The pressure guage may be wrong. A friend of mine (using a track pump) killed several tyres and rims before he realised that his track pump guage was under reading and he was drastically over inflating his tyres.
Good reason to use the "thumb pressed into tyre" technique?
The pressure guage may be wrong. A friend of mine (using a track pump) killed several tyres and rims before he realised that his track pump guage was under reading and he was drastically over inflating his tyres.
Good reason to use the "thumb pressed into tyre" technique?
Replace an imprecise measurement with a very imprecise measurement?
Ivor Tingting wrote:Aim to resolve or reply? If resolve, in whose favour?
Resolve in 5 days in whose favour I don't know yet although I have said I will take legal action to recover the costs I incurred if they did not respond within 14 days.
Wait and see I guess.
Stephen B wrote:When I first read that I thought it said "ripped my head off"!
Good luck with your claim.
Lol that would have been uncomfortable Thanks for good wishes.
The pressure guage may be wrong. A friend of mine (using a track pump) killed several tyres and rims before he realised that his track pump guage was under reading and he was drastically over inflating his tyres.
Good reason to use the "thumb pressed into tyre" technique?
Replace an imprecise measurement with a very imprecise measurement?
Yes - but actually quite accurate enough to tell you if you have an instrumentation failure.
I always know what I expect the answer to be when I do a sum - I'm rarely exactly right, but I know immediately if I've screwed up typing into the calculator...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
The pressure guage may be wrong. A friend of mine (using a track pump) killed several tyres and rims before he realised that his track pump guage was under reading and he was drastically over inflating his tyres.
Good reason to use the "thumb pressed into tyre" technique?
I don't know if I have particularly weak hands or hard tyres, but I find I can't squash my tyres at all when they're at the correct pressure or a little below. Certainly couldn't tell if they were overinflated.
I'm going to show my husband this as conformation of why I won't shop at Halfords. My 4th brother purchased new wheels, tyres and tubes, 20 yards down the road the spoke went through tube and tyre. Halfords refused to replace them until I had stood outside the store for 2 hours pointing out their appalling customer service. Got them replaced and spare tubes.
I don't know if I have particularly weak hands or hard tyres, but I find I can't squash my tyres at all when they're at the correct pressure or a little below. Certainly couldn't tell if they were overinflated.
In that case you keep testing the pressure with your thumb as you are pumping it up, once you get to the point where you can no longer "squash" the tyre stop pumping - that way you'll never over-inflate and never ruin expensive tyres/inner tubes. Then go for a little ride and observe how much the tyre spreads on the road and if necessary pump up a fraction more. Its very simple really.
Please see below for my original complaint letter and your auto response with the unique reference number.
I have just had a most unsatisfactory conversation with the manager from your Telford store regarding the issues I raised in my original letter.
Regarding the brake hoses being unclipped and loose when I received the bike I was told that he was positive that they were attached when he gave me the bike and that they must have fallen out on my way home, I must be mistaken. I am astounded that a member of your management team would resort to calling their customer a liar to save their own skin. The hoses are attached to the frames by 5 clips. The clips were attached securely but the hoses were not contained in them. If they had come loose on the way home the clips would have fallen off the bike. Since fitting these clips myself I have covered over 110 miles on the bike and not a single one has come loose. Indeed if the clips were to come loose on the first 4 mile ride on the bike it would indicate a serious design flaw and safety concern on the bike itself.
Regarding the tyre and tube exploding he refused to accept that a 4 day old tyre should not explode when being topped up with air for the first time. He insinuated that I had over pressurised the tyre and caused the blow out myself. I did not do so I inflated the tyre to the correct pressure stated on the sidewall of the tyre. I was told that I had already been offered free fitting of the tube and tyre as a good will gesture which I appreciate but that does not excuse the fact that the tyre/tube were not fit for purpose or of reasonable durability. I was offered a refund for the inner tubes but not for the tyres. I cannot accept this and must insist on a full refund of both the tubes and tyres as they were either incorrectly fitted to the bike in the first instance or were defective.
My complaint about the back wheel being damaged in the explosion was not even mentioned.
The original complaint was forwarded to the Telford store by your cycle specialist. I must now insist after my recent conversation with your Telford store manager that my complaint is now dealt with centrally as I refuse to be spoken to by anyone from your Telford store again if this is how they treat their paying customers.
You have 5 working days to respond to this letter or the next correspondence you receive from me will be a court summons to recover the costs I have incurred.
Your Sincerely,
Thomas Irvine
Took 10 days with customer services to get insulted by the store manager, will see what happens next
It's hardly comprehensive. I'd be tempted to ask, in a separate enquiry, for details of their own timescales to respond to a complaint and procedures for escalating the complaint if the response is unsatisfactory.
It's not uncommon for an organisation to fail to meet it's own standards in this respect, ammunition which becomes useful as the comlaint climbs up the managerial tree.
Good luck, hope they see sense soon.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
Spoke to Halfords customer services on the phone again, they still refuse to refund me the cost of the tyres in the telephone assistants own words as I cannot prove that I didn't over-inflate the tyres.
The customer services advisor stated that a partial refund i.e the tubes but not the tyres was a fair offer.
They also refused to acknowledge any damage to the back wheel.
Where do I go from here?
*So far I'm thinking contact MP and ask to contact financial ombusman on my behalf
Inform customers services of the existance of this thread, above letter and that letters will be copied to 2 local newspapers if I don;t get a response.
I have an electric car pump which I have used on my bike no problem. The manual even allows using it on bikes.
EDIT: Plus you can't trust halfords to check properly. They gave me the sheet with my new bike saying all way fine, however there was chips to the paintwork in some areas, the right side of the handlebar is a bit bent and the handlebar tape has some markings on. Whilst cycling away from the store, I had just made it off the car park when one of the pedal reflectors fell off. Another 150m up the road, the other fell off.
Not much I could really do as it took me 1.5 hours to walk there and I didn't fancy going the whole way back on foot.
Thomas125 wrote:Spoke to Halfords customer services on the phone again, they still refuse to refund me the cost of the tyres in the telephone assistants own words as I cannot prove that I didn't over-inflate the tyres.
Erm, what kind of proof would they like? Did they expect you to video yourself inflating it?
Thomas125 wrote:The customer services advisor stated that a partial refund i.e the tubes but not the tyres was a fair offer.
The tubes being £3.50 and the tyre being what, £20?
Thomas125 wrote:They also refused to acknowledge any damage to the back wheel.
Where do I go from here?
*So far I'm thinking contact MP and ask to contact financial ombusman on my behalf
Inform customers services of the existance of this thread, above letter and that letters will be copied to 2 local newspapers if I don;t get a response.
Most people don't end up taking things like this any further because they're not sure what to do or don't have the energy. Halfords are rubbish, and this is how they get away with it. If you do take this further you'll be doing a favour to all those other newbie cyclists who go to Halfords after you, who might well be put off cycling altogether.
Basically they are prepared to refund £7 out of £57. not only would I have to carry the cost of the new tyres but also pay lbs another £23 on top to straighten out the back wheel.
All because I can't prove that I didn't over-inflate the tyre on a 4 day old bike.
Basically they are calling me a liar and saying it's my fault. Store manager insists the brake hoses were attached when they left the shop and all 5 must have come loose on the way home whilst miraculously leaving all clips attached to lugs on the frame. Not even an apology for leaving the bike in an unsafe condition.
I'm not letting it go over the principle. If you pay £420 for a bike you should expect the tyre to last more than 4 rides and 1 topping up with air.
I've told them they have 24 hours to reply in writing to me or I go to MP, OFT and local newspapers. We'll see....
After a puncture on my road bike, I took the wheel indoors and decided to change the inner tube; I I got the tube seated (or so I thought ) and then pumped the tyre up to 120psi. A couple of moments later I heard a strange crunching noise coming from the tyre, I looked and to my shock saw the inner tube forcing its way out and getting bigger and bigger! BANG
I had a ringing in my ears for half an hour.
Moral of the story; check that you have the inner tube seated before putting in air.
"It never gets easier, you just go faster."Greg LeMond
Thanks for good wishes.
) and then pumped the tyre up to 120psi. A couple of moments later I heard a strange crunching noise coming from the tyre, I looked and to my shock saw the inner tube forcing its way out and getting bigger and bigger! BANG 
