Archive for November, 2008

Open Letter to Garmin Australasia – Edge 305 Issues

Aushiker | November 30, 2008 3:38 pm

The time has come, regretfully, to escalate my response to Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd’s (Garmin Australia) poor customer service in relation to issues with my Garmin Edge 305 purchased in November 2007. It has been frustrating dealing with Garmin and disappointing as their lack of customer service has distracted from what is other a reasonable unit.

On November 27, 2008 I sent the following letter to Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd and to Garmin International. I am awaiting their response.

27 November 2008

The Chief Executive Officer
Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd
Unit 19
167 Prospect Highway
SEVEN HILLS NSW 2147

Dear Madam/Sir

Open Letter – Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd

I am writing to you with regards to an ongoing and unresolved support issue. This issue relates to my Garmin Edge 305 GPSr purchased in November 2007.

The history to date:

August 4, 2008: I posted into Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd my Garmin Edge 305 serial number 374893830 along with its GSC 10 Speed/cadence sensor as both components had ceased to function (please refer to the attached letter).

August 15, 2008 (approximately): I received from yourselves what I believe is a refurbished Garmin Edge 305 replacement unit. However, I also received with it, my faulty GSC 10 sensor minus the battery cover. No explanation was forthcoming as to why the sensor was returned in this condition and no reason as to why it was not replaced.

I phoned your support line, 1800 235 822, and I believe I spoke to Andrew, who advised that he would email the Service Department to arrange a replacement sensor to be sent out.

September 12, 2008: As no replacement sensor has been received I again phoned your support line and this time spoke to Hamish, who said he would emailed the service department to arrange for a replacement. He also advised a replacement sensor should arrive by September 17, 2008.

September 19, 2008: As no replacement sensor has been received I again phoned your support line and this time spoke to Hamish. Hamish now advised that they you where awaiting stock and one would be sent out immediately upon receipt. No timeline was given nor was an apology provided.

October 11, 2008: As no replacement sensor has been received I again phoned your support line and this time spoke to Andrew. He advised that he was aware of my situation, was monitoring the situation and that a revised ETA for stock was late October, 2008.

October 20, 2008: An issue arose with my heart rate transmitter and I emailed Garmin Australasia at Australasia.Support@Garmin.com for advice on how to best address my issue. At the time of writing I have not yet received a response to that email.

October 24, 2008: I again phoned your support line and requested to speak to a supervisor. I was told I was talking to John who was a supervisor. I pointed out the history of my issues with the GSC 10 sensor and the lack of response with respect to the heart rate transmitter. John indicated a sensor was coming that day and that he would follow-up on the heart rate transmitter issue with Garmin USA and get back to me. He never got back to me.

October 31, 2008: As I had not heard from John I again phoned your support line and again spoke to John who again promised a GCS 10 sensor would be sent out and yes there was a problem with the heart rate transmitters and I should send it in for replacement which I did (see attached letter).

It is now November 27, 2008 and I have no replacement GSC10 sensor and no replacement heart rate transmitter.

So in summary I have contacted your “support” service eight times to have what should have been a pretty simple matter resolved. Do you think that is reasonable service? Do you believe that your organisation and your staff have acted appropriately? Regretfully I don’t.

I am therefore writing to you this one last time, requesting that you please address my concerns (no more promises please) and that you do so within 14 days.

Yours faithfully
Andrew Priest
Cc Mr Dan Bartel, Garmin International, Inc
Open letter – Aushiker.com

Update December 10, 2008: I received the following email from a Mr Saul Gordon, Service Manager, Garmin Australasia on December 2, 2008 and I picked up the replacement heart rate transmitter and sensor today from Australian Air Express.  It seems an apology from Mr Gordon or Garmin Australasia or Garmin International was too much to expect.

Dear Mr. Priest

I wish to advise that a new GSC10 and a replacement heart rate will be leaving today via Australian Air Express. You should receive that goods no later than Thursday this week.

Regards

Saul Gordon
Service Manager
Garmin Australasia

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Continental Grand Prix 4000 S “Black Chilli” Owner Review

Aushiker | November 22, 2008 10:49 am

I have a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000 S “Black Chilli” tyres on my Look 555. These are the tyres that came new with the bike. I use this bike as my “weekend warrior” mainly and hence it is predominately a dry weather ride.

I found the Grand Prix 4000 S to handle well, grip well and corner well. I am pretty happy with these tyres and would look to replace them with the same when they are due for replacement.

February 23, 2009 – 4,123 km (front): Got my first puncture with this tyre which has been on the front of the Look 555 (dry weather ride) and now the Giant CRX 1 (all weather ride).  Can’t complain about that mileage.

January 31, 2009 – 3,958 km (front): The front tyre which was fitted to the Look 555 has now been moved over to the front of my Giant CRX 1. I estimate I should get another 1,000 to 1,500 km out of this tyre on the front.

January 21, 2009 – 4,318 km.  Heading home this evening from Joondalup, mind on the fairies and I hit a pot hole rather hard.  Moments later the rear was flat as a tack and I was struggling to unclip before taking an off.  Really can’t complain as this tyre is at the end of its life and I have had two punctures with it (dry weather riding in the city), so  2,159 km per puncture.

January 16, 2009 – 3,681 km

As part of my 1,000 km bike service I checked the wear on the tyres. Whilst the front is still sweet, the rear, which has done 4,036 km due to a short emergency period on my CRX 1, is getting near to replacement.  The right hand wear dimple shown in the photo below is now fading from existence, so I expect to replace these in the near future. I have ordered replacement tyres from ProBikeKit (same model) so should be ready for a change when needed.

January 1, 2009 – 3,085 km

Whilst up in Kalbarri the rear picked up a bit of glass and I got my second puncture.  Managed to have some fun and games getting it back on, resulting in a pinch flat to add to the initial one.  Front still looking good whereas the rear is squaring off some more.

November 22, 2008 – 2,578 km

They tyres have withstood the rigours of Perth roads quite well, with my first puncture at 2,578 km.  It was caused by a piece of getting into the rear tyre.  I had been using the bike as a commuter for the last day and half and with some rain about it was real possibility I guess.

The rear is just starting to show signs of squaring off, but the wear dimples are still clear and well formed.  You can see them and the hint of squaring off in the photo below.

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Garfield – Week 45 – November 21, 2008

Aushiker | November 21, 2008 10:26 am

It is Garfield time again. Along with Garfield you can now find my CalorieKing diary online, calories and all.

My Garfield statistics for Week 45 of 2008 are:

Weights and Measurements

Today’s Weight (kg): 93.7 kg – Overweight
Movement from last week (+ or – kg): – 1.2 kg
Weight July 2007: 113 kg (- 22.0 kg since July 2007)
Target Weight (kg): 81 kg

Waist Measurement: 112.0 cm – 2.0 cm (Aggregate – 19 cm)
WHR: 1.08 (- 0.01)
BMI Prime: 1.16 (Target range 0.74 – 1.00)

Mileage

Km ridden this week: 401.43 km
2008 Weekly Average: 220 km
2008 Predicated mileage: 11,440 km (Goal = 10,400)

Cost per Km: $0.87 cash basis (- 0.05)

398 out of 7889 in the World (+ 31 places in the rankings)
20th in Australia ( No change in rankings)
3rd in Perth (No change in ranking)
8th in the Bicycling Australia Club (No change in rankings)

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Cyclists and the Law – WA Perspective on the Road Code

Aushiker | November 17, 2008 9:56 pm

The issue of what cyclists can and can’t do on the road and/or shared paths comes up frequently in online forums such as Bicycles Network Australia and often with misunderstandings of the law shown.  Hence the purpose of this posting is to highlight the relevant sections of the law as a quick reference. I appreciate the the Department of Planning and Infrastructure also has a Fact Sheets series covering some of these issues, but my concern is that these are not always as correct as they should be and as I recently noted in a forum posting, law is spelt L-A-W (paraphrasing Mr Keating) and not D-P-I, so here goes.

The relevant law is the Road Traffic Code 2000 (updated November 14, 2009) (Road Traffic Act 1974) and the Road Traffic (Bicycles) Regulations 2002.  Please note that the Regulations are WA specific whereas the Road Traffic Code 2000 is based on the National Road Code.

Culpable Driving applies to cyclists – covered in a separate blog posting

Riding Along Side other Riders – Can or can’t we?

Well we can and we can’t.  The law distinguishes between shared paths and the road.  On shared paths, riding along side another rider is only allowed when passing. On roads one can ride along side another rider but we can only go wider if passing.  When riding alongside another rider, we should not be more than 1.5 metres apart.

The relevant sections are:

Section 130: Riding a 2-wheeled vehicle alongside more than one other rider

(1) The rider of a motor cycle, moped, power-assisted pedal cycle or bicycle shall not ride on a carriageway that is not a multi-laned carriageway alongside more than one other rider, unless the rider is overtaking the other riders.

(2) The rider of a motor cycle, moped, power-assisted pedal cycle or bicycle shall not ride in a marked lane on a carriageway alongside more than one other rider, unless the rider is overtaking the other riders.

(3) The rider of a power-assisted pedal cycle or bicycle shall not ride on a path alongside another rider, unless the rider is overtaking the other rider.

(4) If the rider of a motor cycle, moped, power-assisted pedal cycle or bicycle is riding on a carriageway that is not a multi-lane carriageway alongside another rider, or in a marked lane alongside another rider in the marked lane, the rider shall ride not over 1.5 m from the other rider.


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Garfield – Week 44 – November 14, 2008

Aushiker | November 14, 2008 10:56 am

It is Garfield time again.Along with Garfield you can now find my CalorieKing diary online, calories and all.

My Garfield statistics for Week 43 of 2008 are:

Weights and Measurements

Today’s Weight (kg): 94.9 kg – Overweight
Movement from last week (+ or – kg): 0.3 kg
Weight July 2007: 113 kg (- 20.80 kg since July 2007)
Target Weight (kg): 81 kg

Waist Measurement: 114.0 cm + 1.0 cm (Aggregate – 17 cm)
WHR: 1.09 (- 0.01)
BMI Prime: 1.17 (Target range 0.74 – 1.00)

Mileage

Km ridden this week: 339.15 km (Introduced a rest day)
2008 Weekly Average: 216 km
2008 Predicated mileage: 11,232 km (Goal = 10,400)

Cost per Km: $0.91 cash basis (- 0.04)

429 out of 7889 in the World (+ 33 places in the rankings)
20th in Australia ( No change in rankings)
3rd in Perth (No change in ranking)
8th in the Bicycling Australia Club (No change in rankings)

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