Serotta custom frame that doesn't fit

carbon2ti · #1 03-02-2009, 08:47 PM

I need some opinions, please. About one year ago, I ordered a custom Serotta titanium road bike. I was fitted by my local authorized bike shop by a certified Serotta fitter. During the last year I have never felt comfortable on the bike and have brought it back for numerous "adjustments:" seat height, saddle exchanges, stem changes etc. All this to no avail. At the end of 2008, I went to bring back my custom Serotta again to be refit only to discover that my local Serotta dealer had gone out of business and the doors were padlocked. I brought the bike to another shop that told me that my fit was COMPLETELY WRONG. They tweaked the bike as best they good, and it feels better than it ever did before, but it still does not feel right (and the fit still is not nearly as good as my fit on my stock Litespeed). The second shop tooks videos of me riding the Serotta, and the fit clearly looks wrong. They contacted Serotta on my behalf, and Serotta told them that when they received the measurements for my bike initially, Serotta's response to the bike shop that sold me the Serotta was "are you f***ing kidding?" The bike shop told Serotta to go ahead and build the bike as they specified. Now I am stuck with a $4600 custom frame that is useless to me. The second bike shop has been in constant contact with Serotta for the past month, and I have emailed Serotta close to a dozen times about this, but Serotta still has not offered to do anything to fix this problem. And, because the shop from which I purchased the bike is out of business, I can't go back to them for any recourse. So, I'm wondering if anybody has had any luck in getting a custom frame rebuilt in a situation like this, and if so, I would appreciate any tips you may have for how I can get Serotta to offer me some type of solution to this problem.

Smiley · #2 03-02-2009, 08:51 PM

Is there more to this story? If not why not contact Serotta Pete here and see if he can grease the wheels for you. I am sorry to hear of any of these types of mishaps.

Peter P. · #3 03-02-2009, 08:53 PM

Unfortunately, you got burned by THE SHOP, not Serotta. Yeah; it would be nice in your special circumstances if Serotta gave you some special consideration and it would make excellent public relations, but I can understand why they would choose not to.

I wouldn't blame Serotta. Sell the frame on eBay and start over.

As an addendum, I recently took delivery on a custom steel frame and fork. I won't mention the name of the builder or the type of frame. The frame, fork, and parts I ordered were rife with errors. I shipped everything back within a week of delivery. He didn't flinch at taking it back. Of course, I've only had the frame for a week and I didn't even assemble it, so perhaps my circumstances are different.

Good luck.

carbon2ti · #4 03-02-2009, 09:13 PM

I understand your point, however, I was fitted by a certified Serotta trained, certified fitter. I tried to seek recourse from the shop, but they went out of business. Where is Serotta's accountability for the fitters it certifies and the shops with which it chooses to do business? Shouldn't Serotta be responsible for ensuring that those fitters that it certifies are actually qualified, and that the shops which it chooses to have sell its custom frames are qualified to take measurements and place orders for custom frames? And with the shop no longer in business, where else am I to turn? Certainly Serotta had more ability than I did to prevent this from happening. I am not even seeking to get a new custom frame; I would be satisfied if Serotta were willing to offer me a stock frame in exchange for my current custom frame (which still would amount to a loss of over $1k on my part). I have no choice but to assume that my situation is atypical, and given Serotta's emphasis on customer service, I would have thought that it would have chosen to do the right thing and take accountability for the fitters it certified and the stores it chose to have sell its custom bikes.

Louis · #5 03-02-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carbon2ti

Where is Serotta's accountability for the fitters it certifies and the shops with which it chooses to do business?.

An analogy:

If the business schools and universities were held accountable for the recent actions of their graduates, our institutions of higher learning would all be shut down.

93legendti · #6 03-02-2009, 09:23 PM

Contact Pete McKeon. He usually bends over backwards to help in this type of situation.

dekindy · #7 03-02-2009, 09:25 PM

It is hard to believe that Serotta would not have contacted you directly if their response to the dealer is as you have presented. It is also hard to believe that a Serotta trained fitter would be that far off. I sure hope you get this resolved.

Peter P - If the case is indeed as presented, the only thing Serotta can do is make him a new bike that fits if they want to stand behind their product and design process assuming the facts are as presented. Serotta works through dealers is a true statement. However they are advertising the Serotta trained fitters prominently and heavily promoting their dealer network. To say that it is the dealer's and customer's problem does not fit with the Serotta philosophy as I understand it. They build them one bike at a time for individual consumers. There is no them and us in this approach. Explain this to me if I am wrong.

Some people can only afford one frame and they selected Serotta because they were confident that the Serotta process would get it right. The consumer pays a premium price and should get a premium product. I certainly would not want to be told that I had to eat the mistake and E-bay it and start over or make do with a custom bike that does not fit. I don't think Serotta will take that stand either and I wonder why you would propose that as a solution. I must not know Serotta like I think I know Serotta if that is the way this is resolved.

dekindy · #8 03-02-2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louis

An analogy:

If the business schools and universities were held accountable for the recent actions of their graduates, our institutions of higher learning would all be shut down.

Huh? If the facts are as presented and you were the consumer with a Serotta custom bicycle that does not fit, would you be satisfied with this answer? I think NOT!

Louis · #9 03-02-2009, 09:34 PM

Screw-ups happen all the time. Just because you can't get to the person at fault (nearly 100%, as best I can tell) doesn't mean that the next person up the line has to make a full restitution.

dekindy · #10 03-02-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carbon2ti

I understand your point, however, I was fitted by a certified Serotta trained, certified fitter. I tried to seek recourse from the shop, but they went out of business. Where is Serotta's accountability for the fitters it certifies and the shops with which it chooses to do business? Shouldn't Serotta be responsible for ensuring that those fitters that it certifies are actually qualified, and that the shops which it chooses to have sell its custom frames are qualified to take measurements and place orders for custom frames? And with the shop no longer in business, where else am I to turn? Certainly Serotta had more ability than I did to prevent this from happening. I am not even seeking to get a new custom frame; I would be satisfied if Serotta were willing to offer me a stock frame in exchange for my current custom frame (which still would amount to a loss of over $1k on my part). I have no choice but to assume that my situation is atypical, and given Serotta's emphasis on customer service, I would have thought that it would have chosen to do the right thing and take accountability for the fitters it certified and the stores it chose to have sell its custom bikes.

I agree with you 100%. If the system does not have integrity then it has no value. Assuming the facts are as you have presented then I don't think you will have a problem getting this resolved satisfactorily. Contact Serotta and be patient. An obvious error when it was produced will be recognized as an obvious error now. I assume you were not aware of the conversation between Serotta and the dealer. Again, it greatly puzzles me that Serotta did not contact you directly if the design was that abnormal.

dekindy · #11 03-02-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louis

Screw-ups happen all the time. Just because you can't get to the person at fault (nearly 100%, as best I can tell) doesn't mean that the next person up the line has to make a full restitution.

The person riding the bicycle is the customer, not the dealer.

Charles M · #12 03-02-2009, 09:41 PM

And that person riding the bike would have also signed off on a fit they tried, liked and approved unless the dealer simply did not perform a proper Serotta Fit...

What was the shop name, fitter name, City and state? when did you purchase the frame? (just wondering... it's a small world)

A certified fitter, if he were following Serotta's system would have had you pushing pedals in the adjusted position and you would have responded positively to it.

Sounds like Serotta even tried to clarify the fit. Much past that, there's not much they can do except rely on the fitter and the customer to be sure the fit is correct and the customer agree's and is happy with the position...

I'm sure that's a wrong answer / statement too. But at days end, if Serotta asked for clarification and built to the fit sheet for a fit that you agreed to, I'm not sure what you expect them (or any custom fitter) to do.

jlwdm · #13 03-02-2009, 09:42 PM

I hate these type of threads. One side of a story is provided and then everybody gets to make assumptions and comments.

Deal with Serotta.

Also how did you pick your fitter? What experience did the fitter have? I would never pick a fitter just because they are certified. I want a fitter who may use a system as a tool but has had success fitting a lot of riders and does the final fitting more from watching you ride than a strict system. The Serotta system is a great tool, but just a tool.

Jeff

Peter P. · #14 03-02-2009, 09:45 PM

"Peter P - If the case is indeed as presented, the only thing Serotta can do is make him a new bike that fits if they want to stand behind their product and design process assuming the facts are as presented. Serotta works through dealers is a true statement. However they are advertising the Serotta trained fitters prominently and heavily promoting their dealer network. To say that it is the dealer's and customer's problem does not fit with the Serotta philosophy as I understand it. They build them one bike at a time for individual consumers. There is no them and us in this approach. Explain this to me if I am wrong.

Some people can only afford one frame and they selected Serotta because they were confident that the Serotta process would get it right. The consumer pays a premium price and should get a premium product. I certainly would not want to be told that I had to eat the mistake and E-bay it and start over or make do with a custom bike that does not fit. I don't think Serotta will take that stand either and I wonder why you would propose that as a solution. I must not know Serotta like I think I know Serotta if that is the way this is resolved."

I agree with you 100%. The problem is the time that has lapsed since the purchase and the lack of someone to contact at the original bike shop to hear their side of the story. I'd truly love to see Serotta treat the customer to a new frame, even a stock model as he offered, which would be a very reasonable compromise. The second shop seems to be going to bat for him, but apparently they haven't asked Serotta the right question, "What can you do for this customer?"

Sandy · #15 03-02-2009, 10:06 PM

A few suggestions-

1. As others have said, contact Serotta Pete and discuss the problem directly with him.

2. How close are you to Saratoga Springs? If not too difficult a trip, perhaps you could make an appointment to take your bike to Serotta and let them observe you, the bike, and you on the bike.

3. Do you have the specs for the bike? I assume that if you do not, Serotta might. See if you can arrange for the second Serotta shop, which says your bike is so poorly fit, to do a Serotta fit at a reasonable expenditure to you (they could potentially receive a new customer) and then send both fits to Serotta and let Serotta make its determination of how the fits compare.

4. Call Serotta and speak to Dave Powers about the issue.

Sandy