Specialized frame failure
 

Hi People, I'm a newbie here, but interested to know if anyone else has suffered a catastrophic frame failure on a specialized allez aluminium frame.
The rear stay looks like it actually 'exploded', a large split along a section of it, causing the frame to warp too. I've never seen this before. I tried to contact specialized but they wanted me to send frame for inspection at my own cost, to decide if they would replace it or not!
I replaced it with a cheap secondhand frame, but is this a common occurrence with these frames?

Post pics, please.

Are you the original owner? Do you not have a Specialized representing LBS reasonably nearby?

Must have been one of those carbon Allezs

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/812/5jbv.jpg
Oh wait. Never mind. That's a trek.

Any frame can fail. Almost every model of every brand can fail. Nothing unusual about it.

It is also routine that the manufacturer will want to inspect the frame. They'll want to figure out if it was a manufacturing defect (in which case it's covered), or damaged by the owner (in which case, it isn't covered). They may also want proof that you're the original owner. All perfectly normal, pretty much every brand does it.

Take it to the Specialized dealer where you bought it.

+1. Steel fails more gracefully than either Aluminum or carbon fiber though.

So there you go: Steel is real :p

I have known two people with the old Spesh Sequoia frames that failed at the bottom bracket welds. Specialized was quite gracious in replacing their 10+ year old frames with new model Sectuers. I would take it to my local Spesh dealer for assistance.

Yep, any contraption made b man or machine can fail. Just thank your lucky stars that the failure does not maim or kill you. Then, what the manufacturer does to rectify the issue/make you whole again (provided you are the original owner) is what counts.

In bold...what did you expect? any manufacturer would do the same thing. Good they even offered that option.
Doesn't sound like you were very committed to getting it resolved...or more likely...you felt complicit in the failure...something you did precipitated the failure...crash...misinstalled rear derailleur....broken spoke. Pretty rare for a frame to just fail.