S-Works SL7 Fork/Headset Recall.

[WrightJnr]

https://youtu.be/InRxvN-HmUE

Link of what work is done and also weight of upgraded parts.

[Ride4Life]

Technically speaking - Wouldn't the best solution be to use a LONG 1 1/8" expander plug from the likes of DEDA, Colnago etc.?
I've seen plugs in the 70 - 80 mm range. Provided you don't run excessive amount of spacers above/underneath the stem this should be a sufficient length to reach deep enough into the steerer tube to provide support to the compression ring with split collar area.

Do you have the make/model which Deda expander plug I can install on my SL7? Local dealer still refusing to switch mine out to the new expander plug.

How can they be refusing if specialised have issued a no ride policy?

Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk

Because I did not purchase from the local Specialized Store.
I have seen some people having the same issues as well in Asia, Germany, and even California.

Trash owners....

I travel a lot due to work and have taken my bike to shops that werent even close to the same market/region I purchased the bike.

I can tell you from numerous experiences (and talking to Spesh themselves) that Spesh leaves it up to the LBS. It's that shop that decided to either help a customer or be a d1ck about things.

[MrCurrieinahurry]

I'm assuming you didn't go in to the shop test ride one speak to the guys for 3 hours On the shop floor then go online and buy a second hand one of ebay so they have built up a little frustration towards you?

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[kode54]

I would hope that it wouldn't matter where you bought the bike, second-hand or from the actual LBS. Like auto recalls, the dealers should get reimbursed for the fix regardless where purchased...Specialize should honor it.

[darrydonds]

I know I'm coming off as a specialized fanboy, but I honestly wonder how many other bikes would survive this supposed massive pothole hit, especially with a heavy/clumsy rider and full spacer stack.

I'm pretty sure the "pros are on different frames" thing has been debunked many times. Sure it's happened before but for the most part they're on normal frames. Everyone is hyper fixated on the top pro peloton but there are fk tons of lower level teams sponsored by various brands.

Take legion for example. They have been riding sl7's and I guarantee they have off the shelf ones. I've seen non WT pros in CA riding non s-works sl7's even.

Also the idea that teams are making headset parts on a lathe is laughable. Pro bike mechanics aren't engineers and machinists with the time and equipment to make their own parts. If someone can show me evidence that I'm wrong I would be interested to hear about it. I'm sure there are a few fringe cases but this just seems super far fetched.

Lastly yes I agree the old design was not good and the new inner ring is much better and should have always been there.

Pro riders aren't carrying extra weight like your typical weekend warrior also pro riders have their bikes checked often and go through many frames in a season.

Your average recreational cyclist has a completely different use case and servicing schedule. Look at canyon and their seatpost woes, pros were riding the frame for a while but it took real world cyclists who are 10-20kg heavier than the pros to show wear issues. I think using pros to test equipment can be flawed because end consumers use the equipment differently.

Besides it's clear the pros were having issues in this case as we saw sagan's bike built up with an alluminum insert bonded to his fork steerer. I know cervelo has been doing that with their bikes for years when they had issues with forks failing several years ago.

I think bike makers just need to accept the extra weight it takes to make these forks much safer and look for other ways to save those grams.

Also I hate with a passion the split ring design on the top bearing of forks, it's prone to sliding and cutting if preload isn't right, people can ride months with loose headsets before they take their bikes in for a service. There has to be a better way to do it on such a critical component.

Agreed totally, especially about the split ring.

Also, he wrote:

"I honestly wonder how many other bikes would survive this supposed massive pothole hit, especially with a heavy/clumsy rider and full spacer stack."

I think the area around the lower bearing is inherently subject to much greater force on any impact, compared to that of the top bearing. The distance from lower bearing to front wheel hub is much higher than the stack length (greater leverage), not to mention the additional weight that part of the fork (at the front wheel hub level) is subject to. So, I think, for any given impact on the front wheel, if there was failure, it would have occurred at the lower bearing area... unless there was a flaw with the design of the parts around the top bearing area. Thus, the answer to the above is: all bikes without flaw in fork+steerer would have survived.

[cyclespeed]

Specialized has a history of steerer issues. I had to replace the fork on my SL5 and SL6 Sworks because the compression ring 'bit' into the steerer.
For the SL5, I replaced the fork twice, then Spesh gave up and sent me a new frame.
For the SL6 (pictured) nothing doing as I bought it 2nd hand, (which I find unacceptabe, but hey).

This is an old vid I made where I cut up the fork in question; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWulrnUFrGg

Why not do what Factor did with the Ostro? Ditch the whole compression bung idea and make a fixed set nut in the steerer. It's fixed the Ostro problem for sure.

[ryanw]

Seen that on an SL6 I had in a few weeks back. First to date from about 50 I've worked on, but really bad.

[Maddie]

An integrated nut wouldn't change a thing for the present SL7 issue. The Ostro suffered from a slipping expander and Factor needed to change the fork for this. The SL7 suffers from a bad compression ring design that can damage the fork. Two entirely different things.

[cyclespeed]

An integrated nut wouldn't change a thing for the present SL7 issue. The Ostro suffered from a slipping expander and Factor needed to change the fork for this. The SL7 suffers from a bad compression ring design that can damage the fork. Two entirely different things.

So why is the new bung twice the length of the old one?

[Maddie]

As a safety precaution for those rocking a lot of spacers maybe?
What makes you think an integrated nut would cure the SL7 issue?

[tjvirden]

Seen that on an SL6 I had in a few weeks back. First to date from about 50 I've worked on, but really bad.

What do you think the cause of it was?

[ome rodriguez]

The aluminum pressure ring causes it, but newer SL6 came with plastic ones.

[tjvirden]

The aluminum pressure ring causes it, but newer SL6 came with plastic ones.

Yes, we know which part does the abrasion; but why?!
What I'm getting at is that there must be a lot of movement to wear into the steerer in that manner. Why is there so much movement?
Most of my own bikes have carbon steerers with an aluminum split ring - there's no wear after tens of 000s of Km (on individual bikes). Is there something about the SL6 specifically that causes the problem?

[ome rodriguez]

I haven't seen abrasions using the plastic ones. I've seen it too on canyon ultimate cf evo and cannondale supersix evo blavk inc.

[FactoryMatt]

Specialized has a history of steerer issues. I had to replace the fork on my SL5 and SL6 Sworks because the compression ring 'bit' into the steerer.
For the SL5, I replaced the fork twice, then Spesh gave up and sent me a new frame.
For the SL6 (pictured) nothing doing as I bought it 2nd hand, (which I find unacceptabe, but hey).

This is an old vid I made where I cut up the fork in question; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWulrnUFrGg

Why not do what Factor did with the Ostro? Ditch the whole compression bung idea and make a fixed set nut in the steerer. It's fixed the Ostro problem for sure.

my '18 Crux came with a plastic split ring, i think for this reason. It has been flawless over thousands of very hard miles, but theres still a little 'powder' residue, a mixture of grease, plastic and a microscopic amount of carbon just around where the ring sits after a period of time. there's just always going to be a measure of flex up there no matter what that will cause wear; hence Giant's unpopular move to a 1.25 inch steerer. it's noticeable stiffer (downright uncomfortable offroad), but wayyy more durable IME. less flex.

i've had problems on two other bikes using Cane creek captured split rings, the anodized blue ones. the band that contacts the steerer itself is soooooo short, there's just not enough area to distribute load. i told Cane Creek this at Sea Otter and they're like nah. i went to a much wider split ring out of a Scott headset (FSA? idk..) and it's been muuch better.