Cracked frames and manufacturers way of dealing with it

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wheelsONfire
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Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

I would like to ask fellow owners of carbon frames, if your frame had a crack somewhere, how would you feel your warranty was best handled?
(Not from crash, drop or wrong torque.)

Frame was repaired or frame was exchanged?
How many times is it ok for a manufacturer to repair the same frame before they actually should replace it?
Does it matter if it is a premium frame or cheaper version?

As is, it seems to me manufacturers have the power to decide what is best decision excluding the owners wishes.

I wish to hear fellow cyclists opinions on this matter.
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

ardennes777
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:45 pm
Location: Liege Belgium

by ardennes777

I knew of someone who had bought a brand new SWORKS Tarmac (SL5) from a reputable Specialized dealer. They bought the frame and all the parts from the dealer and the dealer constructed it for them (it was a custom build with full Campag Super Record, Deda Carbon Parts and Campag Bora wheels)
3 weeks into owning the bike a large crack developed on the head tube (from the lip and about 2cm down).

They took it back to the dealer and they told him they will put it through for warranty. A week later he received a call saying that in fact there will
be no warranty on his frame because the "stem and bars" he used on the bike was no good and that is what caused the crack..... :(

He told them that when buying the bike he specified to the store to put on a set of carbon Deda Bars, Carbon Deda Post and Carbon Deda Stem rather than the run-of-the-mill SWORKS parts the bike had on it and they said no problems and it wouldnt present any issue for them to do.

Specialized were adament that they were in the right (the store sided with the manufacturer). They told him he would need to buy another frame and other parts to put on the bike. He became that fed up with them after 2 weeks of constant bickering that he went to the store, picked up his bike, stripped the parts off it, bought a Ridley Helium SL frameset and put them all on that!

He was not a happy customer after paying almost $13,000 for a new bike!

Someone else I knew told me of a story where his friends girlfriend had bought a new SWORKS Amira. The bike developed a BB crack. She took it to Specialized dealer. Dealer said they will process it for warranty. She went back a week later and they gave her exact bike back stating it was not needed to replace the frame rather carbon "repair" it. The dealer however allegedly had warranty claimed a new AMIRA frame from Specialized and on-sold it to someone else!!

Based on these stories I have been told (and I state again they are only stories) I am not sure whether Specialized handle things the best!

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Thanks ardennes777, all matters are interesting to hear/ read. So keep sharing people!
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

Valbrona
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Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

Take a Specialized out in the rain and you have voided the warranty.

arthurf
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Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 9:13 pm

by arthurf

I had a terrible experience with a certain boutique Italian company (thread on here about it). Frame cracked, was sent back to be warrantied and I never saw it again. Endless tales and promises from them about where it was in the process, why it had been delayed and when it would be finished. Eventually they said they were going to send me a brand new frame to make up for the poor service. Anyway, 14 weeks after the frame was sent off, it still hadn't been returned so I took the refund offered by the distributor. About a week later, out of the blue, the old frame turned up at the shop I had bought it from! It was the warrantied frame resprayed so all the talk of a new one was bu@@&&it.

This was a very expensive frame but the manufacturer's warranty process did not reflect the premium price and it has put me off buying another boutique Italian product.

padmasana
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:04 pm

by padmasana

Actually I have been impressed by how GOOD Specialized was when I had an S-works Roubaix frame that developed a bottom bracket crack.
It was a hairline crack, just a few centimeters long.
Really, it didn't look like much to be concerned about overall (maybe that's just ignorance on my part though). I had heard that mine wasn't the first to do this.
I thought I'd mention it to my dealer. He snapped an iPhone photo of it (and not a great one at that) and I had a brand new S-works frame about two weeks later. They upgraded me from the SL2 frame to a two-years newer SL3 and gave me a choice of color schemes.

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luckypuncheur
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Location: Germany

by luckypuncheur

Had a Storck Fenomalist with a crack in the BB area. Their warranty handling was piss poor, took months and they tried to charge me 1000 € for an upgrade to an Aernario G1 as the original frame was allegedly no longer available (which was a lie). The shop offered me a full refund and a S-Works Tarmac for a very good price - so I went for that and couldn't be happier.
Last edited by luckypuncheur on Sun Apr 19, 2015 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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53x12
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by 53x12

ardennes777 wrote:I knew of someone who had bought a brand new SWORKS Tarmac (SL5) from a reputable Specialized dealer. They bought the frame and all the parts from the dealer and the dealer constructed it for them (it was a custom build with full Campag Super Record, Deda Carbon Parts and Campag Bora wheels)
3 weeks into owning the bike a large crack developed on the head tube (from the lip and about 2cm down).

They took it back to the dealer and they told him they will put it through for warranty. A week later he received a call saying that in fact there will
be no warranty on his frame because the "stem and bars" he used on the bike was no good and that is what caused the crack..... :(

He told them that when buying the bike he specified to the store to put on a set of carbon Deda Bars, Carbon Deda Post and Carbon Deda Stem rather than the run-of-the-mill SWORKS parts the bike had on it and they said no problems and it wouldnt present any issue for them to do.

Specialized were adament that they were in the right (the store sided with the manufacturer). They told him he would need to buy another frame and other parts to put on the bike. He became that fed up with them after 2 weeks of constant bickering that he went to the store, picked up his bike, stripped the parts off it, bought a Ridley Helium SL frameset and put them all on that!

He was not a happy customer after paying almost $13,000 for a new bike!

Someone else I knew told me of a story where his friends girlfriend had bought a new SWORKS Amira. The bike developed a BB crack. She took it to Specialized dealer. Dealer said they will process it for warranty. She went back a week later and they gave her exact bike back stating it was not needed to replace the frame rather carbon "repair" it. The dealer however allegedly had warranty claimed a new AMIRA frame from Specialized and on-sold it to someone else!!

Based on these stories I have been told (and I state again they are only stories) I am not sure whether Specialized handle things the best!


Terrible and sad story.

Good reason to always use a credit card (preferably AMEX) for any large purchase (cycling or other related). If you have the shop and/or manufacturer giving you issues, you an just do a charge back. Not to mention, most credit card companies have their own warranty for your purchase.
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NiFTY
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

I had a tarmac SL1, noticed a crack one day when cleaning. It was inspected at a new bike shop, as the original shop i bought from didn't stock specialized anymore. I was warranted for an SL3. I have broken 2 toupe pro saddles too, and warrantied both, after the second i paid the difference (my option - $120ish) to upgrade to the s works model rather than have another fragile replacement. No complaints.

I bought an S works quarq on ebay (US ebay, from australia) it worked fine, then died, out of the blue) Whilst the local Quarq distributor was happy to send me a replacement quarq with a warranty or copy of the receipt the S works model distribution had been taken over by specialized australia, who were not going to play without a proof of purchase. I contacted Quarq USA, told them i had no receipt. They were great. I paid for shipping of old model to US, they paid for shipping to australia of a brand new in box quarq. Excellent service.
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spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

Cracked a Trek Madone 6 in the seatpost area .. didn't have original recipe, asked LBS straight up.. any chance? they said nope... fixed it myself with a carbon repair kit.
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uraqt
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by uraqt

Cervelo was great to me and the web is full of great customer service : )

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em3
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by em3

....manufacturers DO NOT repair carbon, they will simply replace if any crack was due to manufacturers defect (well, at least the reputable manufacturers will replace). I have had 4 cracked Cervelo frames and all were replace in less the 10 days by Cervelo.
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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

^^^
I wish that was true all together.,,,
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

wheelsONfire wrote:Frame was repaired or frame was exchanged?
How many times is it ok for a manufacturer to repair the same frame before they actually should replace it?
Does it matter if it is a premium frame or cheaper version?


I've dealt with multiple warranties for cracked frames in carbon, aluminium and titanium and whenever the warranty has been accepted the frames have always been replaced, never repaired. Worst manufacturer for taking responsibility probably Felt, best Cervelo.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

em3 wrote:....manufacturers DO NOT repair carbon, they will simply replace if any crack was due to manufacturers defect (well, at least the reputable manufacturers will replace). I have had 4 cracked Cervelo frames and all were replace in less the 10 days by Cervelo.

Wow! Four cracked frames from one manufacturer and you're still riding their frames? That's loyalty. I know one guy who after the 2nd warrantied Cervelo frame (3rd frame in his possession) just hated the process of new frame, wait to break, get new frame under warranty, repeat... that he just sold the 3rd frame and moved onto a different brand.
And in the end, it just isn't even worth it for a company to try to repair a frame with all the labor involved etc. Cheaper to just replace it.
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by Weenie


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