Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Dissapointed Rider of Pure XCR Wheelset & Unhappy Customer of BWW Customer Service

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  One Pivot 
#1 · (Edited)
Dissapointed Rider of Pure XCR Wheelset & Unhappy Customer of BWW Customer Service

So I've recently had a very poor experience with Bicycle Wheel Warehouse's Pure XCR Wheelset & and their Customer 'Service'. To give you an idea, here is the details of the wheelset I purchased from BWW almost a year ago.

Placed order on August 18th, 2009 for
Product: Mavic 721 Disc/V-Brake Custom Bike Wheels
Options: Front Wheel - Pure XCR White 6-bolt Nipple Options - DT Brass Black Rear Wheel - Pure XCR White 6-bolt Spoke Options - DT Comp Black 2.0/1.8
Quantity: 1
Product Code: 60430
Price: $382.00​

First of all, let me say that when the wheelset worked and from the initial purchase, I was a very satisfied buyer. But less than two months ago, all this began to change as the 'quality' and durability of the XCR rear hubs came to light. I began to have problems with my chain going slack while coasting, and a local bike shop helped me conclude there was problems in the pawls of the rear hub. It felt like a sticky hub, but they identified a few locations where there was significant problems - and they didn't feel comfortable investigating or repairing it because they had never worked on BWW hubs before. At this point, I was kind of bummed but accepted the fact that this type of stuff happens in bike riding, and can almost be expected.

I decided to try and take of my cassette and put it on another wheelset of mine so I could continue my weekends of riding. To my surprise, I was presented with another problem as soon as I was able to remove the casette (which wasn't easy because of the digging in). As you can see in the attached pictures, my regular shimano casette had dug into the freehub body as if it were made of cheap material. I had used this exact type of casette on my old wheelset without issues before.

Combining this with the problems of the pawls, I was pretty disappointed in the 'quality' of the near $400 wheelset I had purchased only 10 months prior. Keep in mind, I mostly do XC & all-mountain riding, and consider myself a pretty gentle user considering what this wheelset was built for (all-mountain/downhill).

So at this point, I wanted to let BWW know of these problems I've had and see if I would be covered under their 12-month warranty (Link to BWW Warranty) Well after trying to call numerous times and sending a detailed email, I finally reached a fellow named 'Pat' on 8.9.2010. I let him know of my problems, and also informed him I sent him an email with pictures attached. At the time, he seemed helpful and PROMISED to respond to my email with an email or phone call back by the end of the day. At the time, I felt happy that BWW would take the initiative and respond to a customer complaint appropriately.

Well fast forward to present time 8.13.2010, almost a full week and they have not responded back at all. No phone calls, no emails, no courtesy, and no followup on that promise from 'Pat'. I've tried following up with phone calls, and no one ever seems to pick up their phones or automated messages. As far as my experience, I felt like I gave them a chance to respond and handle things appropriately - but now I feel justified to escalate the problem and write this rather unhappy, but honest, review of their hubs and customer service.

If there's anyone with suggestions on how to proceed, I'd appreciate the help. BWW if you read this, just followup on your customers and come through with your promises to respond accordingly.


For you short readers, here is a bullet-point summary

  • Bought a $400 XCR wheelset in August 2009
  • Started having rear hub problems 2 months ago
  • LBS said problems with pawls, and found out casette had dug in body like cheap plastic(pictures attached)
  • Tried to contact BWW, was promised a response end of business day by 'Pat'
  • Waited one week, and followed up without any response (no call/emails)
  • Unhappy BWW customer

*If there are new updates, I will be sure to keep the MTBR community updated as well. I hate to write such a poor review of a small wheel shop, but given this unpleasant experience, I feel there is no other option.

**note, based on the replies. I am aware that material types of cassette/body cause this digging-in to be a 'normal' problem, but thanks for the heads up. And as an update, I did get a reply from BWW just recently and expect to ship it out to them for them to inspect the pawls issue. And don't get me wrong, I liked their product and even their initial service when I bought it - maybe they had a busy week, or were short-handed, but my main gripe was with the way things were handled this week.
 

Attachments

See less See more
4
#2 ·
marcuslemarc said:
So I've recently had a very poor experience with Bicycle Wheel Warehouse's Pure XCR Wheelset & and their Customer 'Service'. To give you an idea, here is the details of the wheelset I purchased from BWW almost a year ago.

Placed order on August 18th, 2009 for
Product: Mavic 721 Disc/V-Brake Custom Bike Wheels
Options: Front Wheel - Pure XCR White 6-bolt Nipple Options - DT Brass Black Rear Wheel - Pure XCR White 6-bolt Spoke Options - DT Comp Black 2.0/1.8
Quantity: 1
Product Code: 60430
Price: $382.00​

First of all, let me say that when the wheelset worked and from the initial purchase, I was a very satisfied buyer. But less than two months ago, all this began to change as the 'quality' and durability of the XCR rear hubs came to light. I began to have problems with my chain going slack while coasting, and a local bike shop helped me conclude there was problems in the pawls of the rear hub. It felt like a sticky hub, but they identified a few locations where there was significant problems - and they didn't feel comfortable investigating or repairing it because they had never worked on BWW hubs before. At this point, I was kind of bummed but accepted the fact that this type of stuff happens in bike riding, and can almost be expected.

I decided to try and take of my cassette and put it on another wheelset of mine so I could continue my weekends of riding. To my surprise, I was presented with another problem as soon as I was able to remove the casette (which wasn't easy because of the digging in). As you can see in the attached pictures, my regular shimano casette had dug into the freehub body as if it were made of cheap material. I had used this exact type of casette on my old wheelset without issues before.

Combining this with the problems of the pawls, I was pretty disappointed in the 'quality' of the near $400 wheelset I had purchased only 10 months prior. Keep in mind, I mostly do XC & all-mountain riding, and consider myself a pretty gentle user considering what this wheelset was built for (all-mountain/downhill).

So at this point, I wanted to let BWW know of these problems I've had and see if I would be covered under their 12-month warranty (Link to BWW Warranty) Well after trying to call numerous times and sending a detailed email, I finally reached a fellow named 'Pat' on 8.9.2010. I let him know of my problems, and also informed him I sent him an email with pictures attached. At the time, he seemed helpful and PROMISED to respond to my email with an email or phone call back by the end of the day. At the time, I felt happy that BWW would take the initiative and respond to a customer complaint appropriately.

Well fast forward to present time 8.13.2010, almost a full week and they have not responded back at all. No phone calls, no emails, no courtesy, and no followup on that promise from 'Pat'. I've tried following up with phone calls, and no one ever seems to pick up their phones or automated messages. As far as my experience, I felt like I gave them a chance to respond and handle things appropriately - but now I feel justified to escalate the problem and write this rather unhappy, but honest, review of their hubs and customer service.

If there's anyone with suggestions on how to proceed, I'd appreciate the help. BWW if you read this, just followup on your customers and come through with your promises to respond accordingly.


For you short readers, here is a bullet-point summary

  • Bought a $400 XCR wheelset in August 2009
  • Started having rear hub problems 2 months ago
  • LBS said problems with pawls, and found out casette had dug in body like cheap plastic(pictures attached)
  • Tried to contact BWW, was promised a response end of business day by 'Pat'
  • Waited one week, and followed up without any response (no call/emails)
  • Unhappy BWW customer

*If there are new updates, I will be sure to keep the MTBR community updated as well. I hate to write such a poor review of a small wheel shop, but given this unpleasant experience, I feel there is no other option.
Sorry you are having issues with getting the pawl problem fixed.

But the cassette/FB body "problem" is perfectly normal, and much talked about, for hubs with aluminum FB bodies: which includes Chris King, Hope, DT Swiss, American Classic, WTB... basically most higher end hubs except Shimano. Use a cassette with individual cogs and they dig into the FB body. It is not a warranty issue.
 
#3 ·
Your cassette with a steel carrier dug into your aluminum cassette hub and its BWW's fault ? Sorry that your having difficulties getting satisfaction , part of the onus lies with you IMHO .
 
#4 ·
For reference, here is the model of my cassette: Shimano HG-50, 9-speed, 11-34t

To my understanding, this casette is 'one' piece except the two smallest cogs. Correct me if I am wrong? I am aware that is an issue given the two material types. If this really is the case, then I agree that the onus is with me for that issue. But my knock is not so much with the hubs themselves, more on just how they handled the situation over a week long period.
 
#5 ·
Find yourself a new LBS.

As a heads up, reading the warranty - your issue will fall under:


Bicycle Wheel Warehouse Warranty does not cover:
d. normal wear and tear or deterioration due to the use of the product,
g. Lubricants,
h. And expenditures related to the shipping, postage, or transport of the product to and from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse including all costs associated with International shipping;
i. The labor costs required or associated with the warranty service or replacement;


The issues you are experiencing are normal wear and tear. I have a similar set of hubs from a different manufacturer and the seals for the pawls are not great. One wet ride and the pawls need to be cleaned.

Fortunately, they are dead easy to get to.
 
#6 ·
marcuslemarc said:
For reference, here is the model of my cassette: Shimano HG-50, 9-speed, 11-34t

To my understanding, this casette is 'one' piece except the two smallest cogs. Correct me if I am wrong? I am aware that is an issue given the two material types. If this really is the case, then I agree that the onus is with me for that issue. But my knock is not so much with the hubs themselves, more on just how they handled the situation over a week long period.
You are wrong. That is an all steel cassette with separate cogs lightly bolted together. The "good" ones use an aluminum spider carrier for the larger cogs.

I just use the cheap cassettes and let them dig in.
 
#7 ·
Your cassette is one piece in that it is riveted together. BUT the cogs are still individual pieces, which dig in separately. Higher end cassettes have a solid aluminum piece to which the bigger cogs are riveted, meaning each individual cog does not touch the FH body. I have an aluminum freehub on my $700 wheelset and had the same issue with individual cogs digging in.

To be honest, I was expecting a little more effort on your part. Sounds like you only called them once? It's possible that they got busy, or your issues got pushed to the wayside by accident. I would try calling again, and send some emails too. Document everything so you have a stronger case if things do go south.
 
#8 ·
Yea I got the feeling that this LBS didn't touch too many wheelsets aside from the occasional truing and standard builds.

Thanks for the heads-up, and as an update, I was contacted by a BWW rep just a short while ago via email. Thanks for the replies, and I hope to have a decent experience moving forward.

forkboy said:
Find yourself a new LBS.

As a heads up, reading the warranty - your issue will fall under:

Bicycle Wheel Warehouse Warranty does not cover:
d. normal wear and tear or deterioration due to the use of the product,
g. Lubricants,
h. And expenditures related to the shipping, postage, or transport of the product to and from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse including all costs associated with International shipping;
i. The labor costs required or associated with the warranty service or replacement;

The issues you are experiencing are normal wear and tear. I have a similar set of hubs from a different manufacturer and the seals for the pawls are not great. One wet ride and the pawls need to be cleaned.

Fortunately, they are dead easy to get to.
 
#9 ·
Oh no, I called them at least twice every day since the no response on Tuesday. I would call once in the morning, then another in the early afternoon.

Only after sending another message via their "contact us" with a link to this MTBR posting did I finally get a reply. Thanks for the information on the cogs, I will try that in the future perhaps.
Berkley said:
Your cassette is one piece in that it is riveted together. BUT the cogs are still individual pieces, which dig in separately. Higher end cassettes have a solid aluminum piece to which the bigger cogs are riveted, meaning each individual cog does not touch the FH body. I have an aluminum freehub on my $700 wheelset and had the same issue with individual cogs digging in.

To be honest, I was expecting a little more effort on your part. Sounds like you only called them once? It's possible that they got busy, or your issues got pushed to the wayside by accident. I would try calling again, and send some emails too. Document everything so you have a stronger case if things do go south.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top