When I told the owner of my LBS that I was planning to write this post he told me to cool down, and before complaining about Easton in public, to give them time to resolve my problem. That was 6 months ago. Now I look at this as less of a complaint than a public service announcement. If you're thinking about a set of Easton Wheels, you should know what you're in for.
I bought a pair of XC One's a couple of years ago, and I have to say I *loved* them. They're not cheap at about $1000, but they're light and snappy and strong. In the off-season last year, I broke a spoke on a ride and the nightmare began. Easton spokes are double-threaded--they thread into the hub as well as the nipple on the rim--and it turns out they're not easy to replace. My LBS gave up after they couldn't get the spoke out of the hub and sent the wheel back to Easton for factory service. About 10 weeks later I finally got the wheel back. On the upside, it was factory rebuilt, top-to-bottom. On the downside, Easton charged me nearly $200. Note to self: don't break a spoke.
Three months later, while training for my first racing season, the brand new factory installed bearings failed. The wheel started wobbling and brakes started chattering like hell. To make matters worse, the front wheel also needed service, but I was afraid of the avalanche that would start. I took the wheels back to my LBS and for weeks they couldn't get the time of day from Easton. No Return Authorization, no call backs. In frustration, the LBS told me to call Easton directly, thinking a customer call would get them moving. When I finally did speak to someone, they told me 1) there was a 6 week backlog for factory repairs, and 2) I should work through my LBS because they might be able to fix it without sending it back.
That started a round-robin between me, the LBS and Easton that dragged on for another few weeks. That was when I planned to write this post, but the LBS said give Easton time and they'd do me right. Well, they didn't. My $1000 racing rims were useless, and without another wheelset I couldn't train for Downieville. At this point, my LBS stepped up big-time and gave me a set of demo Crank Bros Iodines to train on while they tried to work things out with Easton. I ended up doing my entire training season, AND the Downieville race on a pair of rocking Crank Bros rims, while Easton wouldn't return calls or provide an R/A. At one point when I finally caught someone on the phone, they said they were "swamped" because of racing season. Gee, thanks.
When it came time to give up the Crank Bros rims I was screwed. So I started showing up at my LBS more often, and they started talking about the problem to the Easton sales rep who comes by every few weeks. The rep suggested he'd be able to help get the wheels swapped out to get things over and done with, which would have been great, but all he finally came up with was getting the Wheel Division to call the LBS with an R/A. And from what the shop owner told me, it wasn't the friendliest of calls. So I asked for the new contact and called Easton back, and I got a clear view of Easton's attitude toward customer service.
After a factory rebuild failed--a repair for which I was charged--after 6 months of not being able to get any kind of resolution from Easton to fix the wheels under warranty, the only thing the Easton customer service rep had to tell me is she doesn't know ~why~ I didn't deal directly with them all the way, she'll definitely need to see my receipts to see if the wheels are even covered, and of course, she can't make any promises on turnaround because there's a six-week backup. Now that's what I call service.
I will definitely post the resolution to this whenever that happens. Based on what I've seen so far, I'll have to walk to the factory myself and still wind up having to pay hundreds of dollars for a "factory repair". If I had the money, I'd dump the wheels and buy a pair of those Iodines.
So here's the bottom line. I love the XC Ones. They're a great wheel when they work. But God help you if they ever break. At that point, you're no longer dealing with a good Easton product, you're dealing with a company that has no concept of how to manage the repair chain or customer service.
I bought a pair of XC One's a couple of years ago, and I have to say I *loved* them. They're not cheap at about $1000, but they're light and snappy and strong. In the off-season last year, I broke a spoke on a ride and the nightmare began. Easton spokes are double-threaded--they thread into the hub as well as the nipple on the rim--and it turns out they're not easy to replace. My LBS gave up after they couldn't get the spoke out of the hub and sent the wheel back to Easton for factory service. About 10 weeks later I finally got the wheel back. On the upside, it was factory rebuilt, top-to-bottom. On the downside, Easton charged me nearly $200. Note to self: don't break a spoke.
Three months later, while training for my first racing season, the brand new factory installed bearings failed. The wheel started wobbling and brakes started chattering like hell. To make matters worse, the front wheel also needed service, but I was afraid of the avalanche that would start. I took the wheels back to my LBS and for weeks they couldn't get the time of day from Easton. No Return Authorization, no call backs. In frustration, the LBS told me to call Easton directly, thinking a customer call would get them moving. When I finally did speak to someone, they told me 1) there was a 6 week backlog for factory repairs, and 2) I should work through my LBS because they might be able to fix it without sending it back.
That started a round-robin between me, the LBS and Easton that dragged on for another few weeks. That was when I planned to write this post, but the LBS said give Easton time and they'd do me right. Well, they didn't. My $1000 racing rims were useless, and without another wheelset I couldn't train for Downieville. At this point, my LBS stepped up big-time and gave me a set of demo Crank Bros Iodines to train on while they tried to work things out with Easton. I ended up doing my entire training season, AND the Downieville race on a pair of rocking Crank Bros rims, while Easton wouldn't return calls or provide an R/A. At one point when I finally caught someone on the phone, they said they were "swamped" because of racing season. Gee, thanks.
When it came time to give up the Crank Bros rims I was screwed. So I started showing up at my LBS more often, and they started talking about the problem to the Easton sales rep who comes by every few weeks. The rep suggested he'd be able to help get the wheels swapped out to get things over and done with, which would have been great, but all he finally came up with was getting the Wheel Division to call the LBS with an R/A. And from what the shop owner told me, it wasn't the friendliest of calls. So I asked for the new contact and called Easton back, and I got a clear view of Easton's attitude toward customer service.
After a factory rebuild failed--a repair for which I was charged--after 6 months of not being able to get any kind of resolution from Easton to fix the wheels under warranty, the only thing the Easton customer service rep had to tell me is she doesn't know ~why~ I didn't deal directly with them all the way, she'll definitely need to see my receipts to see if the wheels are even covered, and of course, she can't make any promises on turnaround because there's a six-week backup. Now that's what I call service.
I will definitely post the resolution to this whenever that happens. Based on what I've seen so far, I'll have to walk to the factory myself and still wind up having to pay hundreds of dollars for a "factory repair". If I had the money, I'd dump the wheels and buy a pair of those Iodines.
So here's the bottom line. I love the XC Ones. They're a great wheel when they work. But God help you if they ever break. At that point, you're no longer dealing with a good Easton product, you're dealing with a company that has no concept of how to manage the repair chain or customer service.
