Mountain Biking - Warranty Issues

Im talking to Klein and he is convincing me that the bighit frame just wont break. Thing is a day ago he told me that I couldnt get a warranty on it because Im not the original owner. At first I almost dismissed the idea of buyingthe bike but now Im thinking that the bike will most likely not break, at least not within the next couple years.

So Im thinking about what ifs now. What if for some reason I crack the frame? Would a local dealer be able to do anything for me? Possibly contact specialized and get me a discounted frame? Or if I break it, do I basically have a very heavy paperweight??

Just want some extra opinions

For the riding you are talking about it won't break...well it will take a lot...

There are companies that weld aluminum. We have a shp here that does aluminum repairs...but really thats the risk of freeriding...the frame will not likely break and that bike does kickass...:)

Any frame can break (as Mal alluded to). Do you have a good relationship with an LBS? If you do, they can always get a frame warrantied for you - where it was purchased, or who bought it, isn't an issue. If you don't, develop one. Ride often, ride with them and buy stuff at the store.

WOOOOO there Rotifer some of the companies do keep track of where the bike was sold to... if say specialized did decide to track the frame down to where it was purchased they could give the shop a hardtime about warranting it.

Here...think about it like this. It breaks....he goes to have shop(B) warranty it. Specialized calls up, does he have a reciept for the bike? If he doesn't have one from shop(A) where it was originally purchased from, then he's kinda stuck. Shop(B) that he's warranying it at can't make him one, cause it wasn't originally shipped there from specialized, and they'll know that by the serial number on the bike. Now I'm not saying all bike companies do this and that they all ways do it...just a thought and sometimes they do...so most shops wont want to warranty a frame that was not bought at their shop.


But the bighit frame is solid...it's very hard to break them! unless say you crash off of a 30ft drop and land right ontop of the bike...I'd say then it'd break..but otherwise, they make very good bikes, and you shouldn't have an issue!


:beer:

Specialized, from what I here, is realy good about waranty frames. If Klien did not send them a waranty card with his name on it then there is no way the Specialized will know if you are the original buyer or not. So if the frame does go you should be able to get it replaced.

Also, as said before, the frame will hold up to the type of riding you plan on doing. The big Hit is a very sturdy frame. I have 3 friends that ride Big Hits and they are launching off drops 10' to 15' daily and have had their frames for a 2 years. As with them, your bones will probaly break before the frame;)

If you know the original owner, and it does happen to break. Why couldn't you just contact him, and have him submit the warranty. Or say you are him and that you bought it at whatever shop that he bought it at :)

Originally posted by Kev
If you know the original owner, and it does happen to break. Why couldn't you just contact him, and have him submit the warranty. Or say you are him and that you bought it at whatever shop that he bought it at :)

As long as he sends you the reciept it would work...but here's another issue.... I believe Klein99 works at a shop...and if it was an employee purchase...that will make it much more difficult since they do track serial numbers on those!

Dirtbikedude, they would know where the bike was from, because specialized keeps records of what serial numbers where shipped to what shops!! So if they really wanted to they could go back and track the serial number and see that is was sent to a shop in Michigan and not to Washington! So that in would bring them to ask for a reciept for the bike....and that is where you'd run into a problem.

:beer:

As a bike shop employee, I'm not going to jump on the "how to get my bike warrantied" bandwagon.

If you're launching off 10 drops repeatedly on ANY bike, that's not covered under warranty anyways. The warranty only AND SHOULD ONLY cover defects during production. Abuse is the fault and responsibility of the rider. I broke my frame, guess what I sent it in and told them it wasn't a warranty issue, and I just wanted it repaired from the factory. They were amazed I was honest and ended up sending me a new frame for a fraction of the cost of a new one (even cheaper than wholesale prices). They said it would cost more to fix a frame than to replace it, and it'd only ever be a repaired bike and could never be "good as new".

I guess what I'm trying to say, "if you ride hard, expect to break stuff. It's part of the wicked game we play. Don't give the manuf. the old "JRA" story. They know it's b.s. and so do you. Just fess up and buy another frame".

It may seem harsh to say that, but it's not the manuf. fault you broke your bike. Also, guess who pays for all those warrantied frames? You do, the next time you buy another bike. Notice the cost of new frames these days? Wow, I'm sure it doesn't cost them that much to make them. But I'm sure it cost the co. plenty in overhead and amount of warranty claims to keep selling them!

Rant over!

Get the BIG HIT, it's sweet, it's strong and it'll probably outlast you! By the time you break it (if you ever do) you'll want a new style frame anyways!

L8R

Yeah, Im workin it out with kelin right now. Hopefully by the 5th of next month we will make the transaction.

A2 your totally right, honesty gets you a long way in life. Im not too concerned about the frame anymore.

Good for you pharcyde...and good luck with the bike it kicks ass...better show us some pics with mud or something :)

Hehe well I was about to get a digi cam until I got this crazy feeling to get a bike......So the pics might be a while.....

Hey Pharcyde,

I'm glad you quit worring about the BigHit, and I think you'll be better off keeping your Enduro for your trail rides. The BigHit can be pedaled, but it is a tank of a bike. Plus, $400 is crap for a bike like yours. However, I'll give you $350 for it. Ha, Ha.

I'd keep the enduro at least till you get the BigHit and see if that's the right bike for you. You can always sell the Enduro for more than $400 easy!

I actually almost bought a BigHit before I bought my Uzzi. I was looking at last years BH Comp new for over $1,500 on a deal. So, if you can get it for $1,100, you're doing great!

BTW, I just bought a digi cam. It was cheap, under $100, but pic quality is so-so, especially for action shots. O.k., action shots suck! Unless you like BLUR Shots. Save your pennies and get a reg. 35 mm, or get a decent digi.

L8R

Im looking at a canon that 2.0 megapixels for 250. I was gonna get the 3.1 mp version but it was 350 and since im buying a bike, thats not in the question anymore. This camera is nice cuz its cheap and it has a bunch of manual modes.

What did I tell ya man? :beer: