Shimano Ultegra Hollowtech Crankset Failure - Shimano refusing to help

MattFalle

trevor.hall12 said:

MattFalle said:

trevor.hall12 said:

MattFalle said:

UnhappyPappy said:

MattFalle said:

Its not Canyon's problem - the parts are out of warranty.

This is true. It's not Canyon's problem. I've acknowledged as much with Canyon in my correspondence with them.

That said, since this incident I've really soured on Canyon. Canyon are of course more affordable because they don't have any physical stores. The absence of physical stores means they don't have to deal with customers directly. I'm quite confident that if I had bought this bike at my LBS, my LBS would be a lot more sympathetic and would try to do more than what Canyon has done. (FWIW, I did try to get my last road bike at my LBS, but I need at 60cm frame, which are very difficult to find in Japan. So LBS said I would be better off trying somewhere else.)

Canyon is also a huge customer for Shimano, and they could very easily pressurize Shimano to do something by threatening to take their business - even just a fraction of it - elsewhere. If I were a bike manufacturer and I had found out one of my suppliers had been sending me substandard components, I would not be pleased. Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I haven't heard of any bike manufacturers demanding corrective action from Shimano.

And yes - it is out of warranty. But Shimano have acknowledged that there is a fault with this line (the Canyon rep I'm dealing with has said that Shimano has admitted as much in their correspondence with him), and have not - to the best of my knowledge - actively alerted consumers. This is why I think I'm entitled to some sort of compensation beyond the warranty period.

No you're not. Its out of warranty.

You can bang on all you want about Canyon but its not their problem.

They are not going to withdraw any parts purchases over your crankset.

No bike manufacturer is going to do that over one model of an Ultegra crankset that a) isn't very good b) is a disposable item c) is now out of date anyway.

Your LBS would have done exactly the same as Canyon - the parts are out of warranty.

Take what remains of it off, sling it in the bin and buy something decent.

You could argue
The chainrings are disposable but the crank isn't.

Yeah it is. Its a cheap metal pressed and glued together thang designed to last a couple of years so people buy the next generation.

Its a club level/commuting groupset at the end of yhe day.

I guess they shouldn't bother making the chainrings for when they wear out too ,seems pointless .

Well given the price they charge and its cheaper to buy a far better crankset that doesn't fall apart, anyone with any nous doesn't so you're correct.

Ben6899

Just chiming in that I think 7900 and the equivalent Ultegra are the last Shimano “top of the range” cranksets to be forged and not moulded. After that, they’re moulded from two parts.

@UnhappyPappy what did you fit as a replacement?

MattFalle

Ben6899 said:

Just chiming in that I think 7900 and the equivalent Ultegra are the last Shimano “top of the range” cranksets to be forged and not moulded. After that, they’re moulded from two parts.

@UnhappyPappy what did you fit as a replacement?

He didn't - he had it repaired but hasn't confirmed what they did.

First.Aspect

MattFalle said:

Ben6899 said:

Just chiming in that I think 7900 and the equivalent Ultegra are the last Shimano “top of the range” cranksets to be forged and not moulded. After that, they’re moulded from two parts.

@UnhappyPappy what did you fit as a replacement?

He didn't - he had it repaired but hasn't confirmed what they did.

I don't see how he can have had them repaired. The end of the forged part, the bit the pedal screws into, snapped off. Even if the shell was somehow glued back on, it is still going to be broken.

MattFalle

First.Aspect said:

MattFalle said:

Ben6899 said:

Just chiming in that I think 7900 and the equivalent Ultegra are the last Shimano “top of the range” cranksets to be forged and not moulded. After that, they’re moulded from two parts.

@UnhappyPappy what did you fit as a replacement?

He didn't - he had it repaired but hasn't confirmed what they did.

I don't see how he can have had them repaired. The end of the forged part, the bit the pedal screws into, snapped off. Even if the shell was somehow glued back on, it is still going to be broken.

His words not mine! I think in his last or second to last post above.

I can't see how either which is why i asked how it had been done

MattFalle

UnhappyPappy said:

MattFalle said:

Tbh, the time he's taken to write his posts he could have sourced and fitted a new crankset thatisn't made i
Of cheeseand gone for a ride.

As is his broken bike is still sitting there as he sources Counsel to proceed with his legal action.

#bizarre
#crankgate
#waftycrank

Had the crank repaired some time ago. And what I choose to do in my free time is my concern, thank you.

Here

pangolin

MattFalle said:

First.Aspect said:

MattFalle said:

Ben6899 said:

Just chiming in that I think 7900 and the equivalent Ultegra are the last Shimano “top of the range” cranksets to be forged and not moulded. After that, they’re moulded from two parts.

@UnhappyPappy what did you fit as a replacement?

He didn't - he had it repaired but hasn't confirmed what they did.

I don't see how he can have had them repaired. The end of the forged part, the bit the pedal screws into, snapped off. Even if the shell was somehow glued back on, it is still going to be broken.

His words not mine! I think in his last or second to last post above.

I can't see how either which is why i asked how it had been done

MattFalle

trevor.hall12

So ,the op complained about shimanos crank falling apart and the safety repercussions ,then goes and does what is possibly the most rediculous unsafe thing to try and repair it ?
That thing needed binned,it cannot be safe at all .

MattFalle

Well we don't know how the guy he paid to repair it reapired it - he may have been a metallurgic genius.

But we doubt it.

Tbh, if he did repair it he probably slopped a load of Araldite in there and stuck it in a vice until it set.

DeVlaeminck

I'm assuming he meant he's had the bike repaired with a new crank - but yeah if he's actually the same thing glued back together good luck.

sw19carpenters

I've got 2 bikes with clarus cranks .....are they the same production method?

First.Aspect

sw19carpenters said:

I've got 2 bikes with clarus cranks .....are they the same production method?

No, they will be fine.

Munsford0

If you really have Clarus cranks who knows? Claris on the other hand is likely a good old solid chunk of metal.

sw19carpenters

What about 2014 era tiagra?

pangolin

.

sw19carpenters said:

What about 2014 era tiagra?

Definitely bin that

MattFalle

I heard that Tony the Tiger cranks are grrrreeeeaaat.

Munsford0

sw19carpenters said:

What about 2014 era tiagra?

I have slightly older Tiagra and also a Tiagra level CX chainset, they look / feel forged and solid as far as I 'm aware.

Munsford0

pangolin said:

.

sw19carpenters said:

What about 2014 era tiagra?

Definitely bin that

I did; I have a standard 53/39 Tiagra chainset in my spares bin...

davep1

I used to think posting a problem on a forum might get you some help. Most of you lot seem like a bunch of smart arse keyboard warriors.
I had exactly the same problem with my 6800 Ultegra cranks a few years ago;
they were at least 6 months outside the 2 year warranty. I eventually got a replacement from Madison, the UK distributor as a gesture of goodwill.
How anyone can regard Ultegra as throwaway/disposable, is beyond me; I like to think things should last longer than 5 minutes.

First.Aspect

davep1 said:

I used to think posting a problem on a forum might get you some help. Most of you lot seem like a bunch of smart censored keyboard warriors.
I had exactly the same problem with my 6800 Ultegra cranks a few years ago;
they were at least 6 months outside the 2 year warranty. I eventually got a replacement from Madison, the UK distributor as a gesture of goodwill.
How anyone can regard Ultegra as throwaway/disposable, is beyond me; I like to think things should last longer than 5 minutes.

Sorry who is the keyboard warrior?
There is no help to be had here, other than chalk it down to experience and don't buy those cranks again. 4 years is well beyond when any vendor or manufacturer is likely to do anything. So it would not be good advice to encourage the OP to continue to whip himself into a foam. Also not good to advise continued use of any repaired part. What am I missing?

MattFalle

Ultegra is also seen as a good choice for club racing (especially crits) and communting as when you smash it to bits its functional, easy to replace, not particularly light nor heavy, not made of great materials nor bad ones, a bit bland aesthetically so goes with anything and easy to ship on when each model of Ultegra goes out of date and is superceded each couple of years by a newer version of the same said aforementioned.

It neither tugs the heart strings nor overly repels.

It doesn't work brilliantly, it doesn't work rubbish.

It doesn't wear out overly quickly but doesn't last particularly long.

No one will ever get a stiffie over Ultegra.

Even Shimano class it as disposable. Buy it. Smash it up/up or wear it out pretty quickly. Chuck it away.

You'll never, ever see someone scouring around for Ultegra for their dream build.

Its just nothing special, and taken into account with the above, disposable.

Certain parts of it also fall apart really easily as we have seen from this thread and quite a few others (8000 shifters, anyone?)

It is, however, overpriced for what it is, which is why people behold it.

UnhappyPappy

DeVlaeminck said:

I'm assuming he meant he's had the bike repaired with a new crank - but yeah if he's actually the same thing glued back together good luck.

Yes, the part was replaced, the bike was repaired.

Yikes. Some people are much too literal.

MattFalle

So you're hassling and slagging off Canyon, who's fault this isn't, who have no responsibility for the parts and who have wasted their time listening to you, about a well out of warranty disposable not very good bicycle part that you've replaced and that you couldn't be bothered contacting Shimano for although you are in the same country as they are?

Fair play for being a chancer, nil points for the attitude.

dennisn

UnhappyPappy said:

It sometimes feels like I’m late in realizing this, but I recently found out the hard way how dangerous Ultegra 6800 Hollowtech cranksets are.

Four years ago I bought a Canyon road bike with Ultegra components. While I was going up a hill a few weeks ago, the drivetrain crankarm suddenly began to separate from the main assembly.





Fortunately, I was seated at the time and was able to maintain control of my bicycle, but I shudder to think what could have happened if I had been in traffic and out of the saddle when my crankset failed.

Every bicycle I have ever owned has had Shimano parts. For my current bicycle I spent significantly more to upgrade to Ultegra components, as I felt Ultegra had a reputation for durability and reliability. I appreciate that even the best components age and will need to be replaced eventually, but there’s no way that a crankset failure like this can be attributed to normal wear and tear, considering that I’ve only ridden my bike an average of 120 miles a month. In my opinion, only a manufacturing flaw could explain this failure.

I have contacted Canyon’s representatives in my country in regards to this issue, but they refuse to help me. They have stated that this is not their concern, as the bicycle is outside the warranty period and the components are not their responsibility. I have asked them to merely give me contact information for Shimano so that I can handle the situation myself. Canyon has refused to do even this. They claim they have reported this to Shimano, and Shimano has decided that my case doesn't warrant issuing a replacement crankset. Needless to say, I am very unhappy with their response. I had been planning on buying a new Canyon next year, but now I think I’ll spend a few extra quid for a buy from a LBS that actually cares about its customers.

If I could contact Shimano directly, I would happily plead my case with them directly. But Shimano's website has no way to contact information, and merely says that for warranty issues we should go back to the place of purchase. As mentioned, I've tried that - to no avail.

I originally thought that this incident was just a freak occurrence, but a quick search on the internet revealed that this is a fairly widespread problem. Bikeradar has done an article on it, and there’s an Instagram account devoted mainly to pictures of Ultegra crankset failures. As I write this, there are 437 posts on this account.

I’ve heard rumors that not too long ago Shimano would quietly replace failed cranksets – even those that were past the warranty period. But now Shimano seems utterly uninterested in helping customers affected by its flawed products. I’m really disgusted by this attitude, and in the future will be patronizing their competitors.

So is it just me, or do other people also think that Shimano is currently not the company it used to be?

I don't think you have a "case" to plead. Your crank was 4 years old. Things break. Nothing last forever. You have 2 choices, you can let this eat at you or you can simply buy another crankset and forget about it. Plenty of other crankset brands out there, pick one and get on with it.

UnhappyPappy

Shimano recalls 760,000 Hollowtech road cranks due to 4,519 incidents of ‘separation or delamination’

Shimano crank recall: Shimano finally announces 11-speed Hollowtech II crankset recall

Shimano recalls 760,000 Hollowtech road cranks after receiving 4,500 incident reports

Shimano to recall 760,000 Ultegra and Dura-Ace cranksets due to risk of failure

Please tell me now why you still think I'm being unreasonable for asking Shimano to replace my defective crankset.

I'm all ears.

plymouthsteve

Good point. This is your moment