Riding home tonight when suddenly the rear wheel locks. Rear mech is snapped off just above where it mounts to the frame. Just a twig got jammed in it, not even a big one only a little bit of willow or something.

Bike is only a few months old, would you think I’d get a replacement under warranty?

It was a Sram Rival mech on my Kaffenback. Had been hoping to do a proper long ride on that over Christmas, bummer!

No

Is it the mech or just the (sacrificial) mech hanger that’s broken?

No.

Bike is only a few months old, would you think I’d get a replacement under warranty?

No

Why not? Never had a rear mech break in 20 years of riding. Nearly new one goes after a few months. Should a mech not be able to stand up to a small twig without shearing in two?

Is it the mech or just the (sacrificial) mech hanger that’s broken?

It’s the mech. Really suprised at all the “no’s” just seems like a really weak part to break so easily.

marvincooper – Member
Why not? Never had a rear mech break in 20 years of riding

So you’d agree you were overdue then? Are you absolutely 100% certain that this wasn’t just the final twig in the coffin?

No.

**** happens, you can ask but don’t expect. twig jams the cage, you apply power and it shears, because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean much.

So you’d agree you were overdue then? Are you absolutely 100% certain that this wasn’t just the final twig in the coffin?

This mech is only 4 months old, on a road bike. I’ve had over 10 years out of a mountain bike one and only changed that cos I went 10 seed.

Well I’ll try my luck anyway.

Do you all think it’s OK for a mech to break like that? Or just that I won’t have any joy with a warranty claim?

I was only pootling along on the flat, not much force going through it.

You’d be amazed how much force goes through the drivetrain when it jams – it’s basically trying to stop your whole body weight, and there’s a lot of leverage.

So no – you’ve been unlucky but it’s not a warranty issue.

Bob Hope.
Does’nt matter that it’s only 4 months old.
The fact that your mtb one lasted 10 years has no bearing.
That you were’nt putting ‘much’ force through it matters not one bit.
That you’ve never broken one in 20 years has no relevance.
By all means,ignore the collective opinion of the massive.
But you’ll kick up a fuss,not get anywhere and then (I strongly suspect) slate the seller for ‘terrible customer service’.

Like everyone else. No.

Even a small twig is sufficient to destroy a mech. They are designed for specific forces and this is a large completely different force.

you’ve admitted you got a foreign object stuck in your drivetrain which caused your derailleur to break?

“just riding along” is a term heard everyday in warranty departments across the world, we even call it a “JRA” (I work in the bike industry)

good luck with your warranty claim 🙂

No, but out of interest what type of mech is it? I’ve broken plenty of mechs mainly the cage. Can’t say i’ve ever snapped the top of one. The mech hanger would go before that.

Picture?

Jeez thanks for cheering me up. I am not going to kick up a fuss (though thanks for sharing your strong suspicion) I just thought I’d see what folks thought about the breakage. Personally I think if a part can be broken in this way then it isn’t strong enough. And yes if it was strong enough then maybe the frame would bend, but then that should be strong enough too. IMHO, bikes should be strong enough to survive encounters with twigs. It’s not like I’m putting out much torque here and its not like it’s some lightweight paired to the bone race bike.

But whatever I am clearly in a minority of one. Right laptop off, it’s Guineess time.

Marvin
I’ve got a used rival mech that came with a frame minus the locking nut for the cable. if you fancy a 2nd hand one drop me an email.
cheers paul

Think yourself lucky, mech or dropout is preferable to a swing arm, needed a new one on my asr5 when neither broke, not a warranty claim, if you bumped you new car do you think your could get it fixed for free?

No

I dont think they factor in stick jams when designing road mechs.

Did my XX one 2 weeks after fitting it..

1st mech i had destroyed in about 7 years..

OOOhhhhh…..spendy :0(

No

No.

It was a Sram Rival mech on my Kaffenback. Had been hoping to do a proper long ride on that over Christmas, bummer!

Buy a new one with your Christmas money?

Quite surprised the much went and not the hanger, any pics of where it broke

I thought older Kaffenbacks (not sure about the newer ones) were steel, and therefore wouldn’t have a seperate mech hanger?

edit: Like this:

Speshpaul YGM, cheers

Love this all those nay sayers.

Pretty sure that it will be a warranty job – bikes should be stronger and more break proof. It’s a real shame they are so light and flimsy these days.

A post office pashley is what you need.

I got a mech warrantied once, ages ago – genuine JRA; snapped straight across the body and the casting had a massive bubble in it

Happened to me with an x7 on my then new bike, only a few rides in. The bike shop processed a warranty claim with SRAM but it went nowhere.

SRAM won’t take the risk ad they won’t warrant the workmanship of whoever it is who installed the Mach. They also won’t take the risk from the rider, they have no way to determine if the breakage was caused by the rider or a component fault.

The bike shop certainly isn’t going to take any risk, so the risk flows down to the owner.

Bad luck mate, I guess one mech failure in 20 yrs is good going though.

No ,twig in the mech = hard luck it`s not designed to work with a twig in

It’s not like I’m putting out much torque

but it didn’t snap due to your power output – if it did you might be on for a warranty claim.

i fell off on my head and cracked my helmet, never done that before in 45 years of riding! helmet was only two rides old, i got a concussion, you’d think that helmet after only two rides would be able to take that impact, could i get a warranty replacement?, afterall i was just riding my bike, not racing

got a mech warrantied once, ages ago – genuine JRA; snapped straight across the body and the casting had a massive bubble in it

this is the only way you will realistically be able to claim warranty, look very carefully at where it has failed and look for any imperfections.

i fell off on my head and cracked my helmet, never done that before in 45 years of riding! helmet was only two rides old, i got a concussion, you’d think that helmet after only two rides would be able to take that impact, could i get a warranty replacement?, afterall i was just riding my bike, not racing

A few years ago Specialized replaced my smashed lid after just such an incident (minus the concussion). Not sure if they do this anymore.

No.