Catastrophic bike failure

Clever Pun

I was cycling over to clerkenwell last night and as I stamped down to steed up I heard and felt this almighty crack and the crank went a bit wobbly. I stopped and had a look and there was a blo0dy great crack in the bottom bracket... I decided it was early enough and I was close enough to make it to condor. they've taken it in and are going to check it over today. I assume they're just going to give me a new frame? if not I don't know what to do as I certainly don't have £750 lying around

It's a condor squadra and only 18 months old

Anyone else had any really strange breakages like that, any help/reassurances?

meagain

Presumably out of warranty (unless Condor go in for the "lifetime" replacement promise)? Guess you'll have to rely on goodwill. Or a repair at less than 750 quid.
Good luck!

Clever Pun

meagain wrote:

Presumably out of warranty (unless Condor go in for the "lifetime" replacement promise)? Guess you'll have to rely on goodwill. Or a repair at less than 750 quid.
Good luck!

that was flashing through my mind beforehand... the guy was very helpful and said they'd get it sorted... I was a little shook up and my lovely bike was potentially fit for the knackers yard

richardast

Warranty is irrelevant, to some extent.
Would you reasonably expect that failure to happen after 18 months as a result of fair wear and tear? If the answer is, "No", then the bike is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold.
Most manufacturers are pretty good around stuff like this.
Good luck.

onbike 1939

I would say that at 18 months the frame should still be replaced by the retailer. It's not up to the retailer to set an unreasonably short warranty which you have to abide by. A quality frame such as yours, means that it could not have been "of merchantable quality" and as such you have a justifiable claim.

HungryCol

It seems like a fault in the frame unless they can prove that the BB was screwed in too tight/loose or incorrectly. They should give you a new frame no questions IMO.

custom-freak

i agree with hungrycol i would expect them to sort it out gratis a frame failing at 18 months is unacceptable really. keep us posted on the results
Cf

Clever Pun

They just called me and confirmed the frame was faulty and will replace it and have it ready for me tomorrow after work... yey

that really is a weight off my mind

custom-freak

great to hear that real peace of mind knowing they sorted it quickly as my lass has a condor heritage, have fun with the "new" bike

Cf

DavidTQ

Obviously other cyclists have a different view on things but Im actually impressed with a company that replaces something like that after over 12 months without a specific longer warranty period. Top service in my book unless they had a specific 3 year frame warranty or similiar. Better service than Ive experienced in many other fields...

spen666

DavidTQ wrote:

Obviously other cyclists have a different view on things but Im actually impressed with a company that replaces something like that after over 12 months without a specific longer warranty period. Top service in my book unless they had a specific 3 year frame warranty or similiar. Better service than Ive experienced in many other fields...

The warranty is wholly irrelevant here.


A warranty is not the same thing as statutory rights

Nuggs

spen666 wrote:

The warranty is wholly irrelevant here.


A warranty is not the same thing as statutory rights

I disagree - after 18 months anything could have happened. You can't prove that you've treated the bike well, no accidents, no DIY disasters etc.

The Sale of Goods Act does not stipulate a timeframe during which things must last without issue. If it did, the extended warranty market would collapse in a day.

Even in putting together an argument frame was not of satisfactory quality, you still have an evidential burden to satisfy - i.e. that you did not contribute to the frame's demise. I think that's a difficult one to prove, particularly with the timeframe here.

It's just good service.

DavidTQ

spen666 wrote:

DavidTQ wrote:

Obviously other cyclists have a different view on things but Im actually impressed with a company that replaces something like that after over 12 months without a specific longer warranty period. Top service in my book unless they had a specific 3 year frame warranty or similiar. Better service than Ive experienced in many other fields...

The warranty is wholly irrelevant here.


A warranty is not the same thing as statutory rights

No, but many places and market segments would make you take things to court to prove your case after 12 months. Trying to prove that a bike cant break after 18 months of abuse would be hard to prove. Try taking a bike back to halfords or argos after 18 months and telling them the frame is bust, will they replace it? or say its out of warranty its not our problem?

Personally Id rate replacing something thats failed 18 months after purchase as going above and beyond the call of duty...

Car manufacturers can be beggars about stuff even within warranty periods, they can do because even when they are in the wrong they know that so few will take it to court. Is there a court precident set on how long a bike frame should be expected to last??

I think condor there have done more than the minimum legal requirement under statutory rights. Many companies would just say no and leave you to take them to court over the cost of the frame, and be happy enough to rely on fair wear and tear and misuse and abuse... Personally I am impressed by what happened here.

redddraggon

DavidTQ wrote:

Try taking a bike back to halfords or argos after 18 months and telling them the frame is bust, will they replace it? or say its out of warranty its not our problem?

It depends on who you see, how sympathetic they are to you, whether or not they follow their company policy to the letter, and how loud you shout.

When I was at school, at worked on Customer Services at a Woolies store - I'd treat each as a case by case basis.

Some people take the p!ss though, but a bike should last longer than 18 months. IMHO If the frame's paintwork etc is in good condition it probably hasn't failed by abuse or accidental damage - 18months is far too short a lifetime for a bike.

feel

Hi cleverpun,
Is the squadra an alloy frame with carbon forks and stays ? was the damage where the chain stays are bonded on to the alloy BB. Just interested to know precisely where the damage was, cheers Feel.

Clever Pun

feel wrote:

Hi cleverpun,
Is the squadra an alloy frame with carbon forks and stays ? was the damage where the chain stays are bonded on to the alloy BB. Just interested to know precisely where the damage was, cheers Feel.

yep... it was right on the bottom bracket housing the crank (shaft)?, so when I pressed down to pedal the pedal arms flexed sideways essentially

nothing to do with the carbon at all

DavidTQ I agree it's impressive but they're in a position of trying to deliver the utmost quality, if peoples frames break after 18 months of road usage the word will spread and they wont be able to get the pull to sell top end bikes if you see what I mean. Their head tech checked it over and said the frame was faulty so they supplied me with duff goods, so it's their duty to ensure they supply the quality they say they produce.

60 years of shoody is hardly a selling point is it?