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Santa Cruz is a very interesting company...

About a month ago, I went to LBS that sells Santa Cruz and ordered a couple of pinch bolts for the swingarm of my Heckler.

Haven't shown up yet.

A couple of weeks ago, I put a pretty good ding in the swingarm, so I asked LBS for quote on new one, they called back, said $250-, you can deal with factory direct if you wish...

A week ago, I emailed factory, received no response...

Today on a ride the *&%# swingarm pivot disassembled itself for maybe the third time, and a piece disappeared in the process.

Called factory...

Please hold...

OK, I'll connect you to small parts...

Sorry, he's talking to someone else, please levae a message...

Leave message...

Get callback from real nice person, ask for pivot bolt cap, he says he'll send it at no charge...

Ask about swingarm, have to talk to warranty guy (I'm not requesting warranty coverage, just want to buy it)...

Warranty guy's busy, leave message...

Get callback, establish what model year we're talking about, different prices for anodized vs. powder coat...

Discover that they want me to send in swingarm and wait for replacement, even though it's an outright purchase.

Very odd company. High points both for friendliness and for confusion factor.
 
I have never had anything but immediate response and action from them. Broke a swingarm on my V10...yes way back when....and they sent it out the same day. Infact, he made the UPS guy wait while he packed it so he could send it out to me so I could have it the same week for a race.

I have heard of them doing weird warranty replacements. My buddy had a super old Chameleon that he wanted to runs disc brakes on but they no longer had the adaptor, so they sold him a jackal for $100 and had him send his in as "crash replacement"
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
Sounds like they didn't understand what part it is you wanted to replace. Maybe you'll get lucky and get a freebie.

Here's hopin' potential incompetence works for the customer.
 

stinkyboy

Plastic Santa
Jan 6, 2005
15,187
1
¡Phoenix!
I've had good luck with that company in the past with my 2 Chameleons. I've heard stories of sketchy service and long delays from others though.

I still predict a Nomad in my future.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,940
13,133
Portland, OR
That is an interesting series of hold/transfers.

I had an interesting time getting answers when I wanted to re-shoot my Bullit years ago. Ultimately they were satisfied with the process and were impressed with the final pics. But it seemed like nobody wanted to make the judgment call until I spoke to the right person.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
Be patient. It is extremely hard to get cognizant help in california.
Nice....:biggrin:

Yah unfortunately with Santa Cruz they are run to cater and give high quality service to some customers and lies and run-around to others. There really seems to be no middle ground with them and it's all based on who's affording them the most profit.

If you are in the low end of the totem pole, give up on Santa Cruz and spare yourself the grief.
 

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
Santa Cruz is a great company.

Considering the ridiculous cost of their overhead, they're doing an excellent job. It's the bike industry, everyone is overworked and underpaid, and the fact that you can actually get ahold of the legit guys responsible for making warranty calls is pretty commendable. Give them some slack, no one's making any money and they're all working out of their passion for riding and the people who also enjoy it.

It wouldn't hurt to call again first thing Monday morning, and be really, really patient.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Not to pick on a specific company, but don't send in a functioning swingarm, no matter how marginal, this time of year. I lost 6 weeks of prime July/August riding with that 2 week, it's out for paint crap.
 

MMike

A fowl peckerwood.
Sep 5, 2001
18,207
105
just sittin' here drinkin' scotch
I'm not mad at the company, I just found that
- They're hard to contact
- Takes a long time, maybe forever, to get parts through bike shops
- The idea that I need to send back the old part in order to purchase a new one at retail is ludicrous.
I have had similar observation over the yearss. I find the standards that the bike industry adheres to (with a few notable exceptions) are crazy.....meeting promised dates, as you mentioned having the send in olde parts before you can get new parts etc...blows my mind that people keep giving them money.

I guess working in the industry that I work in, where there are some large penalties for not being able to serve the customer IMMEDIATELY, I've been conditioned to expect a lot out of people.
 

Jozz

Joe Dalton
Apr 18, 2002
5,753
7,215
SADL
- The idea that I need to send back the old part in order to purchase a new one at retail is ludicrous.
I think they are processing your swingarm as a crash replacement. That would explain why they need the old one. It might be a bit more expensive if you would be buying it at retail price...
 
Chapter whatever:

Broke another pinch bolt, failed at extracting it myself. Thought about LBS, naw. Thought about factory, naw. Took it to Tom Ambrose who has a little backwoods machine shop on the Hardscrabble road. He looked at it, noted that my attempt to drill out the bolt was off center. "I'll try it, worst thing that can happen is ruin the whole thing." :shocked: I get in my car and go to work.

In the early afternoon, I get a phone call from Tom, "It's finished," so I tell him I'll try to get there before five. I get to the shop and Tom's legs are sticking out from under a pickup truck that he's trying to save from the rust demons. Eventually he crawls out and we go into the shop. He has fabricated a drill bushing, center drilled the bolt cleanly, removed the shell with an easy-out. He gives me the bushing and the swingarm and says the damage is $15-. I have a twenty, so there's some rooting around for change, which I say I don't need. In the end Tom gives me two bucks and the pickup truck customer gives me a buck, Tom and I talk shop, and I head home.

Chapter whatever plus one:

I ordered a bearing press from Santa Cruz through their web site. When you order, there's a text box for comments, so I asked them to add four pinch bolts with washers and charge me. They shipped promptly and did not charge me for the extra parts. Score for SC! :thumb:
 

bullitridden

Chimp
Nov 26, 2006
51
0
About a month ago, I went to LBS that sells Santa Cruz and ordered a couple of pinch bolts for the swingarm of my Heckler.

Haven't shown up yet.

A couple of weeks ago, I put a pretty good ding in the swingarm, so I asked LBS for quote on new one, they called back, said $250-, you can deal with factory direct if you wish...

A week ago, I emailed factory, received no response...

Today on a ride the *&%# swingarm pivot disassembled itself for maybe the third time, and a piece disappeared in the process.

Called factory...

Please hold...

OK, I'll connect you to small parts...

Sorry, he's talking to someone else, please levae a message...

Leave message...

Get callback from real nice person, ask for pivot bolt cap, he says he'll send it at no charge...

Ask about swingarm, have to talk to warranty guy (I'm not requesting warranty coverage, just want to buy it)...

Warranty guy's busy, leave message...

Get callback, establish what model year we're talking about, different prices for anodized vs. powder coat...

Discover that they want me to send in swingarm and wait for replacement, even though it's an outright purchase.

Very odd company. High points both for friendliness and for confusion factor.
YES I dealt w/ the SAME BS after my 3'rd frame in 10 yrs. I had to replace a rear triangle & they charged me $275.00 like they were doin me a favor & I also had to send back the original (w/a broken off derailleur hanger) for "inspection" I did not want to send it (it was mine & I had to pay shipping!!!). Said if I didn't triange would be near $500. NICE THANKS. Looking @ Morewood for next year. Said they NO LONGER had the bushing/ bearing kits avail. for it either!! This frame was new in late 2004. Said I should be considering the new model w/ the free bearing replacement. THANKS AGAIN.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
I love my Nomad. She's been loyal, strong and a great bike for me.
So much so that I even wanted a Driver 8 after the entire cluster I went through with them trying to get my V10 a few years back, but I just don't think I can deal with their CS again.