[wtjs]

Why do these companies alienate customers by deliberately obstructing complaints? On the Halfords Intercity Folder topic you can see that I was very complimentary about the bike. However, there is a fault on the rear tyre of a bike I collected only 5 days ago (photo to follow)- the sidewall had detached from the wire bead. I assume this would be a simple problem to solve as I have the photos. I then discovered that Halfords doesn’t publish an email address for Customer Services- they require you to use ‘Live Chat’ in which you contact people who don’t know anything about cycling and are probably in another country. The simple question I asked was ‘Please give me the email address of Customer Services’. 10 minutes followed with no reply, followed by this, from ‘Mehnaz’:

As we do not have any updated email id right now so what best I can do for you, I will marked an email on your register email address and you can revert back on that email and I will forward it to the team.

You will all appreciate that this is a brush-off designed to achieve nothing. Halfords Customer Services Live Chat is unable to provide an email address for Halfords Customer Services, but Mehnaz is apparently able to forward an email to them from me- except I have no address to send that email to!

Topic

[wtjs]

Good bike; shame about the

Good bike; shame about the tyres and the seller! It was like early autumn in North Lancashire today. This is looking down the Trough of Bowland- at about 3 1/4 hours it was 15-20 minutes slower than a full size bike. I kept checking the tape repair of the rear tyre, and it’s holding. That’s the new 11-36 silver finish cassette – a worthwhile improvement even though it’s only 2 more teeth!

[wtjs]

I doubt if any on here have

I doubt if any on here have bought this bike, and it’s been unusable up here recently because of the rain and unobtainable mudguards. However, I have obtained some now from Tredz- 20″ Bluemels which are really good and stable. Fitting hints available on request. Still no decent wider tyres available, though.

[HoarseMann]

Nice. Even a bit of blue sky.

Nice. Even a bit of blue sky. Image needs rotating…

[HoarseMann]

I wonder if an option would

I wonder if an option would be to ditch the 451 rims and get the hubs re-laced with 438 rims. Should be ok as the bike has disc brakes. Could have your pick of tyres then.

I wondered so I had a look – don’t do this, 438 is even harder to source tyres for!

[HoarseMann]

Good plan. You can’t go wrong

Good plan. You can’t go wrong with sjs cycles. One of the best bike shops out there. They seem to have a decent selection, but as you say, worth holding out for the schwalbe if you’re mainly on road, as it’ll roll better than the other options.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-20-451/

[hawkinspeter]

Had a quick look on eBay for

Had a quick look on eBay for 451 tyres and found this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304683103358

Just under £33 including postage for a pair.

There’s a selection of other 451 tyres if you have a search (I searched for “Schwalbe 451″). That wheel size is typically used on wheelchairs, though I’m pretty sure I’ve got a unicycle with that wheelsize as I struggled to get a 20″ tyre on until I found out it was a different 20” and found a tyre that fits.

[wtjs]

Thanks for your efforts. SJSC

Thanks for your efforts. SJSC do have the Schwalbe 28-451 listed but not in stock. When they’re in stock at the same time as the SKS 20″ mudguards, I’ll get them. For dry roads, the original Vee Tyres 37-451 front tyre still appears normal and the tape reinforcing of the rear is holding with only a small bump discernible while riding. I might then get away with the Vee on the rear with the narrower Schwalbe on the front

[HoarseMann]

I’ve found you a tyre –

I’ve found you a tyre – Schwalbe do one tyre in ERTO 451 size, it’s 28mm wide and it’s only available in a wire bead:
https://www.schwalbe.com/en/road-reader/schwalbe-one-tube-type

Rose Bikes have it in stock for a reasonable 17 EUR – but they’ve stopped shipping to the UK due to the B word:
https://www.rosebikes.com/schwalbe-one-tube-type-performance-clincher-road-tyre-2686727?article_size=20×1

A bike shop in the UK is claiming to have 10 left in stock, although the price is a bit more:
https://www.sprocketandgear.co.uk/products/schwalbe-one-perf-wired-tubed-black-tyre?variant=43385919504635

[wtjs]

“Ride it ’till the tyres wear

“Ride it ’till the tyres wear out”?!

Yes, that seems to be the idea

[HoarseMann]

So Halfords are selling a

So Halfords are selling a bike with odd sized wheels that they can’t source replacement tyres for and the tyres supplied with the bike are far from robust in construction? What’s the marketing: “Ride it ’till the tyres wear out”?!

[hawkinspeter]

Bung them on EBay

Bung them on EBay

[wtjs]

It has now reached it’s sad
It has now reached its sad and disappointing conclusion: Halfords wouldn’t respond so I had to go ahead with the money claim, which cost £35 initially. Halfords then offered 10% discount on the bike, claiming they couldn’t get hold of any 37-451 tyres, or any other -451 tyres. That would have amounted to £45 only! I refused, pointing out that in addition to the £35 court fee, it would cost about £50 for me to obtain two tyres (remember they advised me to change both when they gave me 2 replacements of the wrong size). I offered to end the complaint for £100. Halfords then offered £90, describing it as a 20% discount. I could see me losing in court if I refused, so I gave in.
There is one small postscript: I had previously offered to take the pair of new incorrectly sized tyres to Halfords Lancaster if they assigned an order number, because I go into Lancaster anyway. They never answered this, and as they went to the trouble of ‘beating me down by £10’, I’m just going to be bloody minded and keep them. They’re no use to me but at least Halfords won’t get them!

[wtjs]

Yes, it was called the Small

Yes, it was called the Small Claims Court the last time I used it 25 years ago. Now it’s called a money claim

[TheBillder]

I had exactly that issue with
I had exactly that issue with a 20″ wheel child’s road bike (12 kg of steel, 5 speed Huret) and paid more for replacement tyres than for the bike itself.

I sometimes see an RSW 16 being ridden in the east of Edinburgh, by a rather heroic guy who struggles against the gear ratios that Sturmey-Archer issued all those years ago. The tyres are white balloons that might well be original. The same size (305) was used for the front wheel of the Chopper so perhaps that’s a possibility if 50-odd years is beyond the safe life of the rubber.

[matthewn5]

a genuine 20 x 1 3/8 or 37

a genuine 20 x 1 3/8 or 37-451

Oh no, I had a Raleigh Twenty with 451 sized wheels about a decade ago. Almost impossible to find tyres. I ended up with a pair of Shwalbe Duranos that fitted, and were good, but they were the only 451 tyres I could find. As for rims, forget it.

Apparently Japanese ‘mini velo’ bikes use this tyre size, but they’re rarely found in the UK. Good luck!!

[Author]

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