How to start a recall?

[RedRider2009]

Well guys, I bought a Gary Fisher Tarpon mountain bike last august. Unfortunately, there is one huge problem with it. When you squeeze the brake levers, they pull all the way to the handlebar, and the seatstays flex outward. Full braking power is never achieved, and the bike cannot even skid. I have sent a letter to Gary Fisher and they told me to bring it to my LBS to have them adjust the pads. GRRR!!! A) I work at the LBS. B) The pads have nothing to do with this problem. Any suggestions on how to get a bike that works properly without paying too much. I want to buy a new MTB but I have other expenses that have priority over this.

 

[alienator]

Well, with a sample set of 1, you don't have the basis for a recall.

 

[cyberlegend1994]

Short of any cooperation from the manufacturer, I'd suggest contacting the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there's a link on their website to report what you describe as an unsafe product. http://www.cpsc.gov

Keep us posted....

 

[alfeng]

Well guys, I bought a Gary Fisher Tarpon mountain bike last august. Unfortunately, there is one huge problem with it.When you squeeze the brake levers, they pull all the way to the handlebar, and the seatstays flex outward. Full braking power is never achieved, and the bike cannot even skid. I have sent a letter to Gary Fisher and they told me to bring it to my LBS to have them adjust the pads. GRRR!!! A) I work at the LBS. B) The pads have nothing to do with this problem. Any suggestions on how to get a bike that works properly without paying too much. I want to buy a new MTB but I have other expenses that have priority over this.

Has this always been the case?

Well, I don't know about the seat stays flexing, but I would guess that if you replace your brake cable housing that you would resolve part-or-all of the problem ...

Something else may be wrong, but if the housing is damaged-or-slides-past-a-cable-stop then you will never be able to effectively close the calipers when the lever pulls on the cable.

 

[RedRider2009]

Yes, since I bought the bike this has been happening. Replacing the cable housing will not eliminate this problem. The problem is that there is no lateral support between the seatstays. When you squeeze the brake the seatstay bends farther away from the wheel. This is not a disc brake by the way!

Initially when I had the bike the lever did not make it all the way to the handlebar unless squeezed very hard, now the cables have stretched, and I have pulled some cable out, so the pads are very close to the rim.

 

[alfeng]

Yes, since I bought the bike this has been happening. Replacing the cable housing will not eliminate this problem. The problem is that there is no lateral support between the seatstays. When you squeeze the brake the seatstay bends farther away from the wheel. This is not a disc brake by the way!

It's not a "recall" that you want, but rather a simple warrranty replacement ...

If you didn't buy it from the shop you work at, then bring the bike back to the shop from which you bought it and have them send it back ...

If you bought it from the shop you work at, so much the better -- have the owner sign off on a warranty replacement for the frame AND have him send it back.

As you know, GARY FISHER is owned by TREK ... and, while you could possibly drive-up-the-road & knock-on-their-door with the bike in hand, why bother?

 

[alienator]

Yes, since I bought the bike this has been happening. Replacing the cable housing will not eliminate this problem. The problem is that there is no lateral support between the seatstays. When you squeeze the brake the seatstay bends farther away from the wheel. This is not a disc brake by the way!

Work it out with the company. One bike that doesn't perform up to snuff doesn't indicate a problem with the bike's design. You should keep in contact with the company. At this point there's zero evidence of a need for a recall.

In looking at pics of the rear end of Tarpons, it's obvious that there is a brake bridge, and the geometry--stay tubing diameter, bridge diameter and location, and etc--look pretty darned standard:

It would seem that the only way you can be seeing the behavior you're seeing is either by something being broken or by something being wrong in the setup of the bike. In any case, without photos of what you're seeing, you stand zero chance of getting things resolved with Fisher. Any company would ask for evidence/pics, and no recall would ever happen based on word of mouth.

You need to take pics.

 

[RedRider2009]

Neither of those bicycles are mine. Although both of those older model tarpons do have a brake bridge, mine does not. I will try to post a picture tomorrow. I guess you are correct I am aiming for a new frame at least. However, I know that every 2009 Tarpon they sold to my LBS does not have a brake bridge, therefore they will all have this same problem.

 

[alienator]

Neither of those bicycles are mine. Although both of those older model tarpons do have a brake bridge, mine does not. I will try to post a picture tomorrow. I guess you are correct I am aiming for a new frame at least. However, I know that every 2009 Tarpon they sold to my LBS does not have a brake bridge, therefore they will all have this same problem.

You should take at least 2 pictures: one without the rear brakes applied, and one with the rear brakes applied. Even better would be a picture of a ruler showing the approximate distance from seat stay to rim (or brake pivot to rim), and another pic showing the ruler in the same position, with the brakes applied, showing the new distance. The ruler would be important as a camera lens can have enough spherical aberration to make the stay appear bent.

Are you sure you've got enough cable tension on that brake? I mean, if you're bottoming out the brake lever, cable tension would be the first thing to check. I don't know what assembly was involved in getting the Tarpons on the floor, but it'd be wrong to assume that the cable tensions were all done correctly at the factory. With cable tension set correctly--and brakes, overall, set up correctly--it's hard to imagine seat stays flexing so much as to allow the lever to bottom. That amount of flex would require other things flexing, too, like the chainstay, seat tube, possibly the stay(s) on the opposite side. As it stands, that seat stay has a large diameter. I think something would have to be broken to allow that much flex, and I can't see Fisher letting a design go to the LBS's that wouldn't stop correctly.

 

[RedRider2009]

The bike was set up with proper cable tension by my LBS in the first place, but after I noticed how weak the brakes were getting, I assumed the cable had stretched, so I tightened the cable tension. It was then that I noticed the stays moving when I squeezed the brake. I am not sure how much they are moving right now, but obviously enough to give me a weak brake. I doubt the seat tube is bending, and I doubt the chainstays are bending either. I think the flexing that is going on ends at the dropout area and the top of the seatsays. I will get measurements and a real picture or two tomorrow.

 

[alienator]

I was at my LBS yesterday--Fairwheel Bikes, in Tucson--and I saw that a large number of bikes in their mountain bike rental fleet were Fishers with the same sort of seat stay/brake configuration that you have, i.e. no brake bridge. Given the seriousness of trails in the desert and mountains around here, brakes are necessity, and given the rep and proactive nature of FWB, I don't see them renting bikes that won't stop. So, given the similarity of the rear end of your bike to those at FWB and considering that both have G2 geometry, it makes think more that your problem is specific to your bike.

Have you checked the tension in the rear wheel spokes? Is it dished correctly? When you see seat stay "deflection", are you seeing it in both stays at once, or are you only able to see one side?

You could try emailing Jason at [email protected] to see if he's heard of such a problem. Tell him which Fisher you have and that the bike has G2 geometry, the same as his rentals, and go from there. Another option would be to register on their forums, http://fairwheelbikes.com/forum/index.php, and post your question, there, in the MTB bits.

 

[bigpedaler]

You are seriously jumping the gun here, OP; a RECALL is waaaay overreacting! It IS a simple deal-with-the-factory issue. Any bike with a sound design can have a flaw in a unit here and there.

There's way-way-WAY too much of this "if it's not perfect, it's defective" thinking out there; I see it every day, and that's with big-box **** bikes! I'd laugh my fool a$$ off if I wasn't required to try and detail-fix 'em cuz some manager wants the sale.

Remember the KISS principle, bud.

 

[bidaci]

If you work at the LBS have you checked other bikes like your at the shop and see if they flex the same way? Another thing to check is if the brake pads are glazed or contaminated. If they are you may be squeezing the levers harder then required in order to get the bike to stop properly.

Check the rims, the pads and for any hairline cracks. Worse case scenario if all else fails is you could try a brake booster. WebCyclery - Trials bikes, Singlespeeds, Cyclocross, and more.. - Echo V-Brake Boosters