shreddedbeef

Below is an account of my experience with a warranty claim with Canyon. This is a warning for people who have bought their bikes or are considering buying one.
All of the messages below are verbatim of what was sent to me by their customer service.

(August 6th) Original message that I sent to them:
I was cleaning my bike's fork and found some damage on the bottom of the head tube. I bought my bike 2 years ago and I'm not sure if the damage was originally there or if it's wear and tear from riding. This is my first carbon bike and I'm looking for advice on whether or not it's safe to ride my bike in this condition. Would the damage require getting the bike repaired and, if so would the warranty cover this? Please look at the attached images to get a better assessment of the damage. The attached images show the same area in different angles. I am happy to provide more images if necessary.

I attached photos of the head tube crack from two angles as well as a full view of the bicycle from from both sides as requested by Canyon. The bicycle is an Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0.

(September 1st - almost a month later) Canyon's first confirmation of a warranty full replacement:
We are Canyon bicycles Japan service centre. I received a guarantee from Germany.
In the case of guarantee, the frame price is free. Otherwise, the following charges will be borne by the customer:
Shipping from Canyon headquarters to Canyon Japan: JPY 17,200-

At this point I had sent them an email letting them know that even though I originally purchased the bike in Japan I was no longer living there. I asked if it was possible to have it shipped to Canada instead. Also, I wanted to confirm that the warranty was covering a full replacement. I sent them the exact same pictures again.

(September 4th) The Japanese service center has handed me off to the German service center (second confirmation of a warranty full replacement):
After consulting with our technical support we confirm that the damage to your frame will be covered by our guarantee. Thus the replacement frame itself is free of charge, but shipping costs apply. Therefore import duties will probably need to be paid. We indeed are not able to ship any goods to Canada. If you can provide us with an alternative shipping address in one of the countries on our shipping page we will explore the options to send you the new frame.

So I have two things to deal with before Canyon sends me the new frame: (1) pay for the shipping which I knew beforehand so no issue there (2) find a way to ship it to Canada since apparently they don't have the means to send it to Canada; a little strange but there had to be a way (more on this later).
Before I went and solved (2) I wanted the German service center to confirm that the warranty was a full replacement. I sent them the exact same pictures again.

(September 8th) Reply from German service center but a different person is now handling my case (third confirmation of a warranty full replacement):
Your warranty case has been processed by our technical department in Germany and was approved. But, as already informed, as you do not live in Japan anymore, and we can not ship our products to Canada.

As it turns out there is a mail forwarding service in Germany that I could send the replacement frame to Canada. I went ahead and set that up and provided the necessary details to Canyon so that they can send the frame to the mail forwarding service who would then send it to Canada.

(September 11th) Here's where things get very shady...
Your new order 2000335541 was placed but, please send us some pictures of the frame cut in half and of the serial number. As soon as we have the pictures we will adjust the price of the frame to zero.

A little bit confusing here. Are they asking me to cut the frame in half for the warranty procedure to be processed (i.e., to make sure that the frame is destroyed and not resold or reused)? Or are they requiring proof that the bike's defect caused it to split in half?
I NEVER sent them any images showing that the bike was cut in half since the issue was with the bike's head tube from the very beginning.... I ask them what they are talking about...

(September 11th) My reply to their claims of a "frame cut in half":
I have attached the pictures that I originally sent to the Japan customer service that they already sent to the Canyon Germany headquarters. I have also sent you these exact images several times.
Here are the original messages I was sent which you can find in the email thread below.
I never said that the frame was cut in half. The damage is in the head tube. See subject of this email ("head tube crack"). You can also find this information in the email thread below.
Do you want me to cut the frame in half?

(September 17th) Another customer service rep is now handling my case:
Regarding your tube top request we do not see a warranty case. We understand that such an event is never to be welcome . So we separate between warranty and non warranty based on the details. For such cases we offer our CRP to get spare with discount.

I'm assuming he meant top tube here (and not tube top) but again the issue is with the head tube and has always been since the very beginning. The warranty that had been originally offered is now off the table. The discount that I am being offered would require me to pay just a little over $1000.

It has now been almost two weeks since their last response. My last message to them was reminding them what they agreed to do if I pay for shipping as well as find a way to ship the replacement frame from Germany to Canada. It seems like they decided to go back on their word once they I told them that I had found a way to ship the replacement to Canada and are trying to cheat their way out of fulfilling the warranty by making false claims. I've read a few post from other who have had a good experience with Canyon's customer support. It's possible that it's only recently that their customer service has been deteriorating. Buyers beware of Canyon trying to cheat you out of your warranty.

Cyclist0108

I think they are asking you to cut the current frame in half to make sure that you don't re-sell it (or keep using it) once you have the warranty frame.

Canyon did three warranty claims on my kid's Spectral. The first two were on the rear triangle (one crack, but recalled the replacement as well), and then the frame itself (crack where the rear shock attaches to the seat tube). Their procedures are a bit odd, but they did the right thing.

Juan Foote

In my opinion, reading through this...it appears that there is some miscommunication between the 11th where they ask you to provide pictures of the bike cut in half. It seems obvious to ME that is what they were asking for. A condition which you did not/ have not met yet according to my understanding of the rest.
It would further seem that your warranty request WAS approved and an order number was issued to you. At this point it seems like you need to send them the picture of your bike cut in half along with the order number you received and work further details from there. My perception is that the picture of the cut frame is worth roughly the grand in discount?

I am of the impression (and it seems above poster as well) that THEY think you are trying to get a frame and keep your old one.

shreddedbeef

You are correct that this is a situation that I have not met before which is why I wanted to clarify what I was to do with the frame. Their response was to have me pay for the replacement instead. Why would I cut up the frame is they won't honor their original offer to replace the frame?

shreddedbeef

That's what I wanted to confirm before I went ahead and cut it up. Their reply was to rescind the warranty that they had already offered.

Juan Foote

For the price difference I think I would take a look for the latest acting agent phone number, stay up late (or early as the case may be) and see if you can discuss the apparent misunderstanding.

Cyclist0108

The most annoying thing about them is how they do the customer service contact. You get a new person each time, and each time you have to give them your whole life story, tell them what toothpaste you use, and sing the Gettysburg Address backward.

Sooner or later you will get to a moron.

jadocs

Yep you confused the agent (who's primary language may not be English) when you started mixing up the damage with what they wanted to do in order to get the replacement processed. I would do as suggested and get a phone number and talk to someone.

blacknbluebikes 

I recently had a full bike replaced under warranty by Specialized at original cost, and the LBS was very attentive to destroying the old bike. Only thing that came off was a bottle holder. No further questions. Happy customer.

shreddedbeef

I have contacted them and they admitted that they made a mistake about their claims regarding the top tube damage. The issue was with the head tube and there was never anything was wrong with the top tube. They reiterated that the warranty would cover the replacement if I send in pictures of the frame cut up. I did that and sent it to them. They confirmed that they received the pictures and now they have sent me an invoice for $1500 that I need to pay before I receive a replacement. This is exactly the situation I did not want to get into.

jadocs

Wait, what?

You got confirmation that the last conversation was a mistake and that your frame was covered under warranty....then you sent them a photo of your frame cut in half and now they bill you for the cost of the frame?

shreddedbeef

Yes to everything you've said. I don't really have a choice since I already cut the frame. No mistake this time since they even referenced the same order number that they originally provided me (before they started to take away the warranty) in the $1500 invoice they have just sent. What's funny is I was saving up to buy their Aeroad bike when the new model comes out but after this experience that's definitely not happening now.

Mojo31

Was considering buying that same bike. No more. Thanks for posting.

Cyclist0108

They made you saw your bike apart and then sent you a bill for $1500? WTF?

Contact your state Attorney General's Consumer Fraud division (or the Canadian equivalent, if you are living in Canada -- I didn't really follow it.)

dhender02

WOW!! I'm in the market to get a new bike, I narrowed my choice down to the Endurace, Bianchi Infinito, and Cervelo Caldonia. Oh well, the list is paired down to the Bianchi and Cervelo now... Thanks for posting!!

BTW, have tried making a tweet about the issue and tagging CANYON? Companies usually respond quickly to customer-related tweets ASAP.

Helldorado

Cervelo = creaky bottom bracket.

jadocs

Something doesn't add up.