Poor workmanship on Trek Bikes

[Javi Tejero]

Hi fellow cyclists,

I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feel ripped off by the poor workmanship and customer service of Trek Bikes...

Please hear my sad story and let me know if you, or anybody you know, has had simmilar bad luck with a Trek Bike:

In January I bought a Fuel 90 model (with a ZR9000 frame) that was my pride and joy until last August. The frame broke right under the seat and when I asked my dealer to honor the lifetime warranty, I was offered an inferior ALPHA frame that seems to have come out of a rust pile. Of course I responded that they should honor their pledge of replacing the frame with another of identical, or better, quality but was told to "hit the road". I tried to contact Trek Bike directly, to no avail.

It seems that Trek Bike growing pains are starting to show in their workmanship and quality service. Worse yet, they don´t even honor their warranty! Please help me push this otherwise great company to focus again on customer service.

Many thanks and happy trails!

 

[motorhommer]

Hi fellow cyclists,

I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feel ripped off by the poor workmanship and customer service of Trek Bikes...

Please hear my sad story and let me know if you, or anybody you know, has had simmilar bad luck with a Trek Bike:

In January I bought a Fuel 90 model (with a ZR9000 frame) that was my pride and joy until last August. The frame broke right under the seat and when I asked my dealer to honor the lifetime warranty, I was offered an inferior ALPHA frame that seems to have come out of a rust pile. Of course I responded that they should honor their pledge of replacing the frame with another of identical, or better, quality but was told to "hit the road". I tried to contact Trek Bike directly, to no avail.

It seems that Trek Bike growing pains are starting to show in their workmanship and quality service. Worse yet, they don´t even honor their warranty! Please help me push this otherwise great company to focus again on customer service.

Many thanks and happy trails!

I think you should make sure to contact TREK bikes like you say. Just be polite with the dealer and say thanks but you do not want to accept his offer and ask him for the HQ contact.
Just be polite but firm. It does not make sense to buy one bike frame breaks and then you get frame replaced by another frame. If you had wanted that other frame you would have bought it.
The good news is that they are offering you a frame you now just need to get the correct one

 

[dgregory57]

From what you say, your biggest problem is with the place where you bought the bike, not with Trek.

The people where you bought it do not work for Trek, and with their response to you, I would wonder if they are even authorized Trek dealers.

 

[cydewaze]

I've had exactly the opposite experience. After 12 years and 31,000+ miles of use, my OCLV road bike BB shell came unbonded, causing a creaking noise but still leaving the bike rideable. My LBS sent the frame back to Trek, and we both expected a repair job, but I instead got a brand new OCLV 120 frame + fork in my choice of color. I paid only the shipping. My service was prompt and trouble-free.

Perhaps you should find an alternate LBS, as the one who honored my warranty was not the one where I'd purchased the original bike.

 

[John M]

Hi fellow cyclists,

I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feel ripped off by the poor workmanship and customer service of Trek Bikes...

Please hear my sad story and let me know if you, or anybody you know, has had simmilar bad luck with a Trek Bike:

In January I bought a Fuel 90 model (with a ZR9000 frame) that was my pride and joy until last August. The frame broke right under the seat and when I asked my dealer to honor the lifetime warranty, I was offered an inferior ALPHA frame that seems to have come out of a rust pile. Of course I responded that they should honor their pledge of replacing the frame with another of identical, or better, quality but was told to "hit the road". I tried to contact Trek Bike directly, to no avail.

It seems that Trek Bike growing pains are starting to show in their workmanship and quality service. Worse yet, they don´t even honor their warranty! Please help me push this otherwise great company to focus again on customer service.

Many thanks and happy trails!

Trek generally has a very good reputation for customer service and warranty support. I suggest that you contact Trek directly, or even another Trek dealer. Although they didn't sell you the bike, they may be interested in gaining you as a future customer by providing good service.

Several years ago, I worked for a shop that carried several brands and the owner would often help customers with warranty issues on bikes that he had not sold himself (perhaps they had moved from a different town) and it was usually a good way to gain a customer for life.

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

Hi fellow cyclists,

I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feel ripped off by the poor workmanship and customer service of Trek Bikes...

Please hear my sad story and let me know if you, or anybody you know, has had simmilar bad luck with a Trek Bike:

In January I bought a Fuel 90 model (with a ZR9000 frame) that was my pride and joy until last August. The frame broke right under the seat and when I asked my dealer to honor the lifetime warranty, I was offered an inferior ALPHA frame that seems to have come out of a rust pile. Of course I responded that they should honor their pledge of replacing the frame with another of identical, or better, quality but was told to "hit the road". I tried to contact Trek Bike directly, to no avail.

It seems that Trek Bike growing pains are starting to show in their workmanship and quality service. Worse yet, they don´t even honor their warranty! Please help me push this otherwise great company to focus again on customer service.

Many thanks and happy trails!

Try this:

http://tinyurl.com/cq2gt

IMO, there is something "fishy" going on with your dealer.

 

[dhk]

I've had exactly the opposite experience. After 12 years and 31,000+ miles of use, my OCLV road bike BB shell came unbonded, causing a creaking noise but still leaving the bike rideable. My LBS sent the frame back to Trek, and we both expected a repair job, but I instead got a brand new OCLV 120 frame + fork in my choice of color. I paid only the shipping. My service was prompt and trouble-free.

Perhaps you should find an alternate LBS, as the one who honored my warranty was not the one where I'd purchased the original bike.

Wow...that's impressive warranty support on a 12 year old bike. As you know, Trek's "lifetime" warranty (like most everyone's) doesn't cover normal wear and tear or fatigue failures, only defects in materials and workmanship.

With that age and mileage, they could have easily declined warranty coverage on your debonding problem. I'll bet Trek will get more of your business in the future....they certainly have earned it in my book.

 

[cydewaze]

With that age and mileage, they could have easily declined warranty coverage on your debonding problem. I'll bet Trek will get more of your business in the future....they certainly have earned it in my book.

I would not have complained one bit had they denied it. In fact I was about to write the bike off, but my LBS called the Trek rep to ask him about a possible repair, and they requested the bike be stripped down and sent in.

You're correct about Trek getting more of my business. I bought a Lemond for my girlfriend, and now that she's my wife we'll probably be doing her a Project 1 Madone for her birthday next spring.

A lot of people find them "bland" or whatever, but I think they're excellent bikes.

 

[Insight Driver]

Well over ten years ago my wife had a Trek road bike with braze-ons for a rear rack that was LBS installed. The braze-on broke. The LBS sent the frame back to Trek and the company fixed the bike and also repainted the frame in the current year color scheme. That was the only thing that upset my wife since she like the color scheme the bike had when she bought it. The braze-on broke again. I determined that the rack arms were bent in too much and were exerting too much inward pressure on the lug. I just went to a clamp-on mount at that point. I did not bother to get the bike repaired by Trek again since my wife didn't want to bother and my solution was fine for her.

I am sure Trek would have fixed the frame a second time.

 

[Javi Tejero]

Thank you for all your responses and suggestions!

I also think that the problem lies with the dealer who sold me the bike (btw, it's an authorized dealer). I have also complained to the Regional sales rep (I live in Spain) but this is the guy who offered the Alpha frame. I have sent many messages to the contact-us page in TrekBikes.com, to see if they can nudge these guys to do the right thing, but have not heard back so far. I hope some one from Trek reads this forum and takes notice...

Thanks again!
J.T.

 

[IronDonut]

Personally... my opinion? I don't like Treks. Here is why; Of the people that I ride and race with Trek has had a 100% frame failure rate. All of the people I ride with have broken 1 or more Trek frames.

To Trek's credit they have replaced these frames free of charge and in about half of the cases replaced the broken frame with a better frame. Nice customer service however I'd rather just have a bike that doesn't break.

Curious side note; a few of the guys I ride with have broken two or more Trek frames. They've all switched to Titus, Litespeed and some other custom california builder that slips my mind. Starts with a V... can't remember. None of those bikes has broken.

Hi fellow cyclists,

I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feel ripped off by the poor workmanship and customer service of Trek Bikes...
QUOTE]

 

[IronDonut]

So what you're saying is that your Trek broke too.

To me Trek is the Ford Motor Company of bikes. Fairly cheap, kinda stylish, really popular and they suck. "You get a lot for your money!" Yeah the catch is the f'n transmission falls out at 65,000 miles. Where as in a Toyota you'd just be making your first fluids change.

Spend the extra money and get a quality, hand built bike. You get what you pay for.

I've had exactly the opposite experience. After 12 years and 31,000+ miles of use, my OCLV road bike BB shell came unbonded, causing a creaking noise but still leaving the bike rideable. My LBS sent the frame back to Trek, and we both expected a repair job, but I instead got a brand new OCLV 120 frame + fork in my choice of color. I paid only the shipping. My service was prompt and trouble-free.

Perhaps you should find an alternate LBS, as the one who honored my warranty was not the one where I'd purchased the original bike.

 

[artmichalek]

So what you're saying is that your Trek broke too.

Every frame is going to break eventually. The fact that Trek stood behind their warranty even when it wasn't really valid (failure at 31,000 miles is normal wear, not a defect) says a lot. The average boutique buider, if they're even around in 12 years, is going to offer a repair at 80% of the cost of a new frame and take six months to get around to it.

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

Thank you for all your responses and suggestions!

I also think that the problem lies with the dealer who sold me the bike (btw, it's an authorized dealer). I have also complained to the Regional sales rep (I live in Spain) but this is the guy who offered the Alpha frame. I have sent many messages to the contact-us page in TrekBikes.com, to see if they can nudge these guys to do the right thing, but have not heard back so far. I hope some one from Trek reads this forum and takes notice...

Thanks again!
J.T.

Trek Bicycle Corp.
801 West Madison
Waterloo, WI 53594
USA
920-478-2191

Give 'em a call and be persistent. Keep us posted.

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Thank you for all your responses and suggestions!

I also think that the problem lies with the dealer who sold me the bike (btw, it's an authorized dealer). I have also complained to the Regional sales rep (I live in Spain) but this is the guy who offered the Alpha frame. I have sent many messages to the contact-us page in TrekBikes.com, to see if they can nudge these guys to do the right thing, but have not heard back so far. I hope some one from Trek reads this forum and takes notice...

Thanks again!
J.T.

If after you recieve the replacement frame/bike .... and are still unhappy/unsatisfied with the overall .... from beginning to end SERVICE that Trek provided you, as a customer- then do this:

SELL the bicycle locally... or on Ebay , then take that money and buy something else

This way, you'll have washed your hands with Trek completely (will probably never go back to that frame builder in the future), gotten some kind of decent money out of the bicycle... to put toward another bike- complete or not.

Personally, if a frame builder/ or LBS slips up- does not provide adaquate customer service ....... I'm exploring alternative avenues for resources(frame... parts.... proper customer service).

Life is too short to be hasseling over a bike frame... when you could be out enjoying the day on a ride- tell Trek that when you write back to them.... then see if they get/understand that logic

 

[IronDonut]

Two of the guys I know broke three Trek/Fisher mountain bikes each. Both expert category racers which is roughly the mountain bike equal of a CAT 1-2 roadie. It was so bad that in addition to replacing the broken frames Trek promised to lend them any bike they wanted for a year. Then Trek never followed though on the promise.

Both of these guys sold their Treks and switched to Titus Racer-X frames and haven't had a frame related problem since. I think this bears mention; every single person that I ride, train and race with that has ridden a Trek has broken at least one frame under normal use. You're going to expect some failures with every manufacturer but 100%? There is something that is something fundamentally wrong with a 100% failure rate.

To me the difference between a Trek and something like a Titus or Litespeed is like the difference between a Ford and a BMW or Lexus. The latter is simply going to be a better machine in every way. The difference is that while a BMW or Lexus costs twice as much as a Ford a Litespeed or Titus is only marginally more expensive than a Trek.

On a side note I just ordered a new Litespeed Vortex road frame to replace my 17-18 year old Ti Sports road frame. The old frame is getting converted to a fixed gear bike.

Personally, if a frame builder/ or LBS slips up- does not provide adaquate customer service ....... I'm exploring alternative avenues for resources(frame... parts.... proper customer service).

Life is too short to be hasseling over a bike frame... when you could be out enjoying the day on a ride- tell Trek that when you write back to them.... then see if they get/understand that logic

 

[IronDonut]

While I'm on the subject of Trek quality I want to mention my experiences with Bontrager wheels (also a Trek brand) from what I've noticed a lot of the lighter Bontrager wheels hubs have been failing. The Race Lite X road wheels and Race Lite X mountain bike wheels.

The hub in my Race Lite X road wheel came apart in less than a year of normal use. Just split. Contrast this with the 15 years of use I got out of a standard 32 spoke wheel with a Shimano hub. I think these super light low spoke count wheels come with a fairly large durability penalty.

My Race Lite mountain wheels have been super strong. The Race Lite X mountain wheels less so.

 

[cydewaze]

Every frame is going to break eventually. The fact that Trek stood behind their warranty even when it wasn't really valid (failure at 31,000 miles is normal wear, not a defect) says a lot. The average boutique buider, if they're even around in 12 years, is going to offer a repair at 80% of the cost of a new frame and take six months to get around to it.

Keep in mind that I had one of the very early production models, and they had likely not perfected the bonding technique as well as they have now. I expect the replacement frame to outlast the original. Not that I mind getting a brand new frame/fork every 12 years.

Ti frames are good, but nothing is invincible. Many Ti components (pedal spindles, etc) have max weight limits, so it can obviously be broken too. Here's an interesting article that fatigue-tests bike frames of several different designs. Two Ti bikes were tested, and both broke. Curiously, one of the frames that was made out of aluminum (which is always bashed because of fatigue issues) survived the same test that broke the Ti frames. Durability is determined by design, not material.

 

[nikki87]

I am wasnted to bike 3700 d...... But lookin at the complaints of the frames . does the frame realy get broken in a year..... If it does then i would probably go for any other bikes..... I knw that its Made in china...... originally from USA .But manufacturing i s from China.... does the Manufacturing has some faults , Pleas give a advice

 

[nikki87]

I am wanted to buy a of model of 3700 D realased in 2013...... But lookin at the complaints of the Cycle frames . does the frame really get broken in a year..... If it does then i would probably go for any other bikes..... I knw that its Made in china...... originally from USA .But manufacturing is from China.... does the Manufacturing has some faults , Pleas give a advice that i should go for Trek bikes or some other bikes . bcaus spendin so much money in cycles and then getting a low response in service. Its Not good..... Plxxx any one suugest me .... I wast bikes for Nomal Use... and for long duration..... and all features