue of whether Specialized will compensate the most seriously disadvantaged.
I wonder if people have been asked "would you take a different colour?"
Posted 11 years ago # -
Thanks HibeeBiker for the explanations.
The only two problems I still have (and I don't know really whose fault it is):
1. if safety is paramount, why did Specialized UK decide to go ahead and ask you to send letters at least two weeks after the recall was published online.
2. I think that I've been told that Specialized acknowledge reception of my fork only 8 days after I brought my bike in the shop. I wouldn't call that "fast"!I contacted EBC as soon as I received the letter, so, I really have done anything possible.
If I had been asked if I mind having a different colours, I would have said "of course not"!
Specialized UK customer service is talking about compensating with free Specialized accessories (maybe £100?); all very well, but I don't really need any. I guess I can try to sell them....
Posted 11 years ago # -
Well, another week (week 6), still no news of the forks! It looks increasingly likely that I might not have it back before I'm going away for Christmas!
Posted 11 years ago # -
It doesn't need to be a Specialized fork. I'd be asking for any fork to replace it until Specialized come up with the goods. Failing that, they can send the whole bike back to Specialized and give you something else comparable instead.
Posted 11 years ago #
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