Cracked frames and manufacturers way of dealing with it

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cyclenutnz
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by cyclenutnz

Calnago wrote:Wow! Four cracked frames from one manufacturer and you're still riding their frames? That's loyalty.


I know a guy who was on his 9th Tarmac and 3rd or 4th Transition (having paid for one of each) last I talked to him. Which was a while ago so I expect double digits on Tarmacs now. He lives not far from Specialized office and a major store so had a frame replaced in a day once. I couldn't deal with worrying that a frame would fail on me every couple of months, but he liked getting something new frequently. Shivs (Tri and TT) often come to me for fits and have seatpost bolts pulling out, Specialized very good at replacing those too (I'm not a dealer so the client goes to LBS).

Wilier have a lot of issues here too, but handle it well.

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kgt
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by kgt

em3 wrote:There is no evidence indicating that Cervelo frames crack at a higher rate then say Colnago, Pinarello etc. [...] So, what we do know is that all frames are subject to cracking, especially carbon, but we certainly can't make claims about which are better and who has higher quality without FULL data.

It's true we don't have data (although we have evidence) but considering "which are better and who has higher quality" there is no question a Colnago C60 has a higher construction quality and is more bombproof than a Cervelo R5.

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droid1973
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by droid1973

Cervelo and Cannondale have GREAT warranty services!

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

I've had to deal with Trek on a warranty claim on two occasions. Both times, they bent over backwards to help me out. The first time, as I've described before, was for the frame on my older Madone 5 series. It had an issue with an undersized seat mast, which would cause the bolts on the cap to break off. I sent the frame off to Trek on Monday, and by Thursday, I had a new Madone 5.2.

Recently, my wife's Bontrager RXL IsoSpeed handlebars cracked (not due to a crash). My dealer e-mail Trek with photos, and within a week, she had a brand new handlebar.

em3
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by em3

kgt wrote:It's true we don't have data (although we have evidence) but considering "which are better and who has higher quality" there is no question a Colnago C60 has a higher construction quality and is more bombproof than a Cervelo R5.


….respectfully, what specifically are you basing your subjective opinion on?? Unless you have X-ray vision, there is no way to tell whether the build quality and carbon layup construction of tubes on Colnago frames is more robust then other manufacturers (I am not talking about cosmetics/aesthetics here, I am referring to actual tube and joint construction). Certainly, Colnago makes nice bikes, but I have seen several failures of Colnago frames, including dropouts separated from carbon tubes, carbon tubes separated from lugs and cracked carbon, steel and ti tubes. Before my four cracked Cervelos, I owned two Colnago frames (CT1 and C40)….both cracked!!! I too was seduced by the lore and legend of the Colnago name, but in the end I was not impressed and jumped off the Colnago zealot train before it left the station. However, my objective experience with Colnago frames has not lead me to claim that they are of lesser quality compared with other frames, because I am only an N=1.

Which brings me back to my original point, all frames are subject to failure, but until we know the rate of failure for number of frames manufactured, then we can’t claim that quality is better for one manufacturer compared to the other. EM3
Last edited by em3 on Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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stormur
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by stormur

em3 wrote:There is no evidence indicating that Cervelo frames crack at a higher rate then say Colnago, Pinarello etc. (e.g. What is the rate of failure for very 1000 frames produced across different manufacturers?). What we do know is that Cervelo mass produces thousands more frames compared with the smaller manufacturers noted above, so even if they have the same rate of failure we are likely to here about more failures. More importantly we hear lots about broken Cervelo frames because they have a user forum where all the gripes about broken frames get aired….other manufacturers do not have the same public user forums. So, what we do know is that all frames are subject to cracking, especially carbon, but we certainly can't make claims about which are better and who has higher quality without FULL data.


From cervelo dealer : before BBright 50% of Cervelo frames sold at this particular shop broke at BB area . FIFTY PERCENT !!! do you know ANY brand with higher rate ???
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wingguy
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by wingguy

Nah, that's bollocks.

Pre PON-ownership Cervelo did have a pretty high rate of QC issues (largely cosmetic, some structural) but 50% failure rate in one place alone is orders of magnitude away from the truth. Unless that shop had a mechanic who was actually breaking the frames himself putting in the BB and cranks :roll:

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micky
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by micky

Out of curiosity, a question for the guys who experienced a cracked frame; when did it happen? Inside the 1-2 year since buying it or later?

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

micky wrote:Out of curiosity, a question for the guys who experienced a cracked frame; when did it happen? Inside the 1-2 year since buying it or later?


Inside of 2 years.. My wife's bike was living on the trainer and being lazy I got another seat mast for the madone and was switching it all the time.. Well one day I heard a crack and that was that. After the Carbon repair which was one layer outside.. And 2 inside it's probably better then stock. I no longer switch out the post when it's my turn.. I stick my bike on.

Yes I was using a torque wrench and was also under the limit too
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goodboyr
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by goodboyr

wingguy wrote:Nah, that's bollocks.

Pre PON-ownership Cervelo did have a pretty high rate of QC issues (largely cosmetic, some structural) but 50% failure rate in one place alone is orders of magnitude away from the truth. Unless that shop had a mechanic who was actually breaking the frames himself putting in the BB and cranks :roll:


Lol. My reaction too.....of course its the internet, so don't let logic, facts and statistics get in the way of a great story..........

trex021
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by trex021

stormur wrote:From cervelo dealer : before BBright 50% of Cervelo frames sold at this particular shop broke at BB area . FIFTY PERCENT !!! do you know ANY brand with higher rate ???

hear·say
ˈhirˌsā/
noun
information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate; rumor.

wingguy
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by wingguy

Rule of thumb when talking to bike shop owners, times by or divide by between 5 and 10 the number that is being provided, according to which function makes it less impressive.

"Yeah, 3T LTD is expensive but it feels so good we upgrade it onto 9 out of 10 Hi-Mod bikes we do!" Translation: We upgrade it once every couple of months.
"I'm surprised you haven't seen anyone riding Enves round here, we sell a pair every week!" Translation: We sell a pair once a month in summer.
"The Dogma is the bike to have, we sell 50 bikes a year and the same again in framesets!" Translation: We sold 10 the year Wiggins won the Tour on one.
And of course "Ooh, you don't want those, the failure rate is through the roof!" Translation: They screwed us on one warranty and we cancelled the dealership.

It's not that they're lying per se, they just have creative memories and a unique language :wink: :smartass:

goodboyr
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by goodboyr

Great stuff! I'm thinking we need a new thread named "S@#T Bike shops say"......

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

micky wrote:Out of curiosity, a question for the guys who experienced a cracked frame; when did it happen? Inside the 1-2 year since buying it or later?


Earlier... or in the begining i should say.
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drewb
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by drewb

Cannondale - replaced the frame super fast and super nice.

Trek - as above with Cannondale - with help from LBS whom I have dealt with for years. (even got to choose new Project 1 colours!)

Kuoata -the worst. lied and denied and strung everything out - got off on a technicality. never again.

Lifetime warranty counts.

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