RT

No, just calm down. umd can be cranky at times (can't we all?), but his opinions are well-informed. Just saying your issue sounds a lot like that with an oft-maligned reseller.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...rranty-service!

DinoShepherd

Who is this Armstrong guy?

Dave Moulton uses the word "unshipped", so that should settle it.


https://www.prodigalchild.net/Bicycle7.htm

umd

I didn't talk around #4, I addressed it. And I addressed #2 as well. I've never heard of anyone having a defective seatpost collar, it certainly isn't a systemic problem. I know many people on SL2 frames using the standard collar, including myself.

umd

I concede unshipped. Just never heard it. That's why I put question marks, initially.

Anyway, there is an ignore button. Feel free to put me on it, I'm sure you won't be the only one.

cfblakeman

Thank you, RTDub! I'll check it out. Appreciated.

cfblakeman

Some guy who used to win races, which is unfortunately a lot more than can be said of me.

cfblakeman

OK, just read through that post. No, not BD, the LBS I'm having trouble with has a number of locations in Colorado, but no where else I'm aware of. No point in naming them openly here right now as they are still in possession of my bike as it awaits the Shimano shifter via snail mail. I want my bike back without undue sabotage.

RT

My point was merely that, be it an LBS or an online retailer, the problem seems to be a common one in this case. Not generalizing, but contrasting.

cfblakeman

Excellent point!

Eclectus

I think contacting the regional corporate rep makes sense. It will help if you have receipts that show a timeline of problems when they occurred and how much you paid. Specialized should have a record of your previous contacts with them, and their admissions of problems.

The fact Specialized admitted a crank/chainring problem (and also tacitly admitted it by going to another model), which for you OP caused cascading problems, i.e. frame damage, suggests that they may be willing to give you a new bike, or substantial trade-in credit.

On internally-routed cables, you can cut the front end of an old cable outside the frame, superglue a piece of wire or monofilament to it, then superglue the wire or monofilament front to a new cable, let it dry completely, pull the old cable out from the rear slowly, then carefully pull the wire/mono through the rear hole, and draw out the new cable. Or use Shoe Goo (takes longer to dry but it's very flexible, so it will go through bends w/o problem). I haven't had to do this, because I haven't had internally-routed cables since 1970, but it should work fine. Pretest your bond by pulling on the cable to make sure it will hold under some tension, and if it is holding, pull your old cable out and the new one following. This eliminates having to futz around trying to get the cable end to come out through the rear hole.

umd

There are no internal routed cables. He means the cable in the shifter.

roadwarrior

Post du Jour. I am still chuckling.

CCrew

OMFG, going to whine about a farking cable too? You should have already replaced them anyway.

Epic fail going here.

hao

you guys are harsh.
specialized admitted fault, shimano sent him a new shifter, and you guys are defending them?
i don't agree with everything the op said, but come on fanboys, cut it out.

Menel

By this logic, you got what you paid for. You bought a Rolls on a Civic budget. High end stuff isn't cheap to own or maintain, in any field. E.G.
2009 Mercedes-Benz CLS
Cost Per Year $21,105
https://www.automotive.com/2009/12/me...sts/index.html
2009 Honda Civic
Cost Per Year $6,566
https://www.automotive.com/2009/12/me...sts/index.html

As far as Dura Ace goes, when I got my bike, I was advised not to go that high. Was told requires additional maintenance to stay tuned. Was told by friends, local cyclist, and maybe even the guy at the LBS that Ultegra was the highest they would recommend and that 105 is plenty.

Since you like drawing parallels to the car industry so much... Dura Ace is likely excellent gear, and all the pro racers use it, sure it's expensive, it's racing gear. Expensive != reliability.
- Lots of pro car racers use R compound slick tires, their expensive, doesn't mean they they will get you through a rain storm safely or last 40k miles.
-Lots of pro racers have expensive engines, they won't last 200kmiles+ like a toyota or honda, they get rebuilt every couple of events.
-Lots of pro racers use expensive cross drilled rotors that allows them to stop 150mph->30 over and over without overheating, on your road car they'll wear out and crack after a 1-4kmiles, they get replaced probably every race for the pro guys, so a non issue.

Everything with perspective and the purpose it was designed for.

I don't see anything nefarious here, legally, morally, or ethically. It can be financial suicide to put yourself on the hook forever, they are a business, with employees who need to get paid so they can put food on the table for their families and continue to reinvest into their business for their future. You can't make everyone happy, you just happen to be one of those that got burned. Sorry.

Many places call this "goodwill service", I've had to pay for service on equipment that is out of warranty, and I've received "goodwill" service. Most recently coming to mind, my local Acura Carland near me warrantied my faulty taillights 22,000 miles out of warranty. That was great, I definitely go back to them as often as financially feasible. But that was 100% their managers choice to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Tarmac is still on my short list for bikes when I upgrade off my tiagra/105 "starter" bike.

cfblakeman

I had the cables checked as part of a $175 maintenance stop a month before it blew, and the front one was replaced. The back one was considered fine.

Should I have already replaced the bottom bracket, the chain rings, and the seat post bracket when they all started failing the day I bought the bike with zero miles on it? The shifter is just icing on the cake. If it was the only thing that had happened with this bike I wouldn't be posting here. I didn't say a thing about this on any forum for over a year of ongoing trouble until Specialized decided they weren't going to stand behind this lemon. That's not whining, that's calling out a manufacturer who has decided taking care of customer service issues isn't important.

If you've got something of substance to say, great. Personal attacks really don't showcase your intelligence very well.

darb85

did you actually talk directly to specialized or ust through the dealer?

LowCel 

Just a gentle reminder to everyone to keep it civil. Opinions are certainly welcome from both sides but insults are not necessary.

cfblakeman

Interesting perspective, but tortured logic. The Civic isn't my bike, the Civic is your Tiagra ride. The average bike is $400-$600 - those are the Civics. But let's pretend my Tarmac SL2 Pro, priced in the top 20% of all rack bikes, is the Civic of the bike world.

Should a Civic have engine, transmission and seat problems from the day you bought it? Should the repair shop and Honda resist doing anything about it and only fix things grudgingly from that day forward, while leaving me a pile of invoices in the process? Should a Civic be in the shop for clutch adjustments three weeks after it is purchased and more than once a month for the first year? Should a Civic have the engine rebuilt (bottom bracket), the transmission replaced (chain rings/front derailleur) and seats pulled and fixed (seatpost bracket) in the first few months you own one, then have the clutch fail completely at the end of the first year?

You said "Everything with perspective and the purpose it was designed for." I hope you don't mean that a Civic or a Rolls should be designed to come off the assembly line in fail mode, but that's your logic.

You exposed your lack of rational thinking with your last comment - you want a Tarmac and you don't want to hear anything that would give you negative information about your decision. Sorry - just the facts here.

hao

Fail. The parts you mentioned are designed specifically for pros. They're not even readily available to general consumers, nor are they affordable.

cfblakeman

I talked at length multiple times with Specialized customer service. I even have some conversations via email with them as proof - most of it was via phone. Each time they initially said there was no problem. For the BB issues Specialized customer service (not the LBS) said I just needed to take the bike in for "general maintenance", which wasn't exactly helpful. Then they finally sent out a notice to all bike shops that there original build specs sent with these bikes to the LBS's were wrong, and rebuilt mine (local LBS charged me - I refused to pay it).

Same drill with the chain rings - Specialized customer service (not the LBS) denied any problems for a long time, and kept telling me my front derailleur was just out of adjustment. I had it adjusted at least once every three weeks as the chain would unship and grind more carbon almost every single ride, sometimes multiple times in a simple 40 mile flat lander. I got to where I nearly stopped rotating and gently moved the front crank as slowly as possible every time I shifted to avoid unshipping the chain. After almost a year of this they (Specialized, not the LBS) admitted they had ring problems and sent new ones. The LBS wanted to charge me to put them on - I refused, but they did hit me $15 for adjusting the front derailleur for the 20th+ time when they put the new rings on.

Same drill for the s-works seatpost bracket - Specialized denied all along for a year, then finally sent me one for free. I have a generic one on there that is holding just fine, so the s-works one will probably be used to stop a leak in my garden hose.

Menel

Ummmm yes designed for the pros was my point, and likewise demands a price premium just like... *gasp* Dura Ace and the Tarmac. And yes, all the car components I mentioned are available to the general consumer, you can get slicks, cross drilled rotors, from your local car specialty shop, probably even from tirerack. No different from your local bike specialty shop.

LowCel 

I'm installing slotted/dimpled rotors on my Z in a few days, I'm pretty sure they will last longer than 1,000 - 4,000 miles. I do understand what you are saying. The difference is that the durability difference between dura ace and ultegra is really pretty minimal. They should both last thousands of miles with regular maintenance. Regular maintenance does include replacing cables before they are worn out though.

jdon

Yup!

hao

Fail.
Are the parts as affordable as bike parts? A VERY high end bike costs as much as what, a very low end car?
There's a difference between "designed for the pros" and "designed with the pros in mind". High end bikes are the latter.