Need a replacement part for my 3T rear hub: how to deal with unresponsive support

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Five years ago I treated myself to a 3T Strada with a 3T wheel set. I’ve been super happy with my dream bike. However, when I greased the hub mechanism, I accidentally lost the plastic spacer on the drive side — a cylindrical piece of plastic.

I have reached out to 3T’s support twice to source this piece of plastic. I got ticket numbers, but never a response. Right now my €2k+ rear wheel is unridable, because it is missing a piece of plastic that likely costs cents to produce.

One potentially complicating factor is that I bought the bike (including wheels) in Japan from my then-LBS. 3T has a Japanese distributor, but in Europe you are apparently supposed to contact 3T directly. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do?

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Is the LBS still going? I’ll be in Sendai in January, so if they can source the part for you, I’m happy to pick it up and bring it back and post it.

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Yes, but the LBS is in Japan and I have moved back to Europe (first Austria, then Germany) three years ago. Otherwise, I’d have let my LBS deal with it, but living on different continents, I can’t.

PS I am super sad I am no longer a customer of that LBS. This was, by a country kilometer, the best LBS I have ever been a customer of. The owner was a former world tour team mechanic who was plugged into the Japanese cycling scene from amateurs to olympians. He “raised” the next generation of bike mechanics in that area and was super knowledgeable. Whenever a customer brought a bike, they first cleaned it carefully and then repaired it. I could go on.

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Yeah, I remember meeting him on a group ride from the shop once. I only suggest contacting him as a last resort, but it’s no bother for me to pop in if you need.

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Are you living in Sendai?

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No, but I’ll be there for a few days in January. Read the username! Somehow I only have your old Japanese phone number and I can’t seem to find your email address, maybe it’s in my old google account.

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I suspected, but wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to include identifying information in my post. Say hi to your wife for me! And thanks for the offer!

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Do you have dimensions? Is this a structural element (is it withstanding clamping force)? Can be it be printed or modified from PVC? I would get a stack of shims/spacers of appropriate inner/outer diameter dimensions from AliExpress and once I figured out the correct length, I would modify some PVC to fit. Maybe a homemade lathe with a drill could get it the right size.

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