Complaint about flexi buggy

[sandfly1599968672]

Okay, I've had it about 3.5 years and often for months at a time it's hit the beach 5 days a week, but come on! I think it should it last a lot longer before it pops a bearing? Shoddy workmanship I call it!

[Brother Dave]

Okay, I've had it about 3.5 years and often for months at a time it's hit the beach 5 days a week, but come on! I think it should it last a lot longer before it pops a bearing? Shoddy workmanship I call it!

 

I call it maintenence of the buggy

[sandfly1599968672]

I call it maintenance of the buggy

Lack of, more like - should have lasted longer! Or is that what you meant?

Never stripped it down more that 3 times since I've had it (I'm a lazy git!) - once was to mod it to make it longer. We put it in and out of car/van in one piece! Not like it's not had a lot of use along with a top (recorded) speed of 42mph. Been faster, but dunno how fast at Pembrey (that's why it's been lengthened).

Used almost exclusively on the beach. Copper paste meant that the wheel bolts undid without any probs.

So, best bearings to use anyone?

[Brother Dave]

I find the bearings that come with it are fine , though if ya dont maintain ya buggy its going to break somewhere. I think you can get those wheel covers around the bolts to reduce wearing of the bearings

[Junior]

some guys go through sets of bearings every few months, think yourself lucky to have lasted that long!

[Badger]

It's best to buy a new buggy.

 

Can I have your old one please ?

 

Steve.

[sandfly1599968672]

It's best to buy a new buggy.

 

Can I have your old one please ?

 

Steve.

I'll swap it for a SS Protask and I'll throw a full set of bearings in to keep you going for years!

[Sand-Yeti]

Okay, I've had it about 3.5 years and often for months at a time it's hit the beach 5 days a week, but come on! I think it should it last a lot longer before it pops a bearing? Shoddy workmanship I call it!

 

I find it shocking sandfly that you have failed a bearing after 3½ years.

Did the bearing actually break or you just had accelerated wear on the balls & track?

I can't imagine the anguish & suffering you must have gone through when you found out the bearing was in a poor shape.

How do you sleep at night?

 

I'm very sorry to hear of your bearing loss I hope Flexi are looking into this serious situation and will ensure that this sort of thing is just a one off event. Maybe it isn't shoddy workmanship but rather a material flaw in the bearing material which is equally as distressing.

 

Oh! & the expense of a new bearing just to cap it all. It gives me the jitters.

 

The bearing manufacturer should be closed down immediately to stop shoddy product fininshing up in buggies..

 

Wait! before doing that, let me just get a stock of new bearings before closure.

[Badger]

Hmmm ...

 

I have a vague recolection that Flexi used some bearings fitted with square balls instead of the usual round ones once, when they had a supply problem. Could be that you were unfortunate enough to get one of these . Have you checked that the others wheels actually rotate? You may have been just skidding along without noticing - It is easy to do, I know that I have done it .

 

Steve.

[-Olly-]

what else do u expect when u leave it open to sea water and sand. its not flexis fault that you are too lazy to look after it. tbh tho the bearings shoudl be changed every now and again because no matter what you do the bearings will go

[Sand-Yeti]

what else do u expect when u leave it open to sea water and sand. its not flexis fault that you are too lazy to look after it. tbh tho the bearings shoudl be changed every now and again because no matter what you do the bearings will go

 

Yes! but after only 3½ years. How would you like it if you lived only 3½ years?

These bearings are sealed that means sand & sea water should not get inside the bearing to damage balls or cubes (ref. Badgers's thread on square balls).

 

Incidentally Badger, I personally have never seen square balls!

All the balls I have seen are round or dangling in bags of skin.

 

If indeed the bearing failed due to sea & sand, then that confirms that the bearings had defective seals.

A policy or goodwill decision should be made to replace all the buggy's bearings FOC.

I'd give sandfly an ice cream with chocolate (99) as well to help him over his mental anguish caused by the failed bearing.

[Skydude]

I certainly feel for Sandfly having to go thru the suffering of finding a failed bearing and then the expense and hassle of trying to find a suitable replacement.

On the other hand I do hope this thread isn't the start of something along the lines of all the broken flexi handles threads that have arisen over the past few years as this may start a complete down turn in Flexi's reliability in this industry....

 

 

 

 

 

...or not......

[Frakke1599968664]

just go buy a new one....

I have on occasion been known to write off a whole buggy before the bearings have had time to wear in never mind fail

 

that's why I now have two :D:D one rebuilt and one new one

 

F

[Craig Sparkes]

Wow £1.25 for a bearing, Cheaper than Petrol!

[GIBBYDMG]

Wow £1.25 for a bearing, Cheaper than Petrol!

Wow £6.00 for a set of six bearings or £17 for set of six stainless cheap as chips eh guy's but can't advertise on here so there. Gibby!!!:D

[Atavar]

You lengthened it? *sucks air through teeth* look, you broke the seal when you opened the case, you've voided your warentee.

 

 

Top thread.

[Sand-Yeti]

You lengthened it? *sucks air through teeth* look, you broke the seal when you opened the case, you've voided your warentee.

 

 

 

To be technically correct, the warranty most likely expired 12 months after the agreed time the warranty started.

This may be at the time he purchased the product or from the first day of use or any other time that was agreed between the buyer & the seller. Anyhow, I think that it is fair to assume that after 3½ years of use, the warranty has expired. At best they will only give a 12 month warranty, I'm sure.

Sandfly will have to advise us if any kind of extended service coverage was taken out on the subject failed bearing.

 

However, this does not detract from the point that after only 3½ years of use the bearing has failed to provide an adequate life. It must be considered that the product sold was unfit for the purpose it was intended.

 

Sandfly has the option now to approach Flexi with his case demanding a new bearing & repatriation for the misery and inconvenience he has suffered.

Of course, loss of fun time must also be taken into account when putting together his case and added to the above costs.

 

Hopefully, Sandfly can work something out on an amicable basis, which is always the best way so that the seller can avoid bad publicity that could damage reputation etc & ultimately affect profits.

 

If a settlement cannot be worked out, then he has no option but to commence litigation.

 

Most likely both sides will engage lawyers to fight their cases.

This will mean lawyers writing letters to each other for between 7 & 10 years to keep themselves employed.

There will be a few court appearances in that time where both sides will present their cases to the judge. The judge of course may not be a kite buggier and have no idea what a bearing is. He might think the bearing really has no bearing on the case.

Nevertheless, being a fair judge & ignorant of all things technical, will appoint an expert to the court who will research the root cause of the bearing failure.

The expert will no doubt consult with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (the expert will be at least an M.I.Mech. E.) and various university engineering faculties to help him with this significant problem.

Assuming he doesn't take a backhander from either the seller or the purchaser, he will present a fair assessment of how & why the bearing failed.

The judge will then rule on who gets what.

If Sandfly isn't satisfied with the outcome, he can always appeal.

He can keep on appealing even until the European Court of Law to see that justice is done.

Fortunately, I see this staying as a pure civil case so nobody should be incarcerated.

 

However, they say that justice is blind (whatever that means), so they might just chuck sand in his eyes that was scraped from his buggy's front tyre or removed from the failed bearing.

[sandfly1599968672]

Sand-Yeti, thanks for your concern and understanding (of all things mechanical), the ice-cream would be great (thought it was originally a 99 with a flake (or two)?) - I'm considering my case as I write - thanks for the advice and insight.

 

At GREAT expense - having waited for free ones in post from you chaps (put your money where your mouth is guys). I've replaced all of the rear set. I have to say, despite looking a little less shiny than the new ones, they look pukka! Seals look fine! So if anyone would like the old ones, drop me an SAE and they'll be on the way. Maybe I should keep them as evidence?

 

Sand-Yeti - take a hat out in the sun next time!

[Russel]

fit stainless bearings, my buggy is over 5 years old now, ditched the flexi bearings after about 12 months as was fed up with keeping em clean and running free. stainless all the way

[sandfly1599968672]

fit stainless bearings, my buggy is over 5 years old now, ditched the flexi bearings after about 12 months as was fed up with keeping em clean and running free. stainless all the way

Thanks for the advice, I've bought some now, so I'll try that in 3 1/2 years

[sandfly1599968672]

So not happy now!

Having swapped the bearings in a hurry the other day - without my glasses - as we needed to tow a cameraman.

Just undid the bolts to apply some more copper paste and have now found that the seating for one of the bearings has worn, leaving the new bearing with a sloppy fit!

What is the world coming to? This buggy had Friday afternoon stamped all over it! I expect that the tread on the tires will start to wear now!

What's your remedy Sand-Yeti?

[Badger]

So not happy now!

Having swapped the bearings in a hurry the other day - without my glasses ...

I can't believe that you tried to fit them yourself rather than leaving the job to suitably trained and qualified service engineers :eek: .

 

You have obviously done a fairly amateur bodge job removing the old bearings leaving a sloppy fit for the new ones, and invalidated any warranty that you may have had in the first place to boot.

 

You're on your own now cowboy . Don't expect sympathy for the "have a go hero" on this forum .

 

@Woo, Red card for this guy .

 

Steve.

[Sand-Yeti]

So not happy now!

Having swapped the bearings in a hurry the other day - without my glasses - as we needed to tow a cameraman.

Just undid the bolts to apply some more copper paste and have now found that the seating for one of the bearings has worn, leaving the new bearing with a sloppy fit!

What is the world coming to? This buggy had Friday afternoon stamped all over it! I expect that the tread on the tires will start to wear now!

What's your remedy Sand-Yeti?

 

Oh Dear! oh dear! Sandfly, you have got yourself in a pickle.

I'm afraid I agree with Badger on this one and you should have left this rather sophisticated work to qualified personnel.

 

Note: Please

 

Well all is not lost, I'm not quite sure about where the sloppy fit is. Are you saying it is between the outer diameter of the bearing and the wheel housing?

Is the wheel of the plastic variety? If yes, there are a couple of solutions.

You will need to provide a sketch showing outside diamer dimension of the bearing,

Inside diameter of the hub. Need to see how much it has worn and actual hub thickness. Armed with this info. a technical solution is available but do not expect to have the same kind of life as you would a new one.

 

The other issue concerning tyre wear, is, I can tell you a serious problem having worn out two front tyres this year and ripped up the side of a rear tyre.

I have now the horrid expense of buying 3 new Cadkats from Germany.

 

I'm afraid once you have gone through the rubber (black stuff) and deep into the canvas (white stuff), you can carry on buggying but expect a loud 'Pop' or just a slow deflation in a relatively short time.

If you are using grooved tyres be aware that they will wear faster than ungrooved. You will need to acquire a new tyre and suggest you use an ungrooved tyre. This will serve you well but only for buggying on very hot, dry sand. It will not perform so well on your damp beaches.

 

This means if you only buggy on hot, dry sand in the UK your tyre will perish from old age before wearing out.

 

Another solution is to scrap your buggy & go & steal a new one.

Don't get caught otherwise you will finish up messing with lawyers again.

There is a good chance you could be incarcerated which isn't all that bad but could hamper you buggying activity a little.

 

Note: Please do not forget your glasses in future. I forgot mine once when buggying that led to a little advnture but that's another story.

[sandfly1599968672]

Thanks for the info sand-yeti. Okay a couple of points/questions

I did check yellow pages, but no one was open! It can cause problems for use DIY failures as Badger has pointed out! I feel so stupid and inadequate.

The fact that I didn't have glasses on meant that I did not see that the bearing housing had worn, not that I caused it - as I said very shoddy! Putting them on revealed the problem. Maybe if I break my glasses the wheel will repair itself?

Do I read you correctly. If I paint the white bits of the tire black, they will last much longer?

Theft has crossed my mind (maybe I should not say that here?)

Do you recommend "No-Nails" or "plastic wood" in this situation?

[Russel]

I expect that the tread on the tires will start to wear now!

 

Depends where you ride....I'm still on my originals......guess I'm due a simultaneous triple blow out now:(