Bad Weld/ Frame Replacement Claim...Valid?

[Franz Bestuchev]

philcycles wrote:
> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
>> about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
>> claim?
>>
>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>
> Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have been
> filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the auto
> parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame not one
> whit.
> Phil Brown
>

Yea, and a tiny little tear on the fuselage of Aloha Airlines Flight 243
resulted in this:

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Boeing 737-200 flight between
Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, the aircraft suffered
extensive damage after an explosive decompression inflight, but was able
to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. One crew member was blown out
of the airplane and another 65 passengers and crew were injured.
......
"a passenger noticed a crack in the fuselage upon boarding the aircraft
prior to the ill-fated flight but did not notify anyone of this."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243


So...I'd rather not be riding the bike if that's a weld I should be
concerned about. Therefore I posted a question *and* posted pictures for
the evaluation of others. It doesn't appear to make a bit of difference
to the bike so I'm not concerned anymore. That makes for common sense in
my mind.

 

[G.T.]

[email protected] wrote:
> But a soma (whatever that is) is not a Lemond- bikes inspired by the
> finest American cyclist ever
>

Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and
Lemond. And he should have inspired them to weld them better.

Greg
--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Franz Bestuchev]

Mike Reed wrote:
> Regarding your weight, you're not /that/ big. When I decided to "get
> back into" cycling, I was 6'4" and had balooned to 220 lbs, riding on a
> 62cm frame. I've since ridden myself down to 182 lbs.
>
> I can't seem to shake the 6'4" though.
>
> -Mike
>

I've actually ridden myself slightly *up* to 215 via ditching my car and
getting into swimming again. Still got a little bit of belly. My legs
seem to have gotten bigger, quicker, than the rest of me got smaller
since I started this last Oct.

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Franz Bestuchev wrote:
> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
> about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a
> valid claim?
>
> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

Your link no longer works. Is there another picture that can be seen?
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

> Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and Lemond.
> And he should have inspired them to weld them better.

Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and being
accused of destroying tradition and beauty.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"G.T." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>> But a soma (whatever that is) is not a Lemond- bikes inspired by the
>> finest American cyclist ever
>>
>
> Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and Lemond.
> And he should have inspired them to weld them better.
>
> Greg
> --
> "All my time I spent in heaven
> Revelries of dance and wine
> Waking to the sound of laughter
> Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

> I bought this bike and was in an auto accident shortly thereafter. It's
> only been recently that I've been able to ride anything with a road style
> posture and spotted this when I got it out to clean off the dust.

That must be why I don't clean my bike very often. Ignorance is bliss. :>)

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"Franz Bestuchev" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
>>> about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
>>> claim?
>>>
>>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>>
>> In my opinion that's not a warranty issue, and certainly not something
>> that looks like it would in some way weaken the frame. In most cases that
>> pinhole would be filled in with paint, but for some reason this one
>> wasn't. In our shop, it might earn a $25 "blem" credit, but most people
>> wouldn't be bothered with it.
>>
>> If it's bothersome to look at, you can simply put a small amount of paint
>> there (as should have been the case originally) and nobody will ever
>> know.
>>
>> One of the technical reasons for the relative ugliness of some welds is
>> that they no longer weld all the way around the tube at once, but rather
>> do one quarter of the weld, then move on to another tube junction. Doing
>> this helps reduce built-in stresses, but also means you have four
>> start/stop points for each weld (which is visually noticeable).
>>
>> LeMond warrants cosmetic issues for one year, and if push came to shove,
>> within that year period of time could probably be talked into repainting
>> the frame. But... had such a bike come into my shop, I would have
>> suggested that a small cosmetic "blem" credit might be appropriate, but
>> that it really wasn't worthwhile to repaint the entire bike for such a
>> small thing, especially since it could be touched up easily and the bike
>> would be out of commission for 4 weeks if it was sent back.
>>
>> That's practical bicycle retailer thinking; your mileage may vary.
>>
>> --Mike Jacoubowsky
>> Chain Reaction Bicycles
>> www.ChainReaction.com
>> Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
>
> That's what I needed to know, thanks!
>
> I bought this bike and was in an auto accident shortly thereafter. It's
> only been recently that I've been able to ride anything with a road style
> posture and spotted this when I got it out to clean off the dust.

 

[Mike Reed]

After thinking about this for a day, I think the frame is trashed. I'll
relieve you of it for $50 if you can't get it warrantied...

It is my size....

 

[Hank Wirtz]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:


> Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
> sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and
> being accused of destroying tradition and beauty.

Yeah, those funny pedals his team sponsor forced on him? Never last.

 

[G.T.]

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>>Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and Lemond.
>>And he should have inspired them to weld them better.
>
>
> Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
> sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and being
> accused of destroying tradition and beauty.
>

Doesn't mean he has a personality. And what little personality he did
have sure got sucked out of his bikes by Trek.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Mark Janeba]

Franz Bestuchev wrote:
> philcycles wrote:
>
>> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>>
>>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
>>> about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
>>> claim?
>>>
>>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>>
>>
>> Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have been
>> filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the auto
>> parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame not one
>> whit. Phil Brown
>>
>
> Yea, and a tiny little tear on the fuselage of Aloha Airlines Flight 243
> resulted in this:
>
[deletia]

I assume you aren't planning to use the bicycle as aviation
transportation at 35,000 feet. If you were, you might indeed be wise to
have every tiny flaw checked out. As it is...

Mark

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

philcycles wrote:
> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame,
>> I'm about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this
>> a valid claim?
>>
>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>
> Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have
> been filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the
> auto parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame
> not one whit.
> Phil Brown

For the love of God, where is this friggin picture?!?!?
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[RonSonic]

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 10:34:51 -0700, Franz Bestuchev <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Mike Reed wrote:
>> Regarding your weight, you're not /that/ big. When I decided to "get
>> back into" cycling, I was 6'4" and had balooned to 220 lbs, riding on a
>> 62cm frame. I've since ridden myself down to 182 lbs.
>>
>> I can't seem to shake the 6'4" though.
>>
>> -Mike
>>
>
>I've actually ridden myself slightly *up* to 215 via ditching my car and
>getting into swimming again. Still got a little bit of belly. My legs
>seem to have gotten bigger, quicker, than the rest of me got smaller
>since I started this last Oct.

Dig it. I'm stuck at 6'2, 220. My clothes fit me differently than they did a
couple months ago and WAY differennt from last year. But really I'm still
carrying a spare tire that doesn't fit and want to peel it off. Cheaper than
saving weight in bike parts.

Ron

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 03:05:24 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> As soon as the customer leaves, he props
>the chip on the wall and sprays it with some of the paint he has left from
>the car. When the customer returns he holds up the chip and says, "I knew
>you could do it," and drives off satisfied.

And then the customer compares the chip to the rest of the sample he took
it from and comes back with a lawyer.

Jasper

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:38:37 -0800, "G.T." <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>>>Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and Lemond.
>>>And he should have inspired them to weld them better.
>>
>>
>> Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
>> sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and being
>> accused of destroying tradition and beauty.
>>
>
>Doesn't mean he has a personality. And what little personality he did
>have sure got sucked out of his bikes by Trek.
>
>Greg

My 2002 LeMond Tourmalet may not have started with much personality,
but it has plenty now.
The only original equipment is the fork and rear brake caliper, all
else has been upgraded, to my particular needs and taste..

My bike screams ride me. Do a search on Soma and all you find are
links for Soma brand muscle relaxers.

Obviously pride of ownership, personalization, and some memorable
rides are what makes a bicycle special. It's silly for me to criticize
Soma, and it's just as silly to do it to Trek and LeMond, based on
personality. At one time Trek was a small company, they did a lot of
things well, and became a big company. Maybe it could happen to Soma.
If it does, will they then lack personality?

Usually when people criticize another brand, it is to counter their
insecurities of the purchasing decisions that they made. Or they are
acting like a child, "my stuff is better than your stuff, naha".
So, which is it?

Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[G.T.]

Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:38:37 -0800, "G.T." <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>>
>>>>Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and Lemond.
>>>>And he should have inspired them to weld them better.
>>>
>>>
>>>Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
>>>sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and being
>>>accused of destroying tradition and beauty.
>>>
>>
>>Doesn't mean he has a personality. And what little personality he did
>>have sure got sucked out of his bikes by Trek.
>>
>>Greg
>
>
> My 2002 LeMond Tourmalet may not have started with much personality,
> but it has plenty now.
> The only original equipment is the fork and rear brake caliper, all
> else has been upgraded, to my particular needs and taste..
>
> My bike screams ride me. Do a search on Soma and all you find are
> links for Soma brand muscle relaxers.
>
> Obviously pride of ownership, personalization, and some memorable
> rides are what makes a bicycle special. It's silly for me to criticize
> Soma, and it's just as silly to do it to Trek and LeMond, based on
> personality. At one time Trek was a small company, they did a lot of
> things well, and became a big company.

And does anyone there even ride any more?


> Maybe it could happen to Soma.
> If it does, will they then lack personality?
>

Yes, if Soma gets to the point where less then 1% of their employees
ride then they will lack personality.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Franz Bestuchev]

Mark Janeba wrote:
> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>> philcycles wrote:
>>
>>> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>>>
>>>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
>>>> about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a
>>>> valid
>>>> claim?
>>>>
>>>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>>>
>>>
>>> Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have been
>>> filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the auto
>>> parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame not one
>>> whit. Phil Brown
>>>
>>
>> Yea, and a tiny little tear on the fuselage of Aloha Airlines Flight
>> 243 resulted in this:
>>
> [deletia]
>
> I assume you aren't planning to use the bicycle as aviation
> transportation at 35,000 feet. If you were, you might indeed be wise to
> have every tiny flaw checked out. As it is...
>
> Mark
>

Yes, commercial aviation is exactly what I plan to do.

Or maybe I'll ride it around on the ground and make sure that things of
concern to me...such as a hole in a weld which is something I've never
come across before...isn't a problem.

I'll make sure to use your variety of common sense (ignorance) for all
future concerns.

 

[Franz Bestuchev]

Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
> philcycles wrote:
>> Franz Bestuchev wrote:
>>> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame,
>>> I'm about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this
>>> a valid claim?
>>>
>>> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/
>> Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have
>> been filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the
>> auto parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame
>> not one whit.
>> Phil Brown
>
> For the love of God, where is this friggin picture?!?!?

I had to take the pictures down due to bandwidth concerns - it's not my
space online just a courtesy from a friend who needed the space back.

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>,
Franz Bestuchev <[email protected]> wrote:

> A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame,
> I'm about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this
> a valid claim?
>
> http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

Well, since we can't see the picture anymore, who knows? And I am not
sure that *anyone* could tell if a pinhole in a weld is of concern from
a photo. Take it in to the dealer and see what they say- you've got
nothing to lose except some time.

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>> Obviously pride of ownership, personalization, and some memorable
>> rides are what makes a bicycle special. It's silly for me to criticize
>> Soma, and it's just as silly to do it to Trek and LeMond, based on
>> personality. At one time Trek was a small company, they did a lot of
>> things well, and became a big company.
>
> And does anyone there even ride any more?

If I laid out just how absurd a question that is, and pointed out how many
people at Trek & LeMond & Klein & Fisher ride (as much as they're under
common ownership, their cultures under the roof are quite different and
shouldn't be lumped together), and how passionate about cycling they are, it
would make it appear that I was questioning your obvious wisdom on this
subject. That would be rude.

Of course, I wouldn't know about such things. I'm back there two or three
times a year for product meetings and such, and I'm sure they put on a
special show (in terms of riding and their passion for all-things cycling)
just for me, and then go back to whatever it is you think they do.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"G.T." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jeff Starr wrote:
>> On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:38:37 -0800, "G.T." <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>>>
>>>>>Who cares? Soma has a helluva lot more personality than Trek and
>>>>>Lemond. And he should have inspired them to weld them better.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Are we talking about the same LeMond? I'm thinking of the guy who was
>>>>sticking weird stuff on his bike, like cobbled-together aero bars, and
>>>>being accused of destroying tradition and beauty.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Doesn't mean he has a personality. And what little personality he did
>>>have sure got sucked out of his bikes by Trek.
>>>
>>>Greg
>>
>>
>> My 2002 LeMond Tourmalet may not have started with much personality,
>> but it has plenty now.
>> The only original equipment is the fork and rear brake caliper, all
>> else has been upgraded, to my particular needs and taste.. My bike
>> screams ride me. Do a search on Soma and all you find are
>> links for Soma brand muscle relaxers.
>>
>> Obviously pride of ownership, personalization, and some memorable
>> rides are what makes a bicycle special. It's silly for me to criticize
>> Soma, and it's just as silly to do it to Trek and LeMond, based on
>> personality. At one time Trek was a small company, they did a lot of
>> things well, and became a big company.
>
> And does anyone there even ride any more?
>
>
>> Maybe it could happen to Soma.
>> If it does, will they then lack personality?
>>
>
> Yes, if Soma gets to the point where less then 1% of their employees ride
> then they will lack personality.
>
> Greg
>
> --
> "All my time I spent in heaven
> Revelries of dance and wine
> Waking to the sound of laughter
> Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>> For the love of God, where is this friggin picture?!?!?
>
> I had to take the pictures down due to bandwidth concerns - it's not my
> space online just a courtesy from a friend who needed the space back.

You could put up one small relatively-low-res photo and not have much
concern. No need to have an album of big pix to show the issue.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com