NuBiker

Today while riding my Orbea Onix 2009, on mile 22, I hit a pothole at 15 Mph, I was going to lose balance but got it back together, I felt the bike was getting jittery after that. I stopped to check the bike and I saw a crack on my top tube. I called the wife to come and pick me up as I was afraid to continue riding this thing.
I am so glad I didn't fall; I could have easily broken a wrist, shoulder or had a concussion.
I bought the bicycle new from Carmichael Cycles during a trip to Sacramento; I live on the Central Coast, so tomorrow I am going to Art's Cyclery to see what they can do. These bikes have a lifetime warranty; I feel that something was wrong with the frame for something like to happen. I know it was not crashed; there is not one scratch on the bike except the crack on the top tube. You would think by paying a good amount for a bicycle and a good renowned brand you will get quality. I always liked Orbeas, this is my third one; I never had any issue with them before.
I am sorry if I am ranting, I am just upset because I started riding again and this happens.

sbxx1985 

Orbea.

M_FactorX19

wow man that sucks!

MegaTom

One would think that, but **** will always find a way happen. One of the measures of a company is how they deal with problems when they arise. I hope Orbea takes good care of you, I always liked the look of their bikes and may like to own one some day. Keep us posted.

JoelS

I hope they replace that for you.

That said, I've seen cracks like that from folks sitting on the top tube at lights and such.

Hapsmo911

Looking at the last picture is it possible something fell on the top tube? Something like a phone ipod etc? I say that because at the beginning of the crack it appears round for lack of a better description.

MegaTom

It does kinda look like a bit of an indentation there, and with other lighter cracks (possibly only in the finish) spidering out in other directions.

sjt78

Is hitting a pothole at 15mph and causing a crack really a reason for them to warranty the frame? Educate me. I wouldn't think this was a manufacturer defect but damage due to a crash. Yes you didn't go down, but hitting a pothole at 15mph is not something the bike was designed to handle. Maybe Orbea is very lenient with their frame warranty. I'm sure how well you know the lbs is going to make or brake the situation.

bigskyTi

Wow, bummer.

I hate to be a hater, but maybe give Orbea a chance to rectify the problem before you go and seek the infinite non expertise of the internet community?
Again sorry. But failures happen, even in the most stringent production processes and mundane usages. I won't try to figure out why this happened, but at least give the mfg a chance to respond. You said you hit a pot hole pretty hard, I know we all like to think our frames are indestructible, but the truth is they are not even close. Hopefully you will get a new frame in a couple weeks and all will be right with the world.

I'm not in the bike industry but I know that taking something like this 'live' to the internet before a mfg can respond does not help you chances of a cool response.

I'm glad your OK and that frame looks toasted, but help yourself out and work the process.

NuBiker

thank you guys for your comments. I am not taking it to the internet to complain about Orbea, I like Orbeas and I will still buy Orbeas, I only had good experience with Orbeas. I just wanted to rant and get it off my chest. Don't want to do it in front of my wife, she already complains about my expensive hobby.
Just to comment about the threads that mentioned that it seems like a dent or something hitted from the top. Actually, it looks like the tube bent upward and cracked the carbon on the bottom. So in other terms your comments are true, it looks like something hit it from the top but than it wouldn't make sense to have the crack on the bottom.

AEO

what? your bike can't handle potholes at 15mph?

sjt78

I ride mainly steel frame bikes so yes they can. I wouldn't expect a lightweight carbon frame to hold up. I'd also like to know what kind of "pothole" the OP hit. What I call a pothole here in WNY others might call a crater Our roads here are so bad come spring time that it is hard to find a decent stretch of road without some missing asphalt. His front wheel looks okay so maybe this was a tiny pothole.

AEO

I honestly don't like riding our roads here in the spring, because they are just riddled with potholes. They're particularly bad where buses run.

I know I've seen several where you can just chuck a 6yr old down it, and it still wouldn't fill up.

Shimagnolo

Odd place for a crack.
Much more common to see the top tube and down tubes fail a couple inches back from the head tube.

nwbikeman

Well a pothole shouldn't cause that kind of damage although that is the thinest part of the frame tube and had that been a steel frame you probably wouldn't be walking right now as it would have folded in half. I would have guessed a roof rack. If not warranty then crash replacement will be most likely.

DRietz

The misconceptions about carbon fiber that I read on this forum are absolutely ridiculous. Carbon fiber isn't glass.

Have you ever watched the Paris-Roubaix? Heard of the Forest of Arenberg where obtuse cobble stones are often multiple cobble lengths apart? There's a race that happens there every year, and all of those riders are on carbon fiber. How often do these riders break their carbon frames from simply riding very fast over these cobbles (or lack thereof)? Pretty much never.

Any mass-produced carbon fiber bike frame should withstand a strike to a pothole at any reasonable cycling speed. To think otherwise is quite silly, and for this frame to fail because of a pothole strike tells me that there's a very serious manufacturing defect here that should be rightfully warrantied.

nosignature

+1

10 year old carbon frames can handle potholes, let alone a model as recent as that onix. it's easy to fall into the "chinese plastic" rhetoric that the internet seems to be chock full of, but imo it's alarmist and silly. orbea should warranty that frame, but obviously fine print is key. good luck to the original poster.

Looigi

Lot's of good discussion here, but I'll point out the size and depth of the pothole does have some bearing on the matter. If you ran into a vertical cement wall at 15mph I suspect something would fail. A big and deep enough pot hole could be similar, and maybe even worse, as the direction of the force could be more directly through the CG of the rider/bike.

mmmdonuts

I agree with the "misconceptions" re: CF.

These are CF



That is some interesting damage the OP has. It does look like something landed on the top tube.

Trucker Dan

This is bs. There is no way a normal sized person is going to crack a top tube by sitting on it.

Bacciagalupe

I would agree that it is most likely a manufacturing defect, not a result of a collision or impact.

I might add that any frame made by any manufacturer could have an issue like this at any point in its life cycle. A metal frame that isn't welded properly can pass inspection and still crack within the first 1000 miles.

So, the real question will be how the LBS and Orbea treat you when you submit the warranty claim. Unfortunately since you're going to a different LBS, they may charge you the labor to swap out the parts onto the new frame, c'est la guerre.

Banzai

I'm surprised it took until post number 12 for someone to ignite the frame material "debate". (Debate is in parentheses, because most peoples' positions seem to be more one of religious faith than scientific fact.)

Where's the nuclear bomb picture?

To the OP: That sucks. Never seen anything like it.

roadiejorge 

the voice of reason is always nice to hear, thank you.

DXchulo

https://www.bustedcarbon.com/ Maybe you can find something similar here.

It's laughable to think that a bike isn't designed to handle a pothole at 15mph. Obviously you don't want to do it every day and it's nice to avoid that situation, but any bike should be able to handle that unless the pothole is 5 feet deep or something. Just look at Paris-Roubaix. Guys ride carbon frames there all the time.

JoelS

If they don't warranty it, the frame can be repaired. I expect Calfee would make quick work of it.