Having a bit of a nightmare with a certain French manufacture just now over a BB which is supposed to have a 1 year no quibble guarantee. second issue they have been well very French with basically.
Just wondering if any has had any 1st class warranty experiences? or some howlers
Yep, have had nothing but very good experiences with Specialized. Warranty support is always near the top of my list when buying a bike.
Yes.
Orange replaced rear and rocker of my ST4 three times, twice out of Warranty.
Santa Cruz
Never had a problem with Specialized, they seem to be on the ball.
Radon bikes in Germany via bikediscount- I had truly excellent warranty service when I found a slight defect in my frame after 1year. They offered to collect the bike and change it over for me or let me do it and gave me a credit for there site as compo.
Very pleased
For frames etc.
Very good:
Personal experience with Trek -once the initial stages completed which took a while, exemplary service but then I did have three frames break in quick sucession.
A few friends with Giant- with LBS support better than Trek in terms of turn around time
Quite good:
Canyon both personally and friends- just takes a while to get through to them but after that no issues
Adequate:
Friends with Lapierre over broken Zesty rear ends ( three different bikes)
Giant
Hope
Spesh
Oakley
All brilliant.
Turner
Hope
Oakley
Rapha
On-One - floater tyre blew up and had a fatty headset that wouldn't stay tight, traced to the stem being on the piss.
Halfords - gave me a new cassette at 3 months when I was 15, wasn't a warranty issue but the lad in the shop obviously decided to take pity (or at least didn't want the hassle of arguing).
Specialized - they 'fixed' the problem, but blamed me, then it came back (avid elixirs being impossible to bleed and pulling to the bars at random) and the worlds worst rear hub.
specialized are brilliant imho.
snapped a chainstay on a sirrius hybrid, 18 month old, got a new one.
sheared a freehub on a enduro, got a new wheel.
Unwarranty is the peak for me- stuff you know you're not covered for but they help anyway. Halfords and Cotic aced this for me, both times I was a second owner AND out of warranty anyway, I got a free wheel from Halfords for my carrera, without even asking...
And Cotic, well, I basically got a whole new Hemlock over the years 😆 Occasionally paid a little but never as much as I should, and I was always saying things like "So I raced the Fort William Endurance Downhill and COINCIDENTALLY the swingarm broke while Just Riding Along, how much will a new one cost"...
I suspect a lot of it comes down to the LBS you go through and their relationship with the distributor.
Since you all seem to be having problems with your Specializeds I might avoid them in future. I'd prefer bikes that don't break. 😆
When I used to do a lot of warranty work for a local business Spesh were always great to deal with, as were Trek.
Internet purchase maybe part the problem. Basically part issues and manufacturer doesn't want to know even though there warranty says otherwise (commencal). Referring me to e13 in the uk.
My Specialized story is hard to beat, I had a 10 year old M2 road frame whose chainstay had a crack in it. I was going to see if I could get it repaired, but the repairer needed to know how it was made to see if a repair was feasible. Accordingly called Specialized, they said it couldn't be repaired but the frame had a lifetime guarantee so get my bike shop to send it in and they will send me a replacement. They duly did a brand new top of the range carbon Tarmac frame, with forks and headset included. Really exceptional service.
Nothing but first class experience through LBS with Whyte, Giant, Rock-Shox, Cat Eye and Topeak.
Massive fan of the LBS here!
Yep, have had nothing but very good experiences with Specialized. Warranty support is always near the top of my list when buying a bike.
This +1
Great service from spesh
Been impressed with Merida over the years - had a chainstay snap and they sent out a new one FOC very quickly with an extra mech hanger.
Then got in touch with them asking for availability of bearings for an old FS design, was asked for a photo to double check which exact back end I had then sent a set FOC (i'm still on the first set too).
Each time they were friendly and fast.
Mixed feelings towards Santa cruz, they did increase their warranty term for a bike I had already bought so brilliant for that but they gave me a frame which required different size wheels and forks and refused to provide a shock (old one wouldn't fit). Bloody expensive warranty.
A friend has seen great service from Trek, when they probably could have refused it.
I have had exemplary service from Turner who provided new hardware FOC (the Uk distributor was useless) and Hope who just send you what you need and are very helpful with it.
Much as I love santa cruz bikes, I'd feel far better buying a turner. If only I liked how they ride as much!
Orbea were pretty good for me, cracked frame that was replaced without too much fuss. They weren't overly quick but it was sorted. In fact I had a very similar experience with Trek, not fast but it was sorted.
another +1 for Specialized - broke some cranks that were a good 5 years old and they replaced them at marginal cost which I was more than happy with.
didn't spesh redefine their warranty periods recently, to much shorter periods and excluding swingarms - or something like that ??
The only bikes I've had to warranty were:
- Giant TCR Composite where the rear mech cable stop came off the frame - Giant were excellent.
- Raleigh road bike with alloy front & carbon rear, the BB shell bond cracked where the carbon chain-stays were bonded in, they could've given me a new frame, but I got a whole new bike instead, an even betterer full carbon one, which is nice.
On One Ti 29er made by Lynskey cracked along headtube weld after 7 years use. Sent back to Planet X, who sent to Lynskey. Frame returned looking as new. 🙂
Well considering the issues I've had since I bought my specialized I have had virtually had anything replaced 2/3 times in 14 months ... so their warranty dept is very good
Hope & RockShox
"...a 10 year old M2 road frame whose chainstay had a crack in it... brand new top of the range carbon Tarmac frame, with forks and headset included."
I had an almost identical experience with a Stumpy HT frame. Very pleased !
Orange were brilliant to deal with a few years back when I bent the swingarm and seat tube on my five frame, Ben in the warranty dept was spot on, new frame in the colour of my choice, they could easily have argued the toss that I'd abused the frame, I was honest - I'd hit the mech on a rocky descent, snapped the gear cable, replaced and realised the shifting was off - after a hanger and mech change I realised the back end was out!
ATB were also great when I snapped my old Marin Attack Trail (snapped at the down tube which folded the top tube leaving just the rear shock holding the frame together). 4 1/2 years into its 5 year warranty, I took the bike to my LBS Thursday tea time and my new frame arrived the following Monday morning along with new xt cranks as mine were damaged when the frame snapped and a new seatpost as the size had changed.
These are my only two warranty claims, fortunately both positive ones!
Hope and Kinesis have both been awesome to me.
Bird have been very good with me, got me back up and riding in less than a week.
In my case, I'm not giving Hope bonus points for adequately resolving issues with a product they knew wasn't fit for purpose tbh. That's not good service, it's a bad-service save. Sending out 2 sets of replacement parts, with a spare for "next time it happens" seems nice but is really just admitting your product sucks tbh.
To be fair with my current issue e.thirteen are being very good, considering the bike manufacture isn't. New part on way apparently. 😀
I've just picked up my Giant Defy Advanced from Giant in Shoreham. The rear mudguard, made by Giant for that particular bike and fitted following the instructions by me had cut right through the rear seat stays. Took it in at 11:00 am on a Sunday and by noon on the Monday I'd had a call to tell me Giant were shipping out a new frame. Everything has been transferred over to that and the cost of the mudguards I'd bought elsewhere as the shop didn't have them in stock has been credited to me to use in the shop. I'm pretty happy with that, I don't think it'll be the last Giant I buy.
Trek - four frames replaced without quibble (one Trek, two Gary Fishers, one Klein). I'd buy another from them, a decade down the line since the last one - hoping their aluminium welders are better these days...
I work in the trade and have managed workshops for chain retailers and lbs. I've dealt with 100's of customer warranty as well as too many of my own!
specialized, Trek, Giant:- very good
When I ran the workshop at Specialized Covent Garden we picked up huge amounts of warranty and crash replacement work for London customers. SBC UK were professional and timely in every instance; on many occasions goodwill/brand reputation may have overruled a strict definition of warranty.
Giant UK are also excellent, if they can help, they will.
Hope very good with after sales support, often foc when a cost was expected.
Sram very good, often going above and beyond. Shimano in UK, not always credited as warranty sometimes the shop eating the cost.
The worst brands I've dealt with? Norco, Cervelo, cube, kona, BMC, dahon.
Difficult communication, long timescale, product eventually replaced with similar cr@p meaning customer back in a month with same failure; or worse product had same issue out the box!
Nothing worse than pulling a brand new warranty replacement frame out the box to find the disc brake mount is welded on twisted just like the original...
Meaning customer services involved for refunds or moving customer to alternative brand.
Good QC in factory, good warranty support in country, crash replacement schemes - these all have real world costs that often the small or boutique brands cannot stomach; or that mid level brands with poorly funded in country distributors cannot deal with adequately.
Something I should add, too many instances of abused and poorly maintained bikes where a customer expectations warranty, on many occasions we'll soak up the cost to maintain a relationship, whereas it was never "warranty" like the infamous JRA line...
Really glad to see lot of epic wins out there (& good customer service). Handy post for future reference- looking for a commuter just now so few things to keep in mind.
Merlin refused the warranty on my 2007 U-turn revs when they suffered oil migration. Called TF Tuned for advice (was going to get them sent there to fix them if paying myself) and they said it's a definite warranty and get in touch with X at Fishers. Did just that and when I got my forks back they had been nicely upgraded to an all new damper. Still working perfect.
I ride with a chap who, every few years, would turn down the finesse and crank up the stupid then ride his Specialized Demo outside it's comfort zone until it went. He'd then take it back and either get a new frame, or on occasions, a complete bike. Always just in time for his annual trip to France. Taking the piss a bit, the jammy git, but that's some service ;D
I've only warrantied my old Raleigh Aero Pro. Three times on the frame and four on the forks (that's over 10 hard years - it wasn't shite (well the forks were)). The old guy at the bike shop hated to see me coming but Raleigh were spot on.
boringly repetitive, but the service ive had from Specialized over the years beggars belief.
I've not come across another brand that matches their warrantee's in the 30 years ive had mountain bikes.
And again, specialized. Always brilliant service and helpful. Kinesis have gone well above and beyond for me also (well upgrade) so 2 brands I'd put top of my buying tree.
Wouldn't touch another on one on the other hand, and I'd never buy another canyon.
Bit of a theme here...
+1 Giant, Specialized and SRAM. Giant and SRAM above and beyond the call, meaning I'm very likely to continue to use their products for the foreseeable.
On the other hand, I'll never touch anything Commencal again.
In Australia I've had not issues with Giant or Cannondale, Reynolds have been a bit more of a pain though. Local bike shp sorted everything for me (where I buy all my bikes and gear).
Trek- they swapped my Madone out for me.
Oakley, - when my silver Radars discoloured and went black they replaced them.
Rapha. - came off my road bike and ripped through the knees, all repaired immediately, the jersey wasn't repairable as I'd gone through a hedge, & it had hundreds off pulled threads, so they gave me a voucher for 50% off a new one.
Another part of this comes back to who the distribution is with, for the UK Hope Etc is dealt with by Hope. Things like their brake rebuilds are not available over seas.
Have specialized sorted out their warranty definitions yet? Are they stays back up to 5 years?
I've not had much call to use any for a while but Fox Aus were great at replacing all the internals in my shock twice despite claiming there was nothing wrong with it.
See a lot of good SRAM stuff
Then other places where they don't carry enough stock so there are no replacement frames available for months
Evoc. Uk distributor was rude, obstinate and very unhelpful. Luckily Evoc directly were very good when I had issues with a bag. Ubyk were brilliant in facilitating it all.
Rose, brand new latest model frame, 2 years after purchase when I spotted a crack. 3 weeks turnaround. (They did the frame swap too)
Found Merlin excellent too when I had issues with a reverb and some shimano shoes which lasted one weekend in afan.
Giant . On Friday, my brother discovered a crack on the seat stay of his revolt. He took it up to Giant Bromley on Saturday. They contacted him on Monday, and yesterday he picked up a complete new Revolt.
I think it probably helped that he has bought 3 bikes through the same shop.
I bought a 2nd hand (but almost new) Boardman HT Pro off Ebay and the bottom bracket went within 6 months. I took it to my LBS and he said try giving Halfords a whirl as they had sole selling rights for Boardmans.
I took it down to Halfords reluctantly as i doubted they would help,but they replaced the BB without question.
I was on a roll now!
Over 18 months they replaced the freehub (twice) and then the BB again.
So Halfords have been brilliant considering i didn't even buy the bike from them!
Another "happy" Giant owner here.
I've managed to crack 2 carbon Defy frames in under 18 months and the service from Giant has been exemplary. Also had a crank arm disintegrate and that was dealt with in the same fashion.
Am hoping 3rd time lucky now, but almost have a feeling of inevitability that i'll be taking it back to the shop in the future. Which will beg the question of where I go from there. But while Giant are happy to sort the problems out I guess I should stick with them.
Found Merlin excellent too when I had issues with a reverb and some shimano shoes which lasted one weekend in afan.
Merlin are good but I think they charge for return postage
Another vote for Giant, I bought a bike from them which had crappy cable disc brakes, I complained through my lbs about how rubbish they were compared to the model below with decent V brakes, they took the bike back and swapped the whole lot out for a set of Magura Louise.
I've never forgotten and have always been a fan since.
Question .... as I'm not quite sure how this bit works , my bike is coming up to 18 months old now, and I have had quite a few bits changed under warranty i.e forks x2 ,cranks x1 ,reverb stealth x 3 ,rear derailleur x1
So would as these parts still be covered under warranty once the bike is 2 years old ? or is it the individual item that would continue to carry the 2 year warranty ?
The bike frame is covered by the manufacturer warranty, the components by their supplier. So if the frame is 5 years that is covered, if the Reverb is SRAM then it's 2 years
I have had great experience with Bird. No issues with the frames, but I emailed them about an issue with a sram wheel and they replied within 9 minutes with a 'stick it in the box and we'll send a courier to collect it and take it back to sram' I haven't actually done this yet as I've been away but after reading comments above I'm hopeful that sram will be good too.
I know a few folks who have had issues with YT, very slow response, or no replies for days or even weeks over issues with components on nearly new bikes. Sorted in the end, but took months.
Crc have been good over the years too, and I've had good experience with specialized with frame claims also.
I can add nukeproof crc to the list. An out of warranty swing arm replacement from initial email to receiving the replacement 5 days, and to be fair one of those days was a Sunday.
Rear triangle snapped on the brake mount of my 7 year old fuel ex 7. Trek replaced it with an ex9 rear end to keep it silver, the updated fancy rocker plates and all new bushes/bearings.
Giant sorted out a new frame for me very quickly when mine turned out to have a problem, the shop were very on the ball too.
Hope did a good job with a hub that ripped some spokes out.
Other than that I haven't really had to test any warranty claims, lucky maybe!
Had a carbon remedy and noticed a few tiny pin head sized bubbles in the lacquer. Wasn't really fussed, but mentioned it to my LBS owner whilst the bike was at the shop. He took a few photos on his mobile and I thought nothing more of it. Few days later and a top of the range Remedy 9.9 frame appeared as a replacement.
Also had a friend who commuted for years on a low end Fisher MTB and eventually salt corrosion got to the BB and it cracked. Trek offered him a choice of frames and he had a new 8500.
Good experience with Santa Cruz and Cannondale both through Leisure Lakes.
Bad Experience with RaceFace or to be precise the importers at the time. Because of that I have never brought anything RaceFace again.
@beano68 no all your component warranties will still expire on the date n years from purchase. Having them replaced does not reset the clock.
Bad Experience with RaceFace or to be precise the importers at the time. Because of that I have never brought anything RaceFace again.
See I never had anything other than exceptional service from Silverfish (the importers), especially with Race Face warranty.
Cannondale were always a nightmare to deal with (speaking more from a bike shop point of view than as a customer). They'd usually come up with the goods eventually but the wait could be months and months.
Hope have always been very good with "not-quite-warranty" stuff like FOC spares or parts.
Canyon have been superb for me. They sorted out my cracked frame by shipping a replacement and refunding me for my LBS to build it. They would've collected the bike and done this for me in Germany, but the LBS option suited me better.
Cheers @Benpinnick, Was just worried about all the issues I've had with SRAM even tho they have virtually replaced nearly all the parts of my bike to a new bike again!
Lost loads of time/training on the bike already this year and with races coming up it just doesn't give me confidence in their parts.