Warranties

EVIL JN said:

A follow up question what part/s do you consider and not consider warranty aspects on? For me beyond frame and fork I dont care to much as those are pretty cheap to replace.

Click to expand...

I am going through a warranty situation right now with a set of sixC cranks. Year and a half old, clipped a pedal riding up hill and the crank broke completely off at the booty. This to me seemed like an obvious warranty claim- that force should not have done that to a downhill specific crank, unlike the kooka Rasta cranks (XC as F) that broke at the spindle and pedal junction after dropping a 22 stair set to flat when i was 14. I had read about race faces warranty issues, but apparently I have a new one in the mail. There was some back and forth confusion and game playing since i had custom colored stickers on the crank.

I also had a brand new maxxis dhf 2.5 exo that i used 2 times, uninstalled and put back on shortly after. The tire had a massive snake roll in it and was practically un-rideable. Took over 6 months to warranty, but finally got one. Same thing happened with a specialized slaughter- took it to the spec dealer and they installed a new one on the spot and threw in new stans for free.

High end components should carry a solid warranty. My reverb is going back for service for the hundredth time and apparently they want to charge for the rebuild- unacceptable in my book. I have already replaced it with a fox transfer. The only frame i ever destroyed was a yeti kokopelli that i was racing 4x and slolam on, ovalized the headtube (yeti put a Cs steelset in it for me) then cracked both chainstays dirt jumping. They replaced it for free with the 4x short travel frame (really wish i had never gotten rid of that bike), were riding for Yeti though, but that was still awesome and great CS.

EVIL JN said:

A follow up question what part/s do you consider and not consider warranty aspects on? For me beyond frame and fork I dont care to much as those are pretty cheap to replace.

Click to expand...

I'm the opposite, the other stuff is cheap, but those are the parts I'm likely to break. I've never broken a frame or fork before I'd say I got my money's worth of riding out of it. Components on the other hand, if it weren't for Shimanos warranty replacements, riding XTR brakes for two years would have cost nearly as much as my fancy plastic frame

Jm_ said:

Bonus for the lizard

Click to expand...

That one even has the official color of endureau: aqua

Mr Lahey said:

I've never understood the copout where warranty only applies to the original purchaser. If a product has been resold and exhibits a manufacturing defect it should be covered. Just as it is in the automotive and other high dollar markets.

Click to expand...

Strongly agree.
The MTB industry has generated a stockholm's situation where this seems OK, it's not!

A bunch of guys I know have now had very old Giant frames warrantied as 2nd or 3rd owner, which Giant have honored with new parts or new frames, completely free of charge (even though they were purchased 2nd hand) - which I think is really cool and worth mentioning.

It really should be the norm from all brands if the product is within warranty period.

Udi said:

Strongly agree.
The MTB industry has generated a stockholm's situation where this seems OK, it's not!

A bunch of guys I know have now had very old Giant frames warrantied as 2nd or 3rd owner, which Giant have honored with new parts or new frames, completely free of charge (even though they were purchased 2nd hand) - which I think is really cool and worth mentioning.

It really should be the norm from all brands if the product is within warranty period.

Click to expand...

I know of a couple of cases where Intense did this as well for the known swingarm problems of the Tracer VP and 951. They replaced them also for 2nd owners for free and one even for a 2nd owner that was out of the warranty period.

It's just a way to force the new market over the used market. They want that to be an additional incentive for people to buy the frame new (where the company makes a profit!) versus off of a buddy. I understand why they do it, but I also agree with you guys. Ridiculous.

Obviously length of frame ownership plays into this warranty discussion, so who here has had and ridden a frame for 5+ years? Do I hang out with too many dentists? I know personally, I'm going on 2.5yrs on my frame (warrantied once) and it's the longest I've ever had the same bike. Oh please don't shame me - never paid more than $1500 for a frame and they've all been metal.

Do you know how long new 26" bikes are not sold anymore? Then you know how young my newest frame is.

Udi said:

Strongly agree.
The MTB industry has generated a stockholm's situation where this seems OK, it's not!

A bunch of guys I know have now had very old Giant frames warrantied as 2nd or 3rd owner, which Giant have honored with new parts or new frames, completely free of charge (even though they were purchased 2nd hand) - which I think is really cool and worth mentioning.

It really should be the norm from all brands if the product is within warranty period.

Click to expand...

That's great to hear.

Unlike the car industry if someone takes a car into the dealership for a known issue it's not presented as an academic exercise to prove date of purchase/ original owner/ etc. it's fixed and billed back to the manufacture or wholesaler.

You stand behind what you produce or you don't. It's that simple.

Second hand transactions do not ruin frames or components. If they do then that's a conversation with the shipping carrier.

My experiences now apply to my new bike purchases. I no longer buy bikes or major components that are harder to resell due to this nonsense. Easier for me, the buyer, and those that stand behind what they produce.