Jerald Sulky: Bad Company to deal with

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Ichoptop

Ichoptop

Joined
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Does any one know where I can find a 24" Slick? 20"s are everywhere but me and my insanity always seems to pick up off brands and off sized bikes. There is one company that most of us know (Jerald Sulky) but I purchased one online almost 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back from them (luckily they never charged my card) and they don't return emails or phone messages. So I'm looking for a good looking 24" from someone that doesn't suck. Once I get a tire I can finsih up the bike, take it for a ride then tear down and send to powder.
 
3G Hoggy G's, but I don't think that is quite what you are looking for. I am guessing you are looking for something more like the classic muscle bike squared off slick.
 
I hate to hear that about Jerald tires! I have been planning to buy a couple of their 26" slicks. Didn't they have a whitewall that they offered for a little while? Man, I would stock up on them if they came available again!
 
Yeah. I'm looking for a squared off muscle bike tire.

I don't know if they are available or not since I can't reach anyone about the order I placed. If anything good happens I'll post it here and let everyone know.

I just hate to do all this work and have to run a cheap Cheng Shin or something.
 
Just to keep everyone updated. I tried to call this morning and their mailbox is full. I can't even leave a message at this point. Be aware if you are trying to purchase from this company. The website will still let you make a purchase but it looks like you may not receive what you order.
 
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That information certainly SUCKS! And, it may change the direction that I take on a couple of builds I am planning.
Good Luck finding a suitable substitute!
 
kingfish254 said:
3G Hoggy G's, but I don't think that is quite what you are looking for. I am guessing you are looking for something more like the classic muscle bike squared off slick.
Click to expand...
The hoggy g was what I wanted to start with but I was afraid that it wouldn't fit my rim will they fit a 24" rim from a mountain bike I believe it measured 1 3/8" I have had the same problem with Jerald tires hoping they can figure out the problem I just got my notice today that the money was put back on the card I used to order the tire this really breaks my heart been waiting every day for that big delivery truck to run :20:
 
I just called the Jerald number that Ichoptop posted and talked to a lady she said that they was out of those tires and that they had a order placed to have them made said the order has been out for a month said they didn't know how long it would take to get them I ask if they was talking about weeks or months and they said that they didn't honestly know she is supposed to email me when they get some hope it will be soon don't know of another 24 tire that looks that good.
 
24-1.75 what does the 1.75 mean?...when the tire is off the rim and I measure it it measures 1 3/8" what I'm really wanting to know is will the Hoggy G tire fit ? Someone please help me with this .
 
This is sort of a tough thing for me to explain and it comes up often. Wasn't that long ago I was clueless about bicycle tire sizing. Decimal sizes are not interchangeable with fractional sizes, and vise verse, is one of the important things to always remember. Here is a link that explains it all fairly well with some good charts to help. It's a long article.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
 
Update, Tim Gordon from Jerald Sulky never bothered to get back to me after his email said he would last week. Let this be a warning to everyone. They won't charge you for something they don't send but if you are putting a project on hold waiting for a tire you will be sitting around forever.
 
I waited almost 2 months to get a pair of 26" Jeralds ,I called and left a msg and sent an email..Some lady finally called me as well..Upside seems to be they don't charge your CC until they ship..Wonder if they have any idea how many tires they would sell if they offered 20" and their others sizes in WW, Raised whiteletter and red lines..
 
Do you realize how much they would make if they had an once of customer service or was able to sell what they have listed on their website? Why anyone would bother to do business with these types of people I will never know.
 
They definitely were not targeting the bicycle market. I think we were the first folks to introduce them to that world. Tim's business is focused on the horse buggy community and that is what his online presence is all about.

I do know through my experience with 3G and Porkchop that making your own tires and ordering them from China is a bit of a bear. The expense is HUGE and the shipment dates are usually very vague from the manufacturer. They estimate in months and not in days it seems. It's really hard to know exactly when the next shipment will arrive. Felt has also dealt with this with their Thick Brick tires.

That being said, that doesn't excuse any company from not returning phone calls or emails. That's just a case of bad customer service. I've found that most of these small business owners all suffer from similar issues....they are terrible with computers and are generally bad at communicating via any forms of technology. Many times they get forced into the world of online sales and it ends up being way above their heads. Guys like Justin with Porkchop BMX are an exception to that though. He is on top of all of that stuff and realizes that customer service is really the majority of what makes a small business a success.
 
I suppose that the moon was in the right phase when I ordered mine for Drag King because I didn't experience any problems. The only complaint that I had was that it was folded up for shipping (which is understandable) and I was able to straighten it back out.
 
I agree with CeeBee. I think Jerald has those tires made by Kenda or CST or some firm like that; the one guy from Jerald is a member on RRB and i think i recall him telling us who he contracts the tires to. At any rate, they don't make'm out in Iowa, and they probably have to order a VERY large amount of tires each time in order to keep their margins reasonable. And, even though the RRB world seems to suggest that there is huge demand for those tires, in the big picture, there really isn't. Even most of us only order 1 for the rear, right? And, maybe this is just the Jersey in me talkin' but I don't think the sulky cart industry is exactly booming right now.... and, being that Sulky enthusiasts can run any ol' 26" tire, there's no compelling reason to think the demand for Jerald tires is huge...

Long story short: they probably don't make a lot on those tires, but they probably have to spend a lot out-of-pocket for each run they do. And, as Steve pointed out, the lead time on those shipments can be very long.

Does this excuse the Jerald company from the allegations on this thread? Prolly not. Beyond being non-responsive to emails and phonecalls, they could've prevented all of this strife by adding a **Temp. Sold Out** to the page with the tires on it. Ppl wouldn't try to order, be disappointed, and start emailing/calling if they just knew, up-front, that the well had run dry.

Steve mentioned Justin at Porkchop, who really is like the exemplary small-scale online retailer. Justin has a whole section on his site for "last chance/ only one left", and the moment things sell out, he takes the item down from the site. When he gets more in, he lists them in their category, as well as in the "NEW PRODUCTS" category, so ppl may take notice. That's a good way to do it. It prevents disappointment. Sure, I'm still disappointed if something i'd been wanting sells out, but at least I know it's sold out before placing an order for it....

So if Tim et al sees this thread, it'll probably cause them some stress, and RRB ppl are about as hard as anyone on retailers, but if there's one thing to take away from this, it's this: if something sells out, let us know by marking it as "sold out". If you have a timeframe for when it's to be back in-stock, you might want to add that to the site, but be conservative. If Kenda or whoever says it'll be back between April and June, put "expected back in stock by June/July" on the site. This will head the irate emailers off at the pass, for the most part, and it'll take far less time than responding to all those emails...
 
I'm still hoping to get one of there tires when I called the number to talk to them someone answered rite away and she explained what was going on she said that there was some that had been waiting since April on tires anyway I agree that a simple SOLD OUT placed after the item would help tremendously
 
If they are not able to make the investment in getting large qty's ordered from Asia, then maybe I should. I have money to invest and am looking for more products to add to the ten I have. If anyone knows the source, convo me.

And ya, what Steve said. If your inventory is low, and you haven't placed a new order, you'll run out. It takes three months to get product from China or Taiwan.


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