trialstar

Here's your free Legal Advice for today... Sale of Goods Act, Faulty Goods. Relevant or Related Legislation: Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. Key Facts: • Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale). • Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description. • Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety. • It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract. • If goods do not conform to contract at the time of sale, purchasers can request their money back "within a reasonable time". (This is not defined and will depend on circumstances) • For up to six years after purchase (five years from discovery in Scotland) purchasers can demand damages (which a court would equate to the cost of a repair or replacement). • A purchaser who is a consumer, i.e. is not buying in the course of a business, can alternatively request a repair or replacement. • If repair and replacement are not possible or too costly, then the consumer can seek a partial refund, if they have had some benefit from the good, or a full refund if the fault/s have meant they have enjoyed no benefit • In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years). • If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty) • After six months and until the end of the six years, it is for the consumer to prove the lack of conformity. The basic jist of all that Legal mumbo jumbo is that: 1) Goods must be fit for the purpose in which they are described (ie. trials frame for trials that will take longer to break than a week) 2) It's the seller who has responsibility to sort this problem out, not echo because the contract for the sale was made between you and the seller. If they don't speak to Trading Standards as they have a legal obligation to take action. 3) Your frame is guaranteed for up to 6 years from manufacturing defects (this whole 12 month warranty bullshit is exactly that.. absolute cack made up by large companies to avoid their legal responsibilities) 4) Because this fault occured within the first 6 months of your ownership of the frame it is the seller/manufacturer who has to prove that it wasn't faulty. 5) The seller must arrange a repair, replacement or full refund in a reasonable timeframe (4 weeks would be reasonable in this case for a repair or replacement). If they dont you are entitled to a full refund. Tell them all of this and make sure you put it in writing and get a signed reciept for any change of goods. If they piss you around threaten to get in contact with Trading Standards, that usually sorts it out. If they still don't play ball, get in touch with Trading Standards and tell them what's happened. This applies to all "trials specific" products if they don't last as long as they should because they have been designed specifically to do a job and aren't cutting the mustard. But you can't ride trials on a cross country frame, bust it and try and return it cause they will tell you to f**k off. Any more legal questions don't hesitate to contact me. -James (Excuse the incoherancy of that argument I'm very hungover)

Ummmm.... Being 16 stone, a very heavy rider (and a little out of practice) I should know...? James (who hasn't ridden in 2 years!) 4 step guide to less pinch flats! Step 1.) Wide Rim: The wider the rim, the less chance you have because theiy generally have shallower braking surfaces. Try Phatso rims or BMF's (I've always ran one of these on the rear and never had any problems.) Step 2.) Fat f**k Off Tyre (with a good sidewall): Obviously! The more rubber you put between the road, the tube and the rim the better! El Gato's are pretty crap as far as side walls go but they're as grippy as fook! High Rollers are practically indestructible (although u can occasionally rip the studs off if your not careful) but not quite as grippy (particularly in the wet) but generally it's down to personal preference. Just make sure it's at least a 2.3! <---[Magic Number] Step 3.) Fat f**k Off Inter-Tube: I think this one speaks for itself. There are two main ones here that I use, you have the Hutchinson DH and the IRC DH. Now I don't care about weight generally so I run the IRC on the rear cause that's so much thicker than the Hutch but if you care about weight then the Hutchinson will do you fine. And they do come in a lovely shade of green Step 4.) Finally... If you still pinching after all that, go and find your Dad's old mountain bike at the back of the garage, take that shitty 1.95 back tyre off it, cut the sidewalls off and put it inside your tyre. It will feel really hard so you will probably have to take the pressure down ever so slightly. I've always maintained the best pressure for a back tyre is anywhere between 23-32psi depending on preference and riding style. Anyway that's that. Hope it helps! By the way if anyone rides in Sheffield, like I said I haven't ridden in about 2 years since I came up here to go uni and really could do with getting out again so drop me a line. That's all folks!