Litespeed Sewanee Rubbish

[Guest Big H]

I think that this is the model our lagosmadman has.

 

 

 

http://images-en.busytrade.com/153753500/Sell-Litespeed-Sewanee-Full-Suspension-Titanium.jpg

 

Show a pic closer to the "dented" area that shows the detail

[lagosloonie]

big H - how on earth was i supposed to know that the frame would be dented - in my wildest dreams i couldn't have imagined someone doing that to the most highly stressed frame member. The frame, in it's original packaging was couriered to my girlfriend's work while I was in Lagos - done and dusted. When she sent the pics I mailed Litespeed - they have their reasons for denting the frame and they had my money.

[Guest Big H]

big H - how on earth was i supposed to know that the frame would be dented - in my wildest dreams i couldn't have imagined someone doing that to the most highly stressed frame member. The frame, in it's original packaging was couriered to my girlfriend's work while I was in Lagos - done and dusted. When she sent the pics I mailed Litespeed - they have their reasons for denting the frame and they had my money.

 

Did you see any of their frames before ordering??? If not that is the risk one takes when ordering blindly.

 

Do your research at the LBS and if they are exorbitanly high in their pricing, like they mostly are and once you know what you need to order then order.

 

It seems you may have learned the hard way. I would keep on dissing their frames ...... even to the extent of putting a sticker on your car if I were you. Tell your story on as many forums as you can. www.bikeforums.net is very big. Send another mail to your mate at Litespeed and tell him you are doing that. Play dirty..... it workx!!!!!!!!

[bontie]

Potentially a silly question - Could the failure not be caused by fitting a fork with too much/too little travel, which would put undue stress on the frame/headtube?

 

Hard lines, never good to lose an expensive frame like that! Good luck!

[MintSauce]

whoops - i lied - just remembered hitting a pothole and endo'ing as a result during a rainstorm on the Lekki Expressway in Lagos some years back. That did the front.

 

Was this on the frame in question?

[Moolz]

Either way - hope you sort this issue out mate...

Pretty unfair if Litespeed have been selling "damaged" frames...

[lagosloonie]

No, the pothole incident was on my trusty Trek Fuel. It remains straight and true to this day

[captain morgan]

MY 2006 SEWANEE ALSO CRACKED , BUT ON DOWN TUBE. AWAITING REPLY FROM LITESPEED.

WILL KEEP U UPDATED. CM

[captain morgan]

this company sucks...... they have rejected my waranty claim as they cant find my waranty reg card from 2005/6. i have supplied proof of purchase from local importer..... what the f.... more do they need, just passing the buck , that lifetime waranty is n lot of crap. waiting to hear from them as i have appealed their reply.... DONT TOUCH ANY PRODUCT FROM AMERICAN BICYCLE CORP. BUNCH OF SHARKS. pity nice bikes. cm

[captain morgan]

this company sucks...... they have rejected my waranty claim as they cant find my waranty reg card from 2005/6. i have supplied proof of purchase from local importer..... what the f.... more do they need, just passing the buck , that lifetime waranty is n lot of crap. waiting to hear from them as i have appealed their reply.... DONT TOUCH ANY PRODUCT FROM AMERICAN BICYCLE CORP. BUNCH OF SHARKS. pity nice bikes. cm

[lagosloonie]

I'm sorry but not surprised that they rejected your claim. They seem intent on finding any reason to reject claims. They can surely verify your purchase by contacting the local agent - they didn't bother doing that with my claim either. They're trashing their own name - for the life of me I cannot understand the logic. I bought the bike because it has so much appeal - it's great to look at, rare, light - all good characteristics - I really WANTED one. Well, not any more!

[jugheaddave]

Sorry to hear this all. My anthem x broke. 5 days later I had a new frame. What a pleaure to deal with giant.

[lagosloonie]

aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh

[RodTi]

Spend some time on mtbr.com forums, and you will notice this is not a once-off issue... Many, many similar complaints have been lodged against Litespeed of late, with seemingly very few resulting in a happy outcome...

 

Pop across to the Litespeed website, and you will notice they now only offer 3 mtb's - of which the Sewanee is now the only full-susser... This compared to 4/5 years ago, when they had several... This, imo, already says something - since their sale, Litespeed simply isn't the same company.

 

They've clearly had many comebacks on their models - and I suspect the Lifetime Warranty, which subsequently changed (and now supposedly only applies to Original Owners) - has brought them a world of trouble... Flaming them probably won't make much difference.

 

My 2 cents.

[Christie]

I say again: be very very careful of Ti frames. The material is extremely hard to work with and even the best manufacturers have failures.

My recommendatins to prospective buyers:

-You need a lifetime warranty and a reputation for solid backing up of it, if you go for a Ti frame. Professor google is your friend.

-Cheap Ti from a less known source is a no-no.

-Also, be aware of the added risk that the manufacturer has more room to dispute a claim for mtbs.

-Aluminium is close to Ti and carbon out-performs Ti by a long way in structural applications. Ti only good for a "retro 80s" style imo. (Ti wins in jet turbines and prosthetic implants, though)

[captain morgan]

STILL NO JOY.. THEY APPOINT A REPUTABLE IMPORTER [ I KNOW THE MAN] BUT THEN DISPUTE HIS WORD AND DOCUMENTATION AND INVOICES AS TO ME BEING THE ORIGANAL OWNER. THEY CLAIM TO BEING NICE AND OFFER ME A NEW BIKE TO PURCHASE FOR 2000+ USD PLUS SHIPPING. ONLY TO DEAL WITH THE SAME BS.

DONT THINK SO. PLEASE BE WARNED LITESPEED AFTERSALES SERVICE AND WARANTY CRAP . STAY AWAY !!!! CM