Santa cruz Bearings 1st owner lifetime warranty

[piet70roux]

Just an awareness topic id like to start as an ex ripped off loyal(ex) bike shop supporter for mtb services and tech advice.

I live in cape town and own a santa cruz tallboy mtb which ive always had serviced at one or two of my local bikeshops in the northern suburbs.

I have had to replace my pivot bearings on the bike at least once ( couldve been again recently) at great cost( pivot bearing kit prices vary from R1200-2500( full kit which is what most of the bike shops will sell u)

Heres the thing... as a 1st time owner of santa cruz bike you get a lifetime warranty on frame as well as pivot bearings! Heres the proof

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/warranty-bearing-replacement

My question and awareness campaign is WHY DO BIKESHOPS NOT EFFECT (AND TELL US)ABOUT THIS WARRANTY ???

I emailed santa cruz in US and they offered to send me new bearings in US and if i was not in US they advised that i try local distrubutors for Santa Cruz

Well we as end users cannot go to distributors directly and have to rely on the bikeshops

i think we can all work out why this is happening

Tired being ripped off

[Rocket-Boy]

Well the first thing that comes to mind is that it would need to be a Santa Cruz dealer to know this and/or be in a position to do anything about it.

Was that the case?

[piet70roux]

Just an awareness topic id like to start as an ex ripped off loyal(ex) bike shop supporter for mtb services and tech advice.

I live in cape town and own a santa cruz tallboy mtb which ive always had serviced at one or two of my local bikeshops in the northern suburbs.

I have had to replace my pivot bearings on the bike at least once ( couldve been again recently) at great cost( pivot bearing kit prices vary from R1200-2500( full kit which is what most of the bike shops will sell u)

Heres the thing... as a 1st time owner of santa cruz bike you get a lifetime warranty on frame as well as pivot bearings! Heres the proof

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/warranty-bearing-replacement

My question and awareness campaign is WHY DO BIKESHOPS NOT EFFECT (AND TELL US)ABOUT THIS WARRANTY ???

I emailed santa cruz in US and they offered to send me new bearings in US and if i was not in US they advised that i try local distrubutors for Santa Cruz

Well we as end users cannot go to distributors directly and have to rely on the bikeshops

i think we can all work out why this is happening

Tired being ripped off

[piet70roux]

yes it was x2

[Rocket-Boy]

yes it was x2

Then that is quite interesting. 

Have you asked either of them about it? Would love to know what they say about it.

[Li Mu Bai]

Dont feel bad, some of the shops selling Santa Cruz dont even know about the lifetime bearing warranty. 

My LBS said they had never ordered them before when i took my TB in for a service.

In effect you pay for the first set and the service, and then claim for the bearings which you keep in stock till the next service.

They seem to have stream-lined their warranty replacement. in the past i had to post the used bearings with the service invoice and bike details to SC in the states.

Now they use their local distributer - Thanks to the trolls at SAPost.

[SSCC]

Just an awareness topic id like to start as an ex ripped off loyal(ex) bike shop supporter for mtb services and tech advice.

I live in cape town and own a santa cruz tallboy mtb which ive always had serviced at one or two of my local bikeshops in the northern suburbs.

I have had to replace my pivot bearings on the bike at least once ( couldve been again recently) at great cost( pivot bearing kit prices vary from R1200-2500( full kit which is what most of the bike shops will sell u)

Heres the thing... as a 1st time owner of santa cruz bike you get a lifetime warranty on frame as well as pivot bearings! Heres the proof

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/warranty-bearing-replacement

My question and awareness campaign is WHY DO BIKESHOPS NOT EFFECT (AND TELL US)ABOUT THIS WARRANTY ???

I emailed santa cruz in US and they offered to send me new bearings in US and if i was not in US they advised that i try local distrubutors for Santa Cruz

Well we as end users cannot go to distributors directly and have to rely on the bikeshops

i think we can all work out why this is happening

Tired being ripped off

Register with Aramex shop and ship and get SC to send the warranty parts to the USA address. It will cost you about R200 for shipping and you will have it in about 5 days. Easy.

[piet70roux]

i asked the LBS about this

reply was that the techs get told to do the pivot bearing service and thats what they do. They said they are aware of warranty and have effected it but that its not so simple to just effect it as according to them there are factors that can influence warranty such as regular services and the fact that many guys ride with back shock on lockout (putting more strain on pivot bearings)

This is utter rubbish - why do santa cruz with shock manufacturers have CTD shocks???

Also here is reply from santa cruz in states when asked about parts/bearings for my pivot bearing points:

Pieter,

 

If you are the original owner then you would be able to apply for the lifetime bearing replacement for your bike.

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/warranty-bearing-replacement

 

We could send you the washers and seals if you give us your address?

Are you in the US?

 

Thanks,

 

Technical assistance

Santa Cruz Bicycles

2841 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(+1) 831 459 7560

 

Funny they are fully to just post me new bearings/ parts for pivots - no questions or proof of purchase

I have got new bearings from decent bike shop issued to me under warranty!

Know your rights as a consumer or continue to be ripped off big time!

I am wondering if the bike shops dont get the bearings free under warranty and selling them to us for R1200!!!!

There you have it then...

[Vetseun]

I have just replaced all the bearings on my TB. I refused to pay R2500 as quoted by LBS. Went to Supreme Bearings.

Bought top quality bearings at the cost of a whole 320 zars.

Running smooth.

Im happy.

[piet70roux]

howzit

i can get you those same bearings at R9 a bearing

8x R9=R72

I actually have a set in my bike at moment- seems work good( no squeeks etc)

2 things to note though- There is a subtle difference between these bearings ( sure the size is the same) - the originals inner brace have some play vs no play on generic ones

I have spoken to someone ( actually bikeshop that arranged my replacement warranty bearings for free) who has absolutely no hidden agenda in this. He told me that if you use the generics they are not the same and in time you will damage your frame.

Secondly if you claim on your lifetime frame warranty and they discover generic bearings in your linkages your warranty is void.Sure you can remove and try and replace with originals but thats not easy ...

[Muzzarati]

howzit

i can get you those same bearings at R9 a bearing

8x R9=R72

I actually have a set in my bike at moment- seems work good( no squeeks etc)

2 things to note though- There is a subtle difference between these bearings ( sure the size is the same) - the originals inner brace have some play vs no play on generic ones

I have spoken to someone ( actually bikeshop that arranged my replacement warranty bearings for free) who has absolutely no hidden agenda in this. He told me that if you use the generics they are not the same and in time you will damage your frame.

Secondly if you claim on your lifetime frame warranty and they discover generic bearings in your linkages your warranty is void.Sure you can remove and try and replace with originals but thats not easy ...

Wtf! How does a different brand of bearing damage a frame!?!

[Skylark]

If the bearings are identical how can the generics damage the frame?

 

Sounds like the crock of sheet lbs often like to spin to justify their outrageous pricing.

 

Sc doesn't make bearings, they'll have them supplied by an oem and I doubt it'll be anything more special than a more precision ground bearing and better seals, longer lasting but not "better" from the perspective of the frame.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Skylark

[piet70roux]

They are definately not the same( like i said the originals inner ring has some sideways play whereas generic does not)

Whether or not this affects frame / linkage setup i cant answer

but why even worry about this???????

Rather ask WTF ... why run non original bearing ( and pay any $$$ for generic ones) when u can get your bearings free of charge under warranty

Which was the point this post originally

I have 30 generic bearings i bought at R9 because i too refused to pay R2500 only to discovery warranty

[Mathieu_Schneuwly]

Piet you're quite right, SC replaces the bearings free under warranty. 

I think many shops and bike owners (not all) are ignorant of this and also ignorant of how to look after their pivots in the first place. 

 

The SC frames come with a grease gun, use it!! A bearing swamped in clean grease will never go bad. Pump some grease in from time to time until all the old brown grease oozes out the side. It'll last forever, and that's why SC warranty it for life! It's one of the best pivot systems out there. 

 

Original SC bearings are angular contact, not what you get from standard bearing man shops. Angular contact bearings work differently, they are loose until you tuck them in (preload) with the pivot bolt. The result is a vastly stiffer interface than standard deep groove bearings used in most other brand bikes. Generic bearings in a vpp frame will collapse under the lateral load and that is how you will damage the frame.

 

Another thing, the original bearings have no inner seal. That is how the grease gets from the grease port into the races to flush out old grease. Basically you never need to strip your pivots, just pump in the good stuff and it oozes out the outer seals. Genius design.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Mathieu_Schneuwly

[428 others]

Piet you're quite right, SC replaces the bearings free under warranty. 

I think many shops and bike owners (not all) are ignorant of this and also ignorant of how to look after their pivots in the first place. 

 

The SC frames come with a grease gun, use it!! A bearing swamped in clean grease will never go bad. Pump some grease in from time to time until all the old brown grease oozes out the side. It'll last forever, and that's why SC warranty it for life! It's one of the best pivot systems out there. 

 

Original SC bearings are angular contact, not what you get from standard bearing man shops. Angular contact bearings work differently, they are loose until you tuck them in (preload) with the pivot bolt. The result is a vastly stiffer interface than standard deep groove bearings used in most other brand bikes. Generic bearings in a vpp frame will collapse under the lateral load and that is how you will damage the frame.

 

Another thing, the original bearings have no inner seal. That is how the grease gets from the grease port into the races to flush out old grease. Basically you never need to strip your pivots, just pump in the good stuff and it oozes out the outer seals. Genius design.

Great answer!

[KingTJ]

Piet you're quite right, SC replaces the bearings free under warranty. 

I think many shops and bike owners (not all) are ignorant of this and also ignorant of how to look after their pivots in the first place. 

 

The SC frames come with a grease gun, use it!! A bearing swamped in clean grease will never go bad. Pump some grease in from time to time until all the old brown grease oozes out the side. It'll last forever, and that's why SC warranty it for life! It's one of the best pivot systems out there. 

 

Original SC bearings are angular contact, not what you get from standard bearing man shops. Angular contact bearings work differently, they are loose until you tuck them in (preload) with the pivot bolt. The result is a vastly stiffer interface than standard deep groove bearings used in most other brand bikes. Generic bearings in a vpp frame will collapse under the lateral load and that is how you will damage the frame.

 

Another thing, the original bearings have no inner seal. That is how the grease gets from the grease port into the races to flush out old grease. Basically you never need to strip your pivots, just pump in the good stuff and it oozes out the outer seals. Genius design.

Most usefull reply i have heard in ages.....can you tell me the exact bearings that i need to get, my frame is secondhand so no warranty. So was wondering where and how i can get them?