Things that make your heart drop

[classen]

How the hell do they decide whats a 'usefull life span'?? Very vague that :?

Yeah!! what's up with that??

A lifetime should be the lifetime of the owner. Is there some guidelines or rules somewhere that state how long a bike should live? They could just as easily say 6 months is the "lifetime" of the frame as 20 years WTF!!!

Are you the original owner? Do you have any sort of receipt or proof of purchase?

I would push them on it. You need a replacement frame for sure.

 

[kaiser]

I know Lynskey have a 15 year lifetime gaurentee!

 

[OldNBroken]

Original owner, with the receipt. It's hard to argue with the people that make the rules.

This was the response for anyone that may have similar issues in the future.

At the meeting today when I presented the claim on your behalf, it was decided by the senior members of the department that the frame is suffering from wear and tear. Unfortunately we do not warranty the frame from wear and tear as it is not considered to be a manufacturing defect. The warranty policy is in place to cover the first user of the frame from manufacturing defects. We believe that unfortunately this frame has come to the end of its useful life cycle. The life cycle of the frame is not the same as the warranty period and is determined by many different factors such as rider weight, riding style, maintenance, road conditions, weather conditions etc.

We would like to work with you to get you back out riding and so we can look into a new frame at a really great price. If you would like to go for a new frame, please check out our website <http://www.litespeed.com> then confirm the model and size that you are interested in and I will be able to give you the pricing and the lead times.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the crack, this frame cannot be repaired.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards

 

[makster]

How the hell do they decide whats a 'usefull life span'?? Very vague that :?

Yeah!! what's up with that??

A lifetime should be the lifetime of the owner. Is there some guidelines or rules somewhere that state how long a bike should live? They could just as easily say 6 months is the "lifetime" of the frame as 20 years WTF!!!

Are you the original owner? Do you have any sort of receipt or proof of purchase?

I would push them on it. You need a replacement frame for sure.

I couldn't agree more! Thats a pretty bad frame failure. If you pay a premium for a 'lifetime' guarantee, then you should expect some proper engineering answers as to why you're not being offered a replacement frame.
I'd push them. If you dont ask.....

 

[john]

^^

What they say really. I'd certainly push back or send the pics to another ti expert for a second opinion. The failure has occured around a weld. I'm no expert but it's possible the failure propogated from the weld outward.


If you check the 1997 Litespeed Catalogue it does mention any warranty will be at Litespeeds discretion and 'wear and tear' is not covered. Nice.

 

[development_cycle]

The failure has occured around a weld. I'm no expert but it's possible the failure propogated from the weld outward.

I am also no expert but I'm with John on this, looks to me like the crack has spread outward from the weld too, surely that would be covered under manufacturing fault. Also how do they know how much use it has had, the riding conditions, the way you have stored it......?

 

[kaiser]

If you do want to pursue it, try posting the pics on MTBR.com, ask for opinions. I'd also send the pics to Lynskey see what they make of the crack.

 

[BoyBurning]

Unfortunately we do not warranty the frame from wear and tear as it is not considered to be a manufacturing defect. The warranty policy is in place to cover the first user of the frame from manufacturing defects. We believe that unfortunately this frame has come to the end of its useful life cycle. The life cycle of the frame is not the same as the warranty period and is determined by many different factors such as rider weight, riding style, maintenance, road conditions, weather conditions etc.

Personally I wouldn't consider that a satisfactory response at all.

Out of interest, did you provide any of the info highlighted in bold?

That 'etc' at the end also reads to me as 'whatever else we can make up at ten o'clock on a Tuesday morning'.


And I'd agree with observations made by JV...

I might be tempted to push a little further if it was me, but obviously I'm not privy to all the facts...

BB

 

[BoyBurning]

As a follow up - should this not be in the 'Retro MTB Chat' section instead?

BB

 

[Bram J]

Terrible thing that crack, very sad.
As for the rest I pretty much agree with all the above, you should really try pushing it a little bit more. You've got nothing to lose and everything to win. What was their offer on a new frame? Because that crack doesn't look like an easy fix to me either.