Campag4life

After a beautiful 30 mile ride I received an unsettling phone call from my
good friend who was riding with us today. Upon return home, when foisting his relatively new Carbon Fiber OCR up in his garage via a pulley system, one of the lag bolts let go and his bike came crashing down and put a gash in the top tube that yields the bike unridable. Fortunately nobody was hurt and no automobiles damaged. Timing couldn't have been worse however because he is scheduled to participate in a long ride next weekend that he had pre-registered for.

Off the top, I believe his options are:

1. Through his LBS, contact Giant and see if Giant has a crash program such that they will exchange or provide a replacement frame at cost.

2. Send the picture (see below) to Calfee repair department requesting a quote for repair.

If a member has had success with any the above or has another suggestion to help my friend, we would sure appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance.

merlinextraligh

Takeaway: don't screw things that bare weight in to drywall. No way if its properly anchored into a stud that a 17lb bike pulls it loose.

Beaker

I'd do 1. and 2.

+1 for Merlin's comment above.

anthemracer

Giant is very good w/ warranty and crash replacment terms. Get a hold of them and best of luck

Campag4life

Understood....and he knows that as well. Quite right, dry wall will not hold a bike....has to be lag bolted to the joices.

Campag4life

Doing both #1 and #2 presumes that Giant does not accept the crashed frame as a basis to discount a new replacement. Is that so?
Thanks.

Campag4life

He will pursue that route through his local bike shop where he bought the bike. I was hoping someone could report the procedure for getting a crash replacement at cost through Giant. Do you know if Giant requires exchange of the crashed frame?...stands to reason they would. BTW, his fork is undamaged as is the rest of the bike.
Thanks.

theextremist04

I work in a Trek concept store, but yeah, they require the frame. But all the aluminum ones just get recycled- imagine the soda cans made out of those

Beaker

My reply was based upon the assumption that you can pursue option 2 no matter what -- you're asking for an estimate based upon pictorial evidence, right?

Campag4life

I see. So what you are saying is, obtain the Giant frame replacement/exchange cost per Giant's crash program....and in parallel obtain a quote from Calfee based upon the picture...and then evaluate which option is most cost effective. Makes good sense.
Thank you.

FrankBattle 

Giant will most likely offer a comparable frame brand new for about what one would pay on eBay. It's what happened in my case last year. I noticed a crack in the frame on return from a trip on which I used a Trisports case and checked luggage. Giant's diagnosis was that it wasn't due to a frame defect, so the best they could do was offer a frame (TCR C3 XL for ~$650).

Good luck [to your buddy?].

markyore

Hmmmm...if he gets anything from Giant he should be really appreciative! seems like theyy are VERY forth party to the incident. First.....the pulley system, second the guy who installed it, thirs the guy operating it!......really Giant did nothing wrong.

Bontrager

Any self-respecting BF roadie would immediately throw his flesh between carbon fiber and concrete with cat-like reflexes. Bones heal. CF doesn't.

Campag4life

Thanks guys. Believe we will dual path this one and see how it goes.
1. Send picture off the Calfee to obtain a repair estimate.
2. Visit LBS and see what Giant's quote for a new replacement frame is. BTW, to the poster's point about Giant having no dog in this fight...of course it wasn't any doing on Giant's part...it was an accident which do happen and steps will be taken such that it won't happen again.

I will report back what we learn in terms of price for both a replacement and a repair as a data point in the future.
Thanks again.

BillyD

btw, that's "joists" not joices . . . "studs" would do fine.

just trying to help.

Pugsly

Agreed. But the reason that bike companies go the extra mile with frame programs is because
1. it generates huge goodwill
2. it addresses the lingering concern that people have about the strength/longevity of carbon frames compared to steel/alu/etc.

I would certainly be more likely to buy cf from a company that I knew would stand beside me in the case of an unfortunate event, and I think the bike companies recognize this.

So... no obligation at all on their part but still some good reasons for them to help you out.

Campag4life

You are a beacon. Thanks for your edification.

Campag4life

Its slightly more tangible then #2 you reference. It isn't as much about perception but reality that CF does not have the impact resistance of steel or aluminum or titanium that "yield" and don't fracture as readily. Translation? Hard to ride a pretzeled frame, easy to ride one with a crack or a hole in it.
Giant does it to mitigate liability and negate the reputation of people getting badly hurt on carbon fiber frames that they shouldn't be riding after they have been crashed...a common occurrence. Corporate policy generally isn't about altruism but both liability and reputation which promotes selling bikes and making money...the former being cost avoidance. All said, kudos to Giant for not only their excellent product but crash exchange program.

michaelmc

If the Giant crash program doesn't work out, it's more than likely covered under homeowner's or renter's insurance, minus the deductible of course.

Campag4life

Another good avenue. We discussed that option as well.
Thank you.

HigherGround

That is why point #1 referred to purchasing a replacement frame under a crash replacement program instead of expecting a free replacement under warranty. No one has accused Giant of doing anything wrong.

To campag4life, best of luck with your friend's situation. If Giant requires the original frame to be returned in order to be eligible for the discounted frame, you may want to ask if they need the entire frame, or if they would accept proof that the frame has been destroyed (such as cutting out the frame's bottom bracket shell). If you want to expedite the process by sending the "evidence" by next day air, it will be far cheaper to send a BB shell than an entire frame.

Campag4life

More good advice. For proof, my friend is going to work through his local bike shop where he purchased the bike from whom will in turn interface with Giant. I presume as a Giant seller, returning the frame and logistics will be worked out OK.
May come down to that if a cost penalty is assessed to ship the damaged frame back to Giant as in my experience shipping frames isn't cheap so another good option.
Many thanks.

merlinextraligh

You don't want to make minor claims against your homeowner's insurance. It very likely will increase your rates, can get your insurance cancelled, and in the worst case make your property uninsurable.

I understand that it's lousy not to get the advantage of what you paid for. Thus the best strategy is to carry a high deductible (i.e $5,000-10,000) and keep your homeowner's insurance for the big things like the house burning down.

Campag4life

Agree. Kind of what we discussed. Small home owner claims many times aren't cost effective in the longer term. Will likely pursue the Calfee repair or Giant replacement program.
Thanks Merlin.

bikesdirect_com

After he finds out the Giant replacement frame cost; drop me a PM with his size
and I maybe able to get him a CF frame that will work for less than that; {I have no clue what the Giant replacemnt frame price is}

That is another option.