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Has anyone else experianced the following.....
I've had 2 SDG I-Beam Seatposts fail in an identical manner in the past 4 weeks.
These all occured sub zero or near to zero conditions.
One failure occured at the start of a climb the other on a canal path.
The posts split at the rear with the crack running approx 60mm down the post, where the head is bonded into place
The 1st failure was to a 12 month old post which has been well used for XC (never jumped or crashed)
The second bought as a replacement (from a UK internet co and approved dealer by the importer!) has only been used on 4 local XC rides and probably been subject to less than 10hrs use.
One failure I would accept after 12 of continuous usage and some serious mileage.... however a second just seems to indicate a fundamental design flaw
On both occassions i've been lucky not to have been injured by the pastry cutteresque remains of the posts (and had to ride about 5 miles without a saddle/post)
(I've got photos of both failures and may post them later when i retrieve them from my phone)
I've had 2 break like that in the last few months. The first lasted about 3 months, and was replaced by the supplier, the second (the replacement) lasted about a month and is about to be sent back for a refund (fingers crossed). I've got 2 others that have lasted a good while though although I did have a saddle snap once which was also replaced foc.
I have had mine fail. Been in contact with silverfish because I dont have a receipt, THEY DID NOT WANT TO KNOW!
He also claimed :
"We see very few warranty returns on the I-Beam seatposts"
So basically they are a bunch of lying ****
I will post them this URL for them to read!
Ah ballbags. Just bought one. 😐
I was going to order a saddle / post combo, I thought the breakage problems with earlier posts had been resolved.
Obviously not, I won't bother now.
Oops, I've got a few
It's interesting that there's HISTORY with IBEAM seat posts.......
I'll be seeking to get a refund on the post and saddle I bought (have receipt) as I don't fancy risking my life through using this product
I'll 'write off' the remaining saddle I've got as like Dave P above I don't have a receipt for it, as it looks like the attitude of the Importers 'SILVERFISH' is V poor and i wouldn't get any help from them......
now to find a reputable product which i can trust..... Easton......Thomson maybe
Well, after saying i've had no problems with my i beam post/saddle, guess what happened on the way home 40 mins ago.....post failed in manner described above, i landed in the road on my arse, sort of sitting position i spose, bike carried on up the road for another ten meters until it hit the curb. A nice chap on a scooter behind me, picked up my bike, asked if i was ok and said it was "quite spectacular!".
My back is'nt feeling to clever and i'm thinking a little email to silverfish and sdg wont go amiss.....thomson post me thinks.....
This issue does appear to be exactly that...
..........pops out to garage to check his SDG post and thanks the lord he was riding his Thomson during the cold weather.
always been a Thomson fan, but have fitted an SDG I beam and FX as I got it cheap off my mate. i only wanted it as the saddle is ultra comfy 🙁
KAK !
some things are just worth paying more money for - thomson is just one of those things
And my flat mate has just pointed out that i've shredded the arse on my shorts...they were on their way out anyway but thats not the point really is it, just hope my back does'nt present a problem...
some things are just worth paying more money for - thomson is just one of those things
True, but if you consider the rrp for the i beam, not much in it really, but after singing its praises, it is, now farking shiite....clearly not strong enough (i'm only a little over 9 stone, but have a history of busting posts and saddle rails).
The spare Easton ea50 post and bell air ti rail are on now, have snapped the bolt on the ea50 post twice already, so guess i need some thing more heavy duty to handle my vast bulk. Two bolts for a start...
[i]i'm only a little over 9 stone, but have a history of busting posts and saddle rails).[/i]
I've never broken either, I'm 12 stone.
I've never broken either, I'm 12 stone.
Yeh wierd aye....One friend of mine has been as much as 19 stone and i've known him for 23/4 years or so and he has never ever had this problem, now he just destroys wheels instead, which i've never done...
anybody got a photo of the failure?
i'll see what i can do..beer with me ha ha..
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/7249603@N06/3229639258/ ]bust[/url]
not a great photo but you get the idea
I've got Kore I beam posts and SDG saddles. No issues so far (fingers crossed)
smurf
That insert doesn't look long enough to me.
I'll post photo's of both failures later this evening
This exact thing happened to me on Saturday night at Glentress, split just like the photo that naokfreak posted, and it was in the carpark not even out on the trails.
I took it into the hub and the guys in there said they have never seen one do that, I ended up riding the loop with no saddle.
Are these failures carbon or alu posts?
Mine was alu, would never get a carbon one!
I've scoured the net for further examples of I-Beam seat post failure and this is the only evidence I can find, I wonder if it is confined to a UK batch.
Well I've got a carbon one on order from Alpine, I'm not that worried I've seen all types seat post failures both carbon and Alu, it happens.
Considering the thousands of these they must sell worldwide you'd expect to find more evidence on the net.
I'm guessing it was a rogue batch.
Bum. My post was making an ominous creaking sound last time I was out - time to give it a good check over. Rather than bin a perfectly good saddle, I could get a replacement Kore post - are these ok?
Kore posts have far more layback than SDG posts, that may be an issue for you.
I just wanted to clear some things up on the I-Beam seat posts. I have only had 3 seat posts come back for warranty and for some odd reason they are all from the UK for the same problem. I've had them analyzed through our manufacturer and the results came back as negative for any flaw in the Alloy. We've been making this seat post for a number of years and have only had this problem of late.
All our seat posts must pass CEN Testing Standards in order for us to be able to import the saddle to Europe, so it is very odd for us to see this type of failure. According to the regulations, it must pass a fatigue cycle test of at least 100,000 cycles with the saddle (in this case a metal beam which is offset onto the clamp). I personally have I-Beam's on all but one bike and have never failed a seat post.
The Micro Ally seat post is even stronger, lighter and more adjustable. We also offer the best warranty in the industry as long as you have your proof of purchase.
Regards,
Chris from SDG
What good is a warranty when your in hospital getting a seatpost removed, I'll stick with my Thomson thanks.
Nice comfy saddles btw, havent had reason to fault my bel air.
Thanks for taking the time to post on thread Chris, I'm sure you'll have put some minds at rest (mine at least)
When I've had endura and hope stuff go back, they didn't even ask for proof of purchase, they just sorted the problem; and I keep buying from them. I'm not sure I'd have a seatpost receipt for more than a couple of months of using it.
Chris many thanks for your post, I'm still rather concerned as I had 2 fail in under 1 month both in cold weather conditions
the post which was used on 4 local XC rides is in the post Back to the retailer.
As you've only had 3 others fail in a similar manner would you like the other one back for testing and maybe warrantee replacement?
Opps forgot to add the replacement post that broke after 4 weeks was the The Micro Ally seat post which you describe as being even stronger
Well i have a Micro Ally one, and have ridden it several times this week in sub zero temps, and im a bit of a bloater at the minute. All i can say is im loving it, FX saddle is very comfy, and post/saddle combo is silent, unlike my thomson.
Mate broke his last week on a cilly(ish) night ride. It looked like the bonding failed and then the movement caused the top rear or the post tube to split. It took it back to the LBS he got it from and the changed for another one. I'll tell him about this thread tho'
hmmm, i'm slightly worried about this now...
i have 3 i beam posts - admitidely i'm only using one right now but i planb i plan to use the others again. Can i just ask, the people that have had problems, do you have a history of bending rails etc? I ask as in the 10 years or so i've been riding, i've never bent a a saddle on anything apart from a jump bike...
oh, and is the new fx saddle really that much more comfey than the old bel air type?
Chris - it is nice to see you replying here, it is appreciated.
However, I have a broken seatpost and the importers or being far from helpful! Reason I mention the importers are that I dont have a receipt. They say they have never heard of it happening and yet there are a (relatively small) number of failures being posted on here.
As a company who seem to be interested in their product are you willing to support a customer without a receipt? I am willing to post the post to you so that you can see in person the failure. I am VERY interested because I replaced it with....another SDG I beam.....
Lyons 1st bike was an Rockhopper in '87' with 'U' brake on the chainstay since then I've had one seatpost break in the early '90's a very light USE xc post (a rail carrier cracked and they replaced that out of warantee)
I make that 8 failures just posted on here?
Opps Lyons yes the FX was very comfy but has been returned with the post........ still leaves me with a year old I Fly and bust post in the Garage
hmmm,
i think i'll be keeping a close eye on this... are there any warning signs at all before they fail?
each time saddle just felt 'loose' for a couple of seconds then saddle an insert went backwards before ending up with a jagged edged split tube round by your family jewels............
sounds daunting... ill keep an eye out for that...
so...i wont be tempted by the tintent offers of post and seat for £50 odd
then
To everyone concerned. This is indeed a new issue for us, but rest assured we will do everything to get to the bottom of this matter. We are in the process of obtaining the defective seat posts for evaluation. I will post the findings as soon as I find out.
Just noticed mine has cracks around the front of the post where the rail clamp mounts. Mine is quite an old post, but got used half a dozen times in the lakes over new year, and lived outside in subzero temps for the week I was there.
Chris - do you want me to send you the post?
SDG_Chris
you have not been in contact with me and like I say, the importers just stopped short of being rude (in my opinion).
What process is there for sorting this out?
Sale of goods act? Usually offers more protection than any warrenty and remember your contract is with the shop not the importers.
From the government guidance:[i] Do I have to produce a receipt to claim my rights?
No. In fact the trader doesn't have to give you a receipt in the first place so it would be unfair to say that you had to produce one. However, it might not be unreasonable for the shop to want some proof of purchase, so look to see if you have a cheque stub, bank statement, credit card slip etc., and this should be sufficient.[/i]
So you do not need a receipt to make a claim under the sale of goods act. If you have a faulty part and the shop will not play ball small claims court will only cost you £50ish
SDG_Chris
likewise you have not been in contact with me.
What process is there for sorting this out?
good sh!tstirring TJ.
SDG_Chris is clearly intent on dealing with the issue, how about giving him a chance to do so?
rest assured we will do everything to get to the bottom of this matter
Let's hope that'll be with a saddle still attached 😯
I'll reply tonight, the stuff is stored on my PC at home.
🙂
I agree with Stoners comment about restraint, It's certainly worth giving Chris an opportunity to help, however he still hasn't been in touch, I would have at least expected an email to say that they'd be in touch with a full response after say 10 working day's
Aye - stoner does make a good point but there is nothing like a threat of legal action too concentrate folks minds
The posts split at the rear with the crack running approx 60mm down the post, where the head is bonded into place
This type of failure isn't particular to the I beam clamp, I had a normal post fail in the same way about 3 years ago. A nice loud "crack" followed by a circus ride home on a rotating saddle!
Chalkyslide, I'd agree about the 'failure mode' my concern relates to the robustness of the construction one post failed after approx 12 month's... that I can forgive..... the other failed after 4 local XC rides and it failed on a canal side Sustrans trail which is unforgivable especially for a 'premium' product
Well, I have had no contact from SDG.
I have contacted silverfish and they are still unwilling to do anything.
They have taken exception to my opening statement, so I will clarify:
I stated
"they are a bunch of lying ***"
which I retract.
Whereas I think the accurate statement should be:
STW is not a massive web site and probably only represents a small portion of the MTB community. But upon posting the thread a small number of people reported similar failures. If you extrapolate that out I would guess that you are looking at a reasonable number of failures .
I guess lots of people put it down to usage/age and an isolated incident and just bin it.
What caused alarm bells to ring was when one person had a failure, then mine failed and then his REPLACEMENT failed.
I see that SDG in the states has only a 30 day warranty for manufacturing faults.
Silverfish still are not interested.
This was their original reply:
We see very few warranty returns on the I-Beam seatposts, but we do of course stand behind all of our products and provide one of the best warranty services in the industry; the normal course of action would be that the seatpost would be taken back to the bike shop, who would replace the seatpost (providing it’s a legitimate warranty claim of course) and we wouldn’t even be contacted by the consumer. The issue with your warranty claim is that not only do you not have a proof of purchase (which is always required when making a warranty claim), but you can’t even name the dealer that sold you the product (who you would need to return the seatpost to); this leads to a great deal of ambiguity as to the source of the product, and we are acutely aware that there are a lot of OE SDG grey imports and possibly even counterfeit goods available in the UK which obviously would not be covered under the official UK warranty.
why arent OE "grey" imports covered? Do SDG and other manufacturers sell substandard kit to the OE market? If the parts were sourced within the EU then they have to honour any warranty as we are a single market, and the warranty is provided by the manufacturer not the importer.
And if they are so confident in their products and so customer focussed, why discriminate?
Counterfeit SDG products? Really? "possibly even" is a nice vague get-out. I assume those at SDG could easily identify geniune versus counterfeit if they recalled them all, and if the problem turned out to be fakes then all to the good, a quick press release with ways of identifying them and job done.
I along with everyone else am interested to see how this pans out, but how can SDG Chris say they have taken steps to get the broken posts to them if they havent contacted the people with broken posts (who have been shunned by the importers)?
The internet is the bane of manufacturers claiming innocence, and has been instrumental in some product safety recalls (yamaha R1 throttle sensor, where your 150bhp bikes throttle gets a mind of its own was prompted by US forums). Years ago Manitou tried to tell me theyd never heard of brake arches cracking when dozens of MTBR users had had failures. They eventually replaced it under warranty, despite it being a mail-order former OE bargain.
If I worked for SDG I'd be making efforts to get these posts in, and inviting owners to bypass the importer (or maybe give the importer words of advice). Brits arent as litigious as our friends in the US but they have been made aware of an apparent defect with potentially serious consequences. I wouldnt want to be in their shoes when a failed post pitches someone into a tree or under a car and the unlucky owner takes legal advice.
Don't let them talking about warranty confuse you - your rights under the sale of goods act are unaffected.
After an answer like that from the importers I would be going for them.
Remember your contract is with the person you bought the thing from - not the importers.
Go back to the person you bought the post from after carefully checking your rights under th sale of goods act.
my LBS (Leeds) has sent 3 back this week alone!!!
Its been kept secret but Sam Hill was breaking 1 or more on one practice race/run!!!
Another "well marketed" crap product
"...We see very few warranty returns on the I-Beam seatposts" ... garbage!
Silverfish have a very good point re: imports though - why should they warrant a product that has no provenance as being soemthing they supplied?
It does sound liek they are honouring claims where there is a clear trail of import and supply (via their retailers).
Silverfish may have a point but it's not how to win friends + coments from them and SDG saying that they've had only a couple of failures, don't seem to 'hold water' given the train of emails and peoples experiance......
the question intended in my post was is there a design flaw......SDG & importer seem to imply failures are exceptional... yet experiance here would imply a serious problem exists.
Although SDGChris comments that they have theyre products CEN fatigue tested for 100,000 it makes me want to question the validity of these tests and said certification...... this may mean pursuing this though some other route (i'll be investigating if it should be trading standards or some other UK or EU agency)
Yes i would have liked a replacement for my post which is out of warrantee, i've resolved the replacemnt of the on which was less than 4 Weeeks and XC rides old.......
However I'm very concerned about the safety of this product and nothing I've read has provided any comfort
Doesn't turn up any results other than this thread, which if there was a massive problem and considering the amount of these they must have sold you'd expect it to be all over the WWW.
Would it, that was what I was getting it. My own failure, taken in isolation, resulted in my shrugging my shoulders and just replacing it. It wasn't until I was aware of others failing that caused me to want some action on my old seatpost.
Could some one post some pictures of the failed posts please.
New to this thread but DaveP
Your first port of call should be your LBS or the shop which supplied you the seatpost. Take in your reciept or a bank statement showing the charge etc and they will help you out. You entered into a contract with them when you exchanged the cash for the goods and so your warranty lies with them.
If as you stated
'you not have a proof of purchase (which is always required when making a warranty claim)
and
'you can’t even name the dealer that sold you the product'
That is going to make this harder. Can you really not remember where the post came from???? If it is not that old then surely you must remember buying it?
Counterfit part!!
Why would a company want to 'recall' every product both real and fake!!!! That would cost a massive amount of money. Just think if rolex did it. They would have to go down the market and buy up all the 'genuine' Roolax and Bolex watches they could find!!!!
If the item is within the waranty period, it is a genuine warranty issue, you produce a valid proof of purchase to the store you purchased the item from I do not see how an issue can arrise.
CEN tests are meaningless if a specific production run has a problem, unless theyre claiming they test a post from every batch?
Given how long theyve been around if there is a design problem it would have been more extensively experienced by now, but a manufacturing problem could show up as a spike in time and potentially geography if it only affected a specific batch which had been shipped to one market.
I can certainly name where I purchased my out of warrantee post and the one that failed in under 4 weeks / rides came from a internet retailer in the UK on Silverfishes approved list of suppliers....... the whole purpose of starting this thread was to see if there was a patern or if I'd been genuinely unlucky
As I'd had a search on the web and hadn't seen if any one had asked the question "SDG is there a design Flaw"
KINGTUT - MemberI was going to order a saddle / post combo, I thought the breakage problems with earlier posts had been resolved.
Obviously not, I won't bother now.
I should add that I was mistaken when I posted the above, the early problems were with the saddle snapping not the post.
Any updates? Concerned about my micro I-beam post now!
Yes, nobody every got in contact and nobody offered to sort out my post!
Based on experiences highlighted you only have to be worried in 6+ months time (if you live in the UK)
Without wishing to discount the obvious failures apparent here, how many people own i-beam saddles/posts that have not failed? I do, and I've bent two saddles and a post before I got an i-beam and it's been fine for well over a year.
Saying there are 8 failures in a single thread on a forum does not mean that a product is inherently faulty, what you really need to see is the percentage failure rate in context. If there were only 16 posts sold in total, this would be a 50% fail, but if there were 16,000 then this drops down to 0.05%.
Most people will only ever complain about products and not praise them when asked so any complaints on an internet forum will not necessarily be a true reflection of a product's quality.
I will of course retract the above when I tear myself a new a-hole if mine breaks 😉
I bought a saddle post combo at the time this thread was started, i've used every week since, no problems yet.
[i]Its been kept secret but Sam Hill was breaking 1 or more on one practice race/run!!![/i]
I too carry several posts on every run I do.
I now have a new insight into how rumours spread!
An interesting point from AlasdairMc, I would comment that the manufacturer / importer implied that they’d only had acouple of failures…yet this thread attracted significantly more that they admitted to (maybe they don’t know or don’t log defects?)
I believe the product is inherently flawed and from personal experience would not recommend using them, particularly in cold weather….
I've got 7 bikes in total with varying makes of posts and in over 20yrs mountainbiking only had one other failure (a USE in the early 90's which they replace without any hassle....) compared to 2 SDG ibeams within the space of one month.
Compared using any usual of performance say; time, mileage or longevity or any combo of these; the of the performance of SDG I Beam seatposts has been shocking and I for one will not trust my safety to them
Unless you’ve got Kevlar reinforced shorts then I’d pick another post, or run the risk of having a ragged edged piece of aluminium tube rammed between you internal organs
So no reply from SDG, time for legal action boys, seriously if they have such scant disregard for your safety they do not deserve to be in business.
I think a thread on MTBR might help stir things up.
I've used them for ages on my DH and XC bike, have never had a single problem with them. Have had hours and hours of use and both are still working perfectly. Before getting the SDG's I used Race Face and Thomson posts both of which I broke.
Sam I'd be careful... I certainly won't be using they're posts again.....particularly in cold weather