# New Tarmac: bad finish on matte frame ?



## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

I have just cleaned my new tarmac 2015 frame last week, and i got this (picture), a piece of paint (clearcoat maybe) came off , and it continues to come off as i rub. 
I put a tape on it but when i take the tape out, another piece of paint came off, and now its really large .
Why such a bad finish, and can i get warranty for this.If not, can a tape protect it from rain, moisture... as clearcoat came off 

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Just got an answer from Specialized, and im so sorry for anything bad about Specialzied i have said before. "*I GOT AN EXCHANGE **







*".
Below is an email from Spe to my lbs:
"Hi ...,

Thank you for the additional information. It looks like the clear coat bubbled up a bit. This can be covered under cosmetic warranty since it is within 2 years from the date of sale. We do not have warranty frame in stock yet. Since this is just cosmetic, and does not affect performance, the rider can continue to use his bike until warranty frames become available. Or, if you have another frame to exchange this one with in you inventory, you can use that.

Cheers,"


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

warranty it.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

That is a highly viable area in my opinion.. Warranty it


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## bruin11 (May 21, 2004)

What are you using to clean it?


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## schima (Jan 19, 2011)

go to your dealer, specialized gives you a new frame, usually an upgrade. had this twice myself.


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

schima said:


> go to your dealer, specialized gives you a new frame, usually an upgrade. had this twice myself.


+1.
This is gonna be a no question asked warranty replacement and 9 out of 10 you'll get an upgrade.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

Thanks for your reply. How can i contact directly to Specialized, my lbs told me this is normal and not warranty for me


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

tunganh.46 said:


> Thanks for your reply. How can i contact directly to Specialized, my lbs told me this is normal and not warranty for me


Specialized Bicycle Components


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

TricrossRich said:


> Specialized Bicycle Components


Can not post question on FAQ? Im from Viet Nam, so an email address is needed


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Specialized Bicycle Components


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

Got a more detail picture and showed my lbs this topic. They told me that they will send this picture to Specialized. Hope that i get a warranty . Thanks you guys so much :thumbsup:
View attachment 300586


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

tunganh.46 said:


> Got a more detail picture and showed my lbs this topic. They told me that they will send this picture to Specialized. Hope that i get a warranty . Thanks you guys so much :thumbsup:
> View attachment 300586


Good luck man.... hope it works out for you.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

The lbs told me that i may be not get a new frame but have to send my current frame to Specialized and wait for them to repair :mad2:.
And warranty time is about 6-12 months. What a joke Specialized .


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Guess you should have bought a Pinarello


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

tunganh.46 said:


> The lbs told me that i may be not get a new frame but have to send my current frame to Specialized and wait for them to repair :mad2:.
> And warranty time is about 6-12 months. What a joke Specialized .


Specialized warranty policy in Vietnam is not of the same quality as in the US. Specialized look at bike shops in Vietnam as mom-and-pop shops. In the US, I don't think Specialized can get away with such shoddy service.

If it were me, I would look for clear automotive coating and just dab over the spot. It's a bike, at some point down the road you'll get another ding on the downtube anyway. And just so you know, clearcoat flaking off is quite normal for all these mass-produced bikes. Simply put, bicycle manufacturing does not follow the same (higher) standard as automotive manufacturing, at least when it comes to painting.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

I'll also hazard a guess and say it's possible that Specialized bikes scheduled for sale in Viet Nam may not be painted to the same quality standards as in the U.S. For instance, different clear coat compounds may be used because it's cheaper. Just speculating. I feel for the OP because Specialized obviously doesn't feel Vietnamese customers are worth their effort to give them the same superb warranty service we Americans receive.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I thought a matte finish was already a bad finish. 
I guess it gets worse.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

Peter P. said:


> I'll also hazard a guess and say it's possible that Specialized bikes scheduled for sale in Viet Nam may not be painted to the same quality standards as in the U.S. For instance, different clear coat compounds may be used because it's cheaper. Just speculating. I feel for the OP because Specialized obviously doesn't feel Vietnamese customers are worth their effort to give them the same superb warranty service we Americans receive.


This is probably true. And I would not be surprised that Specialized's warranty policy is different for bikes sold in Vietnam than it is for bikes sold in the US and Europe. Vietnam doesn't have anything remotely close to what Americans have in terms of consumer advocacy and laws protecting the consumers. The same can be said of other products sold in Vietnam such as iPhones and a pretty much all electronics. In Vietnam, they have a term called "hand-carry item". A hand-carry item is an item that is sold in both the US and in Vietnam, but if someone from the US hand-carry the same item to Vietnam, he can often fetch a higher price than the same item sold in Vietnam.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

Really sad to hear the different between warranty policy in US and VN. The quality may vary cause of price difference, but shouldn't the warranty policy.
I still wait for my lbs to send an email to Specialized, and still got a very low chance that i can warranty it.
But next time, buying another Specialized frame ... may be not for me :mad2:


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

Sorry to hear that the lbs so far could not get it warranted for you. But in the meantime while you're waiting to hear from the lbs, don't touch that spot. If Specialized will not warrant it, then you can still fix it by dabbing some clearcoat over the spot (go to one of those scooter paint shops that does painting). It's an easy fix for them.

On a sidenote: Zipp and Reynolds wheels sold in Vietnam are also not of the same quality as those sold in the US, and these are also reflected in their prices. I was very surprised to see the Zipp 303 being sold in Vn; these Zipp 303s are made in Taiwan under the licensing of Zipp,.. but whatever that means, the Zipp 303s sold in the US are made in the US, not Taiwan. Reynolds wheels.. same thing. It's a very confusing game these manufacturers play eh. Different quality products for different markets but all sold under the same names. Creating market confusion is what the marketing guys do best.

I feel sorry for the potential buyers in an Asian market without much consuner protection, he goes online to an American site, such as this site, and read great things about the big brand names bicycles being talked about on here. Based on such great reviews, he goes and buy one in his country... only to find that his country doesn't have the same quality product and that US "gold quality" warranty practices and policy don't apply to him. Such is how it is.

But I hope your lbs will still be able to get it warranted for you. Goodluck my friend!


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

Uh no thats a really bad idea and a great way to eliminate the warranty once and for all.



aclinjury said:


> If it were me, I would look for clear automotive coating and just dab over the spot. It's a bike, at some point down the road you'll get another ding on the downtube anyway. And just so you know, clearcoat flaking off is quite normal for all these mass-produced bikes. Simply put, bicycle manufacturing does not follow the same (higher) standard as automotive manufacturing, at least when it comes to painting.


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

Are you seriously suggesting that Specialized for some reason separates out frames destined for Vietnam for the purpose of giving them a worse finish?



Peter P. said:


> I'll also hazard a guess and say it's possible that Specialized bikes scheduled for sale in Viet Nam may not be painted to the same quality standards as in the U.S. For instance, different clear coat compounds may be used because it's cheaper. Just speculating. I feel for the OP because Specialized obviously doesn't feel Vietnamese customers are worth their effort to give them the same superb warranty service we Americans receive.


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

tihsepa said:


> I thought a matte finish was already a bad finish.
> I guess it gets worse.


Whats wrong with a matte finish. What makes it "bad". How is that related to this?


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

aclinjury said:


> Sorry to hear that the lbs so far could not get it warranted for you. But in the meantime while you're waiting to hear from the lbs, don't touch that spot. If Specialized will not warrant it, then you can still fix it by dabbing some clearcoat over the spot (go to one of those scooter paint shops that does painting). It's an easy fix for them.
> 
> On a sidenote: Zipp and Reynolds wheels sold in Vietnam are also not of the same quality as those sold in the US, and these are also reflected in their prices. I was very surprised to see the Zipp 303 being sold in Vn; these Zipp 303s are made in Taiwan under the licensing of Zipp,.. but whatever that means, the Zipp 303s sold in the US are made in the US, not Taiwan. Reynolds wheels.. same thing. It's a very confusing game these manufacturers play eh. Different quality products for different markets but all sold under the same names. Creating market confusion is what the marketing guys do best.
> 
> ...


Much thanks for your reply my friend :thumbsup:. You know a lot about Vn. And yes, i read all comments about Specialized from US and other Western countries, and thought thats also what i will get.
Anyway, may be too soon cause i still wait for dealers answer, but next time a "taiwan manufacture" (Gia..) is better for me and my country


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## Horze (Mar 12, 2013)

Some jerk extinguished a cigarette on your frame.


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

Peter P. said:


> I'll also hazard a guess and say it's possible that Specialized bikes scheduled for sale in Viet Nam may not be painted to the same quality standards as in the U.S. For instance, different clear coat compounds may be used because it's cheaper. Just speculating. I feel for the OP because Specialized obviously doesn't feel Vietnamese customers are worth their effort to give them the same superb warranty service we Americans receive.


This is pure sci fi stuff. How much you think my S Works frame costs to Specialized ? If it's 500 bucks in total I'm already shooting high here. Do you really think Specialized would bother in wasting money in Taiwan into assembling some construction lines depending on wich country the frames goes to ? Specialized paint has proven to be defective sometimes,in this case the OP LBS is just telling a lot of bs.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

Just got an answer from Specialized, and im so sorry for anything bad about Specialzied i have said before. "I GOT AN EXCHANGE :thumbsup:".
Below is an email from Spe to my lbs:
"Hi ...,

Thank you for the additional information. It looks like the clear coat bubbled up a bit. This can be covered under cosmetic warranty since it is within 2 years from the date of sale. We do not have warranty frame in stock yet. Since this is just cosmetic, and does not affect performance, the rider can continue to use his bike until warranty frames become available. Or, if you have another frame to exchange this one with in you inventory, you can use that.

Cheers,"


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

tunganh.46 said:


> Just got an answer from Specialized, and im so sorry for anything bad about Specialzied i have said before. "I GOT AN EXCHANGE :thumbsup:".
> Below is an email from Spe to my lbs:
> "Hi ...,
> 
> ...


Ahhhh... so good to hear this. So what option do you think you're going to take?


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

TricrossRich said:


> Ahhhh... so good to hear this. So what option do you think you're going to take?


Currently im thinking of a new Venge frame, but Venge in size 49 is looking just weird, its too small. An 52 Venge looks much better :thumbsup:
My measurement is 5'6" height with 29 1/2" inseam, so should i take 49 or 52 ?


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## 1Butcher (Mar 15, 2011)

Just another episode of 'company bashing' without giving them a chance.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

1Butcher said:


> Just another episode of 'company bashing' without giving them a chance.


Yeah its my fault, but my lbs is kind of inexperieced and they always said uncooparative things


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

1Butcher said:


> Just another episode of 'company bashing' without giving them a chance.


I don't think this is the case at all.... he gave them a chance, he went to his LBS which is a Specialized dealer. The LBS is the first line of communication for the customer and Specialized has very specific items in their dealer agreements to keep LBS in business and keep that relationship going. Unfortunately, the LBS gave him a little bit of run-around and he came here to see if he was being treated fairly... I think its fair to be upset with the company if you buy a new frame and there are issues and they don't want to take care of it.


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## 1Butcher (Mar 15, 2011)

Until Specialized says they will not cover it, then it's time to *****/complain. The LBS is not Specialized. They are licensed to sell their products and probably to do warranty repairs. The LBS is probably to blame because they are too lazy to consult Specialized. Once Specialized had a chance to resolve the issue, they did, in a timely manner.

But, on a positive note, the frame will get replaced. The owner will probably have to swap things out.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

Just bump to ask, am i suppose to return every single bolt and accessory to Specialized? Im now having only frame & fork and BB adaptor w/ some buttons.


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## 1Butcher (Mar 15, 2011)

Probably, but ask Specialized. I'm certain they will not get too bent out of shape if they are missing a bolt, but if you were missing a fork, then that might cause an issue.


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## tunganh.46 (Aug 13, 2014)

1Butcher said:


> Probably, but ask Specialized. I'm certain they will not get too bent out of shape if they are missing a bolt, but if you were missing a fork, then that might cause an issue.


Haha i cant even missing a fork. I've emailed and waiting for their answer


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