[Elaine G]

So my grandson was 3 yesterday and wanted a bike - well his brother was tired of sharing!
Anyway, son in law went to Halfords and picked up a nice bike. He declined to pay for them to assemble it as he is practical and a cyclist.
Assembly almost complete, he discovers he needs to take the bike back to Halfords as it needs a "special magnetic tool' to secure the handlebars.

Grandson not happy that bike is 'broken'
Daughter, 8 months pregnant, not happy as she has to go across town with 2 boys in after school traffic to get it sorted.
Grandad, engineer, suspicious as to how a magnet can get a secure lock.
Practical grandma - me - points out we have to go back every time he grows to get it adjusted!

So well done Halfords, unhappy people all round. What on earth is this all about 


Sorry, so annoyed, feel better now, thanks everyone.


Elaine

[Aled]

Oh dear! Good luck with it.
Cheers
Aled

[Growster...]

Aw - rotten situation.

Might be worth a special 'How did we do' comment, if there's one on the receipt...

Lets hope GS forgets the problem soon - he probably will!

(And hope family see he's happy very soon too)! Bless.

[al78]

Moral of the story, if you want a decent new bike, go to a proper bike shop, not somewhere that specialises in something completely different and has shoved a few cheap bikes in where they have space. You'll pay a bit more in a proper bike shop but you'll get professional advice, a bike that fits properly and is good quality, and good service. You buy cheap, you buy twice.

[Elaine G]

al78 I would totally agree under normal circumstances. Son in law cycles and bought his bike from a proper shop, as did my daughter.
My grandson who is 4 has a bike, the 3 yr old wanted one to. He is growing at an alarming rate  and will probably need a bigger one next year. Also grandson number 3 is due in 3 weeks. Yay!!!

They have taken the decision that in the best interests of the children, my daughter will stay at home for the near future, so there is not much spare cash. As it happens, apart from the incident above, my son in law thinks the bike is better quality than his brothers!

I am certain that when the time comes they will get good quality bikes, and hopefully cycle with mum and dad.

[Growster...]

Moral of the story, if you want a decent new bike, go to a proper bike shop, not somewhere that specialises in something completely different and has shoved a few cheap bikes in where they have space. You'll pay a bit more in a proper bike shop but you'll get professional advice, a bike that fits properly and is good quality, and good service. You buy cheap, you buy twice.

Al, I'd usually agree with you there, but Mrs Growster bought me a new electric bike from a friend of a friend who imports them from China.

In the not too distant past, anything from there was worth avoiding, or at least researching very diligently, but definitely not this time. The build is excellent, the detail of the manufacture can't be faulted and the price was well below most of the alternatives too! As the chap selling these explained, there is now a splurge in higher costs for not much more quality, owing to the popularity and a certain amount of snob-value attached to these new machines. He works from home, goes over to China with his wife (who also imports) and brings over a few dozen at a time, prepping them himself and also giving a superb back-up service as well! I often email him with chums' enquiries, and he always responds. There's a bit of 'market trading' going on in that particular business at the moment!

I do use Halfords for things like tyres etc and the mountain bikes Mrs Growster and I bought from there quite a few years ago are still going strong, (well one is, the other went out on Ebay and looked great in the pic...), but that may be because they were quite pricey back then, and we'd never bought new ones before...

[WirralWally]

. . . . . he needs to take the bike back to Halfords as it needs a "special magnetic tool' to secure the handlebars. . . .

Have you found the details of this?
Sounds bizarre.
An explanation would be helpful / nice.

[Elaine G]

Sorry unfortunately no sensible explanation.

My daughter and 2 small boys went to Halfords and they fixed the handlebars. She might have asked more questions if she was alone, but a 3 yr old and a 4 yr old in bike shop when you are 8 months pregnant is challenging!!

Anyway he loves his bike 

Elaine

[Growster...]

'Anyway he loves his bike'

Thought he would - well done you!