% of road bikes that have warranty issues?

Timmyepp
Timmyepp Posts: 48
edited October 2016 in Road buying advice
I am wondering how many people have warranty issues with their new bikes, I am considering a used bike, as new condition, but people keep warning me about the lack of warranty. It's a 2016 Cervelo R5. Is the warranty really worth the $2000 difference in price? I have never had warranty issues in any of my bikes.

Comments

  • bbrap
    bbrap Posts: 610
    Probably a lot less than is perceived. People usually complain about things going wrong not things that are OK. Over the years I've had 20 or more bikes, of those 1 had an issue (paint cracking around the dropout due to flexing). All bikes will need adjustments/tweaking as they bed in but bad manufacture/warranty issues I would bet are relatively few. There will always be the complainant that their 16 spoke wheel should not have buckled like a pringle even though they hit a pothole at 20mph and weigh 25 stones.
    Rose Xeon CDX 3100, Ultegra Di2 disc (nice weather)
    Ribble Gran Fondo, Campagnolo Centaur (winter bike)
    Van Raam 'O' Pair
    Land Rover (really nasty weather :lol: )
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,318
    You'll see lots of warrantly issues on forums because people like to have a moan, you don't see the hundreds/thousands of happy threads because people simply dont post them.
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    I'd just google for Cervelo R5 and see if you're seeing many issues with them - and would they put you off.
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    It comes down to to a couple of questions really - firstly, how heavy/'powerful' a rider are you?

    I'm very much on the heavy side (120kg), arguably on the powerful side, and I've killed 3 of the 4 second hand bikes I've owned (and I've only put 680 miles on the fourth so far). I wouldn't risk it.

    At the same time one of my clubmates who's also on the stronger end of the spectrum but probably more like 85kg has killed two store bought bikes, and both times received upgraded framesets in settlement.

    Still, given you mention that you've never needed the warranty on your new bikes, I'm thinking this concern probably doesn't apply to you.

    So the second question is if the frameset did fail on this cervelo, how annoyed would you be? If you know that you'd be stewing over it for months then perhaps it isn't worth the risk. If you can take it on the chin, and go shopping for a new frameset, fine.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Last 6 bikes I've bought, mine and the boys, never had a warranty issue.

    Only 3 of those were lightweight road bikes though...
  • Timmyepp
    Timmyepp Posts: 48
    I am about 77 kg, fairly strong. I have not found much on google, mostly stuff relating to earlier models, 2011 or so. I think the potential savings might be worth the risk for me.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    The risk is minimal/ low. But still a risk.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • letap73
    letap73 Posts: 1,608
    You said this in the other thread:
    Also, it turns out the friend with the R5 cracked the frame by driving into an underground parking lot with it on his roof, not by riding it...

    If this is the bike you intend to buy then you should not buy this bike. Sloppy is correct in his post above. Both are expensive bikes; one you have more piece of mind if something goes wrong the other is sold as seen. If you think the Cervelo R5 is miles better than the evo and it is not the one you suggested above, by all means buy that, but make sure you inspect the bike properly - after you hand over the cash you have no fall back.
    On ebay last year I saw a 2015 Cervelo R5 RCA - £7000 frameset on sale with Dura ace for circa £3000 without wheels. It is not uncommon for very expensive bikes to be sold for half of their original price after a couple of years.
  • Timmyepp
    Timmyepp Posts: 48
    letap73 wrote:
    You said this in the other thread:
    Also, it turns out the friend with the R5 cracked the frame by driving into an underground parking lot with it on his roof, not by riding it...

    If this is the bike you intend to buy then you should not buy this bike. Sloppy is correct in his post above. Both are expensive bikes; one you have more piece of mind if something goes wrong the other is sold as seen. If you think the Cervelo R5 is miles better than the evo and it is not the one you suggested above, by all means buy that, but make sure you inspect the bike properly - after you hand over the cash you have no fall back.
    On ebay last year I saw a 2015 Cervelo R5 RCA - £7000 frameset on sale with Dura ace for circa £3000 without wheels. It is not uncommon for very expensive bikes to be sold for half of their original price after a couple of years.

    I am not considering buying my friend's bike that had frame damage, when I first posted I did not know what had happened, just saw the pics of his cracked frame

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