Poorly assembled bargain bikes a safety hazard, buyers warned

Aformer bike assembler believes The Warehouse is selling bikes that are dangerous – and says his job became untenable when he tried to complain.

Brent Zimmerman said he had worked at all levels of the cycle industry and had raced since the 1970s. More recently, he has been working for Malcove, a subcontractor used by The Warehouse to assemble bikes.

Customers can buy them in a box or pay to have them assembled at the shop.

Zimmerman said many of the bikes being sold were put together poorly, with brakes that were dangerous, swivelling handlebars and saddles and pedals that fell off.

If the people paid to assemble them could not do so properly, it was unlikely that consumers were doing any better, he said.

‘‘It’s my belief that The Warehouse treats the bikes like any other product and they don’t treat them as though they have got the mandatory safety standards … it’s a different category of appliance where you can come to serious grief if you don’t have a good end-to-end compliance system.’’

When he took his complaint to the Commerce Commission, he was banned from all The Warehouse sites, he said. Zimmerman said that directive came from his employer, and, he believed, from The Warehouse management. A spokeswoman for The Warehouse said there was no ban on Zimmerman.

Bike mechanic Frank Clavis said he had shared Zimmerman’s concerns for years.

The bikes were bought on price, not specification, he said.

The cheapest bikes for sale at The Warehouse were not better quality than they were when the retail chain first launched. The industry had improved over that time but the bikes on offer had not, he said.

‘‘They’re selling them in boxes … quite happy for someone to buy one and then assemble it but a lot of the time the result is disastrous. The cheaper the bike, the harder it is to put together.’’

A former colleague, who did not want to be identified, backed up their concerns. She said there had been attempts made over the years to improve the quality of bikes sold but no action was taken.

‘‘Customers want cheap and cheap and that drives the price and quality down … there will be bikes on shelves right now that are not safe.’’

All three said The Warehouse bikes were of poorer quality than those sold at other retailers.

Even bikes from the same factories could have different standards, the former colleague said. ‘‘One might have a slightly thinner brake cable so you can be riding along and suddenly you have no brakes.’’

Malcove managing director Allan Pilbrow said there could be ‘‘sour grapes’’ in Zimmerman making his concerns public.

He said 75 per cent of the world’s bikes were sold by big-box stores and ‘‘bike in a box’’ was common. All Malcove staff were trained assemblers.

In July last year The Warehouse recalled Milazo bikes over concerns the crank arm could fall off.

The Commerce Commission said it was not investigating bikes sold at The Warehouse and had no comment on their safety.

‘‘The commission has received seven complaints about bicycles sold at The Warehouse since 2012. Of those, one relates to sale of assembled bicycles and it is currently being assessed.’’

Jenny Epke, general manager of general merchandise at The Warehouse, said all bikes were manufactured to the required AS/NZS1927:2010 standard.

‘‘Our quality teams work very closely with our factories to ensure the best safety and quality outcomes for our customers.

‘‘Our customers’ safety is paramount to us, so if there are any concerns, we recommend they take it back to their local store or alternatively contact our customer care team, who will be available to investigate and provide further assistance.’’

‘‘The cheaper the bike, the harder it is to put together.’’ Bike mechanic Frank Clavis