Friday, December 4, 2009

Allen 102S Premium 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack Best Quality


I purchased the 102S model based on (i) the Company's reputation and (ii) the reviews from Amazon customers. This looked good when the product arrived, it was properly packaged and free from damage. This a very intuitive product and this is necessary as the instructions packed with the product are marginal at best. Things went well until I went to adjust the top strap - the lever on the clamp broke off with just the slightest pressure. This of course made any adjustment impossible.

Upon examination it was evident that the quality of the metal used in the clamp was not sufficient for the purpose intended. The quality of the metal reminded me of that used in some of the cheap products that were imported after WWII. This problem was apparently not unexpected as I saw that one other customer reported it and when I called Allen they treated it without any expression of surprise an in fact they sent me two of the clamps an indication that I should expect a repeat of this problem.

The rack itself shows evidence of good engineering and reasonable workmanship which is a credit to the founder Dick Allen. My contact at the company was Alex Allen would is apparently in charge and frankly was not impressive. I suspect that this product has, and continues to undergo a "cost reduction" analysis that has resulted in the inferior clamps that can break at any time. One has to wonder what will be next? When a product breaks "out of the box" and the replacement part is no better than the one that broke it does not instill confidence.

This was a good product at a fair price IF the quality of the parts are not diminished. I am concerned that the current product does not represent a good value as a result of what I see as a deterioration in quality - Buyer BewareAllen 102S Premium 2-Bike Trunk Mount RackGet more detail about Allen 102S Premium 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack.

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