BMC TeamMachine SLR01 Disc fork recall
#51
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with my LBS. Of the 14 forks they need for recall bikes, they have received 5. The issue holding mine up is color. The 5 they have received, to date, have been different colors. According to my LBS, BMC told him that the rest of the forks should arrive at the shop by the end of next week (January 24, 2020). Time will tell. It is encouraging to hear that some of the revised forks have actually made it into the hands of bike owners.
BMC has yet to respond to my email. Crickets.
BMC has yet to respond to my email. Crickets.
#53
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Not so many cases:
The fork steerer tube (...) may crack or break during use, posing a fall hazard.
As of December, 2019, the company has received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada. In the United States, the company has received 4 reports of forks breaking, and 2 reports of injuries due to falls (scratches, bruising, shoulder injury).
Approximately 94 units of the affected product were sold in Canada and approximately 842 were sold in the United States.
Source: healthycanadians.gc.ca
Does anybody else know of already delivered forks (and where)?
#54
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Two further updates from me,
I sent an email to BMC asking them how long it would take if I wanted to buy a fork for my bike and this is the reply
"If you order a new fork now, it will be delivered in mid-March or later.
As already mentioned, we could not prepare for the recall and the fork has to be produced again.
Sincerely yours
Your BMC Switzerland team"
The second update is the local BMC dealer here in Spain contacted me to inform me that BMC are starting to ship the forks now and that they hope to be in contact with me in the next couple of weeks to replace my fork
My own feeling is BMC have handled this very badly, if they really wanted to they could have had this recall sorted by now. They are not "re-engineering" a new fork for our bikes they are only replacing the forks that had a manufacturing fault
And as the actual number of affected forks is probably in the low hundreds this should for a company the size of BMC should only take weeks not months to replace each customers affected fork
But my real issue with BMC is not the perceived slowness in the handling of the recall although annoying but rather the lack of contact from BMC to their end customer/user about the safety of their products
I love these bikes, I have wanted a BMC since I saw Tyler Hamilton ride one in the early noughties and finally bought two last year to replace my two R5 VWDs and I'm not sure if its the move from mechanical to electronic, rim to disc, 23c to 25c tubeless or the Cervelo frame to BMC frame or a combination of all but these bikes really are a pleasure to ride and have not regretted my purchase up to now but I keep coming back to one major issue that I have with BMC and this recall and that is that somebody in BMC has made the commercial decision that despite having all my contact details and the fact that I'm using bikes affected by this recall that I the end user of these bikes does not need to be officially contacted by BMC and that to me is a red flag to any future purchases of BMC bikes
I sent an email to BMC asking them how long it would take if I wanted to buy a fork for my bike and this is the reply
"If you order a new fork now, it will be delivered in mid-March or later.
As already mentioned, we could not prepare for the recall and the fork has to be produced again.
Sincerely yours
Your BMC Switzerland team"
The second update is the local BMC dealer here in Spain contacted me to inform me that BMC are starting to ship the forks now and that they hope to be in contact with me in the next couple of weeks to replace my fork
My own feeling is BMC have handled this very badly, if they really wanted to they could have had this recall sorted by now. They are not "re-engineering" a new fork for our bikes they are only replacing the forks that had a manufacturing fault
And as the actual number of affected forks is probably in the low hundreds this should for a company the size of BMC should only take weeks not months to replace each customers affected fork
But my real issue with BMC is not the perceived slowness in the handling of the recall although annoying but rather the lack of contact from BMC to their end customer/user about the safety of their products
I love these bikes, I have wanted a BMC since I saw Tyler Hamilton ride one in the early noughties and finally bought two last year to replace my two R5 VWDs and I'm not sure if its the move from mechanical to electronic, rim to disc, 23c to 25c tubeless or the Cervelo frame to BMC frame or a combination of all but these bikes really are a pleasure to ride and have not regretted my purchase up to now but I keep coming back to one major issue that I have with BMC and this recall and that is that somebody in BMC has made the commercial decision that despite having all my contact details and the fact that I'm using bikes affected by this recall that I the end user of these bikes does not need to be officially contacted by BMC and that to me is a red flag to any future purchases of BMC bikes
#55
Senior Member
From your posts above it sounds like the only thing they won't answer is what they mean by re-engineered, you think any company will tell you exactly how they engineer their proprietary items? Not really. Otherwise you've now posted 2 responses from them which is all you can expect from any company. It might be a little bit of double speak since it seems easier to go back to an older safer design rather then redesign, or as the case may really be they redesigned the failure out of the recall forks. In which case; reworking time, testing, and final production/painting could easily take months. Either way be glad you have a company doing their due diligence.
#56
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
From your posts above it sounds like the only thing they won't answer is what they mean by re-engineered, you think any company will tell you exactly how they engineer their proprietary items? Not really. Otherwise you've now posted 2 responses from them which is all you can expect from any company. It might be a little bit of double speak since it seems easier to go back to an older safer design rather then redesign, or as the case may really be they redesigned the failure out of the recall forks. In which case; reworking time, testing, and final production/painting could easily take months. Either way be glad you have a company doing their due diligence.
#57
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
Not so many cases:
The fork steerer tube (...) may crack or break during use, posing a fall hazard.
As of December, 2019, the company has received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada. In the United States, the company has received 4 reports of forks breaking, and 2 reports of injuries due to falls (scratches, bruising, shoulder injury).
Approximately 94 units of the affected product were sold in Canada and approximately 842 were sold in the United States.
Source: healthycanadians.gc.ca
Does anybody else know of already delivered forks (and where)?
#58
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
It has been twelve (12) days since I sent my latest email to BMC. Today, I received a response. I'm not sure how I feel about the response, but it IS a response. And it shows a willingness to do something to make the situation less bad. Here's the text, edited slightly to eliminate personal identifying information:
Not ideal, obviously. But I have a feeling the "early March" ETA is no more firm than the late November, early December, mid December, early January, mid January, and late January ETAs I have been given to this point. [Recall that my original guess was that November would turn into April.] An "early March" ETA sounds pretty unlikely to me. So . . . do I let them install the off-color fork with the idea of coming back to replace the fork again when/if a race grey fork becomes available? I hate to. But then, if I don't, I could lose the Spring / early Summer cycling season with this bike.
The saga continues.
Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately we've had some delays on replacement forks in the Race Grey color, and with the Chinese New Year approaching we will soon be subject to a production halt for the month of February. Our current ETA for a replacement fork that is color matched to your Teammachine SLR01 Disc is early March.
According to our records you had your Teammachine SLR01 Disc recall safety inspection completed through xxxxxxx Bike Shop. We're having a placeholder fork sent to their store in the Team Red color (image attached) as a placeholder until the matching color fork becomes available. This way you're able to get back on the road safely in the quickest way possible.
The safety of our customers is our highest priority. BMC sincerely apologizes for the situation, and would like to thank you for your support.
- Your BMC Switzerland Team
According to our records you had your Teammachine SLR01 Disc recall safety inspection completed through xxxxxxx Bike Shop. We're having a placeholder fork sent to their store in the Team Red color (image attached) as a placeholder until the matching color fork becomes available. This way you're able to get back on the road safely in the quickest way possible.
The safety of our customers is our highest priority. BMC sincerely apologizes for the situation, and would like to thank you for your support.
- Your BMC Switzerland Team
The saga continues.
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#59
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It seems like the frustration of going back to install the Race Grey fork can't possibly be worse than the frustration of not having your bike for another month, minimum (and as you note, it could easily be longer). If you still don't have the Race Grey in April, you're going to be kicking yourself that you didn't get your bike back rideable ASAP.
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#60
Full Member
If I had been without my bike for this long, I'd get the off-color fork installed ASAP and get back to riding it until the color matched fork arrives. Like the previous poster said, the delivery date could still be pushed back further than the early March ETA.
#61
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@ Flashbazbo,
I'd be of the same opinion as the two previous posters, take the red fork as a stopgap at least then you can use your bike when you want to and if the grey fork is delayed even further at least you haven't lost out on weeks or months of cycling
I'm delighted to see that somebody in BMC has come up with a workable solution/compromise that works for both sides if you like rather than the answer I got which was basically
"we're reengineering a new fork and your lucky to be getting it made in such a short time period and until then you'll just have to wait"
If my replacement fork hasn't arrived by the end of January I'm planning on bringing both my bikes down to the local BMC dealer here in Spain and swap over the forks on the bikes so at least I can start to use the the other bike and even up the mileage, I've already worn out a chain and a rear tyre.
I'd be of the same opinion as the two previous posters, take the red fork as a stopgap at least then you can use your bike when you want to and if the grey fork is delayed even further at least you haven't lost out on weeks or months of cycling
I'm delighted to see that somebody in BMC has come up with a workable solution/compromise that works for both sides if you like rather than the answer I got which was basically
"we're reengineering a new fork and your lucky to be getting it made in such a short time period and until then you'll just have to wait"
If my replacement fork hasn't arrived by the end of January I'm planning on bringing both my bikes down to the local BMC dealer here in Spain and swap over the forks on the bikes so at least I can start to use the the other bike and even up the mileage, I've already worn out a chain and a rear tyre.
#62
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Take the existing fork, have it custom painted and bill BMC.
#63
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
With the Chinese epidemic disrupting commerce and transportation throughout the country, I could see any not-yet-shipped forks taking a long time. Maybe months.
So yes, I will be accepting the red fork as a "place holder." I'm calling my LBS today to see if they've received the memo (and/or the shipping notification on the red fork).
So yes, I will be accepting the red fork as a "place holder." I'm calling my LBS today to see if they've received the memo (and/or the shipping notification on the red fork).
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#64
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With the Chinese epidemic disrupting commerce and transportation throughout the country, I could see any not-yet-shipped forks taking a long time. Maybe months.
So yes, I will be accepting the red fork as a "place holder." I'm calling my LBS today to see if they've received the memo (and/or the shipping notification on the red fork).
So yes, I will be accepting the red fork as a "place holder." I'm calling my LBS today to see if they've received the memo (and/or the shipping notification on the red fork).
#65
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Update from last Thursday 23-Jan:
Has anyone else got their hands on replacement forks so far?
(...) The good news is that the replacement fork for your Teammachine SLR01 DISC has already been sent to your dealer. (...)
Color Team Red also, shipped to Lisbon, Portugal.Has anyone else got their hands on replacement forks so far?
#66
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
Is your bike Team Red? (Mine is Race Grey, but they're sending a Team Red temporary replacement fork.)
#67
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This is a good lesson for any future BMC buyers. Always buy an all black BMC bike to make sure replacement parts will take less time to replace.
#68
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
Actually . . . probably not. Although BMC offers a black SLR01 (they call it "stealth"), they never seem to stock them. I once tried to order one and they quoted the lead time in months.
#69
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
UPDATE: LBS just called to say that the "place holder" fork has been installed and the bike is ready to pick up. I'm eager to see what the multicolor bike looks like. (I'm guessing it will be like one of the local redneck Mustangs with a red fender, primer gray hood, and faded green paint on the rest.) But hopefully, it will function perfectly.
The clock keeps running on the proper color replacement fork. I originally guessed April. But with the coronavirus outbreak . . . is June too optimistic?
The clock keeps running on the proper color replacement fork. I originally guessed April. But with the coronavirus outbreak . . . is June too optimistic?
#70
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It has been twelve (12) days since I sent my latest email to BMC. Today, I received a response. I'm not sure how I feel about the response, but it IS a response. And it shows a willingness to do something to make the situation less bad. Here's the text, edited slightly to eliminate personal identifying information:
Not ideal, obviously. But I have a feeling the "early March" ETA is no more firm than the late November, early December, mid December, early January, mid January, and late January ETAs I have been given to this point. [Recall that my original guess was that November would turn into April.] An "early March" ETA sounds pretty unlikely to me. So . . . do I let them install the off-color fork with the idea of coming back to replace the fork again when/if a race grey fork becomes available? I hate to. But then, if I don't, I could lose the Spring / early Summer cycling season with this bike.
The saga continues.
Not ideal, obviously. But I have a feeling the "early March" ETA is no more firm than the late November, early December, mid December, early January, mid January, and late January ETAs I have been given to this point. [Recall that my original guess was that November would turn into April.] An "early March" ETA sounds pretty unlikely to me. So . . . do I let them install the off-color fork with the idea of coming back to replace the fork again when/if a race grey fork becomes available? I hate to. But then, if I don't, I could lose the Spring / early Summer cycling season with this bike.
The saga continues.
#71
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
Yes. Clearly, my guess that the early March date was illusion was correct. When I received the red fork, I put it on my calendar to ask the status of my correct color fork sometime in April.
And last night, at least one of my LBS's three locations was destroyed by a tornado. So, I think I'll give it time before I bother him again.
And last night, at least one of my LBS's three locations was destroyed by a tornado. So, I think I'll give it time before I bother him again.
#72
Chases Dogs for Sport
Thread Starter
UPDATE: I just received a call from my LBS. My correct color (race grey) fork has arrived!
Now, since my LBS is 55 miles away, I've got to figure out a time to make the trip to take the bike in for repairs.
Now, since my LBS is 55 miles away, I've got to figure out a time to make the trip to take the bike in for repairs.
#73
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Interesting; that’s way sooner than I would have though. Great news, though!
#74
Chases Dogs for Sport
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The Coronavirus scare must be pretty much over in China. Supposedly, that's what was holding back deliveries of the fork.
#75
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I was figuring June or July though. I suppose this is the definition of “better late than never”.