SRAM Rival rear mech major failure

dg74
dg74 Posts: 656
edited August 2011 in Workshop
Have this on my Boardman Carbon and tonight the rear mech sheared off the bike completely smashing into the rear wheel and breaking spokes.

The bike is less than a year old so the components SHOULD be in top condition but this has really annoyed me. I've taken photos,etc of the mess (as it is a total mess) and have emailed Boardman via Halfords to see what the outcome should be but I won't hold my breath.

Anyone got any ideas of what I could do/what route tot take as this is my first 'proper' road bike and I cannot afford to pay for the damage at the moment.

Thanks

Comments

  • marin_maniac
    marin_maniac Posts: 513
    :shock:

    Sorry to hear about your situation.

    I'm pretty sure you've got a years warranty so shoulld be ok.

    Where did the mech shear off from. Was it the mch hanger?
  • Barteos
    Barteos Posts: 657
    In a most common scenario you accidentally and unknowingly bend the derailleur hanger first (minor fall or impact, storage etc).
    Then on the first hard climb that you ride on the lowest gear (largest sprocket) the mech gets caught in the spokes causing mayhem...
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    :shock:

    Sorry to hear about your situation.

    I'm pretty sure you've got a years warranty so shoulld be ok.

    Where did the mech shear off from. Was it the mch hanger?

    Yeah its from the hanger. It's actually left some of the mech attached to the frame so the carbon hasn't been compromised thankfully.

    The mech is a complete mess, I'm really surprised at sram being so weak in this instance.
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    Barteos wrote:
    In a most common scenario you accidentally and unknowingly bend the derailleur hanger first (minor fall or impact, storage etc).
    Then on the first hard climb that you ride on the lowest gear (largest sprocket) the mech gets caught in the spokes causing mayhem...

    Except this happened on a flat road with witnesses to back this up...
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    dg74 wrote:
    Barteos wrote:
    In a most common scenario you accidentally and unknowingly bend the derailleur hanger first (minor fall or impact, storage etc).
    Then on the first hard climb that you ride on the lowest gear (largest sprocket) the mech gets caught in the spokes causing mayhem...

    Except this happened on a flat road with witnesses to back this up...

    I'm sort of in agreement with "Barteos". I know you want to blame Sram but that doesn't
    mean that Sram is at fault here. "Barteos" bent hanger is a good starting point, although hard to prove now. Could YOU have somehow bent this hanger? Or another possibility
    is a badly dished rear wheel. I'm not saying that the rear mech didn't fail but there are more than a few other things that can cause this to happen. A "BAD" rear mech is only one thing that it could be.
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    dennisn wrote:
    dg74 wrote:
    Barteos wrote:
    In a most common scenario you accidentally and unknowingly bend the derailleur hanger first (minor fall or impact, storage etc).
    Then on the first hard climb that you ride on the lowest gear (largest sprocket) the mech gets caught in the spokes causing mayhem...

    Except this happened on a flat road with witnesses to back this up...

    I'm sort of in agreement with "Barteos". I know you want to blame Sram but that doesn't
    mean that Sram is at fault here. "Barteos" bent hanger is a good starting point, although hard to prove now. Could YOU have somehow bent this hanger? Or another possibility
    is a badly dished rear wheel. I'm not saying that the rear mech didn't fail but there are more than a few other things that can cause this to happen. A "BAD" rear mech is only one thing that it could be.

    Ok last night I was very angry and raw at what happened.

    Looking at the bike this morning (fresh eyes, etc) I can see there is a lot more damage than first thought! The part of the frame where the rear mech bolts on to is out by around 1-2mm so I think this frame may now be a write off - I hope I'm wrong.

    I can state though that I have not dropped nor done any damage to this bike myself (as is being alluded to). It's my only bike! I love it so why would I go out of my way to try to damage it when I know I haven't got another - I've spent enough on this as it is without damaging it. I did have the rear wheel true'd last week as the spokes were loose, which is common with these wheels (Ritchey DS Pro) so I'm led to believe, at the lbs. The mechanic said the bike was spot on after I asked him to check it all over at the same time.

    I'm not blaming sram 100%, there has to be a %age of operator error but when I'm just changing gear on the flat and the mech gets pulled into the spokes, I'm at a loss for explanation. Anyway, it's happened, it needs repairing and hopefully Halfords will come good and honour the 2 year frame and parts warranty.

    Here's the pics

    http://imageshack.us/g/851/imag0056a.jpg/
  • So your mech hanger has sheared off!!

    That part would almost certainly not be made by SRAM.

    This happen whilst riding on the flat. Where you changing gear at the time?

    The mech hangars are designed to break in the event of an accident to save the integrity o te frame, but I've never heard of one just shearing off.
This discussion has been closed.