Somehow, I managed to catch the brace of Basil’s front fender on the edge of his chainguard. It was easy enough to pop the chainguard back into place, but then I did it again . . . and again. High learning curve, it seems. (Peter, NYCeWheels marketing guy and star of their videos, told me that this is a newbie’s error, and that most people learn quickly to avoid making it. Gulp.)
After popping the guard back into place for the third time, I realized that the button holding it in place was never going to be the same again. I was going to New York, so I emailed NYCeWheels to see if they could do the repair for Basil when I showed up.
NYCeWheels doesn’t take appointments, and I was hoping not only to get the repair done, but also to have Basil’s nearly-thousand-mile tune-up accomplished, too. The new employee who took him in was dubious; NYCeWheels is always hopping. He checked with Izzy, the mechanic, though, and they said they’d do their best.
When NYCeWheels let us know that Basil was ready after I’d barely made it from the UES down to mid-town, I figured that they’d only had time to do the repair. But I was wrong; they’d done everything, and that meant that I got a good ride in before returning to my home state with Basil!
I shouldn’t have worried; I’m sure that there are glitches, and that sometimes routine repairs or maintenance can’t be done as quickly as customers like, but I’ve found NYCeWheels to be very accommodating, and helpful in any way they can be. That matters a lot, and even more for a customer like me, who comes from out-of-state. Thanks, guys!
Oh, I did eventually learn to check the placement of the fender guard wire when folding my Brompton: I make sure the chainguard button is well out of the way, so that if I unfold without checking, nothing is harmed. Paying attention: amazing how often that pays off!
2 replies on “Basil Gets a Repair and Tune-Up”
i’ve had this problem w/ my brompton, too. i’m not sure i really understand what i’m doing wrong yet, but i’m glad to see someone else going through the same thing! :)
Even after having the problem, I still have to remind myself to double check where the thin fender guard lands when I fold my B, gl. It doesn’t seem natural to check the chainguard, but I assume it will eventually become second nature. It took quite a few tries before the fold itself became automoatic, too, after all!