I purchased a new 2006 Soloist Carbon in November. I have only 350 miles on the bike.

The bike was in my garage and a wind gust knocked over the SLC, and it fell on the tripod legs of my bike workstand. Eventhough the pedals and handlebars took alot of the blow, it left a crack in the top tube.

I did not know if the crack was only superficial or more serious requiring a warranty replacement, so
I sent digital photos of top tube Cervelo Customer Service to make an assessment. Upon viewing the photo, Cervelo recommend that I bring the SLC to my local Cervelo dealer for a crash replacement deal on a frame set. Cervelo said it does not qualify as a warranty because the damage is not a result of manufacturing or design error.

I strongly differ with Cervelo's assessment, since the bike only tipped over (with very little force, as it was not hit and did NOT have any weight on the bike) , a very common occurance that it should be engineered for and thus a serious manufacturing or design flaw. This would be the equivalent of a brand new automobile being totaled and have to be replaced after being hit be a shopping cart in a parking lot, and manufacturer claiming that there was no engineering flaw. Products have to work in the real world and not just under ideal conditions. I understand that products cannot be designed to withstand everything, but a bike tipping over would have to be well inside adverse engineering parameters. If this is not a condition that Cervelo SLCs are designed to withstand, I would question whether it is a viable retail product.

The crash replacement deal would cost me $2080 plus my damaged frame.

I have since had a local expert inspect the frame, and his conclusion was that it is a crack in the clearcoat, not the carbon, so the frame is structurally sound. I have also ridden the bike, coasting down a rough chip-seal road at 40+ mph with no vibrations or noises.

So, luckily I have avoided disaster, but Cervelo's position still was that if a SLC falling over caused a crack in the carbon, that it would NOT be covered by the Lifetime Warranty. As Cervelo Customer Service said, "it is impossible to design a bike frame that performs at the level of the SLC and is impervious to all impact damage".

Am I being unreasonable? Shouldn't a crack (if structural) caused by a brand new bike falling over be covered by a Lifetime Warranty?