My wife ordered and received a Trek Roscoe.
First ride today, drive side pedal fell off. Threaded insert in the eThirteen Helix Core crank fell out, drive side.
Contacted Balfe's Bikes. Lee in customer service said the only way this damage could be caused is by installing the pedals incorrectly.
Like most of you, I am a competent home mechanic, can build wheels, bleed brakes, change bearings, (wow I'm so amazing) and although not a professional, I know which pedals go on which side, and when something is going on cross threaded.
So now I'm talking directly with Trek.
Make of this what you will. But I will certainly show no loyalty to Balfe's Bikes in the future.
The insert falling out and the threads being damaged by cross-threading a pedal should look quite different. Have they seen a pic before they told you what you'd done?
I've been pretty happy with Balfes. Put through a couple of warranty claims with them (a rear mech, and a seat post clamp - both for the same bike, separate occasions), and they both went through without too much fuss. I think I had to chase the the rear mech, but only once.
Balfe's have been amazing when i bought my Trek
Surely you would see the pedal correctly fitted to the insert which has fallen out
Balfes are indeed completely ****ing useless at assembling bikes* but they are cheap, don't add C2W fee and allow topups so they will continue to sell shit loads of bikes despite your reservations OP 🙁
I do feel your pain.
* Knock block fitted so the bike wouldn't turn left. At least 5 bolts completely and utterly loose
Gotta say I've had great service from them - ordered a bike on C2W, decided I didn't want it when it arrived, they exchanged it for something else which was cheaper and they were happy to supply a selection of parts to make up the price difference (cos the C2W voucher amount couldn't be changed).
TL:DR - they happily did stuff that was more hassle for them, because I was a dithery customer
I’m another that’s very happy with Balfes - for what it’s worth!
Pictures?
I have no idea how to add pictures on here since the forum completely changed 🙁 I should also have looked for the threaded insert on the road but it never occured to me at the time. Basically it's the end of the crank with half of the thread vanished and half the thread absolutely fine. Bizarre.
I was just looking at pictures of the cranks and didn't think it was a thread insert - just a thick pressed on washer. Your photo seems to confirm that.
Don't take offence, but must say it looks like riding with a loose pedal to me.
Basically it's the end of the crank with half of the thread vanished and half the thread absolutely fine. Bizarre.
But the thread is there, it’s just knackered. You haven’t lost a threaded insert, you’ve lost a washer. As to how the thread got thrashed, I’m afraid I’m with the poster above.
That does look like a loose pedal has partially unwound and then pulled out and stripped the thread.
I suppose it's possible that the thread was a bit baggy/out of tolerance but it's unlikely. Possibly just a very human moment of lost concentration during assembly.
Contacted Balfe's Bikes. Lee in customer service said the only way this damage could be caused is by installing the pedals incorrectly.
Unfortunately it looks like Lee was right. That damage doesn’t look like it was caused by a pedal that was fully engaged
i reckon if you put the pedal in from the back it's give you enough thread to be a none issue, ie wind it in from behind to sort the remaining thread, then try to reinsert from the correct side
I used to think pedals would tighten in use due to thread direction and didn't need torquing up too much when installing (bearing in mind I'm a large strong person who's stripped various threads in the past). After losing a couple of pedals similarly I now lean pretty heavily on them!
+1 for what alan1977 says just above, get it good and tight and you can probably forget about it. There's still a lot of thread there.
That does look like a pedal has worked loose, then pulled out of the end of the thread. If so the failure is down to whoever fitted the pedals & if it wasn't Balfes you're looking at goodwill from Balfes/Trek for repair or replacement.
Alternatively you can get the thread repaired for not much. Tarty Bikes, for example, offer a crank rethreading service for £20.
Threaded insert in the eThirteen Helix Core crank fell out
Looking at pics of this crank online it is just a pedal washer, not a threaded insert.
Contacted Balfe's Bikes. Lee in customer service said the only way this damage could be caused is by installing the pedals incorrectly.
I'd be inclined to agree having seen the photo.
Make of this what you will. But I will certainly show no loyalty to Balfe's Bikes in the future.
Seems a bit harsh given the picture above does look like the pedal wasn't tight and has come loose and or was cross threaded.
I brought my Levo SL from Balfes at the start of the year, it was a really good experience and lee in customer service was really knowledgeable and helpful.
I personally would and have recommend them to anyone.
TBH the cranks are donkey, the adjusters are terrible and don't work as well as a DUB adjuster, so much so that after 50 miles i've removed from both our Fuels and sold them. They are inserts rather than washers.
Merlin have cranks and BB, Shimano for less than i got for the cranks.
FWIW, Balfes have been brilliant for me. 🙂 I've bought 4 bikes from them without any issue at all.
I used to think pedals would tighten in use due to thread direction and didn't need torquing up too much when installing (bearing in mind I'm a large strong person who's stripped various threads in the past). After losing a couple of pedals similarly I now lean pretty heavily on them!
It depends on what fails first. In normal operation procession will tighten the thread, the easy way to visualize why is to imagine the pedal spindle is slightly undersized in the hole and as it turns it's actually made to rotate around in the opposite direction as a result. It's not actually undersize, but the way it's loaded and deforms slightly makes it act as though it is.
If however the bearings in the pedal seize, it'll unscrew. Although IME what actually happens is it probably loosens ever so slightly then the movement rapidly trashes the thread.
I just googled an apparently they're supposed to be 35-55Nm, which is a massive range and I'd guess even 35 is double what I'd probably do by hand.
E Thirteen says they are washers stuck in place - which is probably why it fell off with the loose pedal waggling it.
https://support.ethirteen.com/hc/en-us/articles/204774775-Do-I-need-to-use-my-pedal-washers
I'd probably also go with a new washer and do it up tight and see what happens.
Sad you've have a bad experience, but Balfes Reigate have always been good for me.
E.g. When I broke a mech the day before going on a holiday, they dropped it all at 4.30pm on a Friday to fit a new one.
