162. Ciao Folding Bike

For a few months, my folding bike chain had been slipping (sign of an aging, stretched chain), easy but annoying to fix. One day I turned the bike upside down to fix the chain and the pin from the central hinge dropped out. Yeah, just dropped out. You know, the hinge in the frame that folds the bike.  There is another hinge that folds the steering column, but the frame hinge is the key to the folding process.

So what did I do?  I turned the bike over, replaced the pin, held in place only by gravity, and kept on riding.  Not one of my finer moments.

Sure enough, the pin fell out again, fortunately not down a hill or rounding a corner but while I was finding refuge on a side walk, the pot-holed street too rough for a ride.

Took the bike in to REI who pronounced it unfixable.  I looked at the new model folding bike and noticed that it had a different, presumably more stable/durable hinge. After some back and forth discussion I was offered a refund which I accepted, notwithstanding the moral, dilemma rooted in my failure to disclose that I had continued to ride the bike after the hinge problem presented itself.

Now I've seen REI take back 2 year old hiking boots with 2 year wear because "they're uncomfortable," so clearly REI has a liberal return policy.  And I've bought things at their garage sale (which has a strict no return policy) that should have been thrown away, not resold, and then there was a sale item from their website that I never got around to taking back, even though it was defective from the start.

So they owe me right?  Yes, but still...  

In the meantime, I'll stay with my Costco mountain bike converted to commuting bike with duct tape holding the seat together and replacement derailleurs that weren't quite the right replacement and risk being bumped--I only commute 1 or two days a week, so the risk is low.