Sram disappointment

sancho_panza

Sram Force:

Just out of warranty - a shade over two years old, gentle shifting on the front mech lever and "snap", the paddle shifter mechanism breaks and the damn thing falls off. Not replaceable as the whole hinge system has sheared off from the inside.

Always serviced professionally, well looked after but never quite felt right - certainly never as positive as my eight year old Veloce levers.

So I now have to fork out for a new lever - the whole thing. That's a massive wedge of cash poured straight down the gutter.

Sadly I don't have the opportunity to change as it's not compatible with any other groupset.

So if anyone is reading this and is wavering about which groupset to choose I'd recommend the Italian one and wish I'd stuck with it.

Absolutely gutted and massively disappointed in Sram Force.

A very annoyed Sancho

dgunthor

seems to be quite a few reports of this on SRAM levers, unlucky, I'd be gutted with an expensive part like that failing.

might find a cheap one on eBay though if someones RHS lever has done the same

sancho_panza

Looked on eBay - only see pairs available, or singles at high cost. Will cost me 250 swiss francs for the lever - from LBS. Better to buy from my local guy so at least if it happens again it'll be easy to sort out if it's within two years.

Yes, I have looked about on forums for similar issues and it seems I am not alone. I was quietly hoping Sram would capitulate but then warranties are warranties and I guess a manufacturer has to draw the line somewhere.

Those same forums suggest the problem has been ironed out though, so maybe I'll be a happy Sram user from now on...

At least it'll now be ready for my trip to Mont Ventoux tomorrow afternoon!

heez29

Have you contacted the supplier direct or the place you bought it from. IME Fisher UK will occasionally do stuff like this out of warranty as it is relatively common. Example, 4 months ago a gentleman had his Rival LH shifter go pop and it was 3 months out of warranty. He spoke with them directly and got a replacement FOC he just had to come into the shop and let us send it away.

Scrumple

Warranties are just extras - the Sale of Goods Act means that the item has to be fit for purpose.

Don't get hung up on warranty durations, as they are a side show. Simply, if the item isn't fit for purpose they have to replace it. You just need to show it was not right as opposed to knocked or damaged by you.

If you put as much effort into talking politely to the store / distributor I think you'd be far better off. Quit whining here and do something about it.

And thanks for your advice about avoiding SRAM. Which I am going to ignore as I'm an adult and don't need you to sway me with an isolated issue from a huge company with excellent pedigree.

sancho_panza

Scrumple wrote:

Warranties are just extras - the Sale of Goods Act means that the item has to be fit for purpose.

thanks for the advice - live in Switzerland though and things are a little different in some areas. Didn't buy the bike in the UK.

Scrumple wrote:

. You just need to show it was not right as opposed to knocked or damaged by you.

It does have some crash damage unfortunately; scuffed from a fall. Although about eighteen months ago it couldn't be said with certainty that the two incidents are unrelated - though I cannot see how they are.

Scrumple wrote:

If you put as much effort into talking politely to the store / distributor I think you'd be far better off. Quit whining here and do something about it.

You what!? Errr, not that it's any concern of yours matey, but the guy who owns the shop runs the club I ride with.Don't know where you get that notion from. I imagine your rudeness is just a show for the internet and you're probably a nice guy.

And regarding Sram - a little look around and it appears as though this isn't an isolated problem. That was my point, no?

However, from what I can gather, it's one related to Rival and Force '09 to '11. So you're OK with Red on your Wilier!

Happy riding

racingcondor

SRAM do have a reputation for dealing with this problem well though even with shifters that are beyond warranty. You may have some luck contacting them. I had the same problem but in my case it was down to poor installation by me (cable tension so high you could play a tune on it) so I swallowed the cost.

Every manufacturer makes mistakes occasionally (anyone remember Shimano's quick link), what matters is how they respond to it and it has to be said all 3 group set manufacturers seem to do the right thing.

robbo2011

This place is pretty decent:

http://www.bike-import.ch/katalog/446/0/sram/

Though if you get it fitted by the LBS for CHF250 then its worth having him do it I'd have thought

smidsy

I think 2 years of use constitutes fit for purpose - don't you!