[Closed] Should a shiny new frame come undone on its first ride?

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Did you buy it as just a frame? If so, surely you'd have checked all of the bolts when building it? If you bought it from a shop then they should have checked them when building and you'd be right to be a bit miffed if they hadn't.

It was built up by crc so I just wrongly assumed it was ready to ride. Genuinely could there be lasting damage?

Genuinely .Did it have any children's eyes out? Was there pudding involved?

Not great but on a mail order bike i don't think its unreasonable for a buyer to be expected to give the bolts a check before riding. Did it come with any instructions advising bolts should be checked before riding?

[quote=wrightyson ]It was built up by crc so I just wrongly assumed it was ready to ride. Genuinely could there be lasting damage?

It arrived ready to ride?

Well, did it make any knocking sounds? Did anything fall off? Did the paint flake off anywhere? Was it built on a Friday and delivered just in time for a ride?

nuke - Member
Not great but on a mail order bike i don't think its unreasonable for a buyer to be expected to give the bolts a check before riding. Did it come with any instructions advising bolts should be checked before riding?

Absolutely not. I expect the supplying shop to have built it, PDI'd it, then done the minimum strip to box it for transport. You could forgive things like a stem being loose as they're the remit of the user upon receiving the bike, but shock linkages should be right from the factory.

shock linkages should be right from the factory.

This is correct.

The bike was "put together" by me as in bars on straighten the stem and that's it! I have never had the torque wrench out and checked a new frames linkage settings before. I felt it had come loose when play was evident lifting it over a Stile. Personally I thought it was a bit shit to be fair!

The OP reads like you bought a frame, but you actually bought a bike, yes?

If so then you have a right to be mildly annoyed.

Sorry will explain. My bike went back for the third time in 18 months due to failed bushings/bearings. They decided to completely upgrade the frame to the latest one. This meant removing parts from my old bike and placing on the new frame. All built up by their mechanics and returned to me as a built bike. Got it yesterday rode it tonight for the first time. Somewhat took the shine off it when I felt what I thought was play around the shock linkage.

My bike went back for the third time in 18 months due to failed bushings/bearings. They decided to completely upgrade the frame to the latest one. This meant removing parts from my old bike and placing on the new frame. All built up by their mechanics and returned to me as a built bike.

I'm going to need to stock up on pitchforks.

I'd expect it to arrive in a state that you could ride it straight away. I wouldn't expect to have to check linkage bolts on a new frame.

Sorry will explain. My bike went back for the third time in 18 months due to failed bushings/bearings.

Remind me not to buy one.

I've been Mr nice on this one since the first fail. Don't get me wrong they've been great but I've been without a bike for about 12 weeks as it's gone back and forth. At this point I genuinely don't know where I stand from a warranty point of view as I don't even have the original bike anymore..

CRC are supposed to check all their builds and this is their justification for bikes taking longer to ship than other products so contact them if you have an issue.

They have always been good to me.

Yeah, I'd be annoyed too. Especially with all the other toing and froing. It prob wouldn't have done any damage in your first ride though. Annoying but fixable though, right? 🙂

is basically what has happened that you have had to tighten some bolts?

Ignoring the other two frames being crap.

Ooooh another [i]slow reveal[/i] thread...

I like these ones because the OP is always looking to get indignant from the outset, based primarily on the facts they choose to omit from the first few posts, and the various condescending, rude and assumption laden responses they will doubtless receive.

i.e. Following a year and a half long lesson on the value of checking bolts are done up, the OP didn't bother to check some bolts were done up... So it's all the fault of a warehouse picker in Northern Ireland, apparently...

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Nice.

Somewhere it will say check all bolts before every ride... Personally if it had just come out the box the 10 Mon job of popping an Allen Key I to the bolts and checking them would be done when sorting out bars etc.
It's not great service but never assume things are tight and done up.

Well as such they were "tight" as in there was zero play when I set off. They have worked loose whilst riding. They were tightened mid ride and remedied then worked loose again.
As for you cockaa the first bikes bolts never came loose the bushings/bearings just wore quickly as I stated in the above post.

Tight as in bolts checked or not?
Any loctite on the threads?
If not they could have been tight when the left the workshop(and they were when you got them) but nothing retaining them. How would CRC know they were going to come undone?

Well as such they were "tight" as in there was zero play when I set off. They have worked loose whilst riding. They were tightened mid ride and remedied then worked loose again

Hence my op.
I did not check their tightness pre ride.
There was zero "play" pre ride.
They came loose during ride.
I tightened the loose ones mid ride.
Another came loose 10 mins later.
Should they all have loctite on when assembled in the factory not the warehouse.
Surely that's the case as there's no way that's in a bike shops remit to strip every linkage bolt and loctite them up.

Should they all have loctite on when assembled in the factory not the warehouse.
Surely that's the case as there's no way that's in a bike shops remit to strip every linkage bolt and loctite them up.

The bit you are missing in what CRC said when you called them up to discuss it....

Emailed crc this morning. Which I feel incredibly guilty about as it's been great service replacing the entire frame but I can't stand to be without the bike any longer.
I'll happily put my hands up and say I certainly didn't check the linkage bolts for torque but I genuinely genuinely never thought I'd need to on a brand new frame pre first ride.

Not unusual for pivot and linkage bolts to loosen as a frame "settles in" - I've always done a quick "front to back" check on a first ride, checking every bolt, and if you read any decent long term review of an FS bike, you'll probably find a reference to loctiting linkage/pivot bolts to prevent this.

So in summary, it's not a problem, definitely not unusual, but above all else not anything to be annoyed about.

Little drop of blue locktite on each bolt thread this evening and it'll be good to go for the weekend.

That's all I wanted ^.
Cheers.
Loctite 242?

As above, shouldn't and does are 2 different things. I always expect a couple of shakedown rides where everything is checked and tightened while it settles and beds in, especially on a brand new frame. Linkage bolts are the prime suspect, and if one comes loose then I'd check all others...

A Transition video surfaced, then vanished, recently showing a full strip, grease,
loctite and torque of a box fresh frame. I suspect it vanished as it was too honest and lots of customers (rightly) expected this already.

242 getting harder to get hold of. 243 is the one, same strength, greater oil resistance.