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.
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
*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.
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
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.