reueladhikari

It was a 58cm, single speed. Mostly ridden on road, about 6 years old


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rhenning

Did you have a question? Roger

TakingMyTime

If you're the original owner you should probably be reading this page... https://surlybikes.com/frame-warranty

Leebo

I think warranty is only 3 years.

HillRider

Is it really a crack or just a scratch in the paint? Hard to tell from the pictures.

WizardOfBoz

Unless you really mistreated the bike (steep, fast descents on uneven rocky trails on a commuter bike like the cross-check as an example) the frame should not have cracked. That's a manufacturing defect.
I'd contact Surly, whatever the warranty terms.

Report back here: a lot of prospective Surly buyers will be interested in how well Surly stands behind their product.

jimc101

Looks like it, for a rigid steel frame, anything sold especially by mainstream manufacture (Surly/QBP are big enough) you should get a lifetime at least for the original owner, 3 years for the frame is short enough to discount them from future potential purchases.

For the crack, would prefer it happened where it did, rather than at the headtube.

cpach

It's out of warranty for Surly unfortunately, but I'd consider shooting them an email, they might do a discounted frame if you're interested. A legitimate repair by a good framebuilder probably exceeds the cost of the frame.

reueladhikari

The bike served me very well. When I discovered the crack, I was riding up a small hill and it felt extra flexible. I’m guessing the welding heat might have made the area brittle.

The crack extends from where the right chainstay joins the BB shell to the underside of the down tube. Sorry about the poor photography skills.

Not too worried about warranty after 6 years of use. However, I won’t be buying anymore dark coloured frames. Better to spot cracks sooner.

2old

Surly prides themselves on durability at the expense of slightly heavier frames. I'd at least mention this problem and see how they respond. IMO, it's unacceptable for a steel frame to fail after six years of normal use.

WizardOfBoz

+1 This^^^^^

sch

Annoying that, but there is enough metal in the area to permit a braze or weld repair IMO. If Surly is surly about
the frame I would investigate a repair (which would necessitate at least a partial repaint). Nice thing about
steel is that ease of repair compared with Ti, with aluminum frames being non-repairable without post weld heat tx.

Depends on availability of replacement frames versus repair/repaint costs.

CroMo Mike 

I don't think any professional welder would take on the risk of repairing that one. If it fails again, either at his repair or nearby, and hurts somebody, he could be paying a lawyer. All because someone wanted to save some money to fix something that has already shown its propensity to fail at a critical junction.

Sorry about the frame. I thinks it's a wall hanger unless Surly is interested in getting it off the street.

WizardOfBoz

I think you'd have to replace the BB, which I suspect would be tough as you'd have to basically disassemble the frame. Perhaps worth it for a hand-made Italian from from the 60s, but for a modern mass-produced frame I suspect not. Or perhaps experts know a way? I think your best best is Surly Warranty, or at least (if you want to take another chance with Surly) see if they'd give you a deal on a replacement frame.

Leebo

Lifetime? On a $ 4-700 steel frame? Who else does this? Brands and makes please. I own 4 Surlys, used abused and ridden hard. No issues. Cross check on single track. Karate Monkey and Krampus on over loaded bikepacking trips, and more.

hokiefyd 

Jamis is one brand. They sell a number of steel frames in this price range. Link: https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/warranty-guide.html

Most brands with aluminum frames offer lifetime warranties on the frames. Trek, Giant, Specialized, etc. Granted, these are aluminum and not steel. But Jamis for sure does (on steel frames).

WizardOfBoz

Again, whatever their official policy, a quality steel frame should not fail in 5 years of use at a reasonable duty cycle. If you commute (which is the use that this bike is marketed for) on reasonable streets, I'd call and see if Surly will stand behind their product. They may choose to send you a new frame. They may have already noted that they had a bad run or a bad batch of steel when your bike was made. Or they may sell you a new frame at a significant discount.

Someone who used this type of bike to commute, but also enjoyed taking 1000 meter rock-hopping descents very fast, would be honor-bound to own up and pay for an appropriate frame replacement. I don't think that the OP fits into this category.

Be very interesting to see what Surly says. Please share!

himespau 

Wow, glad you caught it before you got hurt.

noglider 

All bike makers used to warranty their frames for the lifetime of the original owner. That was when all bike frames were made of steel. I don't know what warranties come nowadays. It was good practice back then because even frames that failed from abuse were rare enough.

squirtdad

it is no cost to ask....best to go to the original dealer if possible, but if not contact customer service.


I ended up getting a new (lesser model) electra cruiser after about 1 1/2 years of communication and this was for a cracked aluminum frame that I got second hand. I was upfront with electra and was looking just to buy a frame.....but after a lot of twists and turns ended up with a new bike

HillRider

I don't know if they still do it but Litespeed had a "lifetime warranty" for the original owner for their Ti frames. That was if you registered it by mail when you bought it and/or kept the original sales slip. I made sure to mail in the registration for my '96 Catalyst and registered my '05 Firenze and '06 Tuscany on-line.

So far, I've never needed to use the warranty on any of them after 75,000, 50,000 and 47,000 miles respectively.

Wilfred Laurier

Many of those bike makers have since ceased to exist - that business model gave us consumers a warm fuzzy feeling but perhaps was not sustainable.

himespau 

Darth Lefty 

The way things go now, they can only warranty it for the life of the company.

Someone over on the touring forum has exactly this same break on their 520. Steel is real though, right?

gearbasher

Not to hijack this thread, I had a Motobecane frame crack. It had a lifetime warranty. But, it cracked after the company went under. Since it was Vitus tubing, the LBS I purchased it from tried to get Vitus to replace the frame. That was a no-go.