Clipped_in

Precisly!

5Baum

Exactly. My CAAD10's chainstay cracked under 30 days into ownership. No crash. I have the ride on Strava where it cracked - somewhere on a leisurely 3 mile commute.

Cannondale authorized a replacement almost immediately.

softreset

I've noticed the neglect is a big issue. I've routinely seen a local Cat 1-3 racer come in with their bike and it sounds like there's sand in the bottom bracket/crankset area (dried up sports drink) or the new rider with a chain and old that I'm afraid it'll burst in dust on contact. This neglect often increases wear and thus expedites failure or introduces problems that would have never occurred with even basic maintenance.

CALE262

I was lucky with C'dale, crashed my 3.0 in a race in the early 90's which broke my RD hanger (non-replaceable at the time) off and the local rep sent me a brand new frame...Mind you, that was a very long time ago

roadwarrior

It kind of depends...and I know that sounds real nebulous...but we had a customer that had a Six/13 that hit something and knocked the end of his bars into the top tube (the carbon part) basically crushing the tube. He turned it in for "warranty" (I was just riding along and...). We explained that it was not warranty, but we would hold the frame and ask the rep to look at it. Which he did and denied the warranty claim. However...he did cut him a good deal on a replacement. Back then the CAAD8 was also a pro frame along with the Six/13...and he got a real good discount on the 8 which he took (he also got a price on the Six/13 but was not as good). The Six/13 was an 8 with carbon tube inserts.

We are a top 5 dealer with Cannondale, the guy was a good customer, and everyone decided that was the best thing to do. He was happy.

It helps to develop good relationships with the people you choose to do business with. But...if you live in a place away from where you bought the bike, this program is available.

In order to get the frame upgrade, you have to turn in the old one. You can't sell it on your own. If you do that you pay retail for the new frame. In a warranty or crash deal, they want us to destroy the frame so it does not get ridden again.

StanSeven

And rightfully so. roadwarrior makes an excellent point about fast and light equipment won't last as long as more sturdy, heavy equipment. Yet bike manufacturers use the same language in all their warranties. If someone took a high end road bike and used it for cyclocross racing, it's not going to last. Manufacturers need the latitude to look at each instance individually.

Another thing is just because a warranty says one thing doesn't mean it applies uniformly and constantly in every situation. Warranty issues are affected by many, many things like the uniform commercial code, express and implied warranties, state and local rules and policies, terms of any agreements including oral between buyer and seller, etc.

There was an instance where a guy was drinking and leaving a bar and decided to see if he could ride over a curb. How does a LBS and manufacturer determine if damage was a manufacturing defect or negligence of the owner?

ljp3

Thank you for the information. Does Cannondale or anyone have a list that might rate dealers? Basically I want to use one shop, and for various reasons I am questioning if that shop will be where I bought my bike. There are 4 others that are within acceptable distance of me and the internet rating aren't really useful.

roadwarrior

No. It would be really difficult to do and also if they did they are hurting their own distribution system. IF they had 1,000 dealers and rated 100 of them "unsatisfactory" for whatever reason, who would buy bikes from them? Besides, you can read out here the level of subjectivity on what constitutes a "good" versus a "bad" shop.

However, there are consumer rating sites and many bike shops are on those lists. Like an "Angie's List" type of thing. So if people are unhappy, they can read why. The good sites, like the one I mentioned check out the review before allowing it to post. So you can be pretty sure it's got value.

StephenH

Yeah, but that gets to be a problem in buying this stuff, too. I'd like to get a better lighter bike, but hate to pay $5,000 and then have the manufacturer say "Screw you" when it falls apart under me. If it's cheap crap, you figure you get what you pay for and if it falls apart, tough. If it's high-end stuff, you expect the manufacturer to stand behind the product. But when it's high-end stuff, and the manufacturer's warranty basically says "Oh, this is cheap crap that's going to fall apart under you", I'm not real motivated to pay the big bucks for that.

I ran into that with my Raleigh- rear wheel fell part after about 4,000 miles, and yes it was "just riding along", on a bike trail, riding a bike that is supposedly a touring bike.

Boralb

I've had very bad experiences with my Cannondale Dealer and Cannondale itself.
Received 4 defective evo hi-mod frames, and unfortunately last one didn't qualify for the warrany.
You can read my story from the topics below..
Topic1 Topic2

So as i've experienced earlier, dealer it self play the most important role in those warranty cases.
At least for me, Cannondale's 'Lifetime Warranty' didn't work for their brandnew frameset!

noobyondaroad

Ouch, what did you end up doing? Did you just accept it? If so, does it not bother you anymore?

Boralb

I've had no more choice other than accepting the defective frame. I just get off it, by selling with a very cheap price.
It was a brandnew 2013 evo team hm frameset, arrived as a warranty replacement(4th time), in defective condition.

noobyondaroad

Could you elaborate on the defects though? Are they things that a normal person would be upset about or do you need eagle eyes?

Boralb

With my first evo himod duraace bike, rear tire was hitting the chainstay and took some paint out, after first ride.
So you really don't need eagle eyes

You can read the details, from the links above.

bikerjp

I don't know. I don't think it was related to anything special. I don't remember the exact turnaround but they had to order a frame and I think it was maybe 3-4 weeks.

roadwarrior

I got one of the first Super Six HM racing frames Cannondale made. This was a Bedford mfg bike. The seat stays were not level so one chain stay was higher than the other, which obviously will not work. They sent me a new frame, but their engineering people called and wanted photos before we even sent the frame back. It happens.

They all make mistakes. But we have had no issues I know of getting problems resolved.

snookanglr

On my 2012 Synapse Carbon 105 my chain dropped into into the hub and the process it tore the derailleur hanger off the seatstay and splintered it. I had carbon shards sticking out. My bike was only a few months old so I was pretty bummed. Fortunately, the dealer I bought it from was a great advocate for me and worked with Cannondale to get my frame replaced. In a couple of weeks Cannondale sent me a replacement frame. Best of all it was hi-mod frame. The LBS put the components on free charge and threw in a Dura-Ace chain. They also made sure to properly tune the derailleur. I know warranty claims often don't work out so I feel lucky but I think the LBS made the difference. They've been around for over 35 years and I assume they have a strong relationship with Cannondale.

wheelreason

Cannondale dealer here:

There is nothing "broad" about Cannondale's (or any other mfg's ) warranty.
Its spelled out in their website. It expressly does not cover wear and tear, it covers material and manufacturing defects. Consumers love to interpret warranties in "broad" terms, and mfgs aren't always consistant. Here's the plug for the LBS, I (and most other LBS who do any sort of volume) can have pretty much anything warrantied on their word. So if someone comes in with their REI, second hand, or "I went to your competitor to save 30 bucks" bike, you get the letter of the law. On the other hand, the guy who bought his bike from me, will in all but the most extreme obvious cases, get a new frame. Beforee you say that's aweful customer service, blah, blah, blah, There are obviously limited bullets, so one uses them accordingly. That being said, there is the "squeaky wheel" thing, and its a win/win, because if a nutty customer bugs a mfg enough, they will sometimes throw 'em a bone, and I get the $ on the back end, so ***** on *****es, ***** on...