Pretorim Posted January 3, 2018 Share I bought a top- end bike (Prefer to not mention brand at this stage) and within a year I noticed a carbon crack, in the middle, under the top tube. Immediately followed up and also had frame sent to their SA Head Office. They reckon it is the 1st time something like this happened and decided it is as result of external damage such as transport/ work stand. I was at pains to show with pictures how my bike is transported with skewers in fork and I don't even own a work stand.They did not have x- rays taken or other technological means of testing but only on face value decided that I damaged the bike.I sent mail to their International Head Office for assistance who seem to rely on the local assessment. My question is, what would be the best way to test/ prove this is carbon failure?Their suggestion is a crash replacement deal or insurance claim, which would be a false claim. I'm willing to now run with this and prepared to lose legal costs but expose them for thinking they have my back if something goes wrong. Suggestions would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karma Posted January 3, 2018 Share Best bet is to reveal the brand and your exact model, pictures of where the crack is etc..there could be a 100 guys out there in your position. ChUkKy, Bloukrans and BigDL 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamS2 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Is the head office in question in Stellenbosch? WrightJnr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted January 3, 2018 Share Post some pics and name the brand - they usually don't like the bad publicity and may just as a result replace the frame to save face. That is of course if it is the brand I think it is... If that doesn't work, just make sure you keep a record of all correspondence as well as the pics you mentioned for proof. If it really is a result of a work stand which you don't have, then the damage must have occurred while it was in for a service, which once again if it is the brand I'm thinking of, they keep full service records in their system. A family member of mine recently found a crack on the seat tube of her bike, it was replaced under warranty because she had kept records of all services done at the shop, and was able to convince them that she had never even tightened the seat post collar herself (which is true) - meaning that it was either a manufacturing fault or the mechanic at the shop over tightened the collar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat2forLife Posted January 3, 2018 Share I'm sure we all know what brand this is. But it's a little hard for anyone to have an opinion or try and help out with no pictures, etc. They do have trained technicians at their head office (note: not the shop, the actual headquarters) who are pretty good at this sort of thing. They usually get it right when it comes to these things. And also, I am sure they've had more than there fair share of chancers. If you truly feel that the matter needs to be further investigated, then insist on them doing x-ray tests etc. They usually also offer the shop and/ or rider a full report of their findings as well. I am obviously just stating my opinion on my limited knowledge of the situation, as I have no idea what the frame looks like etc. But there will always be a way to sort it out. I really hope this doesn't turn into an ugly thing like it usually does. Best of luck. EDIT: By the way, it is quite easy to tell the difference between a defect and impact or external force crack on face value. How do I know this, I used to do this for a living. Again, I'm not trying to sling mud at anyone here, just saying there is usually two sides to a story. Edited January 3, 2018 by Jetstar500 Pretorim and BigDL 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcza Posted January 3, 2018 Share Also thought i knew then I noticed he said top-end bike dirtypot, bikebloke, ChUkKy and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodbadugly Posted January 3, 2018 Share Out with it.THE NAME AND A PIC. Or just a picture. Nobody will recognize the brand... bikebloke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikebloke Posted January 3, 2018 Share Also thought i knew then I noticed he said top-end bike :clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretorim Posted January 3, 2018 Share I'm posting a pic of the damage - I need to mention this is a climber's bike, not aero. I'm lightweight @63Kg but admit I train and race hard (Strava brag- thread confirms!) This is however my "Special" bike and I do most of my training on an older, similar bike to keep this one like new. I spoke with someone in the know recently who confirm that the top tube definitely has forces pulling, especially working it on climbs, which might be a reason for the two directional crack.Zoom the pic to see if there are any indication of external forces - I know there are many experts in the industry on this forum. If I were taking a chance, I would've submitted an insurance claim.. Btw, I really don't want to name the brand yet, still hoping for an amicable solution. Besides, I honestly believe in the brand but unfortunately sometimes people disappoint people. Edited January 3, 2018 by Pretorium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted January 3, 2018 Share Let’s social media bully the brand before we have even seen the damage? That’s not right! First asses the damage, judge it on the merit. OP: if, IF, it is external damage, an insurance claim would be the right approach. Post pics of the crack, there are some experienced carbon guys here who will give you some good advice. Edit: Do you have insurance on the bike? Edited January 3, 2018 by Patchelicious Pretorim and dirtypot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikebloke Posted January 3, 2018 Share this thread has real potential post pics name names come on its friday soon ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretorim Posted January 3, 2018 Share Let’s social media bully the brand before we have even seen the damage? That’s not right! First asses the damage, judge it on the merit. OP: if, IF, it is external damage, an insurance claim would be the right approach. Post pics of the crack, there are some experienced carbon guys here who will give you some good advice. Edit: Do you have insurance on the bike? Yep, the bike is insured but unfortunately I have scruples Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted January 3, 2018 Share Must admit, that does look like damage caused by an external force. Usually manufacturing defects will not break in two different directions like that. Especially not diagonally, Carbon is usually layered at right angles when doing tubes. That’s just my personal opinion, I’m not an expert. Not saying you are taking a chance, not at all. But could it be possible that your bike suffered some accidental form of impact, work stand clamp damage etc that you would not have noticed at first? Edited January 3, 2018 by Patchelicious pista 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChUkKy Posted January 3, 2018 Share Yep, the bike is insured but unfortunately I have scruples Maybe let the insurance fight it out with them, afterall the bike is insured... Let the insurance know the case and leave it up to them. Patchelicious, karma and Pretorim 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbean Posted January 3, 2018 Share Are you the original owner?I must admit I haven’t seen a crack in a mtb in that place that was factory fault.Most warranties I’ve seen have been failures at a carbon join and not in the middle of a carbon tube.Do you think there is the slightest chance your lbs could have damaged it in a workshop stand.All cracks I’ve seen on a Mtb in that area have been from a bike rack been tightened too much on top tube or over zealous bike mechanic tightening bike in Workshop stands. Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretorim Posted January 3, 2018 Share Are you the original owner?I must admit I haven’t seen a crack in a mtb in that place that was factory fault.Most warranties I’ve seen have been failures at a carbon join and not in the middle of a carbon tube.Do you think there is the slightest chance your lbs could have damaged it in a workshop stand.All cracks I’ve seen on a Mtb in that area have been from a bike rack been tightened too much on top tube or over zealous bike mechanic tightening bike in Workshop stands.Yes, original owner.The bike really doesn't work a lot, no services necessary and it was only back to the dealer shortly after built to sort a noisy headset - I waited, took a few minutes and they clamp seat post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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