Hi, I would welcome peoples opinion on the following experience:

New bike (dream bike) summer 2013
Bike arrives not 100% to specification
Few rides in and not happy with performance of fork.
Few rides in and not happy with performance of chain guide (chain suck, poor shifting – MRP X2 with XT 2×10)
Call put into supplier regarding the above.
Informed to clean / degrease chain, check fork air pressures

Still have issues with chain guide/chain suck/OTB at speed unexpected/chain breaks in several places
Buy new chain(s) this happened twice.
Inspects forks to reveal ZERO oil in chamber
Need to buy new clothing as damaged along with pride and skin during one very big OTB

Subsequent inspection of bike reveals a large crack in frame
Warranty processed (almost a week later)
Jeopardises future road trip with deposits and transport arraignments up in the air
No feedback on ETA of replacement frame nor any replacement or offer of bike hire from supplier
Constant chasing up of replacement frame with no feedback other than being told to keep my expectations in check.

All of the above has happened. The bike is leased.

My gripe is that if the set up of the chain devise was correct then the OTB would not have happened resulting in damage to me and my belongings. The bike has had two new chains fitted. I now no longer have the bike I am accustomed to riding for a weekend trip that has been paid for in advance. Also the experience to date has been the worst I have ever experienced. No confidence in components nor the bike or supplier…

So a leased bike that I am not getting the benefit of and that is actually costing me with new chains, clothing, fox fork lube, monthly lease payments. Who should have liability for this. Is it acceptable to accept apologies when paying £200 per month on a lease + replacement parts and bike hire

what’s your thoughts on this guys?
bad luck, have a case, stop moaning??

You can lease bikes???

£3500 lapierre zesty – 18 months old frame cracks around BB…

Told by shop who are very helpful shouldn’t be long Hotlines are great…two weeks of constant chasing by shop to Hotlines and Hotlines not even acknowledge replacement or any dates for it.

I too am missing rides and planned trips now as no bike…will be looking at legal action if I don’t get at least a date soon that I can work around and even buy a cheap temporary bike to see me through.

Will not be buying another bike supplied through Hotlines distribution again!

£200 a month to lease a mountain bike?

FACCCK. Are you mad?

Should add anyone want to buy a zesty? 😆 turns out they badly made and service is awful for something so expensive!

I wouldn’t touch a Lapierre after the warranty stories.

This is why you should always have more than one bike!

You could get a loan for £5k, repayed over 5 years =£100 ish…

I would expect with a lease, you can hand back the asset and walk away. Surely thats one of the main benefits. Time to use that??

This is why I buy parts second hand and build bikes up myself. If anything goes wrong I only have my own dumb ass to blame – which I can live with.

Best time to buy bike bits is at the start of phase 2

yes, £200 month inc a super service package that I have transferred to a mechanic I actually trust. its for two years then I hand bike back. bike value is over £6k..

sold an old bike to fund this as id never buy a bike at £6500 rrp

but im not actually getting the use out of it nor the service I expected.

if this was for a car id have a replacement that day until the lease car was repaired.

where does the liability start and end?

The can’t be real surely.

£200 a month to lease a bike.

I don’t care what it is, that’s £7200 over 3 years. Or £12000 over 5.

Nobody is that stupid.

[EDIT] crossed posts above.

Still doesn’t make sense. Pay it over 3 years instead and you own it with over a £1000 spare change.

inc a super service package that I have transferred to a mechanic I actually trust.

how is that working out for you? Did he sort the forks and chain device?

£4800 give or take a few coins over two years.

insurance and servicing included.

remember the bike itself retailed at £6500 minus insurance and servicing…

money isn’t the issue until it goes wrong and your left high n dry.

I had never heard of leasing a mountain bike and had assumed the OP had confused HP with leasing. However I have found this Bike Swanky

Seems absolutely crazy!

IME a good quality bike from a popular brand would be worth at least 60% of its original price after 2 years, possiblyy more.

With the leasing option you would have to pay the 35% of rrp to own after the end of the lease.

Doesn’t add up to me.

yes, £200 month inc a super service package that I have transferred to a mechanic I actually trust. its for two years then I hand bike back. bike value is over £6k..

so let me get this straight…

you’re going to pay £4800 over 2 years, and at the end of it you will have nothing? nothing at all to show for it?

based on this it tells em you can afford to pay just shy of £5k over two years, why not just buy a £3-5k bike* outright (or with loan/finance) and then after 2 years you’ll still have a bike to ride!

*probably madness anyway when you’re having to take finance to do it and there’s much cheaper alternatives that would be almost as good

Despite all that does sound like the service is you’re getting is pretty poor, I’d go in and politely but firmly kick up a fuss until I got a resolution I was happy with, then go home and think seriously about my decision making process…

the financial aspect isn’t an issue. its actually a benefit as I should have a fantastic bike that I can swap at the end of the lease for a NEW one or walk away.

the gripes here is the service and after care and liability. if we can focus on these and come up with some constructive suggestions and opinions.

I think that if id have bought, built and ridden my own bike I wouldn’t be as mad tbh

lesson learned but please do focus on the service, liability and after care part as this surely cannot be a true reflection of the bike industry

OP

I think you need to read your rental contract very carefully ,then you may need to seek some legal advice.

the financial aspect isn’t an issue. its actually a benefit as I should have a fantastic bike that I can swap at the end of the lease for a NEW one or walk away.

Mate – How is that a benefit? If you swap for a new one you will still be paying £200 a month for a bike! As for walking away that’s just mental. You would of pissed £4800 down the drain!

Leasing cars sometimes works but not for everyone, leasing a bike just doesn’t make any sense.

I was constructive (at the end :D)

Despite all that does sound like the service is you’re getting is pretty poor, I’d go in and politely but firmly kick up a fuss until I got a resolution I was happy with

Only you can decide what resolution you will be happy with so you should contact the people your lease agreement is with, express your displeasure and work out with them what steps need to be taken to resolve.

If they are unwilling or unable then official complaint time, stop payments and start looking into how to get refunded on the basis of not fit for purpose and failing to comply with the agreement*

*Assuming that you have read the agreement and that they dont have some stitch-up clauses around dealing with problems.

£2,400 a year to lease a bike? especially a bike that was never set up properly or seems to work. Some people have more money than sense.
Although, TBH I wouldn’t pay £2,400 a year to lease a car.

ndthornton – Member

Best time to buy bike bits is at the start of phase 2

Must have been a cheerful day in the engineering office when someone decided the phrase “Infant Mortality Period” was the one to go for.

Is this a troll?
First post and all that…

Come on OP – you’ve got to tell us what the dream/nightmare bike is/was ?

Is this a troll?

either that or the worst astroturfing ever

What bike is it? If you are leasing a bike but don’t have a bike to show for, then aren’t you in reality just donating money!

If you are leasing a bike but don’t have a bike to show for, then aren’t you in reality just donating money!

excellent business plan idea 🙂

OP, I can give you a much better deal, if you send me only £100 a month, I won’t give you a bike either!

Surely with a lease the bike is owned by the leasing company, can they not talk to the shop/manufacturer? Ask the leasing company for another bike as theirs is busted. If that fails just stop paying that will spur someone into action pretty quickly.

Can you not ask for the contract to be nullified as they are keeping you waiting and caused you harm?

£4800 give or take a few coins over two years.

insurance and servicing included.

remember the bike itself retailed at £6500 minus insurance and servicing…

money isn’t the issue until it goes wrong and your left high n dry.

Money is quite clearly an issue or else you wouldn’t feel the need to keep justifying this shakey deal on the ground of perceived VFM…

Was it via that bikes-**** scheme?
Never trust any outfit that includes a Top hat and Monocle in their logo…

The RRP means next to nothing, people often proudly proclaim the “Value” of their Bike/Car/Mail Order Bride, generally ignoring the fact that the monetary “value” of these things takes a massive dive as soon as you wheel it out of the showroom, and start putting wear and tear on…

TBH everyone above who’s pointed out the folly of this Lease scheme is completely right, it’s a shite idea, how on Earth were you talked into it OP?

That ~£4800 probably exceeds the actual trade price (Ex VAT too?) the bikes actual owner paid, on top of that once you return it at the end of 24 months, they will no doubt flog it on and make a tidy sum…

£6500 RRP is a meaningless number, your “Super Service” package is clearly worthless as you have received what most people would term “pretty piss poor service” to date, you could have done the repair works yourself rather than rely on this bullshit scheme you’re still paying for…

You might as well have taken out a £5K/24 month loan and bought a 2012 year model bike in the sales, or dare I say it slightly used (and hence already depreciated) £6K+ RRP bike for ~35% less, taken out your own insurance policy and at the end of that period you’d at least have had an asset that you could continue to use or trade on as you saw fit…

But come on Man! FFS you are being utterly Reamed for the privilege of Garaging and polishing someone elses Gucci bike, the fact that “insurance is included” actually takes the last drop of piss! What are you insuring exactly? You don’t actually own the bloody thing, it’s the lease companies property, they should already be insuring it as a matter of course!

Chop it in mate before its too late!

It just sounds like an awful level of service at a stupid price, tell them you want out now, or you’ll be contacting trading standards… Then contact trading standards whatever they do.

I’d certainly suspend payments untill I had a working bike again. You’ve got to check the small print and talk to whoever the money goes to. I’d be thinking still a 24mnth lease with say a 2mnth payment break ( if thats how long it takes ) Or just cut out the 2mnts and they get 22 payments. You’ve got to talk tp the money people though.

cookeaa

😆 😆 😆 😆

What bike is ? I only pay 115 a month for an 11000 car which is includes free servicing!!

Thanks for feedback from everyone

And no im not a troll unless its a Sunday morning and the kids are playing football on my bed!

and no comment regarding the lease company

you got it.

Step 1 – buy a bike.
Step 2 – learn to do basic maintenance on it – i.e. setting up a chain guide.
Step 3 – sell the old bike and buy a nicer one.
Step 4 – repeat steps 1-3 until you are too old to ride or die.

This is a thread of a couple of years ago

mountain bike leasing

Step 3 – sell the old bike and buy a nicer one.

A small error crept in there

I wouldnt suspend payments tbh, it will fry his credit rating.