Be aware: Hercules FRAME broke down in a year
Pranav Tewari
Hi,
I bought Hercules Ryder Act 106 in Jan 2009 and have used it for 4800Km as daily commute to office.
Yesterday while coming back from office,nobody can image what happended to me
"FRAME BROKE DOWN" , Ya u read it right 'FRAME Of HERCULES 'UPPER MODEL' 106 BROKE DOWN'
No accident no Adventure, NO BMX tricks and frame broke down from the bottom!!!
It was just a normal speed breaker that i crossed hardly at 10Km/hr!!
SO this crack in Frame was building right under my as* ever since i bought this crap and i couldn't notice it! Frame is RUSTED from Inside!!!!
Did is invest 11k on Hercules to put my life in danger within one yr???
Now i really regret saving some penny and not going to Trek/Merida , atleast i won't expect a FRAME to BREAK DOWN within a yr/4800Km of basic cycling!!!
Condition wise, i keep the bike "inside" by room(away from any rain, dust etc) and maintain it monthly twice.
Even tough frame is under warranty , WHO CARES!!! I don't want to throw away my life riding a BROKEN FRAME HERCULES PRODUCT.
I am approaching RR Cycles with official complain and will make sure matter is not suppressed by any means .
People should know what they are buying and they should be willing to invest more to buy better manufactures for the sake of their Safety
Lesson for life to me.
Have a view of HERCULES BROKE FRAME and be aware.
same post in Bikeszone: http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4867
Sorry for re-posting it here but its important.
Regards
Pranav Tewari
www.Pranaving.com
+91-9986006897
Pranav
it says 'The blog will be displayed once approved by the admin'
We know this will never be approved.
Dropped email to custom...@ticyclesindia.com
Will keep you updated if there is any response
Shreelesh Kumar
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Protect the Trees. Save Open Spaces. Save Bangalore
murali hr
Professor David Gordon Wilson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said litigation is the best way to get safer bicycles. He made his comments in a keynote speech at 'Thinking on Two Wheels', a cycle advocacy conference being held in Adelaide, Australia
Wilson, emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, is the author of 'Bicycle Science', the definitive textbook on, er, bicycling science. This tome was first published in 1974.
murali
Yogesh N. Rao
Georg Leuzinger
very sad to see this and sorry to hear it happened while riding on the road, lucky that you were slow!
looking at most recent indian made bicycles with unnecessary complicated frames - I mean too many joints, to many members...... obviously the manufacturing technique is cheap, the design poor - it just reinforces the point: simplicity is good . less is more. stay away from cheap full suspension bikes, however tempting it might be, because they are made cheaply and they are very very very heavy! this kills the joy of cycling!
stick to hard tail bikes and make sure you have a good quality front suspension fork. a good full suspension bike will come at a very high price and at the moment this must be a imported bike if you really want one !
i can add here:
I am riding my full suspension Moulton since 20 years without trouble, recently i brought home form the annual moulton meet in england the ex demo bike i bought second hand form the company director , the very latest model with all new improved features, in short my dream bike. i rode it only few times, first occasion cyclothon bangalore and little later on nandi hill, that was it, i could not reach idli point as the frame broke, one litle cleat showed fatigue. but also in the complicated and sophisticated double pylon Moulton frame this meant break down. the company repaired it of course free of cost, just a lot of trouble and 3 months no cycling on this jewel and I am yet to get the rear fork part through bangalroe airport customs!
this doewn not happen often on a hand built severly tested top of the line moulton. but it happened just for me! i hope ill see me on the nandi road again with this blue beauty! i have to take it in my stride......... in this case.
the hercules rear fork break down seems all togehter a different story !
cheers, georg
cheers, Georg
Georg Leuzinger
frame breakage rarely comes in a single moment as a burst. it is usually developing slowly at a spot with higher stresses and very slowly giving way. mostly such cracks develop over time in welds or next to welds or brazed joints and on close inspection can often be seen.
it is useful and imperative to check these neuralgic spots regularly while cleaning the bike as possible preventive action is always better than experiencing the final breaking moment while cycling , often leading to a fall or accident.
so dont forget to check your frame frequently!
Georg
sachin venkateshaiah
Sachin
Pedalsandwheels
# 33, 3rd Floor,
Muneswara temple street,
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Amruthalli,
Bangalore - 560092
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alphazed1
MAN.. this is some seriou stuff.. the close up is really scary.. its
as if it was rusted frm day 1 n they camouflaged it by some shiny
paint job..
i did write a blog at ti cycles site too.. asking them y they modified
the frame n fenders of the cult BSA MACH.. it never appeared till
date...
doubt if urs would have any effect in tht sense... y dont u fix up a
meeting with the regional distributor n take it fwd.. i think tht ll
work..
Hope u get immediate n proper response...
Dipankar Paul
Cheers!!!!
Dipankar
9980265230
http://groups.google.co.in/group/lifeonpedals
Yogesh N. Rao
My Hero Octane NV had its share of issues. But, Hero service in Ludhiana, Punjab amazing in its response to my emails (never more than a working day). They replaced any failed part without asking a question.
Ullas had a firefox 2200. It's rim broke into pieces. It took him a lot of arguing before he could get it fixed. He was telling me his respect for Firefox is down now.
In fact, Venki scores very highly on this front. He fixed Bhaskar Rao's Colnago. Dr.Arvind Bhateja's rim was damaged by a drunk idiot on Airport road. Venki gave him a new rim the very next day. In fact, he had not even charged him the last time I spoke with him.
Pranav, please post your experiences dealing with TI support. TI has been marketing very heavily recently. I am sure they are as worried about protecting their reputation as any other company out there.
Good luck,
Yogesh.
arv...@neuro-spine.com
I had a funny noise from my Merida 905 in the initial few days. Venky replaced the bottom bracket, chain rings and cranks for free.
Two clarification:
1. The guy who broke my rim was not a drunk idiot. Idiot is tooooooo mild a term for that scumbag.
2. Venky gave me a spare wheel as a loaner. I have ordered a new set of wheels which he's yet to procure for me. Once I pick up the new wheel set I will return his loaner wheel and pay for the new ones.
Firefox agreed for a full refund on Ullas's bike after a few of us wrote to them expressing our extreme displeasure. It worked!
Regards
Arvind
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel
Pranav
Mr J. Naresh Kumar(Asst. Manager Sales) Bangalore Division met me at
RR cycle.
My interaction with him started on hot side.
When people try to justify the situation, it tend to go on wrong side.
Even if its the first time company is getting such kinda complain, it
should be taken on serious note.
Its not a paddle, saddle or chain set but frame(most imp part of bike)
under question. Frame and rim are the only thing manufactured by them,
rest(chain set, gear shifters, tyre etc) everything is a known product
in itself(Shimano etc)
In short, my trust on the company has evaporated. I don't know how
will i face people whom i have recommended buying Hercules. I have
asked for my money back. Mr Naresh will see what can be done!!
Company should not project itself greater than a Customer. Even if you
are one of the largest bicycle sellers in India, you should be knowing
what customers you are catering the most(cycles costing <5~6k) and
where you are struggling the most(above 10k product) and facing heavy
competition.
As explained by pskrishnateja on bikeszone i too believe that Ryder
Act 106 has a design defect due to its Center stand. Center stand is
binded at frame's lower joint(see 2nd pic). Not all water logging in
that area would have moved out and thus caused rusting at the joint.
Over a period of time crack would have developed due to normal wear
and tear. If it took 1 yr for my bike to break down with 5days a week
use, it may 2-3 yrs for others which are rarely used. With Ryder ACT
106 only yr and half old product, it may get similar complain in time
to come. Same with any model which has Center Stand right below the
frame's joint.
Coming back to customer grievance, Sales should not always take
customers as dumb.
When i asked if ACT 106 is out of production, Mr Naresh said its still
under production and selling well. But RR cycle sold that piece 3-4
months back and not getting its stock. Naresh justified that its not
in stock because of huge demand!!!!!
If a product has not performed well in 3-4 month and still is high
demand, can you show me the overflowing order book(advance booking)
for the same??
Lets see what TI has to offer to my grievance via Mr Naresh .
Pranav
Submitted Act 106 to company for analysis.
Thanks to Mr Naresh for co-operation and TI Cycles