I just wanted to get some opinions on whether or not I should write a letter to Catrike about about my experience with the dealer where I purchased my Expedition. Now, first of all the Expedition is fantastic. It is probably my favorite thing I have ever purchased. With that being said after having discovered a few more issues today I am extremely unhappy with my purchasing experience. Let me state up front that I am sure a more experienced cyclist would have noticed many of these issues right away. I am NOT an experienced cyclist and was depending on the LBS to get me going safely and with the knowledge I needed.
Here is a list of the issues I have had with my new trike:
1.) Toe-In was never mentioned to me or set at purchase time. Ended up discovering on my own after wearing out a brand new set of Marathon racers that it was off by almost an inch. I wore my tires out in about 400 miles. Worn down to threading on both front.
2.) Seat buckles on the bottom were not discussed and were just loose. This caused me to nearly wear through my cables because I was sitting on my idler and the cable was running under the seat. I am going to try and repair this somehow.
3.) The headset was so loose it almost fell out when I was riding. It was less than finger tight.
4.) The screw on the space neck rest was stripped.
5.) One of the axles was so loose that the wheel was literally only being held on by the brake caliper.
6.) My front derailleur was so loose that it slipped down on to the front chain rings.
As I said, I am sure a lot of this would have been noticed right away by someone who knew what to check. As a noobie to the sport I would have expected a little more thorough preparation from the dealer when someone is making that large of a purchase. By the way this was a dealer that specialized in recumbents and trikes.
Thanks for any suggestions.
