Godson (mates son) bought himself a new bike from toys r us on the saturday.

Monday out cycling going down the road went to change gear and he says it locked up causing him to come off the bike, apart from the grazes, cuts and brusing he also has broke his arm

he was out on the roads with it at the time and not off road, lucky road was quite.

Mate is not best happy, spoke to toys r us and they said bring the bike back and they will send it to head office for invesigation.

lad is a honest person, plays sports for school never in trouble so we belive what he says, is there anything my mate can or should do.

or is it accidents happen

thanks

while i'm not denying what he's saying, if the chain was to somehow lock on the gears, the wheel should freewheel with that clicking sound they make. does the wheel spin freely backwards? or did he run over something in the road which coincidentally caused him to come off whilst changing gear (and perhaps not keeping full attention on the road)
just a thought?

If its locked up then its likely the chain has jammed in one of the deraileurs. Has the bike been looked at to see if there is anything obvious??
I guess your mate is considerring a claim against Toys R Us?? If so last thing i'd do is return the bike direct to them - not before taking it to a local independant bike shop for a check up first. If they find serious fault which could cause an accident then maybe speak to a solicitor prior to giving the bike to Toys R Us??

As said i would have it looked at first. Alot of local bike shops will give a quick gander for not much.

The chains on some cheaper bikes jumps over the cog set on the back and jams between the spokes and the cogs which may jam the wheel, also happens at the bottom of the set between the cog and frame usually when the gears arnt set up properly.
I have had myself where when changing gear and going over a bump the chain jumps over 2 cogs and locks the pedals but doesnt jam the wheel.

I've had chains jump all over the place, whether its a cheap mechanism, being harsh with the gear change mechanism or bad adjustment of the cable I never knew. On one occassion it jumped so far the deralier (SP?) ended up getting mangled in the spokes and locking the rear wheel, on another occassion I got the chain jammed between the rear gear set and the spokes/hub.

Ned.

Take it as 'accidents happen',

You know what the reaction in our nanny state will be if somebody decides push bikes are dangerous.

Which coincidentally, they often can be.

Symapathies to your mates son though, I hope he gets well soon.

I'd agree with Paul. If your mate is at all concerned about how the bike works or was put together, take it to a good local independent bike shop for them to have a look at.

I used to work in a local independent bike shop. We used to have fully trained mechanics assemble and test ride every bike that went out of the shop.

We used to get 1 person a month bring in a bike that they had either bought from a toy shop / Argus or Halfrauds and subsequently came off. Usually within a few hundred meters! Worst one I saw was a front wheel not secured, kid pulled up on the bars to get up a kerb, wheel fell out, forks dropped down to the deck, dug in and he went right over the top!

Always worth paying a little more for a bike that has been put together well!

Hope the lad gets better soon and it doesn't put him off cycling!

Mike

(4 years as a bike mechanic!)

Sorry to hear about the lads accident - I hope it doesn't deter him from cycling once he's healed up (best form of transport and excercise IMHO).

Some points to consider though...

The bike will have been sold to him subject to Toys R Us' Terms and Conditions of Sale. These are usually "available on request" to the customer, but may also be available from their website. It would be worth reading them first as you will probably find that they exhonerate themselves from any responsibility in cases like this.

They are extremely unlikely to even consider compensation. Personally I think the best you'll get is a letter of acknowledgement and the offer of a replacement bike, store vouchers or if you're lucky a full refund. I'd push for the refund and go and buy a decent bike from a proper bike shop.

As has been suggested it would be worth getting the bike looked at first by an independant specialist. However, please be fair to whoever you choose and explain why you are asking them to look at it first and don't be annoyed if they don't want to get involved. Also make it clear that they should not adjust, dismantle or mark the bike in anyway as that will only give Toys R Us further amunition to not play ball.

From personal experience whn I bought a baby walker from Toys R Us and found it to be a pile of plastic rubbish not fit for purpose it took 2 store visits and a stronly worded letter to their customer complaints dept to obtain a full refund. I then had to visit the store a 3rd time to collect the very grudginly given refund from the store manager who was very unhappy that head office had overuled her.

Good luck!

quote:

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Originally posted by ned
I've had chains jump all over the place, whether its a cheap mechanism, being harsh with the gear change mechanism or bad adjustment of the cable I never knew. On one occassion it jumped so far the deralier (SP?) ended up getting mangled in the spokes and locking the rear wheel, on another occassion I got the chain jammed between the rear gear set and the spokes/hub.

Ned.

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quote:

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Originally posted by nick205
...
Some points to consider though...

The bike will have been sold to him subject to Toys R Us' Terms and Conditions of Sale. These are usually "available on request" to the customer, but may also be available from their website. It would be worth reading them first as you will probably find that they exhonerate themselves from any responsibility in cases like this.
...
Good luck!

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