[slow.climber]

Literally broke his damned bike in half.

I don't want to turn this into a CF hate fest -- just want to know, how often does this happen?

Guy I was riding with had a low speed crash into a curb. Snapped his top tube and down tube like dry twigs.

He's a relatively new rider. Got hit by a strong gust of wind coming around a corner. Over reacted just a bit. Locked it up, steared it into a crub.

Not a scratch on him, hardly a scratch on the bike -- except for the broken tubes.

Wheels are true, derailers are fine, calipers are fine, cranks are fine, shifters are fine.

 

[tihsepa]

Ok, if you say so.

I dont doubt a broken bike. But, a low speed crash?

 

[slow.climber]

Obviously 'low speed' is a relative term.

I don't know exactly how fast he was going when he hit the curb. Ten(ish)? yeah, about that.

Not fast enough to pop the tire or hurt the rim. So I'd say that's pretty slow.

 

[DrSmile]

Talk to this guy:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/pinarello/pinarello-f4-13-disaster-158543.html

 

[Randy99CL]

I wonder if the frame might be a chinese knock-off. Has anyone heard of those frames being counterfeited?

 

[Zeet]

So now where does the broken CF frame go?

 

[AJ88V]

Pinarello has a three year warranty on frames. Kind of skimpy compared to Trek and Specialized.

Also, Pinas are one of the single most copied frames from China. Check out DHGate.com. There's a whole "Chinarello" subculture of people building some very nice ripoffs. Not saying this is the problem with the bike in the original post, but someone did ask about Chinese frames.

 

[slow.climber]

Yup, that looks very similar. The breaks I saw today were at basically the same locations. I was impressed by how smooth they were. No bits of CF threads hanging loose.

 

[slow.climber]

His plan was to take it back to the shop where he bought it and talk to the owner.

He's a novice. He sure didn't expect this to happen. He was looking for feedback from me about my expectations.

I told him that based on the overall condition of the bike, I believed that he had not struck the curb with great force -- so I was shocked that the tubes had broken.

 

[Doc_D]

Yup, that looks very similar. The breaks I saw today were at basically the same locations. I was impressed by how smooth they were. No bits of CF threads hanging loose.

I'd be curious to see the pictures. It does sound odd that they are clean breaks. Hopefully Pinarello will help this guy out. Technically it was a crash but it sounds like nothing that should have resulted in a broken frame.

I had a Giant TCR Advanced for years that has been through a number of bad crashes without anything more than a scratch. I certainly faired much worse than the bike in those incidents.

 

[looigi]

So now where does the broken CF frame go?

Over the rainbow bridge to CF frame heaven where it lives happily ever after with all the other deceased CF frames.

 

[tlg]

Pinarello has a three year warranty on frames.

Maybe.

If you are the original buyer and register the frame within 10 days of retail purchase date on the www.pinarello.com website you receive
valuable benefits:
– three years of warranty instead of two;
– you will participate for free in the “crash replacement program” for the duration of the warranty;
This program offers you the possibility to buy, from the same dealer of the original purchase, a new
frame at a discounted price, if the original frame is accidentally damaged beyond repair, during the warranty
period.

The warranty only covers manufacturing or material defects. Not crashes. Pretty much standard with all manufacturers. He'd have to prove that it was caused by a defect and not the crash.

 

[flatlander_48]

Yup, that looks very similar. The breaks I saw today were at basically the same locations. I was impressed by how smooth they were. No bits of CF threads hanging loose.

Which might suggest that it broke where pieces of mat material come together.

 

[flatlander_48]

Literally broke his damned bike in half.

I don't want to turn this into a CF hate fest -- just want to know, how often does this happen?

Several years ago my wife had a very serious crash where she hit a car. I guy coming from the other direction made a quick left turn (for him) and wound up right in front of her. She nailed him in the quarter panel. She was riding an aluminum framed Orbea (women's version) with a carbon fork. The impact was enough to completely break all of the welds from the top and down tubes to the head tube. The carbon fork remained intact.

 

[Kalel]

Pics would be nice.

 

[mann2]

pictures?

 

[jwl325]

Maybe.


The warranty only covers manufacturing or material defects. Not crashes. Pretty much standard with all manufacturers. He'd have to prove that it was caused by a defect and not the crash.

Not sure if it's a recent change for Pina or not, but my new FP4's warranty includes a crash replacement clause for the duration of the warranty (3 yrs).

 

[skitorski]

Yup, that looks very similar. The breaks I saw today were at basically the same locations. I was impressed by how smooth they were. No bits of CF threads hanging loose.

What are you referring to ? Safari browser here and no pics.

Is anyone else seeing colors yet ???

 

[bigbill]

Pinarellos, typically the lightest weight frames are used by professional cyclists on cobblestones and other poor road surfaces all over the world. This guy breaks his frame hitting a curb at low speed, got it.

 

[ewitz]

Pinarellos, typically the lightest weight frames are used by professional cyclists on cobblestones and other poor road surfaces all over the world. This guy breaks his frame hitting a curb at low speed, got it.

Pinarellos are many things but they are far from the lightest frame in the peloton at ANY race.