# Chainring bolts on 2011 Red crank



## middieman147 (Jun 27, 2011)

I apologize in advance for rambling on, but I'm a bit bummed at the moment and cant help it. 

Hey all, 
Just a reminder to check the chainring bolts on your red cranks. I have a 2011 red group that was purchased from, and installed by, an LBS in NY this past November (8 months old). I probably only put about 650 km on it(pitiful, but school and a 7 day a week summer internship made things difficult) before the crank let go on me. Took it to a different LBS(River City Bikes in Portland, GREAT group of guys out there, highly recommended). Long story short, LBS in PDX went to bat for me, but SRAM denied the warranty because one of the chainring bolts worked itself loose and fell out mid ride before the crank gave out. I was honestly a bit bummed that SRAM denied it, as I have heard that they are pretty solid with warranty work usually. Guess that's just my luck:mad2: 
Anyone else have a similar problem with Red cranks? I plan on just buying another one when I can afford it, but not if this is a common problem and I have to pull over every 3 miles to check chainring bolt tension or replace the whole group every few hundred miles. 

P.S. Sorry for the sketchy pics, they were taken with my camera phone right after I walked home. I was just happy to be alive at that point, as the crank failed while I was out of the saddle accelerating from a dead stop at a stop light. The bike lane is right next to the car lanes, so I almost went head first into a rabid pack of automobiles during rush hour.


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## marathon marke (Nov 14, 2011)

Wow, I've never seen this happen. I have a 2011 Red crank that has over 6,000 miles on since last February and not one problem. I've checked my bolts once in that time. Have you contacted the LBS in NY and tried to get them to help? Seems to me that with that low of mileage, and that they were the ones who installed the crankset, they should take some responsibility. I honestly don't think they torqued them down properly. Good luck.


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## middieman147 (Jun 27, 2011)

I did contact the NY shop, but they don't seem overly eager to do much of anything. I tried calling SRAM but the only number I can find has an automated message that says, "if you're a dealer, please hold. If you are a customer/end user, go to your LBS"


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## NWS Alpine (Mar 16, 2012)

Ouch that looks like it might have hurt a little. Hope your nuts didn't get destroyed. I would post pictures all ever their FB pages. Someone might contact you there. Sucks the shop won't help you.

Seems like the threadlocker was contaminated or there wasn't any used on intall. Shouldn't come loose if torqued and properly threadlocked.


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## middieman147 (Jun 27, 2011)

Haha the nads made it through just fine. Fortunately I was leaning forwards so I just dropped down in between the seat and the bars. Turns out the guys at River City weren't real happy with SRAM's decision, and decided to press the issue. They ended up calling someone higher up in the company who decided to go ahead and warranty the parts. Pretty decent of them considering I really haven't done much business with them before. I guess SRAM's reputation for good customer service remains intact.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

marathon marke said:


> Wow, I've never seen this happen. I have a 2011 Red crank that has over 6,000 miles on since last February and not one problem. I've checked my bolts once in that time. Have you contacted the LBS in NY and tried to get them to help? Seems to me that with that low of mileage, and that they were the ones who installed the crankset, they should take some responsibility. *I honestly don't think they torqued them down properly. Good luck.*


the shop shouldn't have to do that. the crank comes w/ the rings installed, the bolts loc-tited and torqued. every (and i mean every...SRAM, Shimano, and Campy) crank i've ever installed has had the bolts tightened properly. 

i still check them, though.


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## -dustin (Jan 11, 2009)

Good lord. That's rather catastrophic for one bolt falling out.


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