Evans Cycles Bike Reviews Misleading Customers.

This^^^ the fact that evans is moderating 1 star reviews, despite the perceived reasonable response above from jameso, make me distrust them intensely.

The reviews are supposed to be for the product, not for service or for when a buyer can’t get Halfords to fix their bike. I reckon they are right to check them. If the review says “the bike is pish because of x, y and z” then fair enough, if it’s “the shop boy didn’t know about every component part of an assembly I don’t have the skills to fix” then that doesn’t help at all with the product itself

It might help you get a feeling for the shop though. Anyway he said they don’t publish 1 stars until they can resolve them. Hmmmm.

If after further communication -a 1-star generally gets further follow-up- it’s a valid complaint rather than a rant-vent or trolling they will be posted up

Who decides if it is valid? Evans. Which means its no longer an independent review process. Dodgy.

^ Any complaint that is valid as a review or comment rather than something trolly etc, that’s all that needs deciding.

Yes, but one man’s troll is another man’s complaint, better to be transparent, let the reader decide. Or can we not be trusted to tell the difference?

No. I’ve met some of the general public. *shudders* at the memory.

I think an awful lot of sites moderate very poor reviews. I’ve had some pulled for non bike stuff and only put up when I’ve complained loudly. They then disappear a few weeks later 🙁

The trick is to watch out for sites with lots of 2s but no 1s as you know something is missing. Most 1s are fairly obvious when the problem is partly user error so they should just stay up

So no one has a clue what size bearings go into these hubs?

That’s a big plus for me. Obviously means they don’t fail very often. If be more worried if they had 10 sets in a box in the workshop……..

Not like my brother in laws wheels. 3 fronts and one rear failed in less than 2 months. The shop had actually got a small stock of warranty wheels, different wheels altogether, ready to go. (They don’t make them anymore, not in that spoke count anyway! )

have you thought about looking at the bearings and searching for the number that will have been stamped on them?

also if its only been 6 months take the wheel back to evans and get it repaired free of charge under warranty or SOGA

Toys, what I mean is that comments get engaged with, pure trolly giberish isn’t something I’ve seen on the bikes side of it.

I once left a 1 star review on a John Lewis brand freezer that looked like it had been built by a drunken sausage. They rejected it, so all companies do it.

And us lot on here, you included toys, are probably the ones in the minority that actually read the reviews, apply a bit of thought and decide for ourselves what sounds reasonable and what doesn’t, but an awful lot of people just look at the overall star rating and form an opinion off that, and a few 1stars can bring that down quite quickly.

In principle I dislike the idea of moderated and censored reviews but I can see why companies do it and feel like they have to, this is a great example, the OP is giving a 1 star review which arguably is unfair, certainly unfair if he actually gave them a chance to support him properly and get his issue fixed, but that 1 star, and a few others could artificially affect the score that most people look at.

Surely 1 star should be reserved for the most rubbish of products that failed to meet your expectations in anyway and would have you chasing a refund? Having some bearings fail prematurely (for reasons wedont know) is an annoyance, and inconvenient sure, but hardly a 1 star, not even a 2 I’d have thought, it’s a point to consider in the purchase but also the OP seems to be wanting to complain about the support service as well rather than reviewing this particular product it’s bringing that individual store into it too.

One positive thing is that there is a review process, action taken to resolve the complaint if possible, and still allowed through if genuine, and that’s been openly acknowledged on here, it could be worse they could just refuse 1 star, or even any negative reviews like some places do…

A few years ago I bought a pair of Hope Pro 3 hubs to build up for my winter road bike. One of the front bearings ‘went’ after the first ride. I looked online to see what size they are, bought a couple from my local bearing factors and replaced the dodgy one. Bearings are consumables, they ‘go’. As it happens the same bearings are still going strong and haven’t needed replacing again since. To me, the OP comes across as the kind of customer that shops actively dread.

Why don’t you just completely remove the “1 star” rating and rate everything from 1-4, with 1 being equivalent to an old 2, thus completely solving the problem?

Or even better – have a system that goes right to 11!

Or even better – have a system that goes right to 11!

But starts at 7, where 7 is 1, and 11 is a helicopter.

Just remove the bearing and look at the ID markings on it. Buy a new bearing bang it in the hub.
Sometimes moaning about trivial shit just aint worth it.
You could have changed the bearing in less than the time it’d taken you to post your reviews/emails/forums moans.
As others have pointed out bearings are consumables, just think of it as an upgrade.

Even if there’s no markings on it, you can still just measure the dimensions of the bearing and go from there. not sure why this is so hard for any shop to grasp.

This thread is making me despair.

-Customer asks shop for advice on a bearing in an old model hub. Shop, like most shops, doesn’t know and needs to look at it.
-Customer won’t take the wheel for them to look at it.
-Takes it apart himself, even though he doesn’t know what he’s doing (unscrewing cartridge bearings from a hub for goodness sake!)
-Asks online, is told by the man who is in charge of that stuff at Evans it will be looked into but the manufacturer must be consulted first, on a Saturday.
-Customer ignores this, posts 1 star review and subsequent moany thread.

Jacob46, get over yourself. Jameso is doing all he can to sort this for you. He will give you an answer when the manufacturer gets back to him. I have worked in shops and no one knows what bearings are in most hubs off the top of their head. Evans list around 1250 adult bikes on their website, how do you expect them to know all the bearing sizes for each of them?

Also it doesn’t warrant a 1 star review. A pair of bearings, costing about £10, which are consumables, failing after 6 months in the wettest winter on record, on a bike you apparently use every day is a relatively minor inconvenience and part of owning a bike. If the rest of the bike is fine it is probably a 4 star bike, with a note to say the front hub could do with better sealing.

Jesus wept. I suspect if you don’t go back to Evans they won’t miss you.

For contrast I started using Evans two years ago as a shop of last resort, expecting mediocrity, and was so impressed I think their shops are the bricks and mortar bike shops I have been to most since. They have been great at getting hard to find bits, informing me during the process and exceptional with a warranty claim on a bike I didn’t even buy from them when the distributor was being tricksy.

^ that.

There’s an Arkose 4 in my shed, it’s not a 1 star bike, it’s bloomin marvellous.

So were there any flames involved?
It always makes a good story when things catch on fire

munrobiker +1

OP, why didn’t you just take the bike to a decent shop and say “my front hub is knackered, please fix it.” ?
Half a day and maybe £15 later, you’d have had the bike back.

As it is, you’ve created a whole load of hassle over essentially a non-issue. A disposable load-bearing item has worn out and needs replacing.

OP, why didn’t you just take the bike to a decent shop and say “my front hub is knackered, please fix it.” ?

Or just do what he was asked to do, and take it in to the place he bought it from so they could have a look and sort it out.

Rather than stamping his feet and saying “no…. I’m taking it to halfords!”

But he needs the bike every day. So can’t leave it with the shop. Except it’s unusable anyway. 😕

I’m confused.

KT hubs, seem to be Quando’s, which is what is fitted to the bike, if its this one:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/arkose-4-2016-adventure-road-bike-ec122276?country=GB&currency=GBP&esvt=872-GOUKE1174586&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-601934-1&esvcrea=86309948576&esvplace=&esvd=c&esvo=EV244110-S-RED&esvaid=50080&gclid=CNftyN7H9coCFQ8W0wodoMAOBg

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0ahUKEwiY7dCXyfXKAhUCPxQKHQYtByEQFgg5MAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fktgroup.net%2Flib%2Fdl_file.php%3Fdir%3Dcatalogues%26filename%3DSeaagwFGL9agAE9JqUoSLANWTpn4ig%26o_file%3DKT%25202016%2520Catalogue.pdf&usg=AFQjCNH_Y39J262BA3cDPLluJq-_0iI0Vw

i’m confused have you removed the dead bearing yet?

Some pics have been posted on the op other thread

Are they of tinfoil ‘apparatus’?

as helpful as a fork serving up gravy.

Dread to think what star review the OP would leave for my wife’s gravy 😉

For the sake of balance, I’ve just bought a new Norco full susser from a London Evans store and on the whole I’m very pleased with the service I received.

The guys who I dealt with answered all my questions and gave real world feedback – I wasn’t expecting to find experienced mountain bike owning staff in an urban store. They were able to give me good advice on setup and component choice.

I was emailed by Evans for feedback, which I’ve provided.

They’ll certainly be getting my business in future.

There is no way on this earth every shop can possibly have the information on each bearing used on all the bikes they sell.

Sometimes manufacturers can make a running change and not communicate it to the shops. Its just not something IMHO you can expect the shop to have in-depth knowledge of.

Think we all agree that the OP lost when he wrote early-doors “was asked to bring it in to Evans, I refused and took it to Halfords”. If that formed part of the 1 star review I’d have left it up for comedy.

And I also read reviews looking for comments on specific issues and trends, but maybe we are in the minority. I tend to ignore 1 star as written by hystericals, and 5 star as they tend to be ” literally just unpacked it and it looks ace!!! Not used it yet though” and look for those with a bit of nuance.

Ref Amazon, I recommend Pat Butcher alarm clock, Paul Ross Canvas Print, Bic pens for women, and T shirt with 3 wolves print. You’ll lose a day but it’ll be worth it 😉

Can someone re-organise the thread title to say ‘Evans Cycles customer bike review misleading’ ?

Same words, but a more accurate description of events…

I think the this thread vindicates Evans’ policy of reviewing one star comments for action rather than publishing them blindly.

Premature failure of a hub bearing and a refusal to take the wheel in for rectification does not make the bike a one star bike. A catastrophic frame failure might, but not something benign and easily replaced. Vent your angst that it failed somewhere if you really must but don’t distort the average rating of the bike for a component that would likely be fitted to bikes from many other brands, unless you’re somehow going to identify and mark them all down too.

If you need the bike for work drift out the bearings use a penknife to lever out the seal clean the ballbearings with wd40 pack a shed load of grease in and reassemble. At some point in this make a note of the part number or measure the dimensions of the bearing. Ride your bike till Evans can sort some new bearings or you order some.

Bearings are liable to wear and tear and may last months or years dependent on factors beyond your and a bike shops control.

Did i miss the bit where someone suggested removing the bearing and measuing it then replacing the worn offending item with a shiny new one ?

Its so unlikely its a propriatory bearing on a pinnicle.

Did i miss the bit where someone suggested removing the bearing and measuing it then replacing the worn offending item with a shiny new one ?

No I don’t think any one has suggested that yet.
It’s a great idea though and it might just work. 🙂

trail_rat- he doesn’t know how to get the bearing out. So he’d need to take it to a shop anyway at some point…

Maybe he could take it to the shop where he bought it ?

Has anyone suggested that yet ?

Yes, I believe the chain he bought it from did suggest that…