Bike warranty


Yeah, you'd need to do a CT scan of the affected area to determine the extent of damage and form an opinion of the cause. Canyon in Germany offer this service and will look at other brand's bikes, but that'll cost €300 plus shipping back and forth. Since they started using CT scanners, a few other manufacturers have followed suit, but these are €500k+ machines, so getting to use them isn't cheap.

The Boards suggestion is a good one, there are a few on there in the business and will be able to recommend someone who can do a more authoritative examination and help determine if the failure was due to a manufacturing fault or a knock.
 
A few questions
How old is the bike
What was the warranty that came with the bike
I presume it was new and not second hand when you bought it
Where is the crack on the frame, can you post a picture
Was it the dealer or the manufacture that declined the warranty
 
LS400 said:
Responses like that, post to their social media page" really get up my back, it smacks a form of blackmail.
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It is actually a criminal offense in Switzerland to do this. The Swiss take the view that legal matters are to be sorted out in courts, no social media. By all means you can right a negative review provided it is accurate, but threaten to publish a negative report as a means of getting a company to resolve a legal matter is a crime.
 
Leo said:
With the information we have to hand, we can't say whether the OP's is truely genuine.
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But that is the nature of the situation. The frame is cracked. Neither I nor the manufacturer know how it came to be cracked. An x-ray would confirm that there is a crack, but I doubt it would definitively indicate how the crack occurred. The bike was not involved in a crash.
 
Cervelo said:
How old is the bike
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just over 3 years, the manufacturer has accepted that it is within the warranty period
Cervelo said:
What was the warranty that came with the bike
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Well that is several pages long, but the exclusions are


  • Later alteration/additions involving incompatible or non-original parts
  • Wearing parts such as ball bearings, sliding bearings, bearing bolts, bearing screws, etc.
  • Non-manufacturer parts/components
  • Consequential damage
  • Repair of the problem by the manufacturers retailer is possible
  • Inappropriate use/transport
  • Missing warranty inspection within appropriate period
  • Inappropriate maintenance (Take note of the operating instructions!)
  • Damage due to missing or faulty adjustment or worn components
  • Consequences of a fall
  • Damage due to weather effects or normal wear
  • Damage due to unsuitable cleaning agents or additives,or tools such as high-pressure cleaners.
Cervelo said:
I presume it was new and not second hand when you bought it
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Yes
Cervelo said:
Where is the crack on the frame, can you post a picture
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Cervelo said:
Was it the dealer or the manufacture that declined the warranty
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I have been corresponding with the dealer, but it appears to be the manufacturers decision
 
Well there is very little consumer law in Switzerland. There is also very little litigation, as most matters tend to get sorted out before they get that far.

If you can get a report from a bike repair shop saying that it is a manufacturing fault rather than an accident. Then that should be enough to get things moving with the company. Judges here tend to take a very poor view of companies that try to sell substandard products, so it is unlikely to go that far.
 

An XRay won't but a CT scan will provide way more detail and can pick up on manufacturing defects withing the carbon fibre lay up. They should also be able to determine if there was any external scratching or wear to the outer layers that significantly weakened the structure.

Carbon has super lateral stiffness, but is susceptible to knocks. It doesn't take a crash to weaken it to the point where it may subsequently fail in normal use.
 
Leo said:
Carbon has super lateral stiffness, but is susceptible to knocks. It doesn't take a crash to weaken it to the point where it may subsequently fail in normal use.
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This is probably the heart of the matter. A steel frame is virtually indestructible, an alloy one not far behind, but if normal wear to the outer layers weakened the structure to the extent that a crack appeared then surely the thing wasn't fit for purpose.

I was not using abrasives to clean it.
 
To me, just going on the photo it looks like impact damage (I presume we are talking about the big chunk missing from the top tube and not the scratchs or paint crack either side)
Its very hard to tell just from one photo, it really needs to be seen by a compentent mechanic
Have you brought it to a LBS to have a look at it, is the carbon fibre around the area soft to touch, have you done a tap test??
When you say dealer are you talking about another bike shop or the importer
 
From the photo, it looks like something impacted the top tube - I've seen similar damage on carbon MTB frames after crashes.

I can't see the manufacturer accepting that as a warranty issue based on the photo, sorry.
 
Firstly thanks to all for taking the time to reply to this. Its appreciated.

Cervelo said:
To me, just going on the photo it looks like impact damage (I presume we are talking about the big chunk missing from the top tube and not the scratchs or paint crack either side)
Its very hard to tell just from one photo
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There isn't actually a chunk missing, its just a crack. I have brought it to several local bike shops, and every one has a different opinion, one even thought that the thing is just a scratch in the paint work.

The carbon fibre around the area is not soft to touch.

I am not sure exactly what you mean by a tap test.

The dealer is another bike shop, but they are appointed as an official dealer by the manufacturer.
 
The Tap test is simple tapping around the frame to try and detect any damage to the carbon fibre that might not be visable on the outside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPL8OcKPTCE

I asked about the dealer because I rekon they have contacted the Irish wholesaler who have turned down your request and not the manufacturer
Can you get a copy of the correspondence between the dealer/shop and who they contacted, only asking because its what the shop has said to the wholesaler/manufacturer that will influence the outcome of the claim
You might be better going to your LBS, who knows you and will fight your corner rather then a shop that dosen't know you or the history of the bike

If there is only paint cracking and the carbon around the area is solid and the tap test dosen't sound any different then you might be lucky but I can't really tell just from one photo
If you up in Dublin anytime soon I can have a proper look at it with the guys in the bike shop that I use and work for if thats any help
 
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