HazzardLight said:
Hi Hazzardlight - welcome to the forum
. What do you ride - are you a roadie?
Saving to buy a better bike. Setting some goals
- Thread starter rparedes
- Start date
Hi Hazzardlight - welcome to the forum
. What do you ride - are you a roadie?
This is why I say look at the actual words and what they mean. These warranties are legal documents, words and phrases often mean quite different things in legal terms.janiejones said:
Life-time often means only for the ownership period of the original purchaser and when used for the purpose it was sold for. These things have loads of caveats i.e. if you bought the bike without pedals that means you are NOT warranted to ride it on the road!
A bicycle is useless without pedals. Your logic implies that if a bicycle is sold without pedals, then it is not covered for use with pedals, how would a user actually use their bicycle? Is a warranty only applicable if the item is unusable for its intended purpose?threaded said:
I think you're reading far too much into the legalese.
Your comments about product lifespan seem to reflect your (mis)understanding of the legal terms in the warranties, rather than real world experience with the durability of the materials.
FWIW, I've been using one of my aluminium bikes almost daily for commuting over the last two years, and the frame is still holding up fine. It doesn't look like its going to disintegrate anytime soon.
n
Hmm, possibly a better one than you... it gets springier, but at the same time the limits of elasticity become narrower. i.e. over time it will deform under a lesser load, and at the same time will break under a lesser load. Get a alu spoon and try it.HazzardLight said:
I feel you're being a little facetious here. A bike sold without pedals is not warranted for use on the roads, and everything that entails, i.e. being outside subject to the weather etc. Obviously doesn't mean completely unused, but I would take it to mean only for track racing.nerdag said:
The legalise is there so you don't take the shirt off the back of Mr Bicycle Manufacturer, so I do agree, like with anything the legal department will ere on the side of caution. Yet on the other side the marketing people will push it as far as it will go. So you end up with comments like 'life-time' warranty which are quite meaningless when you dig down.
Look at it another way: what cars have carbon fibre or aluminium wishbones? Look at their warranty: replace every x thousand miles or y months whichever is the sooner.
So, what you actually mean is that its natural elasticity becomes weaker; ie: that is it loses elasticity; not 'it becomes springier'. This loss of elasticity is directly related to the increase in brittleness?????threaded said:Hmm, possibly a better one than you... it gets springier, but at the same time the limits of elasticity become narrower. i.e. over time it will deform under a lesser load, and at the same time will break under a lesser load. Get a alu spoon and try it.
By school of physics, I meant classical or relative...not which high school you currently attend.
How would you use a bicycle on the track without pedals, if what you say about them being sold without them is true?threaded said:
Some racing cars (I am thinking F1 here) have carbon used in their suspension systems. But they cost a sh!tload, and they serve a particular function on the cars. Apply a force to them that was not intended, and they'll snap very easily.threaded said:
Cars on the road, however, are subjected to much less predictable forces, so need to be built stronger. Weight isn't as important an issue for a road car as it is for a racing car.
This is an unrealistic comparison.threaded said:
I would imagine that most car users will easily do the mileage that expire their warranty before the time limit kicks in.
I would bet that most bicycles, OTOH, are sold to people who don't do enough mileage to cause any serious damage to them, so a three year, five year or ten year warranty, isn't going to be a significant cost to them.
Warranties are based on a company's best guess about how much they'll have ot fix and how much that may cost based on when failures are expected. And warranties are also designed to look good so that people will buy that particular manufacturer.
So what some companies will do is offer a lifetime warranty on a bicycle frame because they think that buyers will pay more for their frame knowing it is covered for defects and workmanship issues for a lifetime. What they're really doing is gambling that enough people don't thrash their frames enough that they can still make a profit from replacing the frames that do get damaged.
A similar analogy can be found in the car industry. Some manufacturers offer a x years/ unlimited km warranty. Some will even claim to warrant for x years and a million km. Now nobody in their right mind would drive a million km in three years, not even taxi drivers - its just not possible unless you spent 24/7 in your car. What these guys are doing isgambling that cost of fixing cars for three years will be outweighed by increased sales because people get sucked in by the million km/unlimited km warranty.
n
So, you get a crack in your frame: see how far you get arguing the difference between a manufacturing defect and a fatgue failure. Do a Google, I'm sure there're lots of people whinging about this distiction on Cannondales and the other manufacturers that similarly use fancy words.steelem said:
This is quite a feisty forum!! I thought since I joined the thread, I'd best comment.. but unfortunately, I ride MTB.rparedes said:
I reckon, simply, if you like a bike, it feels good, fits well then go for it. My bike (which I love beyond material value) cost less than $400.
Hi Janie,janiejones said:Hi Hazzardlight - welcome to the forum
What do you ride - are you a roadie?
Thanks for your kind words. No roadie; MTB for me. Dust, dirt, trees, birds....that's for me.
Is that you in your avatar?
MTBer too. I did the Merida MTB Marathon (103km) in Hillerød, Denmark yesterday. Now that is a perfect way to find the limits of bicycle structures and materials. Presta valves: that little threaded piece with the nut on the top of it is just not strong enough when you're jostling for the lead and get a puncture.HazzardLight said:Hi Janie,
Thanks for your kind words. No roadie; MTB for me. Dust, dirt, trees, birds....that's for me.
Is that you in your avatar?
Yeah, mountain bikes are cool - I'm thinking of getting a cheap one just to cruise around on - some of the Giants look good.HazzardLight said:Hi Janie,
Thanks for your kind words. No roadie; MTB for me. Dust, dirt, trees, birds....that's for me.
Is that you in your avatar?
No that's not me in my avatar, hope I didn't disappoint you.
I guess all those folks riding around on aluminum Cannondales from 90's are accidents waiting to happen. And all those folks on Cannondales from the 80's must have death wishes.
I guess the same could be said on the 2 or 3 folks I see riding around on their 90's vintage Cadexex. Gee, I guess they didn't know that their CF frames would only last a year. If they had, their frames would have broken up long ago!
I guess the same could be said on the 2 or 3 folks I see riding around on their 90's vintage Cadexex. Gee, I guess they didn't know that their CF frames would only last a year. If they had, their frames would have broken up long ago!
Doesn't it seem as though the overall IQ of the forum has severely plummeted as of late? It's like I've entered some warped and twisted Twilight Zone episode, where nothing makes any sense at all. It's simply a wasted effort trying to explain your point, however logical it may be, to those who absolutely refuse to listen.alienator said:I guess all those folks riding around on aluminum Cannondales from 90's are accidents waiting to happen. And all those folks on Cannondales from the 80's must have death wishes.
I guess the same could be said on the 2 or 3 folks I see riding around on their 90's vintage Cadexex. Gee, I guess they didn't know that their CF frames would only last a year. If they had, their frames would have broken up long ago!
I sure am glad I found this thread. Here I have been riding everyday, and racing my 10 year old Redline aluminum cyclocross bike with no idea it was about to catastrophically fail at any minute. What's even worse is the forged aluminum wheels on my 6 year old BMW, not to mention the aluminum cyclinder head, aluminum control arms... could go at any minute! They are three years past the expiration date, that cars a death trap! I better send it to the crusher, too dangerous to sell! I'm going to stay off the freeways from now on, way too many people driving around 3 year old junkers with aluminum wheels that are about to disentigrate.
Damn, my aluminum frame motocross bike just passed the the aluminum expiration date! I'm going to have to buy all new new bikes and vehicles!
Damn, my aluminum frame motocross bike just passed the the aluminum expiration date! I'm going to have to buy all new new bikes and vehicles!
