Help - cracked frame on bike <1 year old?

[DCLane]

An update - this afternoon I phoned Evans in Leeds since I'd not heard anything. The bike has been sent back to Madison, Ridgeback's importers.

This worries me a bit; there's likely to be one of three outcomes:

1. They repair the frame. It's cracked across 2/3 of the down-tube, starting at the weld but not exclusively. I'm not sure how well Aluminium can be welded, and if it is - should I accept this? I don't think I should since the crack goes right across the downtube and I'm not confident it could be welded or that there's not other cracks starting.
2. They replace it with another frame. If that's the case, who fits the parts?
3. They replace it with another Ridgeback Platinum. OK, but the 2012 model is different to the 2011 one; it's Tiagra all round rather than Shimano 105, which was why I bought the bike. I'm not sure I'd accept this either since it's not got a 105 groupset - which is what I bought. It's also got my 105 pedals on rather than Ridgeback's own.

Alternatively, they could reject it. However, there's been no crash damage and the crack is clearly at the weld.

Any thoughts?

 

[ColinJ]

As I suggested above - they should take the parts off your broken frame and fit them to a new frame, free of charge. Alternatively, they should give you a new replacement bike of equal or better specification than the broken one. I wouldn't accept a repaired frame, not that I think they would try to repair it anyway. If I worked at Ridgeback, I'd want to cut the frame open to get a better look at why it failed (if it isn't already obvious to them).

 

[mickle]

It's covered by your warranty. Absolutely no question. They will not repair it, you'll get a new frame and it's very unlikely indeed that you will suffer any downgrades of the components.

Frame cracks are a bike manufacturers worst nightmare, if word gets out it'll do their reputation no end of damage - so it is very much in their interest to sort you out to your satisfaction and sort you out quickly.

 

[400bhp]

Agree with Mickle.

DC-do you have home insurance? You may have access to free legal advice. Worth giving them a call in any respect.

 

[DCLane]

DC-do you have home insurance? You may have access to free legal advice. Worth giving them a call in any respect.

Yep - home insurance and CTC insurance. I should know in about a week what's happening with it.

Teaching marketing, I've also got a blog, Twitter a/c with followers (same user name as here and I've realised it's got my old 'fat' photo ), links to the media, etc. etc. I'm also not afraid to use them if it gets that far. However, I hope it's just fitted with a new frame and back ASAP.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

I wonder if any frame manufacturers heat-treat the frames after welding?
Most metals gain a "brittle area" right next to a mig or tig weld, by re-heating the frame the entire structure could be tempered.
(Adding ££s to the build cost).

I do quite a lot of mig / tig / manual arc / oxy-acetylene stuff at work and i know whenever i'm smashing up old
racks, tables, whatever ... its always the edge of the weld that cracks, not the weld itself.

 

[DCLane]

Thanks - it's the edge of the weld that's gone. Whilst the bike's been great, I've been surprised by the poor quality of the paintwork, which rubs off incredibly quickly. I do wonder if they hit the price point for the groupset by sacrificing on the frame?

 

[HovR]

I can't recall where I read it, but the idea of cleaning the bike regularly serves more than one purpose and this is proves it.

It's the same in the marine world - A regular thorough clean is recommended, as it unearths most mechanical issues which you'd rather didn't unearth themselves 5 miles from the shore! (Or in the bike world, when barreling down a hill at 35 mph)

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Fingers crossed for you. I think the sale of goods act can be quoted if the seller starts messing around!

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

It seems others may have suffered cracked ridgeback frames:

http://www.google.co.uk/#sclient=ps....,cf.osb&fp=5fedc67cde136910&biw=1360&bih=644

 

[HLaB]

Yikes, I've suddenly got the urge to clean my ridgeback

 

[Matthew Hicks]

I'm in a similar situation, but worse. On a Claud Butler Urban 200, the weld at the joint of the seat tube and BB split totally just before Christmas. Bike was bought six years ago in a different part of the country, cannot find receipt - not with manual where I'd left it. Falcon (who own the Claud Butler brand now) are looking into it.... They are quite within their rights/obligations to tell me to go away, so anything beyond that is a bonus. Currently, they are investigating by looking at photos and are civil on the 'phone.
Really galling- everything else bar the cranks and front chainrings are in perfect working order. If I end up having to replace the frame myself, where's a good place to buy one from and what vital statistics do I need? The wheels are 700mm and the forks have 28*250 stamped on the tube inside the headset.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I remember when ally frames started to apear on the mass market. Steel frames already were being sold with a 'lifetime guarantee' like my old Tange Cr-Mo GT Outpost. Ally ones came with 5 years typically. Now many come with lifetime guarantees too. You seem to get plenty of warning of impending doom with a metal frame, carbon seems to fail quickly though.

 

[compo]

Got me worried now. I got an old steel Ridgeback. I washed it yesterday and didn't notice anything untoward.

 

[oldfatfool]

Got me worried now. I got an old steel Ridgeback. I washed it yesterday and didn't notice anything untoward.

I have a 15 yo Delta Cro mo in the shed that as had all sorts of abuse thrown at it and that is fine, gave the Panorama a once over as well, I think it is more the ally frames that have been effected.