thoughts on this - possible crack in Boardman frame?

stiscooby

I have a Boardman Comp that I got nearly two years ago and recently noticed what I believe to be a possible crack along one of the welds (it also looks like at some point there may have been an attempt to cover it up as it seems to have paint over it that doesn’t quite match the paint on the rest of the frame?).

I called my local Halfords where I got the bike from and am planning to take it in for them to take a look at on Monday, as the person I spoke to suggested it would be better to have it looked at during the week as one of the mechanics will be there as well as the relevant manager etc.

Fair enough, I will see what they say but thought I would get some opinions from people on here too. The bike has hardly been used since I got it to be honest, for one reason or another, haven’t even got it wet yet! Lol In the next week or two it will go over being two years old so want to get it looked at before it’s out of the frame warranty.

My only thoughts are that they might say “oh, that’s ok mate, nothing to worry about” etc and I can’t really prove it’s a crack or not, although does look like a crack to me, then have problems later on down the line if it gets worse (as I am going to make an effort and actually use it this year!!). As it happens I also have some extension tubes for my camera so I am able to take some reasonably close up pics to get a good idea as possible.

Thoughts?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CSkS1tbMXka3hDZXRlTElRZTA/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CSkS1tbMXkLU5qV2Y3dmRWNnc/view?usp=sharing


Also forgot to mention its located where the chain stay joins the bottom bracket/crank, not the best pic but just idea of location:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CSkS1tbMXkSUtlbUNmS0dxZ00/view?usp=sharing

Herdwick

Well a magnaflux spray kit will tell for sure, if you know a mechanic ask him kindly to use his, most mechanics used it to detect cracks on cylinder heads and engine blocks.
Easy to clean no damage to the paint.

Or visit a diy store.
From what I can see it's a crack...

ilovedirt

Looks very much like a crack to me.

rockmonkeysc

I think it may be just the paint. It's an odd place to fail. Also the discolouration of the paint suggests that moisture has been getting under it.
Magnaflux type crack detection kits need to be used on bare metal, they work on capillary action so will show a crack or flake in the paint the same as a crack in metal.

Herdwick

Oh yea, sorry, need to scrub the paint off from the point you want to check.

welds is a common spot for cracks, heat and distortion of welding prosses and/or contamination is the main cause of weak welds and failure is inevitable, not stress per se

stiscooby

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I think it may be just the paint. It's an odd place to fail. Also the discolouration of the paint suggests that moisture has been getting under it.
Magnaflux type crack detection kits need to be used on bare metal, they work on capillary action so will show a crack or flake in the paint the same as a crack in metal.

I don't think there has ever been any moisture on the bike to discolour the paint. I think it's just the case that it has been touched up at some point with paint that is a slight different colour?

I guess I will see what they say when I take it in. I just don't want to be fobbed off by some halfrauds monkey.

cooldad

Way to go insulting them before you've even taken it in.

Manc33

That frame came from Halford's with that touched up paint already on the frame?

foy

Afraid it looks like a crack to me, i have heard this many times with boardman frames, maybe that is why you only get a 2 year warranty, that hardly fills you with confidence does it. I am prettty sure that halfords will sort you out with a new frame.

benpinnick

Crack or crap paint it's no different. You have I believe a two year paint and frame warranty, so send it back for crap paint if they won't accept its cracked.

The Rookie

It does look like it could be just a crack in the paint and the. Water getting under it and lifting the surrounding paint, if could be a crack in the frame, either should be covered by warranty.

rockmonkeysc

foy wrote:

Afraid it looks like a crack to me, i have heard this many times with boardman frames, maybe that is why you only get a 2 year warranty, that hardly fills you with confidence does it. I am prettty sure that halfords will sort you out with a new frame.

A two year warranty is plenty. The warranty covers manufacturing and materials defects, they will fail well under two years if they are going to fail.
Commencal give a six month warranty on the downhill bike and that excludes downhill, freeride or racing! So they effectively don't give any warranty.

stiscooby

cooldad wrote:

Way to go insulting them before you've even taken it in.

Well, I might have been a bit harsh but the guy I spoke to on the phone didn't give me much confidence. I will soon find out I guess.

stiscooby

Manc33 wrote:

That frame came from Halford's with that touched up paint already on the frame?

It must have done... I got it from them new and I have never put anything on it. Hardly used the bike so never noticed it until fiddling with it recently.

With regards to water getting under the paint, don't think that's the case as the bike has never been wet due to lack of use :shock: and when you see the paint for real, as the pics might make it look a bit different, you can see it's been brushed on.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Commencal give a six month warranty on the downhill bike and that excludes downhill...

Do they actually sell it, expressly, as a 'downhill' bike and then exclude downhill in the terms?

wide phil

I had a similar crack ,only near seat post on my Boardman hybrid comp. Halfords, in fairness, changed the frame straight away. I then outed the bike with a new frame.Had a terrible time owning a Boardman.... never again !!

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Commencal give a six month warranty on the downhill bike and that excludes downhill...

Do they actually sell it, expressly, as a 'downhill' bike and then exclude downhill in the terms?

Yep, I was going to buy one until someone advised me to look at the warranty terms. It was the Supreme DH, so yes, it's sold as a downhill bike and marketed as a DH race bike. Norco give a two year warranty on the Aurum and exclude downhill and freeride. I haven't looked at them recently, this was in late 2012 when I bought my Scalp.

Manc33

"Swap it and give me a holiday in France around July while we're at it, or there'll be headlines!"

oxocube1

As a Halfords Technician, I advise against going in 'all guns blazing'. Be as nice and as courteous as possible and they will be the same in return. The decision of what to do lies with the in-store team, it does not go to Head Office/a warranty department.

Just a heads up; The model has changed in looks slightly since you bought your bike, so if they do decide to replace the frame, it will be the current model (white and blue).

neiltb

looks like a crappy weld opposed to a crack, should be able to convince them of a manufacturing defect.

stiscooby

Well, went up there this eve with the bike..... the guy in the bike dept had a look, didn't think its a crack but also got the store manager to take a look too and basically said they don't think it's a problem, could just be where the weld hasn't quite finished flush on the frame.

I was also told by both people that apparently the Boardman's have a 5 year frame warranty? I mentioned the Boardman web site lists it as 2 but they were adamant they give 5 years so they said if it was to get any worse I have plenty of warranty time left so get back in touch?

The store manager also said, and I think I have been fed a line here, but, the frames sometimes have some kind of resin stuff on them and it could just be that thats come away slightly??? :roll:

So, not sure really where I stand now, give it a while and see if it gets any worse, or maybe take it elsewhere for a second opinion??

foy

No way do boardman give a 5 year warranty ring any halfords and they will tell you the same.

Horton

They fill some of the welds with a filler to give that smooth weld look, but clearly that's not the case on the weld you've taken a pic of... I'd be inclined to ask them to put it in writing that you have a five year warranty on the frame and date it to when you brought it to their attention... There's clearly a crack and as per their terms, it doesn't matter if it's in the frame weld or in the paint so you might want to gently push the fact that you feel a little fobbed off....

batmo

Just a suggestion, but could you use something like this USB microscope to get a picture with a better angle and magnification of the problem area?

stiscooby

Batmo wrote:

Just a suggestion, but could you use something like this USB microscope to get a picture with a better angle and magnification of the problem area?

Thanks for the idea but I have a DSLR camera with some extension tubes (used for 1:1 macro stuff) so thats probably as good as you could get to get good close up pics. Only slight restriction in this instance is the location of the crack and the bars get in the way of the camera lens.

To be honest the guys in the shop didn't seem too interested in the pics as I copied them on my mobile as the issue is much clearer in the pics than looking at it by eye, but he spent a few minutes having a look while using his mobile as a torch :roll:

Manc33

Get the brightest light you can and shine it into the crack, not to take a picture, but just to try to see (trying not to sound too alarming here) the depth of it. Angling the light slowly around will show you. It could just be the paint has "torn" or something, but I'm no expert (as any member here will tell you in 0.01 seconds).

My only worry would be is it stopping me riding the bike? No, but the weather is. :x

rockmonkeysc

You won't be able to tell whether that's a crack or paint no matter what tourch or camera you use. The only way to be sure is to remove the paint around the suspected crack. I doubt that it is a crack to be honest, it's an odd place to fail, that little tie between the chain stays will be very low stressed.
I don't think that's even weld where it's failed, it looks like filler used to improve the look of the weld. I spend a depressing amount of time looking at welds at work and that doesn't look like a natural weld profile.

stiscooby

Well, eventually got a reply from customer services who tell me they give two year warranty so no idea what BS the store manager gave me when I went in to the store?? Their reply....

"Your frame has a 2 year guarantee on it. However, as the fault was present and you have brought it to our attention within that warranty period, then we are still obliged to resolve the issue under warranty. If the problem persists, please return the bike to store and request a resolution".

So I guess I have to take it back again and try and get something sorted.

Even if it's not a crack (not sure how that's really going to be confirmed either way) do I still have grounds to complain and treat it as a paint defect etc, or, am I being too fussy here and making a mountain out of a mole hill?

stiscooby

Had another email from customer services today....

"The Store Manager has advised that the warranty on the frame is in fact 2 years, not 5, but he is happy to warranty it for the next 3 years. He maintains that there isn't a crack in the frame but is happy to replace it if this would restore your confidence in the bike."

So I'm going to call the manager and request a replacement as I don't want any future possible warranty claim problems by having some non standard warranty.

Now the model I have at the moment (Boardman comp) is about two years old and isn't supplied any more. Assuming they can't find one I guess they will replace it with the current model which seems to be the comp ht 650b. How does the spec compare to my old bike?

If it's an option, would now be a time to put extra cash in and get a better model if it's worthwhile?

cooldad

Are they replacing the frame or the bike?

Normally it would just be the frame. Hanging stuff on it might be up to you.

stiscooby

I'm not sure what they are replacing as yet until I have made contact with the manager again.

I was just wondering if it would be worthwhile to consider spec etc should I have a few different options open to me.

Ooh, so they might just replace the frame then and i would have to put it together?? :shock: :?