Whyte bike problems - advice sought

[Peter1979]

Long story, sorry .
I was after a Whyte E180 and due to limited availability I bought it online from a London based store. Delivered July. (My 2 local Whyte retailers were really unhelpful - first one said no availability at all and second one said they would not do me part cash part finance due to low mark up and they would sell quickly anyway).

Since having my bike I've had a few issues. First with the forks (damper broke) and when I contacted the retailer they suggested rather than go to one of their stores (a couple of hundred miles away) take it to any reputable local workshop and they would reimburse any costs involved in sending away for warranty repair. So I did this, and stupidly didn't reclaim the £30 cost involved. Time for repair was about 10 days.
So when I started to get problems with my brakes I went straight to the same workshop again and paid for them to inspect and bleed the brake (£30 something charge). It failed again and they sent it away for warranty work (£50 charge due to time taken to remove, refit and bleed brake again). Today I was due to collect the bike, it's been 3 weeks today since it was in the workshop, and the brake still pulls to the bar despite having a new hose and some work done to the lever and a something else done to the caliper.

So, I've asked for it to be sent away again.

My questions are, who should I be pestering about this? I like the workshop I use, the guys are friendly and I need to remember I didn't buy the bike from them. The retailer doesn't know about my brake issues and I didn't even chase them for the initial £30 repair. The manufacturer have no advice on their site except to say warranty work needs to go through a distributer (my workshop is not a distributer). I'm min £110 down and have been without the bike a month and a bit already and kind if annoyed.

 

[Clubby]

Your warranty contract is with the shop/chain you bought it from. Unfortunately it needs to go back to them.

 

[Peter1979]

Your warranty contract is with the shop/chain you bought it from. Unfortunately it needs to go back to them.

Yeah I kind of felt this was the way to go. I guess my issue now is that they haven't been informed of any problems I've been having with my brakes so for them it's a new problem and I'm back to square one really. I e contacted them but unhelpfully their CS dept is only open weekdays.

 

[Mikerb]

to be frank it sounds to me like the workshop you are using are useless. Its not rocket science. Any decent LBS should be able to fix a set of brakes!! Go somewhere else and get a proper fix. Where are you in the SW?

 

[Peter1979]

to be frank it sounds to me like the workshop you are using are useless. Its not rocket science. Any decent LBS should be able to fix a set of brakes!! Go somewhere else and get a proper fix. Where are you in the SW?

No, they're a top shop and service bikes for world cup racers so they know their stuff. They tried to fix the problem with a brake bleed and it went wrong after one ride. They then determined it was a warranty fault so they sent it for warranty repair and it came back still broken. They've done their part, it's just because I did t get the bien from them I don't feel like I can hassle them to get it sorted quicker/replaced.

 

[EMTBSEAN]

TBH it’s not hard to bleed MTB brakes, an Avid kit with the bleeding edge adapter isn’t expensive, once you have kit you can bleed them in less than half an hour both front and rear

 

[Mikerb]

180 s or RS? Code R or Code RSC? What was changed as a result of the warranty claim? New calliper or new Lever? I do not understand the process. If the shop diagnosed a faulty caliper or a faulty master cyclinder/lever, surely they would just strip that part off the bike to send for warranty replacement? In which case the brake would need rebuilding with a new part ( caliper or lever assembly) and then it would need bleeding. There are only 3 components..........caliper, lever and hose. If the brake continues to lose pressure there must be an air or fluid leak somewhere. A fluid leak would be obvious on the lever or caliper but not if the hose is damaged in the frame.....most likely place being where it runs along the bottom of the chainstay and then loops up into the motor area. Alternatively it could also have suffered damage with removal or replacement of the battery as it runs up behind the battery in the downtube.
I suggest you find out exactly what has been done to diagnose the fault other than bleeding which obviously is not solving the problem.
Given the bike is pretty new ( July) and the brakes worked OK to start with I doubt the problem is due to a faulty component ( ie Lever/caliper). It is more likely a hose problem. Has that been changed? Personally that would be my first call because the hose could have suffered damage somewhere along its length or at the caliper or lever connection. So I would change the hose first off and see if that resolved the issue. If not I would source a new caliper next.

 

[Peter1979]

TBH it’s not hard to bleed MTB brakes, an Avid kit with the bleeding edge adapter isn’t expensive, once you have kit you can bleed them in less than half an hour both front and rear

I bled the brakes many times and have the kit. It has a problem with either the caliper or the hose hence the reason for the warranty repair. If it was a simple bleed problem it would have been sorted a month or more ago

 

[Peter1979]

180 s or RS? Code R or Code RSC? What was changed as a result of the warranty claim? New calliper or new Lever? I do not understand the process. If the shop diagnosed a faulty caliper or a faulty master cyclinder/lever, surely they would just strip that part off the bike to send for warranty replacement? In which case the brake would need rebuilding with a new part ( caliper or lever assembly) and then it would need bleeding. There are only 3 components..........caliper, lever and hose. If the brake continues to lose pressure there must be an air or fluid leak somewhere. A fluid leak would be obvious on the lever or caliper but not if the hose is damaged in the frame.....most likely place being where it runs along the bottom of the chainstay and then loops up into the motor area. Alternatively it could also have suffered damage with removal or replacement of the battery as it runs up behind the battery in the downtube.
I suggest you find out exactly what has been done to diagnose the fault other than bleeding which obviously is not solving the problem.
Given the bike is pretty new ( July) and the brakes worked OK to start with I doubt the problem is due to a faulty component ( ie Lever/caliper). It is more likely a hose problem. Has that been changed? Personally that would be my first call because the hose could have suffered damage somewhere along its length or at the caliper or lever connection. So I would change the hose first off and see if that resolved the issue. If not I would source a new caliper next.

Brake failed. I bled brake, brake failed again. Took bike to local shop, they bled brake and said it seemed fine, I was skeptical but took bike away. Half a ride later, brake failed again. Took bike back to shop, shop sent Brake (caliper, hose and lever) away. Brake sent back saying hose was replaced as was some damage and a new lever assembly kit and also re-bled. Shop refitted brake. Brake failed.

 

[Peter1979]

Code R, by the way, from an E180s (I knew I should have saved more and got the RS )

 

[Mikerb]

So following that sequence and assuming SRAM were competent, the fault was indeed a faulty hose ( surprising the shop could not diagnose that if SRAM said it was damaged as that would be visible). Same shop then had to refit which led to another failure. Common denominator Im afraid is the shop you are using! They may be a "top" shop and work on pro bikes but that does not mean the person dealing with your bike was one of their top mechanics!
To be clear the caliper has to be disconnected of course to re- install the brake so if SRAM tested the complete assembly whilst off the bike the shop would then have to remove the caliper in order to run the hose throughthe frame, reconnect to the caliper, and then bleed the brake.

 

[EMTBSEAN]

I bled the brakes many times and have the kit. It has a problem with either the caliper or the hose hence the reason for the warranty repair. If it was a simple bleed problem it would have been sorted a month or more ago

That’s fair enough mate I just thought I’d ask just in case

 

[Peter1979]

So following that sequence and assuming SRAM were competent, the fault was indeed a faulty hose ( surprising the shop could not diagnose that if SRAM said it was damaged as that would be visible). Same shop then had to refit which led to another failure. Common denominator Im afraid is the shop you are using! They may be a "top" shop and work on pro bikes but that does not mean the person dealing with your bike was one of their top mechanics!
To be clear the caliper has to be disconnected of course to re- install the brake so if SRAM tested the complete assembly whilst off the bike the shop would then have to remove the caliper in order to run the hose throughthe frame, reconnect to the caliper, and then bleed the brake.

Maybe, I'm not sure how easy to find problems with the hose are. Apparently it was at the point it exits the internal routing on the frame.
Either way, it's come back and still isn't right.
I spoke with the place I bought the bike from today and they were apologetic and said they would reimburse me for the costs I have incurred which seems fair considering this is the first they have heard if it.
I think the annoying thing is I've had the bike 4 months and not had it for nearly a month and a half of that time. However, I've hard hardly any free time to ride last couple of months anyway. I just hope come spring it will be working well.

 

[Mikerb]

Maybe, I'm not sure how easy to find problems with the hose are. Apparently it was at the point it exits the internal routing on the frame.
Either way, it's come back and still isn't right.
I spoke with the place I bought the bike from today and they were apologetic and said they would reimburse me for the costs I have incurred which seems fair considering this is the first they have heard if it.
I think the annoying thing is I've had the bike 4 months and not had it for nearly a month and a half of that time. However, I've hard hardly any free time to ride last couple of months anyway. I just hope come spring it will be working well.

...which is exactly what I was suggesting to be the most likely fault/location. Assuming it is the same as the 180 RS ( which I have) the hose goes from the lever into the down tube and exits at the rear of the motor area. There is then a bit of a loop to allow for movement of the rear triangle before it is fixed along the underside of the chainstay and then onto the caliper.
Take my advice and go to a different LBS to get it fixed. It probably is now just a matter of bleeding it correctly taking into account the system was probably mostly drained during the process of refitting the hose and calliper....so not as easy as when the system just needs a refresh.
If you tell me where you are in the SW I may be a ble to recommend a good mechanic.

 

[Peter1979]

Bristol

 

[Mikerb]

Bristol

lots of choice. I am on the south coast so no direct experience of shops in Bristol but the best solution for a bike fix is either to do it yourself ( always best!) or find a bike shop that is more a bout bike repairs than selling bikes..........maybe try Gary Harris over in Hambrook?

 

[BBear]

I can recommend Kris at Insight Cycles, Stoke Bishop.

 

[Gary]

Your warranty contract is with the shop/chain you bought it from. Unfortunately it needs to go back to them.

this is not correct!

Your code brake can be warrantied through any decent bike shop with a Zyro account. (UK official SRAM distributor). You just need original sales reciept/proof of purchase and the brake still to be within its warranty period.

(I know you were joking about this... But...) Code R and RS share the same caliper and hose. It's the lever that is different. RS having the swing link improving lever feel and throw. It is, worth the upgrade tho