grecinos

Hi folks!

I had my local Trek dealer submit a warranty claim for my 2006 Trek Madone 5.2. It was declined, but I was given a 20% discount on a frame of bike. The catch is, I have to do it through a dealer and possibly directly through Trek.

If I bought a new bike, (off the top of my head) I'd like it to be configured with Shimano Ultegra Di2 and a "nice" set of wheels. The frame would be in the realm of an Emonda SL6.

My budget would be contingent on how much I can sell the parts on my current bike. It has Ultegra Di2 11 Speed (Rim Brake) componentry and Shimano Dura-Ace WH-9000 C24 Road Wheels. Everything is in perfect working order.

If you had a 20% discount towards a new bike / frame, what would you do? Any advise?

FYI, I have a few weeks to decide before the offer expires.

As always, TIA.

biker128pedal

What broke? Do you have a copy of the receipt? I had a 5.0 with broken rear drive side dropout. This can be fixed. I stripped the bike and the Trek dealer sent it in for repairs. Trek found a crack in the top tube hidden by the paint. I was offered a rim brake Carbon Elmonda frame. I had the receipt I took the $1850 toward a Domane and kelp my parts and fork. This was almost three years ago. Anyone need a fork from a Madone 5.0? I have one.

Oh if you crashed and broke the frame the. I understand the 20%. I weight 210 pound. I’ve broken 7 frames just riding along. Really. All materials except titanium. Gotta get me one of those.

grecinos

The bottom bracket is exhibiting some chipping on the frame. It doesn't appear to have a crack or audible noises (yet). I took some photos along with the original receipt for the frame. This frame was a warranty replacement that was given to me in 2006.

tomato coupe

Why is this an issue?

jaxgtr

Is it the carbon chipping or just the paint and clear coat?

grecinos

I can see the carbon exposed where the chip occurred. There's other similar visible chipping in the paint around the edge of the bottom bracket area. There's definitely something going on, but it's tough to tell how extensive it is. It wasn't due to negligence, that much I know.

jaxgtr

I would contact a carbon repair shop to see if they can inspect it. Might not be anymore than just the clear coat and paint which you could have repainted if you like the frame and want to keep it. I am sure there is a carbon repair shop in California somewhere that will do an inspection for you. A neighbor of mine had to send her frame to a place in Miami to get repaired as it was damaged by the airline when she was coming back from a Iron Man race in Texas.

Small rocks can nicked the paint on the BB then it just sort of goes from there. Similar to how some cars have a poor clear coat and it starts to peal and then the paint goes.

bargainguy

Ruckus Composites - a specialty carbon fiber inspection & repair shop in Portland, OR - uses an Olympus 45MG ultrasonic thickness gauge to help determine structural integrity of carbon fiber frames. Cutting edge stuff.

https://www.compositesworld.com/arti...fiber-bicycles

Iride01 

If I had an offer of 20% off any of their bikes and one of their bikes is what I wanted, then I'd buy that bike. Otherwise I'd just get what ever brand and model of bike I prefer at the moment. I might find out if the 20% off is good till I ever want a particular model of Trek in the future or if there is a time limit the offer is good.

Personally I wouldn't buy a bike that puts me in such financial straights that I have to depend on selling the old bike or part it out in order to get another bike. I buy bikes I can afford to throw away.

Lombard

I hear too many stories of Trek declining valid warranty claims. If it wasn't an issue of negligence or abuse, they should warranty the frame. 20% discount on a new Trek frame? Personally, I would run away from Trek and buy a different brand, but that's just me.

tomato coupe

From the OP's description, this could just be chips in the paint in a vulnerable area on a 17-year-old frame. Trek may have reached that conclusion after looking at the photos.

grecinos

All very good points.

jaxgtr & bargainguy: I never thought about bringing the frame to a repair shop but will definitely look into it. Thanks for the suggestions.

Iride01: I normally upgrade my bike as time goes on. Eventually, I reach a point where I'm satisfied with what I have and just maintain. Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy an equivalent spec'd bike at the moment, even with 20% off. So, I'm weighing my odds on what to do next. Perhaps I'll buy just a frame and hold on to it till I can afford to buy the components.

tomato coupe: I had to take a second set of photos that shows similar issues around the bottom bracket area. I guess it looked like nothing but chips in the paint to them. Either that, or they found a convenient excuse why not to honor the warranty exchange.

tomato coupe

Are there problems in addition to the bottom bracket area?

terrymorse 

I would:

• buy a new bike with the discount
• keep the old bike as a backup/rain bike

jp911

Ruckus Composites is making repairs on my 2012 Madone 5.2 frame as I type this. There was cracking around the water bottle bosses on the seat tube, which upon inspection turned out to be cracks in the paint only with no damage to the carbon fiber (the bosses aren't seated correctly and the shifting damaged the paint). The repair is minor compared to what it could have been, but Ruckus has been fantastic with their communication and overall service.

himespau 

If you don't have to turn the old frame in as part of the deal this sounds like a winner.

Koyote

Paint chips are usually not fatal to a cf frame, notwithstanding all of the handwringing over such things here on bf.

Calsun

I would factor in the cost to move everything to the new frame. Often the bike frames from Trek and Specialized are on sale during the year and with a greater than 20% discount. I would compare the 80% price of a new Trek frame against the cost of a new frame from other bike companies as no reason to stick with Trek.

Steve B.

Trek has had a running sale the past month or so, they might have something 20% off on a showroom floor model. Makes a 20% for a warranty "deal" kind of worthless.

Lombard

Well if it's nothing more than paint chips and the frame isn't structurally compromised, I don't see any reason not to just ride the bike.

tak2

Does Trek even offer a rim brake road bike frame any more?

jaxgtr

Emonda ALR and a Domane 2. The ALR is a fantastic frame, but I am biased as I have an original series and its a great bike.

grecinos

I spoke with a Trek representative today. He said the closest match to my frame would be an Emonda SL, SLR or ALR series. I can purchase the frame by itself or as a complete bike. The cost for the SL frame would be $1759 with the 20% discount. The cost for the SLR frame would be $3,359 with discount. I didn't ask about the ALR series. The difference between the two frames are the quality of the construction and the SLR is about one pound lighter than the SL model. So, close to double the cost between the SLR and the SL. The agent told me that the expiration for discount is many months or more, as long as I inform the dealer where I filed the claim. They offer both rim or disc brake models.

t2p

agree - 20% off retail is not worth a fk

jaxgtr

Don't discount the ALR, it is a very smooth riding frame. I was looking at the Emonda SL back in 2015 and once I took a ride on the ALR, which was a new model that year, it had the same shape and geometry as the carbon Emonda's and I could not justify the cost of the SL model any longer as the ride was that good. I still have the bike and recently updated to Force eTap AXS. The cost of the SLR versus the SL is not worth it for a one pound savings in my view.