Bicycle Mechanics - Frame snapped

Hi. I have had a bike - Concept fastback 26in - for exactly a year today. As I was cyclying home today, the frame just snapped and the bike was un-rideable. I dont do any sort of rough jumps at all. The only things I evr do is going off kerbs pretty fast and stuff but I dont think that would be enough to break the frame.
Anyway- does anyone know if this is common with Concept bicycles. Are they actually a reputable make or are they pretty bad?

Where did it snap?

Im not too familiar with the terminology but the bike is dual suspension and it snapped about half way down the frame- middle of the bike.

That should be a warranty issue... go the the LBS where you bought it.

There was a year warranty on it apparantley, I rang the guy at the shop I bought it from today, which is exactly a year since I bought it. It was too late to bring it over to them so Im bringing it tomorrow. I think hes gonna send it back to the company.

A year ago, my downtube broke on my 1980 Univega road bike. It broke right where two pieces were butted together. I took the frame to a local machine shop, and they did a beautiful job welding it back together, and it only cost me $15. It's a smooth weld, with no ragged edges. It has been fine ever since. I went to Walmart and bought a can of spray paint to cover where they welded. The match isn't perfect, but it's close. Since the frame was welded, I have around 600 miles on it, with no problems.

A year ago, my downtube broke on my 1980 Univega road bike. It broke right where two pieces were butted together. I took the frame to a local machine shop, and they did a beautiful job welding it back together, and it only cost me $15. It's a smooth weld, with no ragged edges. It has been fine ever since. I went to Walmart and bought a can of spray paint to cover where they welded. The match isn't perfect, but it's close. Since the frame was welded, I have around 600 miles on it, with no problems.

I get your picture, but it is smart to do it on a one year old bike that snapped... god knows what else will snap on that bike... fork? chainstay? maybe the brakes die? On a 25 year old bike, ok, fatigue not a bad ex, but his bike... one year... uhu, get a new frame on warranty mate. Throw the other in the dumpster unless the LBS want it to send it back to the manufacturer.

I brought it back today and they said they are going to send it back to the manufacturer to find out what went wrong. The man at the shop said he could do a deal with us and trade in that bike for another as partial payment. - I know this is a little off topic but- If i were getting a nbew one for a reasonable price, with front suspensions what would you recommend? They stock plenty of Trek bikes and I might go for one of those.

Here is an image of the bike

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/to-binman/bike.jpg

I brought it back today and they said they are going to send it back to the manufacturer to find out what went wrong. The man at the shop said he could do a deal with us and trade in that bike for another as partial payment. - I know this is a little off topic but- If i were getting a nbew one for a reasonable price, with front suspensions what would you recommend? They stock plenty of Trek bikes and I might go for one of those.

Get a Trek if you ride a wreck. The bike doesn't look very HQ...and it snapped. If they give you a trade value, that might be way better than replacing that frame. Get a new bike.

I am hoping to get a new bike, and I want a proper one for mountain biking that wont break like this one did.
Are proper mountain bike frames, such as ones on Trek bikes, able to take a lot of strain without breaking like this one?

I wouldn't reward the dealer that sold me that and didn't stand behind it by buying another bike from him. That frame should be replaced free of charge, IMHO.

Perhaps you are right but I would more so blame the manufacturer- I doubt it was predictable that the bike would break in this way. I also think I am getting the frame for free, the warranty covers it as far as I know.

That bike isn't very high quality, like someone else said. I'm not surprised it would break there.

Wow! See if you can get it replaced for free, and then try selling it. Dont spend any more money on that.

Get yourself a hardrock or something.

I dont intend on spending any more money on it :D I was going to get it back then trade it in against a new one.

@ operator : I knew it wasnt HQ when I got it but I only needed it for cycling on the road. I never treated the bike rough or anything apart from maybe one or two isolated incidents...

From the photo, the failure started at the weld. The crack grew through the tubing until the stress caused the total failure. I suspect on a close visual inspection, the crack would have shown up before the failure. Aluminum cracks easier than the other bicycle materials, so if you have a aluminum frame and/or parts, start inspecting.

Most, if not all, Trek frames have a lifetime warrenty. In December, my 9.5 year old Trek Y33 (carbon body, aluminum rear triagle) developed a crack from the bottom bracket weld in the rear triangle. The stress from that crack started 2 more cracks in the chain stay. I spotted the cracks after washing and then doing a visual inspection, just because the rear felt slightly loose.

Trek offered to replace the rear triangle for free, I asked about the charge on a frame upgrade (I was concerned the bushings would go out soon on the suspension joint of the Y33) and Trek offered an $1800 Elite 9.8 frame for $700. Sweet deal, I took the Elite 9.8 frame (one of the first off the production line and the first one in Hawaii) and it rides great.

By the way, the original aluminum handle bar broke off at a stop light 3 months later.

So I suggest you ask about the lifetime warrenty for mid or even low priced Treks.

I agree that the LBS should replace the frame for free, but if they do give a really good deal on a Trek, I would strongly consider it.

Thanks :)

I had not noticed any cracks bafore hand but you are more than likely correct in saying that there may have been some. I had checked the frame a while before that and it was ok so it must have been a recent development.

I will ask about the Trek bikes as they seem to be one of the most popluar/reliable mountain bikes available, so thanks for your help ;)