More Warnings for Felt B2 riders

Nemo Brauch

 Seems at least 2 members of Endurance Nation (myself and Al Olsen) are currently in the process of having our Felt B2 frames replaced through the warranty program.  In my case it's a 2008 model.

Here's my story and pics.  If you own a B2, keep a close eye on your frame!

 It seems I have to say goodbye to Fiona. When I first got her a little over a year ago, I noticed what looked like a seam in the seat post clamp (which is molded into the frame). Seemed a little odd but since she was new I assumed it was supposed to be that way. Fast forward to IMWI and I'm at Machinery Row to get the headset tightened up when the Mechanic gives me a horrific look and says- uh, do you know there's a crack in your frame? I was like "I thought that's supposed to be there" and he shows me that in addition to the crack I thought was a seam (which it wasn't) there is also another small crack forming next to it. He says he saw a bike the day before in the same situation and Felt told them it would have to be replaced through warranty. The Machinery Row guys want to drill a hole in the seat post and put in a pin to be sure my seat doesn't drop during the ride- but I wouldn't let them do it. I'd ridden Fiona for months without ever having the seat drop even a smidge- I wasn't worried about it dropping in 112 more miles and somehow what they proposed sounded just too scary. 



Soooooo- They fixed the headset and gave me the bike with instructions to call Felt when I got home. I swore Joe to secrecy on the whole thing- I just didn't want to be worried about it and I also didn't want anyone else to be worried. Anyway- after several calls with Felt and the closest LBS that carries Felts (2 hours away), I got the word today that Felt has processed the warranty and the new frame will be here in a little over a month. Good news- I get a brand new 2011 frame- bad news- I've gotta say goodbye to my beloved Fiona and start fussing with getting my fit right all over again. Hopefully the replacement will be a match made in heaven :-)

mgraffeo

Thanks for the PSA, Nemo! Just ran downstairs to check. All good.

Spokane_Al

My Felt B2 is a 2007 model that I purchased new, so it does fall under the frame warranty program. My issue is pretty much the same as that of Nemo. Will also be waiting for the 2011 frames to be released (Felt is currently out of frames until the new models are manufactured). Luckily it is the end the tri season so I will put my PowerTap wheel on my road bike and hope for the best.



Luckily I purchased my bike at a local LBS, and they are doing all the legwork to get things right for me.



And I will admit that the lifetime frame warranty was not something I paid a great deal of attention to back in 2007, and am happy to hear I am covered. The Felt frame warranty IS NOT transferrable, so if you purchase a Felt off of ebay or elsewhere used, caveat emptor.

rah2774

hmm.... my Felt is what I recently had to replace (the crack wasn't in exactly this position, though)... I bought the bike from my cuz who bought it used on eBay... but I might call anyway.  If they say no they say no.  If I get it replaced I'll have a new frame to sell to finance the purchase of my Kestrel ...

Incidentally, when I bought the bike from Todd at TTBike Fit he mentioned he'd seen a lot of recent probs with Felt frames...

Spokane_Al

Here is an update on my cracked Felt frame situation.

My LBS is handling everything. Felt is currently out of frames due to moving from the 2010 models to the 2011 models. As a result, delivery for my new frame looks to be the end of November.



The great side of this is that Felt is replacing a 2007 Felt B2 frame and front fork with a 2011 Felt B2 Pro, including the front fork at absolutely no charge to me. My LBS will take care of all logistics including shipping my damaged frame to Felt and installing all components on the new frame.



Lessons learned for me include:



I will ask questions about how warranty issues are resolved.

I will investigate the warranty to be sure it applies to my specific situation.

If I make a purchase via internet I will be sure that I am comfortable in a worse case situation. For example, Felt requires that all removal/installation of components be performed by a authorized Felt dealer. I would check with the local Felt dealer to ensure that they will support me if necessary.



In this case, I pretty much lucked into great service and support. And although my issues were resolved well beyond my expectations, next time I will be a bit more thoughtful on the front end - as a purely precautionary, pragmatic measure.

jpsnowjr

Thank you for the info everyone. I have an '08 B2...just checked and I appear to be good to go, but will keep an eye on this. Will certainly post if I see something develop.

Nemo Brauch

Becky- I can tell you that Felt requires a copy of the original receipt for the warranty. So your chances are slim- but it's worth a shot.

My update is similar to Al's. The only difference I have is that I did not buy the Felt from the LBS that is handling the return. I now live 2 hours away from the closest Felt dealer who is handling everything for me. Thankfully they have been GREAT (big Kudo's to Fat Frogs in Va Beach if you live up that way). I will be paying them the labor cost for the remove/install of the components, but I think that's totally reasonable since I didn't buy the bike from them.

So Al and I will have matching bikes (in greatly different sizes)! :-) I gotta find a race to do on the west coast so we can get a pic!

Kevin Walter

Glad to hear that Felt is standing by their warranty. I have heard that these "lifetime" warranties with some companies have been hit or miss in terms of them actually coming through.

JimK

I had the exact same thing happen to my 2008 Felt DA, 2 weeks prior to IM WI last year.  Luckily my LBS was able to find a replacement and got me back in business within a week.

scott dinhofer

This has me wondering who builds Felts frames for them? are they like the rarity that Trek is in building their own frames? or are they built by Giant/etc. if the latter, was this a design flaw? or a build flaw and might other brands be of issue....

btw, Nemo, you might try to push felt a little, did you originally buy your bike at a LBS where you used to live? warranty shouldnt just be frame replacement, to earn/ keep your loyalty, they should be paying all costs of getting this fixed. Frankly they should pay for your 4 hours of gas to get back and forth to VA beach, but that is probably over the line...

scott dinhofer

btw, if you are curious about bike building, etc. here is an interesting article on the bike industry.

http://allanti.com/articles/where-was-my-bike-made-pg328.htm

sdbanks

I have a 2009 B2 and had a different issue. The afternoon before Timberman 70.3, I was double checking my all my nuts, bolts, screws, etc. when I noticed one of my seat post clamp screws was stripped (spinning freely with no grip into the receiving end). This is a custom part for the B2, so pre-race freakout session ensues... two nearby bike shops found parts and had someone bring them to me race day morning, neither fit, still not sure why. Race-day freakout session ensues... Unlike Fiona, Biff (I don't normally name my bikes, but making it up for this post) with the stripped screw could hold my seat post about as well as my 90 year old grandpa could hold his water... I'll spare you the makeshift way we got it race ready (too long to write), but Biff is now at my LBS where I bought it. Every shop, repair man, etc that I spoke with said this is extremely common with the B2, given the steel screw/aluminum receiver design of the clamp. Will let you know how the situation resolves.

Coach Patrick

Dean -

Rich recently posted about a moto fix for this that involves rethreading it via some crazy durable solution. Might do you right!

P

Spokane_Al

Dean, a portion of that seat post clamp is an integral part of the frame - the very part that cracked on both Nemo's bike and mine. A permanent fix may require a new frame. If I were you, I would ask the question.

Nemo Brauch

 Just a quick update on my Felt warranty replacement.

The original word from Felt was that the B2 frame would be replaced with a 2011 B2Pro and would ship some time in November.  Well, seems they changed their minds and decided to send me a 2010 DA instead   Sure, it's not a 2011, but it's a DA!  I'm guessing they had extra 2010 XS frames lying around and figured it would be a reasonable trade off.  I'm perfectly happy.  The bike shop I dealt with (who is not the shop where I bought the bike) transferred all of Fiona's components and took copious measurements to ensure the setup was exactly the same.  They charged me $100 for the labor and some materials (cables had to be replaced).

 

 

Coach Patrick

Thanks for keeping us posted!!