rower

What's their return policy?

Sucker with a surprise £1,000 in the bank

Ah, that would be the bit where you and your mate started using slurs you learned from the far right about snowflakes - up next is 'cuckservative' I suppose. (removed by admin)

No, the fact that they outwardly are fine with accepting back bikes that aren't wanted in less than a year is what makes the difference. Looks like reading comprehension isn't going too well for you. Had a bad day? Learned that your daughter's got a new boyfriend or something and you're having a fit?

Got a Football Lads Alliance rally to be getting along to maybe? I don't care, don't bother wasting my time again.

Cheers for the moralising lecture grandad, I'll be sure to take your made-from-a-position-of-ignorance rantings on board and feel very very guilty for taking back a product that wasn't performing to my spec to a multinational corporate giant, with >1000 outlets across the globe. I might give it all up and join the foreign legion in order to forget

Never seen someone go from squeaking far right insults to moralising bore in so short space a time....

Perhaps he might reconsider using vocab from the far right then. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-alt-right-terminology-20161115-story.html

Perhaps you should read less Breitbart News and Daily Mail, stop listening to Katie Hopkins and Julia Hartley Brewer on the radio, and get a grip, then. Clearly my case for a return was good enough for Decathlon, but may you spend a happy life picking at posts on the internet wringing your hands about your terror of 'snowflakes' who don't go out riding with a socket set... Perhaps you can reminisce on the good old days when anyone could hang up a 'no blacks no dogs no Irish' signs or something? Just do it somewhere else and don't bother me about it.

Yes it quotes a full refund within 7 business days of my return of the bike to Decathlon. Contrary to some of the snide, nasty posts in this thread this wasn't my master plan all along, I'm just not happy with it, and good on Decathlon for standing by their products so robustly. Next bike is one of the 1980s steel framed hybrids lying around at home, will help me get fitter if nothing else. Getting up the home hill will be a bugger though!

Took it off for thorough maintenance and cleaning. But when I own a bike I want to be able to do a tyre change on the roadside with relative ease. You can't see what I'm complaining about because you've never owned the bike!

I suppose that's the advantage of being a big operation like Decathlon, they've got the scale to absorb a small loss in this instance in the expectation that in the big picture and in the long run this approach will do them favours.

Reminds me of this wee beauty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welbike

Yes exactly, sadly I don't have a saddle bag that fits a socket set! Just baffles me that they didn't design it with being able to fix it with a regular compact toolset when on the roadside (or at least use the same size nuts on the front wheel?). Oh well, hopefully not my circus and not my monkeys anymore

When the other side of the nut isn't accessible because the rear mech's sticking out, almost in direct contact with the nut in such a way that an adjustable spanner is not viable, it's not. But you're completely ignorant about the setup of the bike and braying like an ignorant nob... Anyway taken the bike back to the shop and they just said they hoped I'd find a bike I like in the future, and gave me some paperwork to signify acceptance of the product and the money I'm owed, which their customer loyalty mob will allegedly wire across to me in good time. Not counting myself out of the woods until the next bank statement shows the result is in, but otherwise good effort from Decathlon showing solid customer service, just a shame I didn't get on with their product. I've got loads of good Decathlon hiking stuff and my dad's ridden B'Twin bikes for yonks, this one just wasn't to be.

Well indeed, and after about half of that 365 day period I've found that the item is unsuitable because it's a pig to maintain to a satisfactory performance standard, I've found that it's been badly assembled, and it's making rotten groaning noises despite professionally certified maintenance and checks. I didn't make the post to get sympathy votes, more as a warning for anyone who googles or searches for 'decathlon ebike' or similar. Will update on what happens later...

No I've never used a hose on the bike, just sponge, bike shampoo, rotor cleaner, degreaser and lube plus the chain cleaning kit and brush. And rags obviously. The professional maintenance I paid for by the ACT cytech level 2 geezer the other week didn't correct the fault either, all he could advise was that it wasn't a safety hazard, as he'd checked all the safety critical points, but it was seriously annoying! No I'm just unhappy with the product, I've money and loads of time doing inspections and checks and there are still irritating persistent troubles, and it's clear there have been corners cut with assembly, not just use of cheap/obsolete parts. The actual electronics are fine, it's just the mechanical platform which is producing aggro. You have never ridden or heard this bike, you've no idea what it's like. When I own a bike I want to be able to maintain it with ease and for it not to creak and squeak with barely half a year's ownership! If I'd have known this would happen I'd have spent a few more hundred quid on a better quality bike from e.g. Whoosh. I don't intend to take them to court or any of that nonsense, I just want to use their 365 days return policy - https://www.decathlon.co.uk/terms.html#exchanges and hopefully since I bought the bike from online/click and collect, not in the store, the guys in the shop won't make things too hard for me. If they do a full tear down of the bike and identify the problem and solve the squeaking and groaning then they'd have a case to give it back, but if not then it's clearly just a defective product as I've maintained it beautifully. The drivetrain, brakes, etc are spotless, but the flipping thing just softly groans and squeaks whenever I'm on it.

You may have read my review of my ebike from a few months ago, in February. http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/btwin-elops-900e-low-frame-dutch-bike-600km-and-loving-it-%C2%A3999-but-%C2%A362-tyre-upgrade-recommended.30435/ The review of this bike was accurate for the time, but unfortunately, over the course of months, I have discovered things which have ticked me off to the point when I will be attempting to return it to Decathlon and get my money back under their 365 days return policy. Firstly, the back wheel is an absolute pig to remove. The rear mech rubs badly with the nuts that hold the wheel on the axle (oh and the fun part? The rear nuts can't be removed without a round spanner, a regular adjustable won't work, and they're a different size to the ones on the front wheel). And putting it back on is even worse, it's a nightmare. This makes puncture repair, drivetrain maintenance and other routine servicing an exercise in foul language, faff and general unpleasantness which would be completely impossible on your own on a roadside off a country lane. Secondly, after a click and creak from an unknown place developed on the bike, I took the bottom bracket and handlebar stem off to do maintenace/clean with the dad. It is clear that the bike was not fitted with basic procedures, for example, the steering tube wasn't greased, so aluminium has rubbed on aluminium creating rust and damage on the inside. The bottom bracket was loose, and of poor quality, and there are all kinds of gaps for water and other nasties to worm their way inside. I will be trying to use the 365 days policy on the basis of the steering tube not having been greased, so I suspect all kinds of other shortcuts were taken which have created the mystery creak which is still there, despite a full on bottom bracket, cranks, pedals, headset and steering tube removal and service. I will be soliciting a full cash refund as I'm planning on moving back home to a far less hilly neighbourhood and to use a regular touring bike for getting from a to b instead. It's been great to have the ebike around rural hilly bits but unfortunately this one just isn't going to cut it. What a shame, because there were great points to the bike and I did over 800 miles of commuting on the thing.

You definitely want to invest in some e-bike specific tyres bud. Since changing to Schwalbe Marathon Energizer (https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-energizer-plus-2015) in late January I've not had any tyre drama. I run mine at 4 bar (58 psi if you use new money) which seems to be the sweet spot between efficiency and puncture prevention. The inner tube shouldn't make any odds really - though I prefer schrader valves as then I don't have to faff around converting my track pump when adjusting the pressure on the car wheels or whatever else.

You could always simplify the process with one of these beauties!

I use muc off wet lube but looking around I wish I'd tried just using WD40. The vloke GCN uses WD40 for the lot and says it works brilliantly.

The schwalbe airless tyres look Great but won't be in the UK until 2019 according to cycle republic

Mine has a hub motor.

I have done this. Got a puncture last November and didn't have a spare tube on me. Couldn't walk the bike back on the road so had to go through footpaths which all had awkward kissing gates I couldn't fit the bike through.... Not recommended As soon as Schwalbe get their act together and bring their airless tyres to the UK next year I think I'll be about ready for a minimal maintenance bike that requires barely any repair tools while out and about.

I'm interested in shafts and belts because I have no problem paying for a premium product if that's a guarantee of a reliable service life. With my ebike I've already had to take it back to the shop because of a crap chain, and it's a bit of gear which I'm having to clean and oil at least fortnightly. Not a huge amount of work but it's just more crap that you've got to have lying around to use when necessary which I'd rather not. If a shaft/belt system opens up the possibility of yearly or even further apart servicings and maintenance work then they have my interest.