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Anyone know much about what to put in a letter to a company as a complaint about a product I'm not at all happy with? i.e. how to go about telling them in a way without resorting to 'your products are shoddy/cr*p/not worth spit etc. in my experience...'
even better anyone know much about mountain bikes?
well, I got a new mountain bike a while ago and the suspension forks that came with it are, perhaps, one of the best available in the world. saddly in only 2weeks from buying them they broke - they have a feature on them that allows you to turn off their compressability through a 'lock-out' system that makes them like normal ridgid forks. I had them sent back for repair....
now they are leaking oil and air (they use high pressure air as the spring rather than steel or titanium springs cause air is, well, firstly free and secondly loads lighter!) and I'm rightly peeved.
here's what I've written so far, don't worry too much about technicals just wondering if it seems reasonable:
On the 31st January 2004 I purchased a pair of Fox Racing Shox Float 80RLs as part of a complete bike, Specialized Stumpjumper Comp (2002 model) from Evans Cycles Ltd., London. I am an endurance athlete with the intention of competing at elite level cross-country racing, so you may understand my frustration at the problems occurring and having to cut my rides short because of them.
Within 2 weeks of the date of purchase (for one of which I was unable to use the bike) the fork’s ‘Compression Lock-out system’ had developed a fault and was returned to Mojo Suspension to be repaired on the 17th February 2004 (the forks [and bike] were returned to me on the 19th February: a fast repair time for which I was very grateful).
Over the following weeks I became aware of an appreciable loss in performance as the forks seemed to be progressively ‘softer’ in their action, with an increase in the ‘sag’ beyond the limits I had set the fork to at an earlier date. I took some advice from the shop from where I purchased the forks and used a certified ‘Shock-pump’ to adjust the internal pressure to my riding style. Over the course of just one ride I noticed a marked loss in performance and with a loss of pressure in the region of 10-15psi. The loss in pressure was not incurred through removal of the shock-pump – as can sometimes be the case – as I double-checked the pressure prior to riding in light of this possibility.
Further to this I have also noticed a leakage of oil around the ‘Bottom Nut’ on the air shock/air piston side of the fork (i.e. not the lock-out side), which, despite wiping away, still persists and to my knowledge should not be present.
Having been repaired once, due to a fault after only such limited use, and continuing to develop further problems I am deeply unsatisfied with their poor performance. I find it unacceptable that a pair of forks, as highly regarded as these, should develop these problems so soon after purchase and through such limited use. They do not live up to the high standards I expected of Fox Forx, and from personal experience of Fox Racing products. I would not consider for one moment that I could have used them beyond their normal capacity, given my riding interests, and being relatively light (70kg/155lbs) I doubt that the forks ever came under any excessive stress beyond their tolerance limits.
Having experienced such problems you can understand that I am hesitant as to whether anything short of replacement will resolve the matter. Despite this fact though, I do have complete confidence that an acceptable and more than satisfactory solution can be found through replacement or a thorough repair, enabling me to fully enjoy a pair of Float 80RLs as intended and also restoring my confidence in Fox Racing Shox.
Yours sincerely
moi...!
sound ok in terms of 'what's your game' and 'why should I put up with this?' type stuff?
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that would naturally make a poor seal if the thread wasn't holding tightly enough. Maybe they didn't tighten it enough which is why it's leaking and losing air, or forgot to put an O-ring back in.... in either case - it's not worth voiding the warranty on em by stripping them apart with service manual in tow when they're so new. Letter looks good - get a new set of forks off em..... you have kept any receipts for repair work haven't you? cos if the bike shop threaded em, and you try to get em replaced, then Fox could say it's been mangled through user error and they won't replace them. They might be more lenient if you can prove it's the numbnuts "techie" who did the work on em...
Originally Posted by The Quentos
looks good.
