Do they actually honour it? I’ve got a 2010 Foxy and discovered several cracks around the rear shock mount, so gave them a call and they said it wasn’t a problem to replace it, just deal with the distributor in your country… Unfortunately I bought it in a different country when I lived there, and the distributor here are telling me to take it back there. Which is going to be a monumental hassle. My old LBS are happy to pursue a warranty claim on my behalf, but is it worth the hassle and expense of packaging up and shipping my bike to them for potentially no good outcome?

As you’ve already spoken to the UK distro and they’ve said no, it looks like you’ll have to send it off to the country of origin. I have no experience with Mondraker in terms of warranty though, sorry.

Worth a punt for the high likelihood of getting a new frame.

If the UK distributor is honouring warranty that suggests Mondraker are giving them credit/new frames – so they should be doing the same for other distributors.

Have you explained to Mondraker that you’ve moved? Or just the distributor?

I know a few people who’ve had warranty issues after emigration (not just with bikes) and almost without fail, all the manufacturers have been able to deal with both distributors to get a satisfactory outcome. You might need some paperwork (proof of purchase, proof of residency etc) just to prove that you moved, not just nipped over for the weekend to avoid taxes etc

Alternatively, can you just show the cracks on photos etc and do it all by e-mail? Or even just cut out the broken bit (seen that done with a frame, sent it back to the shop in the US, £30 to post instead of £150).

How much hassle are you looking at? 1000km, or half way round the world?

I had my 2011 frame replaced last year, with what sounds like a similar issue to yours, but I got mine in the UK.
If it’s any encouragement the first response I got from Silverfish was a bit downbeat but in the end it was a breeze…
RM.

Thanks guys, probably could have explained the situation better. Bought it in Scotland, live in the Netherlands now. Not exactly halfway around the world, but still a pain in the arse. Mondraker in Spain have been helpful and make all the right noises, Mondraker’s distributor’s agent in Benelux initially asked for photographs and a copy of the receipt by email and said they’d do everything they could to help, then two weeks later (after a few reminders spaced a week apart) said that Mondraker Benelux weren’t prepared to do anything and that I had to take it back to the shop I bought it from. I’m happy to strip it and ship it if I’m likely to see something back, but potentially wasting hours of my time and however many Euros for no return, well, that sucks.

The UK distributor uses this forum, so may pop up to offer advice.

But why not drop them a line to see what they say?

http://www.silverfish-uk.com/

The UK distributor uses this forum, so may pop up to offer advice.

Hello!

If Benelux cant help (and they’re certainly under no obligation too) then we are obviously more than happy to.

In normal circumstances we’d encourage you to return the frame to the store where you made your purchase but it seems madness to ship it to them only for them to ship it to us.

As such just drop me a mail and I’ll let you know the details that we’ll need. richie @ silverfish – uk . com (remove all the spaces)

Cheers

Richie

Thanks very much Richie! Have fired you over a couple of emails outlining exactly what’s happened so far. Here’s hoping it all works out amicably – I love my Foxy!

So I suppose one month on I should update this with the fact that Mondraker’s ‘lifetime warranty’ is no such thing and isn’t worth spit.

Despite my bike being registered with them, despite me sending all the pictures they required, and despite me being quite clearly the original owner with the receipt to prove, after another month of me having to chase this claim once a week they have turned around and said that they’re not honouring it. So yes, I’m very annoyed today. Annoyed at Silverfish as their first correspondence was amazingly cheery, making me think it’d be a formality but that with the 26″ to 650b changeover they’d probably get credit for the frame alone and that I could use it as discount against a complete new bike. Fine, I was okay with that. I was less happy about having to chase it up every week, and even less happy that four weeks later I got an email from an intern-sounding person asking for all my details ‘to send to Mondraker’ – which were on the bottom of the email chain that he’d replied to me from.

I feel like I’ve wasted two months, hoping that I’ll be able to ride a lovely replacement full susser. I’m annoyed at the unprofessional nature of the emails I had from Silverfish. And I’m especially annoyed at Mondraker for claiming they offer a lifetime warranty that very clearly isn’t.

So yeah, won’t be buying Mondraker again. And I’m unlikely to deal with Silverfish again, even if I move back to the island. The whole experience has been frustrating and has left a bitter taste.

So it seems that’s it. I’ve got a useless garage ornament taking up valuable space that’s going to make me angry every time I look at it. FML.

That sucks! Did they give a reason to why it wouldn’t be honored?
RM.

Is it the expected lifetime of the frame. Not the owner?

Apparently I never registered it in time. Which is just the shoddiest of reasons. It’s not like that makes it not their product, does it? Can you imagine if your still allegedly in warranty new BMW or whatever had a failure of the chassis near a suspension mounting point and they turned around and said ‘yeah, we know you’ve owned this from new, but you never filled in this form in time so you’ll be fixing it yourself LOLZ’? You’d be utterly livid. Like I am now.

I think thats quite poor.

How long are we talking about? weeks months or years?

A few years, and I registered it as soon as I realised I was supposed to – it wasn’t actually mentioned in any of the documentation I received when I bought the bike in the first place!

A few YEARS? Sorry, but a couple of months perhaps, but years?
Even so that does seem a little crappy. Perhaps they think that you were not the original owner, hence the delay in registering?

In this instance I do think you are responsible for the lack of warranty, years is a little much, and registering your item for warranty is something that has been common for a while.

Having said that I get how you feel, not having a warranty for such a big item, and one which you love, over a paperwork formality has to feel obnoxious.

I’ll also add for Mondraker/Silverfish that it is moments like this when you have the opportunity to provide exceptional customer service and good will. Honouring a warranty when you have no obligation to do so makes us customers really like you and sing your praises.

I’ve been looking at a new Carbon foxy along with a new Whyte or orange and it is moments like this that help us decide when all things are equal after a test ride.

Perhaps, and if it was a £30 Argos toaster I’d be inclined to agree, but for such a big-ticket item? Obviously if I’d known about it at the time I’d have registered it – it took all of 90 seconds to do, afterall.
And you’re right – this thread could have been full of me singing their praises, a confirmed Mondraker customer for life.

Also yeah, definitely the original owner, with paperwork to prove. Hell, I could probably dig out my credit card statement from the time to corroborate, not that I should have to!

tbh it shouldn’t be required with proof of purchase i would have thought.

In your position id be off to small claims as you have proof of purchase and something that has a lifetime warranty.

In your position id be off to small claims as you have proof of purchase and something that has a lifetime warranty.

Not sure that would cut any ice, the lifetime warranty is effectively a separate agreement with its own t&cs, one of which the customer hasn’t fulfilled.

Whether the company has behaved honourably or just tried to wriggle out of providing a replacement because the paperwork isn’t in order is another matter.

Surprised they didn’t pull the ‘7 years is the expected lifetime of a frame’ technique rather than void it over a missed form.

Lifetime means lifetime in my book, not expected lifetime. But yes, pretty dishonourable, very disappointing, extremely unlikely to get me buying a Mondraker product again. 🙁

I wonder how mondraker are still in business to be honest. Everyone I know who’s had one has had it either crack and/or needs constant attention as the back end pivots come loose.

I love the look of the bikes but wouldn’t go near them with a barge pole.

I was first warned about the frames cracking from some boy at 10 Under the Ben so always kept an eye out for it. I’ve had a set of bearings under warranty early on when the back triangle kept working itself loose but I never had a problem after that. It’s been brilliant until now. And yes, my lbs stopped selling them because of the amount of hassle they had with them…

At this point i’d be hitting twitter and faceache etc, maybe some mtb magazines etc

Bad publicity is bad publicity, these days, i’d imagine one could make enough of a nuisance of yourself to change their minds……..

What maxtorque says, nowt to lose….

I’m surprised Richie from Silverfish hasn’t come back to defend them, tbh. But yes, I shall start to make a nuisance of myself! 😆

I think that’s pretty shoddy tbh. For the sake of clarity, how long before the warranty claim did you register it?

The registration thing is a load of pish, another box to tick so that companies can worm their way out of doing the right thing.

Did they say they would deffo have warrantied it if you’d done the warranty card?

As with most manufacturers lifetime warranty is not lifetime . Also not sure whether your bike qualifies for lifetime or not as the terms say bikes since 2010

http://www.mondraker.com/es/en/warranty

Yes, it’s a 2010 bike, so ‘covered’ under the ‘lifetime warranty’. Left them a scathing review on their facebook page, so if anybody would like to read it and view the pictures of the damage, it’s here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/MondrakerUK/reviews/?ref=page_internal

Interesting to read about pivots coming loose. Whilst not exactly a pivot, I was at BPW a few weeks ago, and a mate of a mate had a Mondraker. His day was cut short when he pulled his bike of the uplift and discovered a complete lack of shock mountings at one end, where they appeared to have rattled loose and made an exit whilst on the trailer.

I didn’t even know that was a Mondraker ‘thing’ until I read this thread.

Yeah, well documented along with the cracking. Like I said though, never had a problem again after the first set were replaced under warranty. Funny how they honoured that claim, eh? Makes me think the warranty registration thing happened AFTER I bought it…

Also, thanks to whoever it was from here who shared my post off Mondraker’s facebook page! 😀

I guess it’s only right to update this thread again – I’ve been offered either a complete frame or a complete 2017 Foxy at a heavily reduced price. I’ve opted for the latter as I couldn’t build the frame up to a spec I’d have liked for less than I was offered a complete new bike for. So provided it all comes off, it’s a solution that I’m happy with.

I wish it could have been settled without so much hassle, but ultimately it seems like it’s going to work out okay. Will keep you updated! 8)

who has offered you the reduced frame/bike?

Silverfish, Mondraker them selves or somebody else? (i.e. nothing to do with your claim)

Probably should have clarified that – Silverfish made the offer. They were at Mondraker headquarters this week – I have no idea what deals or otherwise have been done but Richie said that it had been talked about. Either way, I’m happier today than I was yesterday!

Hmm, better than nothing, but I’d still be peeved that I was out of pocket over a legitimate lifetime warranty (registered or not) claim.

but I’d still be peeved that I was out of pocket over a legitimate lifetime warranty (registered or not) claim.

Ignoring whether it was registered or not, the warranty conditions make it quite clear that lifetime means the expected lifetime of the product, not the lifetime of the owner. So they could easily have just said the expected lifetime of that product is 6 years and offered nowt.

All bikes/frames have specific and certain lifetime durability, in other words lifespan, which depend on the type of the material used and the construction of this material. This lifespan can be reduced due to the type of usage of the material or the way in which it is being used, or because of lack of maintenance and necessary treatments. Therefore the lifetime warranty will totally depend on the optimal lifecycle determined by Mondraker for each product in particular.

bigyinn – Member
Hmm, better than nothing, but I’d still be peeved that I was out of pocket over a legitimate lifetime warranty (registered or not) claim.

Isn’t the offer the same as Silverfish initially suggested before The silliness over the warranty registration?