I’ve contacted CRC about a warranty issue with my KS Supernatural dropper post

The post is 10 months old and has developed a fault (warranty period is 2 years)

Here is the detail I sent them in the warranty form: –

“The dropper post displays the following issues: –
1. When you sit on the saddle it drops without pressing the remote lever
2. When you then get up off the saddle it returns to full height without pressing the remote

I have disconnected the cable from the actuator to rule this out as being the problem

I’d prefer a repair/replacement of the original post as first choice”

CRC’s response has been: –

“Thanks for getting in contact and I’m sorry to hear you are having issues with your KS seatpost.
Your seatpost is coming up to a year old now and I wanted to check you have performed a full service to rule out a servicing issue. KS provide a great how to video on how to do this. http://www.kssuspension.com/support/

If after servicing the issue is still there then return the post to us for a warranty inspection.

I’d also reconmend to check the condition of the cables as they may be the cause of the issue and may need replaced.”

My expectation is that as the post is clearly faulty it’s a warranty issue which they should resolve.

I don’t feel that I should be asked to service the post myself in order to attempt to fix the issue.

Are my expectations reasonable?

10 months old.  Give it a service, to see if it is faulty or just needs routine maintenance.

How many hours have you used it.

Whats the recommended service interval?

No you shouldn’t have to service it to repair a fault.  That is totally unsatisfactory imo. If it was past the service  time then yes I would suggest you get it serviced

My expectation is that as the post is clearly faulty it’s a warranty issue which they should resolve.

Well have you serviced it and checked the cable? Could that be causing the fault? I had a KS Lev that ended up full of mud that the imported cleaned and sent back with a nice note urging me to clean it before sending for warranty next time 🙂 CRC seem to have been very helpful and polite there, answer their questions first.

Just because a warranty is 2 years doesn’t mean that you can ignore servicing in that period.

No you shouldn’t have to service it to repair a fault.

What if servicing would fix an issue that is not a fault?

No you shouldn’t have to service it to repair a fault.  That is totally unsatisfactory imo. If it was past the service  time then yes I would suggest you get it serviced

are you confusing warranty and service?

Service it, it’s really easy being as KS don’t expect the cartridge to be user serviceable ( it is, just tricky ).

All you do is undo the bottom nut and the top coller, clean and grease it and put it back together. You’re right it won’t fix it, it’ll be air the wrong side of the ifp.

Whilst servicing may fix the problem, the argument made was that one should not expect to have to service a part before it is actually due, and if this is a common issue, service intervals should then be modified and communicated to customers.

Post
should be cleaned and lubricated at least once every 6 months.
Wet or severely dusty conditions will require more frequent
maintenance.

http://www.kssuspension.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/SN-DZ-e10-Crux-all-languages.pdf

You get 100000 mile warranties on some cars but if it’s not serviced you’ll be told to do one if it goes bang.

Just service it and send it back. Unless the seat post has changed since mine, it takes 5 mins.

Go direct to Jungle, they handle ks warranty anyway. They did my Integra twice. No issues.

http://www.jungleproducts.co.uk/warranty/returns/ks/

I’d do the service first as it seems easy.  It might just save you making a claim

You get 100000 mile warranties on some cars but if it’s not serviced you’ll be told to do one if it goes bang.

this is true but if the car fails between services you wouldn’t expect to be told to service it to fix a problem.

I think what they’re trying to do is save you, and possibly them, time and money .

What if they’re reply had been. ” ok so before you send it please check for these common issues. A quick service usually sorts them”

If my telly stopped working and I sent it all back it’d be a bit of a hassle, especially if all I had to do was change the batteries, even though the change wasn’t due for another two months.

this is true but if the car fails between services you wouldn’t expect to be told to service it to fix a problem.

It’s not between services though, it’s overdue a service. He’s gone way past the service date without touching it.

I can see his point …. but i can see theirs too. I’m on their side by a small amount.

I’m with CRC on this. Service is overdue and they’ve made helpful suggestions of what to do before going to the hassle and expense of sending it in.

This has to be better than paying to post it, them getting it open, finding it’s a non warranty job due to lack of servicing and then getting a bill for non warranty labour and return postage.

Just pop the thing open, it’s a dead easy job. If it doesn’t help, then you know it’s a “return to base” but you potentially save yourself a ton of hassle, time and money.

Just tell them you’ve done it already and send it back for a replacement. The chances of a catastrophic failure suddenly permanently rectifying itself because you’ve dismantled the post and put it back together are pretty much zero. If it was being a bit slow going up and down it might be worth it.

It sounds a lot like when BT make you go through a load of pointless rituals before replacing a knackered wifi router!

Whether you keep this post or get a new one on warranty, you will need to learn how to service it at some point. Might as well crack on.

Whether you keep this post or get a new one on warranty, you will need to learn how to service it at some point. Might as well crack on.

Exactly.  You won’t be able to keep sending it in for replacement every time it needs a service or some maintenance.

The Supernatural is a lot like a Reverb, it will be air past the IFP. I’ve totally stripped and rebuilt mine a couple of times and as I mentioned before a user service won’t fix a sinking post and KS do not consider the airspring user serviceable.

However after 11 months it’ll be manky in the bit under the top collar. A warranty guy having a bad day may reject it if it has half of Surrey Hills in it (rightly or wrongly).

All you have to do is loosen slightly the Red, gold or whatever colour collar it is at the top whilst its clamped in the bike.

Remove the post from the bike, undo the blue nut and washer at the bottom.

Undo the collar and slide the outer part off (being careful not to drop the brass keys).

Clean the Sand/Grease/Badgers poo off.

Most dropper posts are similar.

Re-grease, do it back up and send it off for warranty.

Thanks for all the advice everyone – quick update on the outcome

In the end I took the advice of zerolight and sent it to Jungle (spoke with them on the phone and they advised me to send it in)

Turns out they don’t deal with warranty issues for CRC (I wasn’t asked where I bought it from before sending it in) so they just sent it on to CRC (Jungle were very helpful)

CRC attempted to fix the post but were unsuccessful, so refunded me in gift vouchers