Hello,

Got a 4 year old venge sworks. a cracked showed up at the left seat stay while riding. brought it to lbs where i got it. next day they came back saying specialized gave me this two options:

1. i get a new venge sworks vias module for $4300, retail price $6200.
2. i get a new tarmac sworks framset for $2600, retail price $3750.

i dont have $4300 lying around and i prefer the venge over the tarmac. is this a good deal? i mean is this the best specialized can offer? how do you deal with specialized when they offer replacements like this? can i call back lbs and say i dont have $4300, is this the best you can do for me? does lbs have any say on this?

anyone out there who's done negotiations for bike replacement, whats the best approach here? any other source of $$$, maybe home insurance?

Thanks!

That sounds more like their crash replacement program. A warrantied frame just gets replaced at no cost.

Not necessarily. 'Lifetime' does not mean the owner, but the product. The company does have the final say, though most will budge if pushed back at.

Also, if he raced it, they won't warranty it, etc...quite a few conditions to a 'free' replacement, actually.

The stripped frame would be sent to your SBI dealer, as a covered Warrantee <If You are the Original Owner >

though the parts exchange may incur a Labor cost . ( Im guessing OP is Quoting Complete bike Prices )

maybe they will get in the warrantee frame , use your components, put the thing up for sale on consignment,

then with that money get something less exotic, say with a Steel frame and fork?

Specialized Canada was awesome when it came to warranty replacements on their frames. We would only have to send a photo and a new frame was on the way. I don't remember a single case in which they questioned it. We had a customer break a BMC frame, BMC didn't want to look after the customer,(the worst customer service in the industry). We made a call to Specialized Canada and told them the story. They sold our BMC customer a frame at a huge discount. Not sure how it works in the USA.

Trek was going to replaced the defective frame on my Domane for no cost. (Plus LBS labor, which was $250) Seems to me that if this is a warranty replacement, the new frame should be free. I understand that the new Venge is something different and, ostensibly, very special, but still I think they owe you a better deal than $4300.

If the crack is NOT merely cosmetic you should be able to get a replacement frame at no cost.

I just read Specialized warranty and the frame is covered for the life of the original owner.

My KHS chromoly 29er frame downtube broke at the headtube. It was within the warranty period and KHS had a new frame at the LBS within a week at no charge to me.

With an expensive bike like the Venge I would expect that kind of warranty service.

Specialized gave me a replacement frameset at no charge. I had to strip the old frame and am rebuilding it back up. The LBS charged extra for that as labor is not covered under warranty.

I don't want to belabor this point, but their warranty says nothing about the owner's life. This is standard wording for warranties; unless explicitly stated, "for the life of the [original] owner," it refers to the product. Their wear-and-tear clause makes this clear. It is coincidental that most [large] manufacturers find it easier to keep a customer happy than to deny a warranty claim under threat of badmouthing.

Note that I don't work for Specialized, but this not common just to the bike industry. In fact, with the notable exception of automobiles, most expensive items follow this pattern.

What does this warranty say?
https://www.benscycle.com/pdf/0000009968_r3.pdf

I don't see anything about the frame or seat stays being a wear and tear part.

Specialized warranty clearly states:

"Frames and forks on complete bicycles and framesets for the lifetime of the original owner
(excluding parts and components to which two year or five year periods apply, as set out below)"

Here's the link to the warranty page on the Specialized site.

https://static.specialized.com/media/...0009968_r4.pdf

I'm not happy or too proud to be a Specialized bike owner at the moment.Already two negative stories involving sworks.

Fair enough. One would think that Specialized would have all information posted in all places, but this is clearly not the case.

Mea culpa. Most manufacturers are not as generous with their replacement policy, express or implied.