I bought a Saris turbo trainer in May (seemingly as most of the population did) but recently I've been having some problems, namely being unable to tighten the axle adaptors more than finger tight without the freewheel stopping from working and noticible resistance whilst pedalling. There's also a noise which has become more frequent.
Last week I contacted the vendor (Sigma Sports) who have replied saying I need get Saris to say it's faulty before they do anything. As it happens I emailed Saris at the same time as I contacted Sigma but with it being a US company direct contact is difficult.
Am I being unreasonable in expecting the company who sold me it to be the first port of call?
Contract is with Sigma - they need to deal with it.
Warranty is with the retailer. As an aside, sigma were really good with me over a warranty issue, though not speedy.
To be fair, they have been good to deal with in the past and I've started to use them more and more. The other fun part is if it needs to go back is how I'm going to send the bloody thing without finding a massive box and paying a fortune for 20 odd kg.
Sure it's not a wheel issue? I'd be trying another wheel in it first.
No experience of Saris ones but on my old-school Tacx one you could wind the wheel clamps in as tight as a very, very tight thing.
the_muffin_man this is the H3 direct drive so no wheel involved. It has little axle adaptors you screw on depending on dropout type and even though in the manual it shows an adjustable wrench being used, any more than finger tight and I can't rotate the cassette back with my hand. I should add than I have never applied much torque and certainly nowhere near what you could achieve with a wrench!
did it work fine before?
what made you change/adjust the axle adaptors?
definitely in the correct way? reason I say that is on my wahoo kickr core, the axle adaptors can be flipped over to achieve different axle spacing.
Seems odd that the cassette locks solid if tightened, as in theory the cassette shouldn't be interacting with the axle fitment? right?
It worked....mostly. At the start I used a bike with a 9mm skewer. It happened if I tightened it to normal levels (just normal, not excessive) but ran it loose and it was okay, apart from out of the saddle would result in some slipping at the dropout.
The adaptors only fit one way on the Saris. It does seem very odd to me too and I can't work through the logic in my head to what would cause it as like you say, they should be indepedent. My initial thought was it was maybe some interference with the dropout but as I said, it happens without the bike attached and just finger tight on the adaptor.
Sad times really as I actually looked forward to a lunch time blast on it when working from home.
🙂
🙂
Shows how out of date I am! - my last experience of Turbo trainers was this type...
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Your contract is with the retailer under consumer law. Check the Which site for details
Warranty over and above the legal protection is with the manufacturer
You claim against
the retailer
The coming together of direct drive trainers, Strava training programs and Netflix has improved my fitness more than anything else ever has.
With turbo trainers you definitely need to buy from a retailer you can physically return it to if needed, if you can, even if the price is a bit higher. So Halfords/ Evans etc. Having returned 3 now, this is definitely the way to go, one Neo 2T and 2 Cores.
No advice on fixing it but if it does need to go back try parcelmonkey for quotes. I had to send back a computer PSU to the manufacturer in Germany as they no longer have a UK office. Parcel force was asking for close to £40 for insurance and signed for, went on parcelmonkey and for the same thing Parcel force charged £13 i think it was how that works I dont know.
As above ^^^ your contract is with the retailer.
If they attempt to say the responsibility is with the manufacturer they are in breach of their legal obligations; put simply, they are acting illegally.
They are in breach of their obligations under the Consumer Rights Act.
Be polite but firm in dealing with Sigma; they know their legal obligations under the CRA - let them know you understand the legals, tell them what rights you have under the act and you will exercise your rights unless they resolve to your satisfaction, give them a (reasonable but not over long) timescale to respond to your satisfaction; if no or unsatisfactory response, go legal.
They have no case in law.
Contract is with the retailer, yes, but it might be quicker to speak to Saris. They will likely know their product better and may be able to advise / offer a fix without sending the thing anywhere.
Seems the retailer are legally responsible here, but when I’ve had issues with turbo trainers and power meters I’ve had success opening a support ticket with the manufacturer first. They should be in a much better position to diagnose the problem - it may be fixable without having to resort to sending it back. If you do need to return it they should send you a prepaid courier label.
Do some googling, issues are usually experienced by others as well.
I have a H3 which is fine, running 9mm
I've had a good google and whilst the sound issue it also has is common, the binding freewheel seems to be a special gift just to me!
I've decided I will give Saris until Friday to reply so it's a full week. After that I will ask Sigma to step up. I think that's pretty fair to all involved. Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it.
