Polygon Bikes, 2020 Path 3, BikesOnline Found Unacceptable
I purchased a 2020 Path 3 City Urban bicycle manufactured by Polygon Bikes from online retailer BikesOnline. I made the purchase on June 24, 2021 and received the bike in Late July, 2021. I've now owned the bike for 4.5 years and feel it's time for a review given whats happened with the bike in these first 4.5 years.
The first problem was somewhat minor. It began when the kickstand provided was not correctly sized for the bike. When I attempted to use the kickstand the bike would fall over, often on the rear derailleur. After only a few weeks of owning the bike, I contacted the seller, BikesOnline, and requested a right sized kickstand. BikesOnline denied my request and told me to cut it to size.
In the summer of 2024, I began to hear a ticking sound. I could not find the source and began to suspect the bottom bracket. In November of 2024 (3.5 years into riding this bike), the bottom bracket, drivers side bearing casing disintegrated, and the bike was un-rideable. In fixing the problem, I decided to change the entire drivetrain, to obtain higher road gears, and lower hill climbing gears.
Changing the drivetrain became difficult because this City Urban bike is NOT a road bike. The frame geometry is apparently that of a mountain bike with respect to chainstay and rear hub width (over-locknut dimension, also known as the dropout spacing). As a result, the recommendations of Shimano and a local bike shop where not helpful. In addition, BikesOnline and Polygon were of no help. Shimano CUES is the recommended replacement for the 2020 Path 3's Shimano Altus and Alivio derailleurs, but neither BikesOnline or Polygon could confirm that Shimano CUES was the right choice. I went with Shimano CUES anyway.
Then 1 year later, November of 2025, I hear odd noises while riding. Upon inspection, I initially thought it was a problem with the rear derailleur hanger (which is bent), As I begin to install a new hanger in January of 2026, I notice that the drivers side chainstay had broken completely in half. The frame had FAILED.
Polygon accepted my warranty claim on January 18/19, 2026. I had not received the frame replacement by early March, 2026 and contacted Polygon. The frame had not yet shipped. Polygon would only ship from their home in Indonesia, by boat unless I was willing to pay. In addition it is my understanding that the new frame has NO warranty.
I am unhappy with the 2020 Path 3 City Urban bike which cost $793.94 on June 24, 2021 for all the problems described in this review. I'm unhappy with Polygon bikes for their lack of support throughout my ownership of this bike, and their slow response to my warranty claim. And I'm unhappy with BikesOnline for their lack of support early in my ownership of the bike. To be fair, BikesOnline did offer a 2023 Path 3 bike frame immediately after the warranty was accepted. However, I wanted a (possibly) newer frame from the manufacturer, Polygon. Instead, I'm getting a 2020 Path 3 frame to insure the bike geometry is the same.