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Turner Recumbents - Buyer Beware



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 28th 05, 08:49 PM
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Default Turner Recumbents - Buyer Beware

As an avid cyclist encountered neck and back problems, I was advised by
a physician to consider a recumbent bicycle as an alternative. Having
tested several makes and models, I settled on a bike manufactured by a
small outfit in Tucson, Arizona called Turner Recumbents.

I met with the owner in person, Milt Turner. Outwardly he is a pleasant
person who is quick to tout the advantages of his frame design versus
those of other manufacturers. However, the location and condition of
his business establishment is rather suspect as he operates out of a
small storage facility that is quite disorganized and inappropriate for
visitation by those who might find pornography offensive.

This alone should have been sufficient cause to steer me clear of his
business. Unfortunately, my medical need for a recumbent combined with
the fact that his demo bike was comfortable to ride were enough for me
to overlook these warning signs.

I was advised the frame size I needed was in the latter stages of being
completed and would have to wait a couple of weeks. Not willing to buy
the bike sight unseen, I asked that he contact me when he received and
built this bike. That ended up being 3 months later wherein I made
another trip to Tucson.

Upon arrival, I tested this supposed newly assembled bike and found
that it was sorely in need of adjustment. Exercising great patience, I
spent over 4 hours, well into the late evening as he and I both
attempted to make the bike useable. Mr. Turner spent much of this time
reciting his commitment to customer satisfaction, and how he would
warranty his work. Since it was dark and getting quite late in the
evening, I reluctatntly agreed that the bike was sufficiently
fine-tuned. I bought the bike and returned to my home in Phoenix.

What followed was two months of aggravation that today has left
wondering how I could have been so foolish as to buy a Turner
Recumbent. In a nutshell, when I got the bike home I found that there
were several nagging problems with the chain, brake calipers, and what
turned out be used parts including the bottom bracket, chain rings, and
cranks. This necessitated I ship the bike back to Tucson. FYI, Mr
Turner was unwilling to shorten my drive by meeting me half way.

Today I own a bike that:
· Now has cloth rim tape after spending hours peeling away fragments
of clear threaded packing tape that was near imposiible to remove
· Some used parts
· A chain that gets wedged and jammed under the rear brake caliper
whenever the largest front and rear chain rings are used together
· A crank set that has been inexplicably downgraded from the then
advertised Ultegra set to Shimano 105s
· No warranty or receipt, nor a willingness to provide one

I have appealed to Mr. Turner to resolve these outstanding issues but
he has refused to do so. When mentioning to him that I would be writing
this review his response was, and I quote, "You take your best
shot".

It is truly unfortunate that an organization such as Turner Recumbents
is allowed to conduct business in this manner. In recent years, far
more reputable manufacturers have gone out of business. I sincerely
hope, for the industry's sake, that others do not suffer the same
fate as I have.

I ended up writig the Better Businees Bureau of Tucson. After three
attempts by the BBB to contact Mr. Turner via mail, he chose not to
reply to any of their correspondence.

Ultimately, several modifications were made to the bike. Even with
these modifications the bike can pretty much be summed up with one
word, "unrefined".

Up until last Sunday, I continued to ride the Turner Long at least
20-25 miles once or twice a week in the North Phoenix/Scottsdale area.
You may have seen me pulled off the side of the road trying to unpry
the chain from the rear brake caliper, or hear me coming with all the
rattling and creaking noises this bike makes.

Ads
  #2  
Old August 28th 05, 09:30 PM
Leif
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Default Turner Recumbents - Buyer Beware

De Ja Vu all over again.

  #3  
Old August 29th 05, 04:30 AM
Edward Dolan
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Default Turner Recumbents - Buyer Beware


wrote in message
ups.com...
As an avid cyclist encountered neck and back problems, I was advised by
a physician to consider a recumbent bicycle as an alternative. Having
tested several makes and models, I settled on a bike manufactured by a
small outfit in Tucson, Arizona called Turner Recumbents.

I met with the owner in person, Milt Turner. Outwardly he is a pleasant
person who is quick to tout the advantages of his frame design versus
those of other manufacturers. However, the location and condition of
his business establishment is rather suspect as he operates out of a
small storage facility that is quite disorganized and inappropriate for
visitation by those who might find pornography offensive.

Very much enjoyed your post Azeast. Yes, anyone who has porn lying around
his place of business is a bona fide idiot. Porn belongs in the bedroom (if
there) and no place else.


This alone should have been sufficient cause to steer me clear of his
business. Unfortunately, my medical need for a recumbent combined with
the fact that his demo bike was comfortable to ride were enough for me
to overlook these warning signs.

I was advised the frame size I needed was in the latter stages of being
completed and would have to wait a couple of weeks. Not willing to buy
the bike sight unseen, I asked that he contact me when he received and
built this bike. That ended up being 3 months later wherein I made
another trip to Tucson.

Turner is never timely with anything - ever! It is what comes of being too
small.


Upon arrival, I tested this supposed newly assembled bike and found
that it was sorely in need of adjustment. Exercising great patience, I
spent over 4 hours, well into the late evening as he and I both
attempted to make the bike useable. Mr. Turner spent much of this time
reciting his commitment to customer satisfaction, and how he would
warranty his work. Since it was dark and getting quite late in the
evening, I reluctatntly agreed that the bike was sufficiently
fine-tuned. I bought the bike and returned to my home in Phoenix.

What followed was two months of aggravation that today has left
wondering how I could have been so foolish as to buy a Turner
Recumbent. In a nutshell, when I got the bike home I found that there
were several nagging problems with the chain, brake calipers, and what
turned out be used parts including the bottom bracket, chain rings, and
cranks. This necessitated I ship the bike back to Tucson. FYI, Mr
Turner was unwilling to shorten my drive by meeting me half way.

Turner is back in the very early days of recumbents when the buyer was
expected to be a partner in the enterprise. RANS changed this for all time
by providing recumbents that you could ride right out of the box. You would
not believe what I have had to go through with various recumbent
manufacturers because they have not perfected their designs.


Today I own a bike that:
· Now has cloth rim tape after spending hours peeling away fragments
of clear threaded packing tape that was near imposiible to remove
· Some used parts
· A chain that gets wedged and jammed under the rear brake caliper
whenever the largest front and rear chain rings are used together
· A crank set that has been inexplicably downgraded from the then
advertised Ultegra set to Shimano 105s
· No warranty or receipt, nor a willingness to provide one

I have appealed to Mr. Turner to resolve these outstanding issues but
he has refused to do so. When mentioning to him that I would be writing
this review his response was, and I quote, "You take your best
shot".

Turner is a nut case and if you have never heard of RCN you would not know
what a nut case he is. He does not care whether he sells any of his bikes
or not. I have a Turner myself and I have had to do all the work myself to
get the damn thing up and running.


It is truly unfortunate that an organization such as Turner Recumbents
is allowed to conduct business in this manner. In recent years, far
more reputable manufacturers have gone out of business. I sincerely
hope, for the industry's sake, that others do not suffer the same
fate as I have.

I ended up writig the Better Businees Bureau of Tucson. After three
attempts by the BBB to contact Mr. Turner via mail, he chose not to
reply to any of their correspondence.

Ultimately, several modifications were made to the bike. Even with
these modifications the bike can pretty much be summed up with one
word, "unrefined".

I have many recumbents and half of them could be classified as unrefined.
An unrefined recumbent should be cheap, not expensive. I believe all
Turners are now quite expensive. That is adding insult to injury.


Up until last Sunday, I continued to ride the Turner Long at least
20-25 miles once or twice a week in the North Phoenix/Scottsdale area.
You may have seen me pulled off the side of the road trying to unpry
the chain from the rear brake caliper, or hear me coming with all the
rattling and creaking noises this bike makes.

I got the cheapest Turner I could get for only a few hundred dollars. Then
he went high priced and the bikes got even worse. Those of you who think
who think it is OK to get a bike from just any recumbent manufacturer
should read RCN. If Bob Bryant, the editor of RCN, does not have some good
things to say about the bike, then forget about it. Those recumbent
manufacturers who do not try to accommodate RCN are beneath contempt and
not worth bothering with. Lightening Cycles Dynamics (P-38) also falls
into this category. Screw them all the way to hell and back!


--
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota




  #4  
Old August 29th 05, 10:45 AM
nj_diver
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Posts: n/a
Default Turner Recumbents - Buyer Beware

Sorry to hear about your recumbent buying woes. Unload the piece of
crap on eBay and get yourself another 'bent. Don't waste any more
time, money or energy on it.

Just out of curiosity I Googled Turner Recumbents and found these 2
websites listing the same guy (& phone number) as the owner:

http://www.ajobikes.com/turner.htm
http://www.turnerrecumbents.com/

 




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