Pinarello Warranty Sucks

[TallKYcyclist]

My lower bearing in the head tube fused together with the aluminum collar and when the LBS tried to remove the fork, the collar ripped out of the head tube.

I have had my Pinarello FP3 for 1 year and 7 months. I paid $3300 for it and put over 9000 miles. I am going through the replacement process from hell. After I submitted everything asked from me, it took Pinarello, Italy 1 full week to decide how they were going to fix the issue.

I heard some stories where Pinarello has tried not to cover the warranty, but I went over a week without hearing anything. Part of the issue is Pinarello Italy covers the warranty and not the importer, Gitabike. So, after a week, they decided to replace just the frame, which I could live with. That took 5 days, which is still not the issue. When the frame came in, the LBS shipped the old frame back, and he was supposed to take some of the guides off to put on the new bike. My bike has been at the LBS for 2 days, and I still can't ride it. Gitabike did not send a seat post and the LBS is trying to piece together parts to complete the bike. Now the LBS is expecting me to pay for new cables, since the old ones can not be used.

Gitabike has been good with communications, but it just seems there is one thing after another. I am writing to warn you of the warranty process from Pinarello. I really love my bike and the way it rides, but beware. The warranty is only 3 years, 2 years if you don't register the frame with-in ten days of purchase. Specialized and Cannondale have lifetime warranties.

I ride year round and put some serious miles on my bike. I am also 6'4, 240, so I am putting some serious stress on my frame.

I have had 2 wheels, Fulcrum, and one shifter, SRAM, replaced under warranty, with no issues, so this is not the standard.

Hope this helps someone out there going through the same thing.

Ride on.

 

[Froze]

Sorry to hear of the problems. Cables is a non issue, you had the bike for 2 years and cables tend to wear out after a year or two anyways so replace it and chalk it up to maintenance. Italy bike companies have the poorest warranties on the planet, not sure why but that's the way they are. But at least your getting a new frame out of the deal, that's a big plus instead of trying to mickey mouse a repair.

I would discuss with your LBS if there are any other options for the headset that would virtually guarantee to prevent what happened; and I would pay the extra cost to have that done right.

 

[alienator]

My lower bearing in the head tube fused together with the aluminum collar and when the LBS tried to remove the fork, the collar ripped out of the head tube.
I have had my Pinarello FP3 for 1 year and 7 months. I paid $3300 for it and put over 9000 miles. I am going through the replacement process from hell. After I submitted everything asked from me, it took Pinarello, Italy 1 full week to decide how they were going to fix the issue.
I heard some stories where Pinarello has tried not to cover the warranty, but I went over a week without hearing anything. Part of the issue is Pinarello Italy covers the warranty and not the importer, Gitabike. So, after a week, they decided to replace just the frame, which I could live with. That took 5 days, which is still not the issue. When the frame came in, the LBS shipped the old frame back, and he was supposed to take some of the guides off to put on the new bike. My bike has been at the LBS for 2 days, and I still can't ride it. Gitabike did not send a seat post and the LBS is trying to piece together parts to complete the bike. Now the LBS is expecting me to pay for new cables, since the old ones can not be used.
Gitabike has been good with communications, but it just seems there is one thing after another. I am writing to warn you of the warranty process from Pinarello. I really love my bike and the way it rides, but beware. The warranty is only 3 years, 2 years if you don't register the frame with-in ten days of purchase. Specialized and Cannondale have lifetime warranties.
I ride year round and put some serious miles on my bike. I am also 6'4, 240, so I am putting some serious stress on my frame.
I have had 2 wheels, Fulcrum, and one shifter, SRAM, replaced under warranty, with no issues, so this is not the standard.
Hope this helps someone out there going through the same thing.
Ride on.

You're getting a new frame. What's the complaint again? Take better care of your new frame, and by that I mean look after it properly if you're riding in rain or snow frequently. Bearings just don't fuse because of JRA. I can see a company taking extra time to decide a warranty issue, especially when it might be questionable whether or not it's really a warranty issue. Certainly, a week and five days isn't bad at all to replace a frame. If you're riding in all conditions it's very likely you needed new cables and housings anyway, so get over it.

 

[dhk2]

Talky, agree that you experienced good warranty service for an Italian bike, or any bike for that matter. And agree it doesn't sound like a normal JRA type of failure; but more like a big hit on the front end from a pothole or curb. The "lifetime" warranties you refer to only cover manufacturing defects, ie, defects in materials and workmanship at the time of manufacturing. Like most all big-brand bike warranties, wearout, fatigue, damage from crashes and potholes, is excluded.

Looking at your Pinarello warranty, in the list of exclusions, you'll find "impacts" , "corrosion", "aggressive cleaners" and "improper repairs". Believe you could have been denied warranty coverage based on one or more of these exclusions. Further, the warranty is clear about the issue of fatigue: failures which are due to fatigue/wearout, or the products "reaching the natural end of their useful life cycles", are excluded from warranty coverage.

The introductory paragraph is clear also about the need to be vigilant for fatigue failures. Note it states that factors like "rider's weight and power", "how much and where they are used", "aggressive cleaners", "impacts" and "falls" all affect (ie, shorten) the fatique life. Check the Specialized and Cannondale "lifetime warranties" and I believe you'll find similar language. In short, Pinarello, like other race bike manufacturers, really isn't in the business of selling "lifetime" frames.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by TallKYcyclist .

My lower bearing in the head tube fused together with the aluminum collar and when the LBS tried to remove the fork, the collar ripped out of the head tube.

I have had my Pinarello FP3 for 1 year and 7 months. I paid $3300 for it and put over 9000 miles. I am going through the replacement process from hell. After I submitted everything asked from me, it took Pinarello, Italy 1 full week to decide how they were going to fix the issue.

I heard some stories where Pinarello has tried not to cover the warranty, but I went over a week without hearing anything. Part of the issue is Pinarello Italy covers the warranty and not the importer, Gitabike. So, after a week, they decided to replace just the frame, which I could live with. That took 5 days, which is still not the issue. When the frame came in, the LBS shipped the old frame back, and he was supposed to take some of the guides off to put on the new bike. My bike has been at the LBS for 2 days, and I still can't ride it. Gitabike did not send a seat post and the LBS is trying to piece together parts to complete the bike. Now the LBS is expecting me to pay for new cables, since the old ones can not be used.

Gitabike has been good with communications, but it just seems there is one thing after another. I am writing to warn you of the warranty process from Pinarello. I really love my bike and the way it rides, but beware. The warranty is only 3 years, 2 years if you don't register the frame with-in ten days of purchase. Specialized and Cannondale have lifetime warranties.

I ride year round and put some serious miles on my bike. I am also 6'4, 240, so I am putting some serious stress on my frame.

I have had 2 wheels, Fulcrum, and one shifter, SRAM, replaced under warranty, with no issues, so this is not the standard.

Hope this helps someone out there going through the same thing.

Ride on.

It probably took Pinarello one week to figure out how someone manages to fuse together a headset.

Did the headset just completely seize and that's what prompted you to take it to the bike shop?

 

[tonyzackery]

Lower bearing fused because of lack of sufficient/proper type of bearing grease during assembly and/or poor maintenance - each of which are not the fault of Pinarello's. They did you a BIG favor in replacing that frame. IMO, you should be singing their praises.