Jack Thurston presenter of The Bike Show (Reaonance FM), takes you on a freewheeling tour of the lost lanes and forgotten byways of south England. Travelling at a leisurely pace,…
Estimated reading time: 20 minutes
We asked a selection of bike companies to comment on whether working on your bike could void the warranty.
A recent Forum thread raised the question of whether working on your bike might in fact void your warranty. It seems obvious – and quite reasonable – that if you ham-fistedly strip the thread on your bottom bracket shell or crush your head tube while hammering in a headset, then your warranty claim could be rejected. However, as many readers pointed out, working on your own bike, maintaining it and upgrading components can be part of the attraction. Not everyone wants to have to shlep back to their official dealer to have their fork serviced or rear mech replaced. In a world of mail order parts, bikes and servicing, it can be very convenient to tackle many jobs at home, with occasional input from a specialist (or YouTube). But would you do that if you knew that it might affect your warranty? And would you buy that bike in the first place?
Rather than trawl around various bike brands’ sites trying to figure out what permissions and exemptions exist in their warranty policy, we asked a selection of brands four questions:
- Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
- Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
- Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
- Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Here are the answers we received…
Bird
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Absolutely. We recognise that a bike is an assembly of components, and each has its own requirements, maintenance regime etc. To try and force a customer to behave as if the whole was a single unit to be maintained as such would just be frustrating for the customer, and serves no real purpose.
Because most of our bikes are sold in boxes, we are also realistic about how easy it is for customers to return parts. We encourage our customers where they feel confident to fit new parts themselves, although we’d never ask them to service a part under warranty. We work with numerous shops around the country in order to assist in repairs/fitting new parts under warranty, and are open to our customers suggesting new ones for us to use if we don’t have something in their area. We’ll liaise directly with the local bike shop to delivery parts and pay for the work done, the customer just needs to drop the bike and collect when ready.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
Repair is a tricky word to use, servicing is no problems, but repairs could mean many things. So for example if a customer ‘repairs’ a frame, then its warranty could be voided, but items like replacing bearings is a service item, so thats no going to invalidate your warranty. Likewise as removing and replacing axles is part of the service procedure, if you do this even without it being necessary, then your warranty remains intact.
Clearly if you’ve set about re-welding your frame, or something similar, then your warranty will be voided. Likewise if in performing the service you damage something then its on you.
We operate a common sense approach to what would be considered normal on the basis of what makes sense for each component, and what would be extraordinary. It’s served us well so far.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
Yes but not many, and again with a heavy dose of pragmatism. In most circumstances for example we’d expect to see a service receipt for suspension that develops and issue after the first year of ownership, or if not we’d expect to see a product thats been very lightly used. If you send us your ratty, 1000 hour used shock in month 23 because its got a knock, you’re not likely to get very far other than a bill for the service and any repairs! Aside from suspension we’ll take a view on the wear and tear of any part of the bike before making a decision, but there’s generally no requirement to produce documentation.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Parts warranty does, but our frame warranty is transferrable. We allow owners to transfer their lifetime frame warranty with the frame as long as its under 2 years old at the time of transfer. The new warranty holder gets the exact same frame warranty as the original purchaser.
Canyon
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Yes a user can remove the shock and fork from their bike without voiding their warranty.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
Yes a user customer can carry out repairs to their bikes without voiding their warranty. There are certain exclusions such as opening an e-bike drive unit or using unauthorised 3rd party applications with e-bikes. If the user damages a component or other part of the bike when carrying out a repair this is unlikely to be covered by the warranty. They should refer to the respective component manufacturers instructions and if unsure seek the assistance of a professional cycle mechanic.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
Users should check the owner’s manual for the bike or component in questions as some tasks may need to be carried out by an authorised dealer. Canyon details jobs we feel are best left to a professional in our owner’s manual. Generally speaking suspension components and e-bike drive units are best left to the professionals. Canyon does not have authorised dealers so if you have any questions the best thing to do is get in touch with our UK customer service team or one of our Authorised Service Partners who will be able to advise.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
The two year warranty on Canyon engineered components is transferrable. We also offer an additional guarantee in years 3 to 6 taking the overall period of coverage to 6 years, this is only offered to the original owner.
Cotic
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
No, removing parts for service doesn’t void the Cotic warranty, because it doesn’t specifically cover that. We pledge to supply a safe bike brand new, and explain to our customers how to assemble it safely out of the box, but we are very clear that after that point it’s the customers responsibility to keep on top of maintaining their bike. That said, as a direct example of something we do explicitly void the warranty for, we don’t permit repaints within the warranty. The process of removal of paint can structurally compromise a frame if not done carefully, so once the factory coating is removed, we have no idea what that frame is like structurally.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
Depends on what you mean by repair. Repair suggests something is broken, and maybe broken by abuse or an unfortunate set of circumstances. Neither of those things are covered by warranty anyway (which is workmanship and material defects for us). If someone smashed their down tube by hitting a tree (this has happened) and had it replaced by a framebuilder, that’s been repaired. We positively encourage people to do this because it’s better for the environment and one of the great things about steel. However, if that customer then gets a crack somewhere else in the frame 3 years later, I don’t see that we can be held to our warranty over that, as we have no idea what stresses were put into the frame when it was first damaged, or what the framebuilder did to repair it. We would certainly look sympathetically on it and maybe offer some kind of a deal on a replacement frame, but it absolutely wouldn’t be covered by the warranty.
Certainly they can replace the bearings in a frame and not void the warranty, but that’s maintenance. Mostly our complete bike warranty is back-to-back with the components manufacturers, so whilst we facilitate fixing any issues with the warranty agent, once we have delivered a complete bike safely the only thing we are really full responsible for is the frame.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
The only thing I can think of on our current bikes would be a fork or shock damper service. Air can and lowers services can be done without affecting warranty, and are positively encouraged, but once you are getting into the guts of a shock or fork that needs to be done by us or an approved service agent.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Our warranty on frames does to the letter of the law. However, we treat warranty claims case-by-case and always try to look after anyone in the Cotic family regardless of whether they bought from us or not.
Giant
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Yes they can , however if they enquire we always recommend that the customer takes the bike to an authorised retailer for such work.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
We fully appreciate that some riders service and replace parts on their own bikes as well as get their bikes serviced and parts replaced by non-Giant retailers and in the majority of scenarios this is unlikely to affect any warranty. However If a situation does occur where an issue is directly attributed to the change being incorrectly completed then this can create problems.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
No there is nothing specific but we do recommend talking with your retailer to know and understand service intervals.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
No we have a second owner warranty that allows the original owner to sell on their bicycle with a 2 year warranty if their bicycle is registered with Giant .
We also operate a national warranty program where any Giant Authorised retailer will undertake the warranty so the rider is not stranded.
Merida
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
That is fine and doesn’t impact the warranty as long as the correct sizes and torque settings etc, are used.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
Repairs are also ok to do yourself. That doesn’t impact the warranty, again as long as the correct sizes and torque settings etc, are used.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
We recommend regular service and maintenance to be undertaken by an authorised dealer, but we don’t make that a requirement. An exception could be the warranty on suspension parts where the manufacturer requires servicing after certain hours of riding.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
It does. Original owner only, original proof of purchase is needed.
Trek
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Yes you can is the short answer for ‘servicing’ as in some cases the fork and shock will also be out for service at their respective manufacturers whilst the frame bearings are in the workshop for servicing.
For warranties, there would be considerations such as, is the bike fitted with over-extended forks and possibly a shock that does not comply with the bike’s intended use thereby invalidating the frame warranty.
Always best to have the entire bike in the shop – it’s easier for the assessment and workshop to move around etc.
In most cases, we would ask for an image of the bike as a whole as a minimum, especially if it was to come in for a warranty assessment.
In the original thread, the steps I would have taken would be;
A, Contact the Local Dealer to explain in full your next actions – confirm they are ok with this. If not escalate.
B, Contact the manufacturer explain what you will be doing and ask them to ok any actions by email CC’ing the store.
NOTE: When a bike is not serviced by an authorised dealer we historically have more issues, simply because if a technician does the same work on a specific manufacturers bike, goes on all the relevant pieces of training, and has access to all the diagrams, updates and service spare parts as well as the in-house customer care and global warranty teams it naturally builds up knowledge to undertake the jobs efficiently and without issue.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
‘Repairs’ has a big scope so if phrased like this: Can a Trek Bikes owner undertake their own bike maintenance and not invalidate their warranty? The answer is Yes.
Caveat: Can they undertake work on a bike that is under warranty, fail and damage the bike and then ask for it to be covered by warranty – generally not, it’s unfair to those who have genuine claims but speak to us and we will get you back on a bike somehow.
The advice is to take it into LBS, they do this all day every day, and have the experience, tools and training. It will possibly cost you in some cases but it’s worth the peace of mind given what environments we ride our bikes in and, make that time for riding your bikes.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
Again that’s a big question, maintenance ‘yes’ – repair should be discussed – bikes generally have 300 components and with e-bikes, it’s also a battery and motor involved. But the obvious prevails do not take apart a motor, battery, shocks, bearings etc. Clean, Grease, Bleed, Lube, Torque and listen and look for any issues very regularly. Outside that pop it in to your Trek Workshop, yes it might cost but it will mean a better sounding bike, longer lasting and safe to ride.
A, Keep the receipt, proof of purchase is the golden ticket without it you are going to need a box of tissues.
B, If the bike is within 2 years of the original owner then always get it into an authorised LBS. Most of it is covered for manufacturing defects – we want to keep you happy on Trek Bikes.
C, Fame is covered for lifetime (receipt and original owner) – but it’s against manufacturing defects not massive hucks to flat.
D, So ‘Improper Assembly’ (usually bearings incorrectly inserted) or ‘Improper Maintenance’ (usually lack of servicing, cleaning and lubrication) will void a warranty.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Nope! – we want Trek bikes to stay in use and so we have a subsequent owner (second or later) who is entitled to a 3-year warranty from the date of purchase from the retailer on the Trek frame and Trek fork. So keep the receipt save, check the date of purchase, take a picture or put it in a safe place – the usual.
We always ask that whatever happened is relayed, ownership is taken where necessary and we will do our utmost to help. We want to see people having fun on Trek bikes, and in the end, we are all riders ourselves, we understand you need your bike to ride and feel good.
Santa Cruz
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Of Course! Our Service plan recommends having shocks serviced every 6-12 months depending on use and conditions
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
Sure thing! We actively encourage our riders to perform their own maintenance to keep their frames running at the optimum level. We recommend contacting one of our trusted dealers on some of our more technical services intervals however, this is not mandatory
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
We encourage our riders to perform their own frame maintenance and offer a full range of online tech and service guides to assist our riders as well as making any specific tools available for purchase.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Yes, our warranty applies to the original owner only. We provide lifetime warranty on frames and Reserve Wheels, we also offer lifetime bearing replacements.
Whyte
Can a user remove the shock and fork, send it for servicing, and re-fit it to their bike without voiding the warranty?
Yes this would be acceptable, obviously if the rider is not capable (or unsure how) to remove and re-fit, then it should be taken to a qualified mechanic.
Can a user carry out their own repairs without voiding the warranty? Are there any exclusions to this?
With frames there is very little “repairs needed”, there are certain things like bearing extraction/fitment we would rather this be carried out with correct tools (no hammers and blocks of wood 😊) or by a qualified mechanic as it is easy to get this wrong and damage a frame. Obviously if the frame is cracked etc, then we would not entertain a repair, so mates welding it up etc.
Are there any maintenance or repair tasks which you require to be carried out by an authorised dealer to maintain the warranty’s validity?
See Above.
Does your warranty apply to original owners only?
Yes that is correct, it’s for original owners only – but we always try to help people where we can. We do also offer a two-year warranty on Whyte Certified Refurbished bikes.
Conclusion
Despite what may or may not be actually written down in a warranty document, the actual implementation of warranties very much comes down to a judgement by a warranty/customer service staffer. It’s clear from talking to all these brands that without exception they fully appreciate that customers will do a great deal of the maintenance or repair work themselves. Some of these brands sell their own ranges of tools to customers for this very purpose.
There’s a note here on term usage. In conversation we tend to use the words ‘maintenance’ and ‘repair’ loosely and sometimes interchangeably. What is maintenance and what is repair? While it often makes no difference in day to day chat it does make a difference when it comes to warranty, where it does need to be more defined. Maintenance is something we do to keep our bikes rolling and in good condition and that is something it’s clear that brands expect us to do and as such there’s usually no impact on a warranty, unless you end up damaging something carelessly. Repair is something you do when something actually breaks, and in some instances that lands in the warranty camp and something that might require a dealer to sort out.
Your BB may ‘break’ and you may need to ‘repair’ it by replacing it with a new one, but this is much more likely to be a maintenance job since BBs are consumable parts ie. they wear out. That’s a job that is reasonably down to you as a customer to deal with. You wouldn’t claim on warranty for a worn out BB, unless it wore out way too quickly. Equally, you wouldn’t claim for a rear mech that broke after you smashed it into a rock, would you? These examples illustrate the point that the whole warranty issue depends on a good measure of common sense on all sides of the triangle between brand, dealer and customer. Generally though, performing maintenance on your bike is something you are reasonably expected to do without it affecting any warranty. So, taking your headset apart to change the bearings (and ergo, removing your fork in the process) is clearly maintenance and does not require you to take the bike to a dealer to have it carried out. Of course you can take it to a dealer if you don’t know how or indeed don’t want to do it yourself. If you don’t know how to do it, or don’t have the proper tools, and somehow manage to damage your bike in the process, that’s probably not going to be covered by warranty – although it doesn’t mean you’re without hope. Crash replacement schemes and customer services may offer routes to discounted replacements – if you stick with the brand, that’s good for them, right?
Warranty documents are a baseline designed to protect brands from vexatious claims. Many brands operate well above that baseline in a zone we shall simply call pragmatic customer service. It’s a grey area but all brands understand that if you get it wrong you could face a costly backlash when word gets out. So why have the warranty at all if it’s all down to discretion and good customer service? Well, we live in a litigious world and not all customers tell the full truth when explaining how their headtube detached from the frame. Brands need to have something written down that they can fall back on if or when they get a claim in which the warranty department thinks they aren’t getting the full story.
Sometimes lines have to be drawn when expectations become unrealistic. That does happen. Since a brand can never really know how a claim has come about they have to make assumptions based on what they can see themselves and their own experience – that’s the human element that you simply can’t remove from the system no matter how many lawyers you get to write your warranty document. It’s just impossible to cover every possible scenario in a document. There needs to be a starting point of trust and the key to making that work is really nailing the communication between customer and brand and a whole bunch of common sense on both sides.
And finally, since this feature was inspired by a warranty issue involving a Giant frame discussed in detail on our forum we have received this statement from Giant HQ in the UK.
“We are not able to discuss individual cases however we are reviewing the process that lead to this situation.”
So for now, the position Giant have laid out in their responses to our questions above is seemingly the definitive position.
If you’re a bike brand reading this and not on the list, email us your answers to the four questions and a link to your warranty policy, and we’ll add you in to the list!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.