Good news. My bike frame is going to be replaced by the manufacturer, free of charge.
A quick re-cap:
As I was riding my road bicycle a couple of weeks ago, the frame suddenly cracked and completely separated where the seat and chain stays come together, near the rear axle.
Thankfully, it did not throw me off the bike. However, it understandably freaked-out a few of the riders behind me in our large group.
Dealer Discretion
The manufacturer, Felt Racing, LLC, accepts warranty claims through any of their bicycle dealers. In theory, that’s wonderful. In practice, it’s not so simple.
The first question my LBS asked me was whether I bought the bike at their store. Clearly, they want to support the customers that support them. That’s how business works; a little reciprocity goes a long way. Being a military family, and new to the area, I had not bought the bike locally. It was purchased from a Felt dealer in California while we were stationed there.
Luckily, I have a good relationship with my LBS, and ride with them most weekends. In fact I bought a fixed gear Raleigh Rush Hour from them just a few months ago. When my frame broke, I was grateful that I had cultivated this relationship.
The Fix
Felt will replace the frame, at the minimum. I’m still waiting to learn all the details, but this is a big plus. Without a new frame the bike is worthless. I will still need to pay my LBS to transfer all the gear from the broken frame to the new one, but I will still be ahead.
Alternatively, Felt may offer a completely new bike. This would be even better!
Initially I was hesitant to make a warranty claim. After all, I had been riding the bike for 3 1/2 years. At what point does a limited, lifetime warranty expire? Surely frames have a useful life, beyond which they should not be ridden on? It appears as thought my 2007 model was inside the warranty window.
I had not even considered liability issues. If a frame fails within the warranty window, causing personal injury, is the manufacturer liable? It would depend on the circumstances, but in certain situations they would be liable.
I look forward to learning all the details beyond “Felt is going to hook you up”, and will keep you updated.
$2,000 Reward
This past weekend our bicycle group was hit by a sad deliberate act. Our bicycle loop was covered in thumbtacks. The perpetrators spread thousands of tacs over 15 miles of rural road that we regularly ride on.
The tacs were also painted gray, to blend with the road and be invisible to cyclists. About 100 cyclists suffered punctured tires and tubes. Thankfully there were no injuries. Virginia Beach City Police are actively conducting an investigation to determine whom is responsible.
One member of our cycling group has personally offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved. If you have any relevant information, please contact Virginia Beach Crime Solvers.
Glad to hear you’ve just about worked this out with Felt! Good lesson for all there.
Crazy story about the thumbtacks! I hope they find the idiot that did that.
Yes, there’s a few lessons in there. Keeping your receipts is one of them! I hope they find the idiot(s) too.
This goes to show that relationships between businesses and consumers, or businesses and other businesses for that matter, are still relevant and important in our “wired-in” society of text messages and E-mails.
Sorry about the tacks… That’s a weird, weird story though. Is a secret, international ring of bike haters at fault? I’m thinking so.
More than likely it was probably some stupid kids…
Relationships are important. No arguments there.
The thumbtack thing is complicated. A lot areas experience some friction between the suburban and rural divide. We start our rides in the suburbs, and travel through a rural area. The rural residents don’t appreciate cyclists on their roads. The bikes have every legal right to be there. so the residents find other ways to show their displeasure. It sucks.
First of all, the thumbtacks is absurd. Who has that much time and so little else to do?
With the warranty, they can be a pain in the butt to redeem but a new bike would be awesome!
Thanks Daniel, I’m crossing my fingers for a new bike, but will happily settle for a new frame.
The thumbtack issue still blows my mind. Imagine a stretch of road with 100 riders changing tubes. Not the workout we were looking for.
Some people thought that it may have been a random accident, but the tacks being spray painted primer gray to hide their shine certainly demonstrated malicious intent. It’s ashame that this is the way some people choose to communicate. Not only have the people responsible for this vandalism caused a scene for more potential accidents on the road, they’ve also alienated their law abiding neighbors and cost taxpayers even more money by having to clean up their mess for them to keep not only the riders safe, but also our neighbors who walk or ride in these areas with their animals. My hope is that the people responsible for this can’t keep their mouth shut so someone can collect the reward and let the lawyers do their job…….
Good Luck with the new bike!!! I’m in the market myself, who knows, maybe it’ll be a Felt, sounds like a company that cares!!!
Good argument.
Yes, Felt has come through. Let’s see how it all works out!
Glad they are going to fix the bike for you. I can’t believe that someone would go to thumbtacks. wow.