Dear Mr. Cutler

Untitled
B158 Slovakia Kinex RD 119mm JIS taper bottom bracket finally gave out on my Workcycles bakfiets.

Dear Mr. Cutler,

I am writing you to complain about the shoddy work done on your Workcycles bakfiets I have had the distinct misfortune of riding since August of 2007.

As you can see in the images that follow, I have only carried several tons of cargo over several years riding the bike several thousand miles without any routine maintenance whatsoever.

Four Pinatas and a Bakfiets
PinataCon 2008

20080330_17-12-21
Baby’s first bike ride.

20080725_12-16-21
200+ lbs. of bike shop tools in Gardena.

Bakfiets at my wedding
Carried my wife away in it.

This, my friend, is how you move a bike shop.
Used it to move my bike shop, twice.

Reverse Angle of Two Boxed Bikes on a Bakfiets
120+ lbs of bikes to Fedex about 100 times over.

Colorful, but cheap, tires being delivered in a Workcycles Bakfiets
More logistics work.

20090918_10-09-46
200 lbs. of turf for Park(ing) Day

20100319_12-11-23
She grew up!

Get dees shoes outta here!
Camping
Another angle of Flying Pigeon LA's bakfiets loaded up for the bike move
Helped move a friends’ house.
Bakfiets race during Wolfpack Hustle Drag Race 2012
Raced in the Wolfpack Hustle drag race.

In that time I have had to spend a small fortune on a set of new inner tubes ($10) and one set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires ($108). I also had to buy one new headlamp bulb ($12 !!!) and two 1/8″ single speed chains ($28) – having made them explode through normal use on hilly terrain, under load, in all seasons, while drunk. Now I have had to replace this: a new bottom bracket ($20)!That brings the total cost of maintenance for 5 years to a whopping $168. That works out to $.09/day (nine cents). For shame! I thought your bakfiets would live up to their reputation – but I can see that it was all marketing hype.

Sincerely,

Josef Bray-Ali
Co-owner, Flying Pigeon-LA, LLC

p.s. Since I installed the new bottom bracket last night, she rides like a dream. Do you think I might be due for a hub service in a few years?

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2 Comments

  1. Posted August 1, 2012 at 12:55 am | Permalink

    And I thought my Red Wings boots that I used for 21yrs I paid $85 for good

  2. Posted August 1, 2012 at 2:03 pm | Permalink

    Maybe you should consider stocking Workcycles bikes, perhaps instead of one of the numerous other fine brands you carry? Just an idea.

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