Legal & Privacy

Preamble

0. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB™ is alternatively referred to in this document and its binding provisions as “the Company,” “Hogtown Spokes,” “HS,” “Hogtown,” “We” or “Our,” or similarly by the name of its Proprietor and legal extension, Jake Brennand. All such usages mean the same thing and carry the same significances: referring to and in relation to Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB and its terms of business.

0.1 “Wheelbuild parts,” and all of the accompanying meanings, assertions, declarations, and implications in this document regarding warranties, liabilities, order fulfillment, etc, mean the constituent parts of a conventional bicycle wheel: hubs, rims, spokes, nipples, washers (if applicable), tires, rotors, rotor bolts or lockrings, tire inserts, and tubeless supplies, as well as any extra direct accoutrements. Wheelbuild parts also means optional add-on accessories that are advertised for sale by the Company with individual wheelsets and which a customer may choose to purchase. These items, only ever offered as part of curated wheelsets, are covered exclusively by the warranty provisions noted in Section 10. Limited Warranty Policy, Curated Wheels.

In the special circumstances that someone adds optional items to a Full Custom wheelbuild, these items will exclusively be covered under the warranty provisions noted in Section 9. Limited Warranty Policy, Full Custom Wheels.

0.2 All Customers are expected to have read and understood this document. Clients are presumptively treated in this manner. All invoices include incorporated hyperlinks to this page, in line with legal guidance on informing consumers of all Terms & Conditions of Sale as part of a contractual offer (formal Invoice).

General Legal Disclaimers, Copyright Assertions, and Business Registration

1. In purchasing The Gnarfield EDC Guard™ and/or related Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB™ bike-protection items and accessories or commissioning the bicycle assembly and/or wheelbuilding and/or SERVICE/REPAIR/TUNING services of the Company, you, the customer and end user of said goods and/or services, are impliedly yet fully recognizing the dangers inherent in the sport of bicycling and are agreeing of your own knowing volition and free will to participate in this activity, understanding entirely that accidents while bicycling, up to and including serious injury and death, can and do occur at times and that the sole responsibility for any resulting mishaps while riding lies with you and you alone. The Gnarfield EDC Guard™ and all Hogtown Spokes original retail items, services, or fitted tuning parts are not directly intended to protect users against injury or death; beyond being prepared with reasonable care and skill, the items sold do not provide any type of purposive personal bodily protection to their users nor are they in any way, shape, or form advertised or suggested in this manner. “Tiered” Hogtown items (Jorge, Merlin, Timbit, Snap Badge, and future) are intended to substantially protect bicycle frame areas against riding damage, but they will NOT absolutely prevent damage to bicycles during even normal and expected city or offroad use. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB makes no claim whatsoever guaranteeing absolute bicycle protection resulting from using our products. Separately, as craft-made items, while we make every effort to standardize production and hold ourselves to the highest levels of production professionalism, we cannot guarantee exact specification or finishing similarity from one craft-made unit to the next. Nor does Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB guarantee that all Tiered-ready accessories, fixtures, or optional extra items sold will perform exactly as advertised on every production unit fitted to any of the myriad bicycle frame models in existence. Gnarfield Guards and other Hogtown Spokes items generally fit exceptionally well and overwhelmingly work as intended and advertised, but they also fit every frame slightly differently and to differing degrees of adhered precision due to the diversity of frame product offerings in the cycling industry. Some frames are not compatible with our products. Customers accept this risk in purchasing. Failure to follow correct installation, usage, and maintenance procedures - for our proprietary items as well as any parts fitted as part of commissioned bike or wheel assembly and/or service work - as detailed in supporting literature provided with all Tiered Hogtown Spokes products and/or verbally briefed to you by Jake Brennand or his agents and/or detailed in Invoice supporting Special Terms or incorporated email correspondence, will result in immediate VOIDING of the Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB Tiered Product Limited Warranty and could jeopardize the Collateral Service Warranty and Limited Warranties of respective wheelbuilding or service parts utilized. Always follow correct installation and usage procedures, as advised by Hogtown Spokes and parts makers, to protect your Tiered Product Limited Warranty or other Limited Warranties and to ensure optimal safe operation of your Hogtown Spokes purchased items.

1.2. In summation, Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB accepts ZERO LIABILITY for any accidents or injuries, up to and including death, or for damage to bicycles/other personal property or for any other perceived customer imperfection of experience incurred while using our products or commissioning our services and caused by user intention, willfulness, recklessness, maliciousness, or negligence of any kind. By purchasing or commissioning anything from Hogtown Spokes, you, the customer and end user, are accepting complete and full personal liability for all consequences resulting from the improper use of Hogtown Spokes products and/or services and are forfeiting any right, perceived or actual, to pursue legal action against Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB or its Proprietor or his agents resulting therefrom.

2. PROMO CODES MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD SIGNATURE CUT WHEELS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

3. Kydex® is a registered industrial and commercial trademark. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB dutifully respects these original rights and uses only authentic Kydex® sheeting for its original frame-protection products. Equally, Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB fully respects the registered and unregistered industrial and commercial trademarks and copyrighted material of other companies and brands appearing in our literature, on this website and on our social-media pages, and/or affixed to our retail items. Any showing in these forums of such trademarks and copyrighted items is purely for informational display purposes and connotes no formal relationship between Hogtown Spokes and the brands in question, unless otherwise and specifically stated.

4. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB™ and “Bold Canadian Kit With Nine Lives,”™ The Gnarfield EDC Guard™ and “The Art of Twenty-First Century Bike Protection,”™ MTB Snap Badge,™ Hogtown Spokes [or shortened to HS] Signature Cut™ “Hand Juiced” Wheels™ and “Built With Science - Not Say-so,”™ as well as Black Cat Inside a Wheel official logo are proprietary commercial and industrial unregistered trademarks of Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB and are protected by Canadian and Western common law. None of these phrases, names, or likenesses may be used, displayed, advertised, or otherwise shown or displayed for commercial purposes without the express written permission of Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB and its Proprietor, Jake Brennand.

5. FURTHERMORE, HOGTOWN SPOKES ORIGINAL FRAME-PROTECTION DESIGNS ARE LEGITIMATE INTELLECTUAL, COMMERCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. HOGTOWN SPOKES ELITE MTB RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE PATENT PROTECTION FOR ORIGINAL CREATIONS AT ANY TIME; UPDATES TO THIS EFFECT WILL BE PROMPTLY POSTED HERE, IN THIS LEGAL AND COMPANY POLICIES SECTION. HOGTOWN SPOKES ELITE MTB WILL PURSUE AGGRESSIVE LEGAL ACTION TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF APPLICABLE CANADIAN AND GLOBAL LAWS AGAINST PARTIES ATTEMPTING TO ILLEGALLY PIRATE HOGTOWN SPOKES DESIGNS. THE SAME PROTECTIONS AND WARNINGS APPLY TO ALL ARTWORK, THE PROPERTY OF HAYLEY B. DAMECOUR.

6. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB is a registered Ontario and Canadian business. Federal GST/HST Account No: 70998 2318 RT0001. Per the law, this number is displayed on all Hogtown Invoices.

Return Policy, Wheel Service Terms (Collateral Service Warranty), and Wheelbuild Parts Limited Warranty Policies

7. Return Policy: No returns are accepted, as Hogtown Spokes products or commissioned services are all craft-made items, similar accessories, or skilled commercial services involving labour and personal customer preferences to complete and furnish. The Company claims a stated, general right to finality of enterprise revenue. Our return policy is clearly stated, per the law, on all Invoices.

8. Limited Warranty Policy, Bike-Protection Items: All Tiered (Jorge, Merlin, Timbit, Snap Badge, and future) Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB frame-protection items are guaranteed against manufacturing defect for (6) months from the date of original purchase, with proof of purchase and provision of product(s') serial numbers. Original owner only. Our CRASH-REPLACEMENT POLICY entitles customers to replace their affected Tiered Product (in the case of Gnarfield items, Upper or Lower Guard or both, situation-dependent and determined by the Company) at 20% off of the original purchase price, within (6) months of purchase, upon providing verifiable proof of crash-caused permanent structural damage. Original owner only.

9. Limited Warranty Policy, Full Custom Wheels:

a. Full Custom wheels are warrantied by individual component part, as per component manufacturers’ stated written policies; such warranties may be pursued by Hogtown Spokes, subject to Company inspection of involved component items, on behalf of purchasing customers. Any return shipping costs or other expenses incurred in transporting items to Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB and then back to the customer in question upon warranty decision and/or final resolution are at the buyer’s sole expense. At this time Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB makes no Full Custom wheel warranty claims, guarantees, or intimations beyond those stated in the immediately preceding, unless expressly stated otherwise for an individual sale in Invoiced Special Terms. All warranty claims are subject to Hogtown Spokes’ inspection and decision first and should begin with an email to info.hogtownspokes@gmail.com containing your order number and product serial no(s) (if applicable) and entitled “Re Warranty Claim.”

b. NGB, Koozer, Elite Wheels, Ardently, or Oos hubs for Full Custom builds, and all Hogtown-supplied blank carbon rims for Full Custom builds, exclusively and separate from other elements of the Full Custom assemblies in question, are warrantied in-house by Hogtown Spokes for (3) years from the date of purchase, against manufacturing defect and basic wheel workmanship. Decision on claims against these items is at the sole and complete discretion of Hogtown Spokes.

10. Collateral Service Warranty (All Wheelbuilds) & Limited Warranty Policy, Curated Wheels:

10.1. HOGTOWN SPOKES EXTENDS IN-HOUSE SERVICE TERMS (COLLATERAL SERVICE WARRANTY) FOR ALL SIGNATURE CUT WHEELS AND BRAND NEW FULL-CUSTOM WHEELBUILDS, DETAILED IN THE SECTION IMMEDIATELY BELOW (11. WHEEL SERVICE TERMS).

10.2. With all Signature Cut curated wheelsets, Hogtown Spokes assumes, entirely and in place of the part(s) manufacturer(s), warranty terms for the constituent wheelbuild parts in question. Such terms exclusively comprise coverage for (2) years (or [3] years on the items noted above, under Section 9. Limited Warranty Policy, Full Custom Wheels, b.) against manufacturing defect and basic wheel workmanship. Hogtown Spokes reserves the right to inspect all items before agreeing to accept a warranty claim, and the Company reserves the right to repair or replace affected parts or items in the manner that we deem most suitable in the situation. We may decide to reject any warranty claim, at our sole choosing, if we believe that someone has not complied with the strict prohibitions noted in the immediately ensuing. We do NOT warranty, and will reject a claim, if one or more of the following situations is believed by us to apply:

a. Normal OR rider-invited riding and usage wear and tear has occurred: wear or damage to bearings; scrapes to parts or decals; paint/anodizing fade or cosmetic decline; dents to alloy rims; cracks or delamination with carbon rims or other parts caused by improper use [failure to leave in place tire inserts, riding with improper tire pressures, overheating or sun exposure against Invoiced guidance, failure to follow recommended torque values against Invoiced guidance, etc]; abrasion, fatigue, or degradation of spokes, nipples, or other wheelbuild consummables; etc

b. Any crash-caused damage - we DO NOT offer “crash replacement” terms with any of our wheelbuilds or wheel/bike-part accessories - or riding rims/wheels beyond their suggested (specifically ASTM) toughness rating(s). Further, we implore that clients follow our recommendations for MINIMUM TIRE PRESSURES, noted in Wheel Metrics Sheets, and reserve the right to deny a warranty claim if these are believed by us to have been ignored by the rider. Special Terms of Sale mandating ongoing CushCore rim protection usage will be absolutely enforced, and we reserve the right to make a final judgment call on whether someone has ignored CushCore terms

c. Negligence in maintenance and cleaning practices/Special Maintenance Terms attached to individual Invoiced sales. Any rider attempt to work on wheelbuild spoke tensions or perform internal mechanical tuning or maintenance beyond basic cleaning/lubrication tasks with the CORRECT lubricant(s), as detailed by Jake Brennand in writing, will immediately VOID THE HS COLLATERAL SERVICE WARRANTY and potentially the wheelbuild PARTS LIMITED WARRANTIES, as determined by Hogtown Spokes.

Rider removal of bearing seals and resulting damage to the bearing, including from improper or over-lubrication, is prohibited; we consider this more than “basic cleaning/lubrication” of wheels. Such situations will result in a rejected warranty claim against the bearing and as against any larger knock-on effects to the wheel or wheelset.

d. Any attempt to structurally modify or customize ANY of our sold items whatsoever, as determined by Hogtown Spokes

e. Using any third-party service centre (including Local Bike Shop(s)) to tune or maintain our wheels, unless expressly authorized by Jake Brennand in writing. **NOTE that if you plan to purchase our wheels and live outside of the normal commuting area (roughly within two driving hours of Toronto), bring this fact to Jake Brennand’s attention BEFORE purchasing curated wheels or contracting Full Custom wheels, so that Jake can make a suitable and authorized determination regarding future service, if possible and appropriate in the circumstances, as determined by Jake. The Company formally agreeing in writing to allow a third-party service centre to service the wheels does NOT ever guarantee that we will accept any future warranty claim or that the maintenance resulting is inured against default on any of the Limited Warranties’ terms. If we suspect for any reason that maintenance by a designated, authorized service centre was improperly performed and caused a part failure or such maintenance in any way contributed to a part failure we reserve the right to deny resulting warranty claims. Authorized third-party centres are merely a necessary contingency in cases of sales to distant customers - such centres are not and will never be considered contractual extensions of Hogtown Spokes and its professional competences.

Clients buying from distant locales are NOT entitled to a discount on labour. Our pricing is amortized over the entirety of our buying clientele, and no one is forced to shop with Hogtown Spokes. For a perceived better deal, simply shop elsewhere.

11. Wheel Service Terms (Collateral Service Warranty): All HS Signature Cut Wheels and commissioned brand new Full Custom wheels, exclusively, come with the following in-house service terms in addition to and irrespective of the preceding terms and conditions stated above regarding manufacturer wheelbuild Parts Limited Warranties:

a. free spoke touch-up tensioning/internal hub-cleaning services, exclusively, for (2) years (or [3] years, where provided in Invoiced Special Terms) from the date of purchase noted on all Hogtown Spokes Invoices;

b. discounted labour, as needed, for spoke-tensioning and internal hub-cleaning services beyond this (2) (or [3]) year period;

c. discounts throughout the life of the wheelset, as applicable to any parts worn down through rider normal use or other rider causes (consumables) and discounts on the labour to install such consumable wheel parts. **NOTE that, in line with our ability to modify the Terms and Conditions throughout this entire document at any time and for any reason without prior notice, Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB reserves the right to modify conditions a., b., and c., here given in the preceding, in response to changing business circumstances and without notice to anyone affected by the change(s). Namely, should we go out of business at any time in the future, conditions a., b., and c. will immediately cease to apply for all contracted sales and without recompense.

11.1. Note that we reserve the right to refuse service on unsafely damaged wheels, as judged by Hogtown Spokes, and in any event we cannot guarantee perfect re-tuned performance on damaged but otherwise safe worn wheelbuild parts.

12. WHEEL PART OEM LIMITED WARRANTIES, WHERE APPLICABLE, AS WELL AS OUR COLLATERAL SERVICE WARRANTY & IN-HOUSE WHEELBUILD PARTS LIMITED WARRANTIES ARE STRICTLY EXCLUSIVE TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER ONLY (WITH INVOICED PROOF OF PAYMENT) AND MAY NEVER BE TRANSFERRED THROUGH RESALE. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL APPLY.

13. Hogtown Spokes reserves the right to modify this Limited Warranty Policy on Tiered Bike-Protection Products or these Wheel Service Terms (Collateral Service Warranty) or our in-house wheelbuild Parts Limited Warranties, in part or in full, at our discretion at any time and without prior notice. Updates to this effect - considered formal Notice to our customers affected by any such updates - will be posted here, in this up-to-date document, without any further communication to customers on our part.

Consumer Privacy

15. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB is an ethical and registered retailer and service-provider devoted to only the highest standards of personal privacy protection. The Company takes the integrity of clients’ and partners’ personal information and data very seriously. The Company does not save collected personal or authorized partner business information for any other purposes beyond order fulfillment, warranty issues, customer-approved business inquiries, partner business outreach, and general business record-keeping in line with CRA advice. All invoices are saved for (7) years after payment has been received in full, as per federal taxation requirements. Applicable documents are stored on secure servers administered by PayPal and QuickBooks Online, the Company’s respected payment-processing and Invoice providers, and are backed by hard copy secured in Company offices. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB does not - and on principal never will - sell clients’ personal information or data to third-parties for any purpose whatsoever. The Company abstains from anything that even hints of impropriety with stored data. Clients’ and partners’ information is only accessible to the Proprietor, Jake Brennand, his vetted agents in the Company (namely Operations Manager Hayley B. Damecour), licensed Company taxation and legal counsel offering protected confidentiality, and the appropriate Canadian (CRA) tax authorities for strictly business purposes including auditing and taxation-reporting obligations. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB may, in the near or long-term future, partake in direct emailing to existing clients about new products, promotions, and/or special offers. By purchasing anything from Hogtown Spokes, clients are agreeing to receive at least the first such email after their purchase. Those customers not wishing to receive further emails beyond this first one may request to unsubscribe from Company promotional emailing, by personal email message to info.hogtownspokes@gmail.com (please title emails “Re Unsubscribe from Marketing Emails”). The Company will unequivocally and immediately respect clients’ thusly expressed wishes, by removing them from all promotional correspondence and advertising thenceforth. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB, in furnishing this notice, is making a good-faith effort to continuously comply with the spirit of current and future Canadian and Ontario provincial privacy and consumer-protection legislation. The Company makes every attempt to operate as an honour-based enterprise at all times, wholly committed to upstanding business conduct.

Inclusive Disclaimer

16. Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB reserves an ultimate right to modify any and all of the above General Legal, Company, Warranty, and Ordering policies at any time, either in part or in full, in accordance with evolving commercial laws and customs and evolving business best practices and/or the needs of our Company. No explanation will be provided and no notice given for any changes, except to the extent that any and all changes will be accurately and promptly posted here, in this document.

16.1 By purchasing any good or service from Hogtown Spokes Elite MTB, you, the customer and end user, ACCEPT AND UNDERSTAND all of the above Terms, Policies, and Conditions of Ordering.

-The Leadership Team, May 2019; Revised February, June, August & December-October 2020-2021; Latest Changes December 20, 2023