Originally Posted by
base2
Here is the pic that he sent me right after it happened:
You can see that the weld had poor penetration or the crack started and took enough time to propagate that the rust set in, or perhaps both.
I bought my New MU from the Co-Op I used to manage. I still have good graces, so every once in a while a deal that's too good to be true comes my way. (I repay them in spades with quality parts and free skills training when I am there.)
I'm not really concerned with warranties of any kind. I've always been of the mind that of something breaks within 30 days, then I can just take it back. If it lasts longer than that, then it is my responsibility as an items owner to be observant, exercise due care and perform proper regular maintenance. I fail to see how any company or person can exert ownership, control or accept liability for a thing after it has been released into the wild. That is just my perspective tho. When or if a company is proven to abuse my charitable good graces, I will be the first with the tiki-torch.
I saw the other warranty discussion. I do wish you luck in getting them to clarify their terms to your (all consumers) favor.
That pic looks familiar, you must have posted before. My Dahon Speed (steel) has a very slight additional tab from the forward half of the hinge, on the bottom, to add some weld area at the highest stress point. The aluminum Dahons have a much larger additional thickness of aluminum tab there, my guess is they might weld tube to hinge, add that tab and weld again, unless that tab is part of the aluminum hinge casting or forging. Notably, when some folks from Dahon stepped out to start Tern, the Terns (all aluminum) that broke there (recalled) did not have that additional reinforcement.
Folding bikes are more suceptible to frame stresses, that's why a warranty matters. My '89 Cannondale came with a lifetime frame warranty, because aluminum was new then and it is more susceptible to fatigue failure, so that warranty was critical for me at that price. The frame has mega miles, but they also engineered it really stiff (stiffest frame Bicycling magazine had ever tested on their tarantula frame measuring machine), and stiff means less flex so less fatigue. But stiff riding I found out.
Some have said, "folding bikes are not supposed to be used as much as a regular bike". That's not how they are advertised, they are now selling them, not as RV buddies, but as full daily riders, so they had better hold up. Deltech on Dahons (on bikes where they have not removed it) should make their frames more durable (which is why they doubled the warranty with it), as well as my improvised version.
And yes, my discussions with Dahon are not just about me, but all of their customers.