Wanted some advice on warranty replacement and whether Specialized are being reasonable..

So, was riding my carbon Sirrus Pro along the road last week, and I think a stray bit of metal in the road somehow ended up caught in back wheel, which spun round and smashed a large section out of one of the seatstays. One of the spokes is a bit dented, and I found a bit of metal in gutter near where it happened, so that seems the likely explanation. It now looks like this:

Evans sorted me out with this frame earlier this year – it is a 2010 model but only given to me this summer as warranty replacement when an older alu Sirrus I bought from Evans developed a crack round BB shell.

So when I took the carbon bike into Evans this week, they were initially really positive about getting another warranty replacement. A couple of days later they came back saying Specialized’s view is that it’s not a manufacturing defect, it’s more like a crash. So they’d give me a crash replacement discount on another frame, but despite only being ridden for about 3 months there is nothing wrong with frame for it to have broken like that.

I would have thought the spoke should have broken before the frame? I’m no engineer though, so wondered what other people thought? Should I accept it’s an accident and nothing the frame could have coped with, or kick up a fuss with Specialized by arguing if frame was properly built the spoke should have broken first? Thanks for any advice!

Ironically I was on this forum a few months ago praising Specialized and Evans for being so good at warranty stuff..

I think you are lucky to get crash replacement discount; not a warranty issue.

From what you’ve said, their response sounds reasonable. Frame broken by foriegn object is not a warranty issue.

Stress ye not! there’s a very good place near me in Moira.

http://www.carboncyclerepairs.co.uk/contact-carbon-bike-solutions-team-carbon-bike_3.html

Crash damage, very unlucky, but suck it up.

Yeah, agreed with the others, it’s unfortunate, and it’s shit luck, but it is a “crash” of sorts, not a failure on their part.

Failing that T cut will get that out!

Fair dos. Thanks for advice everyone.

Might be covered by home insurance if you are lucky.

I can heartily recommend the carbon repairers in Lingwood near Norwich. Worth googling them.

@lionelblair

sorry to hear this has happened as I had sorted out your replacement frame when I worked for Evans Cycles

Despite the annoyance of what has happened to your new frame (and your honesty in admitting a piece of metal went in there, not trying to blag it under a ‘JRA’ claim) its not a warranty situation but something covered under Specialized’s ‘crash replacement’ programme – which is a new frame at their cost price to you.

I deal with crash replacement work for Specialized customers on a regular basis in London, normally road riders on Allez, Tarmac, Roubaix bikes who have been hit by motor vehicles or have had severe crashes whilst riding (caused by themselves)

I won’t put the prices onto a public forum, but the crash replacement is very fair and I have never had one of these customers complain about it, most are more than happy with the deal they get

you’d be surprised just how strong / tough a steel spoke is, even compared to a carbon fibre frame which is certainly not weak

I agree with the replies here – crash replacement seems like a fair option but snapping half a stay off so easily would put me off a Specialized. Isn’t that meant to be commuter bike? Not a noodley race frame.

but snapping half a stay off so easily would put me off a Specialized.

the frame wont have been designed to have a metal bar twatted off its seatstay.

@esher shore Thanks for that. I actually asked for you when I took the bike back in, but they said you’d moved on.. I’m still waiting to hear back from them about the cost for replacement frame under crash replacement, but encouraged by what you say about it.

Although am sort of pondering getting something strong and steel and different – like a Surly Cross Check. I’ve broken two Speshs now, and I don’t think I ride them particularly hard – so not sure I want a third! As Jambon says, Sirrus are supposed to be a commuter bikes..

Thanks to other people for carbon repair suggestions. I’d imagined cracks and dents could be patched up, but a whole missing section of seatstay – can that really be done?

@float – know what you mean, but it wasn’t a massive metal bar – more like a small section of what might have once been a shelf bracket..

Looking at the picture, the bonding area where the stay has been pulled off the dropout looks rather small. Bad design, but that’s not going to help you.

@jambon

the frame is question is actually a road frame (Specialized Roubaix) that is fitted with a flat bar to create a sports hybrid, rather than what is used to make the typical commuting hybrid like the regular Sirrus

its a very light weight frame, making for a great sports bike, but obviously not as tough as the cheaper and heavier aluminium alloy Sirrus which is a v-brake compatible hybrid frame

when the OP had his frame sorted out at Evans, we supplied Shimano road calipers FOC to help make his old build parts compatible with the new frame

That’s interesting, I didn’t know that’s what it is, I thought it was more like a carbon version of the aluminium Sirrus.

I loved riding that bike and was really grateful for Evans / Specialized for sorting me out. But thinking about getting another, not sure how practical a choice it is for circa 75 miles a week on the streets of London..

To expand a bit on why the frame would go before the spoke, just so that you can feel happy about it not being warranty! Steel is much more ductile than carbon. That’s is, it bends before it breaks (think of a paper clip). Carbon tubes are strong if loaded through the ends but are very sensitive to side impacts. A bit similar to glass, although glass is worse, but you can stand on a bottle, but break it with a relatively small tap with a sharp edge.

Awesome science fact! Thanks, Greybeard.

Genuine hats off for being honest about it, a lot of people would have given it the “I was just riding along…” argument.

Specialized are being fair about it, good luck getting it all sorted.

@crazy-legs

its a great point you raise – honesty always goes a long way when attempting to make a claim for warranty

both the shops and the distributors / manufacturers are not stupid and have heard it all before – which is why the bike industry has the term “JRA” (just riding along…)for customers who claim no wrong doing when their frame has suddenly snapped

the OP was very honest about the cause of his breakage and I can tell you that this information would have been passed back to SBC UK who always appreciate honesty, they will do everything they can to help you back onto the road because you have not tried to B.S. them with a funny story

in comparison, today I had a customer who has cracked a brand new CF seat post which had I fitted last night (using Finish Line fibre grip and torque wrench)

He claimed the seat post slipped whilst riding home so he ‘adjusted it’ using his torque wrench and it has magically cracked…

despite myself and the store manager having a conversation with him last night (after fitting his seat post) where he told us he did not own a torque wrench….

….and we even brought a torque wrench out of the workshop to show him what it was, and explained how important it was to use one for fitting CF components. also told him he could get a Ritchey torque key quite cheap which would be ideal for his needs.

this morning when he has brought said seatpost into the store claiming either the seat post or his frame are defective, he magically produced a well-used torque wrench he claimed to be “his torque wrench”, despite the conversation we had only hours before 😉

Carbonfibre
Realy isnt any more than cloth and glue

I’ll be interested to hear what deal Specialized do as I wasn’t impressed with the 20% deal Trek offered me. I am told that Giant do frames at cost so that was a big part in me choosing to buy one of their bikes to replace the Trek.