# 2009 Fuji SL-1 cracked seat stay



## raymond7204

Was out on a short ride today and cracked the seatstay of my 2009 SL-1. It was a fairly normal ride...not too fast with a few rolling hills. After a very fast decent, the bike started to feel sluggish...as if the brakes were rubbing. I was getting irate since no matter how hard I pedaled, I kept falling behind the group. I finally pulled over and noticed that the seat stay had completely snapped. 

The bike is just one year old and has never been crashed. I'm disappointed, but I do like the bike. The next step is to take it back to Performance to see if it is covered under warranty. Since the bike hasn't been crashed and the crack is fairly "clean", I'm optimistic that it will be covered by Performance and Fuji. The real question is how long it will take to resolve the issue.

Anyone else had this problem?

Ray


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## rfrancisco

Hi Raymond, Sorry to hear about your cracked seat stay. I was at the FUJI website and copied their US Warranty here:

U.S. Warranty Information

POLICY:
Advanced Sports, Inc. provides the original retail purchaser of each new Fuji bicycle a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for the bicycle frame and rigid fork when purchased from and assembled by an authorized Fuji dealer. Fuji also warrants, for one year, all original parts on the bicycle excluding paint, decals, tires, tubes, chains and other wear & tear items. Suspension forks and rear shock absorbers shall be covered by the stated warranty of their original manufacturers.

REMEDY:
This warranty is expressly limited to the repair or replacement of a defective frame, fork, or part and is the sole remedy of the warranty. This warranty applies only to the original owner and is not transferable. Claims under this warranty must be made through an authorized Fuji dealer. Proof of purchase is required. Warranty remedies are subject to depreciation based on age and use of the bicycle.


EXCLUSIONS:
Improper assembly or follow-up maintenance that is not done by an authorized Fuji dealer voids the warranty. This warranty also does not cover damage from normal wear and tear, installation of parts or accessories not originally intended or compatible with the bicycle as sold, damage or failure due to accident, misuse or neglect, or modification of the frame, fork or components. Labor charges for parts changeovers are not covered by the warranty. Additionally, this warranty does not cover damage associated with commercial use, racing or competition, stunts or lack of technical skill of the user.


LIABILITY LIMITATION:
Fuji Bicycles/Advanced Sports, Inc. shall not be responsible for
incidental or consequential damages including damages for personal injury, property damage or economic losses. Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives the consumer specific legal rights, and those rights may vary from place to place. This warranty does not affect the statutory rights of the consumer.

Hope this helps, I'll keep my fingers cross and hope you get a new frame. 

Rick


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## SaddleBags

2008 SL-1: Crack in the BB. Warranty replacement w/ 2010 SL-1
2010 SL-1: Crack in the chain stay (non-drive side).
Looking to get a SST or Kestrel as a warranty replacement.


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## raymond7204

SaddleBags said:


> 2008 SL-1: Crack in the BB. Warranty replacement w/ 2010 SL-1
> 2010 SL-1: Crack in the chain stay (non-drive side).
> Looking to get a SST or Kestrel as a warranty replacement.



You've obviously had better luck with Fuji. I took it to dealer and they sent the pictures to Fuji. Fuji declined a warranty replacement claiming that I likely damaged the seatstay through impact. I could send the frame to them at my cost for a more in depth evaluation, but if they found that it wasn't a defect, I'd have to pay shipping again to have the broken frame returned. 

Fuji customer service was always quick to respond, but not very supportive with replacing the product. I've taken great care of the bike and handled it with kid gloves, but I doubt that I can get them to change their minds.

I'm sending it to R R Velo for a frame repair and am starting to look at alternatives. 

I really liked the SL-1 but I doubt that I'll be buying or endorsing a Fuji product again.

Ray


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## jetdog9

What a joke, that doesn't look like it's from impact at all, or you'd see SOME kind of abrasions I would guess. Maybe the tight economy is leading to crappy warranty service. Glad my ex-gf went with the Felt instead of the Fuji when we were bike shopping last year.

I would take the time to send them a letter of complaint and point out that you have/will share your poor experience with other riders.


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## Mount Dora Cycles

It really sucks they deemed it not a warranty issue. It looks like it was from an impact of some sort. Not calling you a liar, just saying what it looks like. The seat stay on the non-drive side barely sees any torque so for it to snap there is somewhat bizarre. Especially in the middle of the stay. It would more likely snap at a joint. Breaks like yours are usually from being crushed on a side impact, that's what Fuji was probably assuming.

Sorry for the bad luck.


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## thosmm

I thought I'd add a link to the OP's post where he's had Fuji/Performance/his local LBS step up and are getting the frame replaced.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=218749

-TM-


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## Mount Dora Cycles

Good to hear. I'm sure the LBS (performance) had something to do with it, but glad Fuji did the right thing.


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## raymond7204

thosmm said:


> I thought I'd add a link to the OP's post where he's had Fuji/Performance/his local LBS step up and are getting the frame replaced.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=218749
> 
> -TM-



Actually, Fuji declined to replace the frame.

I went through a LBS for the warranty assessment (not the Performance Bike shop where I purchased the bike) and they tried to help me out. After a few days of going back and forth, Fuji came back and refused a warranty replacement. The LBS was really surprised...they even had me looking at possibly replacement colors. Fuji did offer a crash replacement for $1500...much more than I was willing to spend.

I ended up sending the frame to Road Runner Velo for repair and they're fixing the crack in the seat stay as well as another crack they found in the wishbone. Total repair cost with shipping was just under $400.

I'm looking forward to getting the bike back on the road, but I'm starting to look into steel and Ti.

I'm disappointed, but that is the risk of carbon. 

Ray


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## wedge962005

This is hard for me to believe. Yet, I have a cracked left chainstay on my 2007 Team RC and am having similar problems. I took it back into Performance and they were cool, they even looked to see if they had a frame they could loan me. Pictures were sent to Fuji who quickly responded that it had to be "impact" damage and offered me their "Crash Replacement" program. To say I was/am furious may be the understatement of the year. The guys at Performance couldn't believe it either, they knew from looking at it that this was purely a defect in the frame, the location of the break alone makes it nearly impossible to have an impact.

Three weeks later the management at Performance finally convinced Fuji that they were a bit hasty on their response and that they should take the frame back to at least look at it. Now well into week four, the frame is at Fuji and we hear nothing but silence from them. I want to believe the guys at the shop when they say that as soon as the guys at Fuji see it they will understand and provide the current replacement frame option, with C-7 carbon. Your story makes me believe I'm in for a long ride though.

I'm sorry to hear the OP got this repaired. The bike will never be the same and Performance should have made this right. If Fuji refused to honor their warranty and he did not wish to sue them in small claims court then Performance has a very clearly written guarantee that would come into play. I can tell you this, in my situation either Fuji or Performance is going to have to step up and supply me with a comparable module and I will spend a quick day in small claims court if I have to do it.


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## raymond7204

wedge962005 said:


> I'm sorry to hear the OP got this repaired. The bike will never be the same and Performance should have made this right. If Fuji refused to honor their warranty and he did not wish to sue them in small claims court then Performance has a very clearly written guarantee that would come into play. I can tell you this, in my situation either Fuji or Performance is going to have to step up and supply me with a comparable module and I will spend a quick day in small claims court if I have to do it.



Please keep us updated. Also, post your experience to the other thread on this subject. 

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=218749

There are a lot of people on that thread that are interested in this issue.

Ray


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## rcjunkie3000

Did you purchase the bike through PB? I thought they had a 100% satisfaction gurantee. I returned a 5 year old carbon Alpha cage that broke and they took it back. See if you can just return it.


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## raymond7204

Fuji/Advanced Sports came through and took exceptionally good care of me! You can find the details on the other thread.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=218749

Ray


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## thosmm

I'm glad to hear that they're taking care of you. 

I ordered a 44cm 2009 SL-1 frame from my LBS yesterday, and I'm hoping it will be the right decision. 

-TM-


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## raymond7204

thosmm said:


> I'm glad to hear that they're taking care of you.
> 
> I ordered a 44cm 2009 SL-1 frame from my LBS yesterday, and I'm hoping it will be the right decision.
> 
> -TM-


The SL1 is an amazing bike so I don't think you went wrong there.

Ray


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## wedge962005

*Warranty Update*

Here is my update. Pretty good news. Management at Performance convinced management at Fuji that they needed to look at my frame directly prior to such aggressive action as denying my warranty claim. The frame was shipped to Fuji as a result. They got back to me on Thursday and agreed that the damage was not from "impact" and agreed that it would be handled under warranty.

The problem at that point was that they didn't have any comparable frames to send. The bike I had used their C-7 carbon so only their top-of-the-line stuff is eligible for the replacement and they knew I wouldn't be interested in a weaker frame. They suggested I wait until Fall for a 2011 frame, which I may still end up doing, but I thought of Raymond7204 and made a suggestion to Performance. I mentioned I was interested in Time Trial and had been thinking about a bike in that category. They emailed Fuji who replied quickly and we are looking at getting me a new D6 frameset that I can build up.

Overall I'm still very disappointed that Fuji's front line people were so willing to basically call me a liar but I'm happy that Performance's management was able to use their power to get someone higher up at Fuji to review the situation and do the thing that many companies find most difficult to do, reverse their course and admit they were wrong. It seems like they are now looking for a way to make this right and I'm sure it will get resolved.


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## raymond7204

wedge962005 said:


> Here is my update. Pretty good news. Management at Performance convinced management at Fuji that they needed to look at my frame directly prior to such aggressive action as denying my warranty claim. The frame was shipped to Fuji as a result. They got back to me on Thursday and agreed that the damage was not from "impact" and agreed that it would be handled under warranty.
> 
> The problem at that point was that they didn't have any comparable frames to send. The bike I had used their C-7 carbon so only their top-of-the-line stuff is eligible for the replacement and they knew I wouldn't be interested in a weaker frame. They suggested I wait until Fall for a 2011 frame, which I may still end up doing, but I thought of Raymond7204 and made a suggestion to Performance. I mentioned I was interested in Time Trial and had been thinking about a bike in that category. They emailed Fuji who replied quickly and we are looking at getting me a new D6 frameset that I can build up.
> 
> Overall I'm still very disappointed that Fuji's front line people were so willing to basically call me a liar but I'm happy that Performance's management was able to use their power to get someone higher up at Fuji to review the situation and do the thing that many companies find most difficult to do, reverse their course and admit they were wrong. It seems like they are now looking for a way to make this right and I'm sure it will get resolved.



That's good news. Let me know how it works out with the D6. I actually asked for a D6 but was told that they were sold out of 2010 and they didn't know when the 2011's would arrive.

Ray


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## C6Rider

*Good news !*

Great to hear that it sounds like everything is going to work out for you, even if you were given the run around.


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## latman

I did a carbon repair on a Fuji SL-1 frame a while ago that had a crack at the back of the seat tube that started from the hole at the bottom of the seat tube slot ,the seat post was slightly too small for the seat tube and that caused the clamp to excessively "flex" the seat tube and caused a crack over time , other than that it was an incredibly ligtweight frame !


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## ellipsis212

raymond7204 said:


> I ended up sending the frame to Road Runner Velo for repair and they're fixing the crack in the seat stay as well as another crack they found in the wishbone. Total repair cost with shipping was just under $400.
> 
> I'm looking forward to getting the bike back on the road, but I'm starting to look into steel and Ti.
> 
> I'm disappointed, but that is the risk of carbon.
> 
> Ray


Hi, noob here. Did you get your frame back already and are you happy with the repair?


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## Mount Dora Cycles

morale of the story, if you don't get your way, put it on the internet forums till you do. Job well done!


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## law

Performance can be a great to work with. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. 

"Performance guarantees 100% satisfaction with every product we sell. If an item does not meet your expectations, just send it back and we will promptly replace, refund, or credit your account - whichever you prefer."

There is no expiration on that. And if they try to talk you out of it after you have had the bike for a couple of years, you just have to be willing to hold your ground. I worked there and we returned a very well used carbon bike when they customer said he had been mis-sized by our store. He returned it for full credit and bought a new model after having ridden it for 2 years. Nice for him, sucks for the store. Not even a warranty issue. I never saw a warranty denied by Fuji in the 3 years I worked there. Even when it was a customer caused problem a couple of times. They like to keep Performance happy and the extra cost to warranty those few frames as an overall percentage seem to be something Fuji is willing to live with.


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## AZPOWERHOUSE

I did post this on the frames thread also. I also made sure the manager knew I about all the problems with this on the forum....

Well add me to the list. Small crack in drivetrain seatstay of a 2009 SL-1 with less than 1000 miles on it. Kind off bumming because I was was really getting into this bike and was determined to ride more often. 

I talked to the performance I got it at and he is going to call it in to Fuji in the morning (Monday). He determined it was not from impact. It was kind of a joke when he asked if it had been in a crash, there is not a scratch on the bike. He said he one in the back with a crack in the same spot, and he was aware of the problem, he said that they stopped using the C10 carbon because of this.

Well I have been looking at cannondales, BH, and Felt lately. I really like the idea of the Di2 Dura-ace. I am riding every other day for at least two hours. I like road races and long rides, I am thinking of doing a few bike trips, Crits are not my thing. 

The store manager said they no longer make the SL1 with C10 fiber, but instead the 2010 would be C7. Is this a big weight difference?

So here is the dilemma, So do I:

1) See if they will repair it. ( I do like the bike the way it is set up now with my components and the color scheme.) BUT, what if it starts cracking somewhere else?

2) Just take the 2010 SL1

2a) try to get the altamira with D6 carbon

3) Try to hold out for a 2011 (with C11? fiber)


4) Try for the SST (the fiber I think is 4 or 7) I have never ridden one.

5) Part everything out,stay away from Fuji, and pick up a different bike?

6) any other ideas?


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## raymond7204

Aside from the crack, did you like how the bike performed? If you feel that the ride was good, stick with Fuji SL1. Although the SL1 is canceled for 2011, I'd bet that there is available stock to replace your frame. 

I'm speculating but I would venture that the difference between C7 and C10 is negligible to us mere mortals. If you are a powerhouse as your name implies, you may need the top-of-the-line C10 to realize your potential. Otherwise, c7 is probably adequate. Personally, I like C10.

Also, you paid for a SL1. Fuji should replace it with a good SL1. If you can get the Altamira or the SST, go for it. Just realize that the longer you wait, the longer you're off the bike. 

My experience with Fuji turned out pretty well with me ending up with a repaired SL1 and a new Kestrel Airfoil Pro frameset. Despite my good fortune, I honestly believe that Fuji only owed me the replacement SL1. 

Ray


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## AZPOWERHOUSE

Yeah, I was bumming because the manager originally said I they no longer made the same exact frame. But thanks to frdfandc, they do still make the same exact frame in a different color scheme. I called and told the manager that, and he said that is what they should send then. I will be happy once the frame comes in and everything is swapped out. I do like the bike and had it professionally fitted at a different shop. the other bikes I listed are different geometries and would have had to get refitted. I think they will make a 2011 SL1, but looking at the fuji page it is no longer the light frame that it was in 2009 and 2010. I believe the frames are now heavier then they once were with the different carbon.

I do like the bike and as long as everything goes smooth will stick with it.....

Thanks.


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## FredThePoser

ellipsis212 said:


> Hi, noob here. Did you get your frame back already and are you happy with the repair?


I saw you wanted to know what his repair was like with RR Velo so let me tell you my experience so far. I shipped my 2009 Giant TCR Advanced to RR Velo on 8/12/2010 and it was received on 8/18. Edgar called to let me know the bike was done and the total cost would be $450 on 9/2 and it would be shipped out either Friday the 3rd or Tuesday the 7th well by the 15th I still had no bike and sent an email with no response. I left a voice mail on the 16th with no response then and email again on the 21st and 24th and I had also left another voicemail with no response. On 9/30 I sent an email stating I was going to dispute the charges on my card since I could not get a response with the whereabouts of my bike and in every email I sent I requested a tracking number. Well within 30 minutes I had a response saying my bike was shipped to Chicago by accident and he did have it back in hand and it was safe at his shop. He offered to refund my shipping charges and I told him it was not necessary since I understand thing happen but I asked when he shipped my bike out to send me a tracking number and we would call it even. On 10/6 I sent another email because I still had no bike or tracking number and again no response. Well it is bad enough to be out a $2000 frame but to give away another $450 would be crazy. I disputed the charge on my card on 10/12 since I have still not seen my bike or a tracking number. Edgar might do good work but it looks like I will never know so now I am in the market for a new bike.


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## FredThePoser

*Another RR Velo happy customer*



ellipsis212 said:


> Hi, noob here. Did you get your frame back already and are you happy with the repair?


Here is an Orlando New question about this same place.
$465 bike paint job in the mail, maybe


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## FredThePoser

Funny I just received my bike at 6:25PM tonight. The repair does look good and if I did not know where it was broken I would have to look real close to find it. I am surprised it made it here because there is another address label to someone in California and an big label with To RR Velo and the address on it.


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## raymond7204

FredThePoser said:


> Funny I just received my bike at 6:25PM tonight. The repair does look good and if I did not know where it was broken I would have to look real close to find it. I am surprised it made it here because there is another address label to someone in California and an big label with To RR Velo and the address on it.



Edgar does good work but his customer service skills need help.

I had a number of delays in getting my frame back. Funny...mine went to the wrong address as well. When it did finally arrive, the quality of the repair was exceptional. 

I did have a conversation with Edgar and he mentioned that he was recently injured and wasn't working as much. He also mentioned that much of the shipping was being done by his brother. Not necessarily an excuse for poor performance, but a plausible scenario.

I had the same thoughts on the box in which my frame came. Edgar is obviously recycling the boxes that he gets.

Overall, I'd trust Edgar IF had to get another frame repaired, but I wouldn't be in a hurry. 

Ray


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## AZPOWERHOUSE

Wanted to follow up with my situation....

I received the same exact textbook run around from fuji regarding my frame as others in this thread received.

Here is pretty much how it went:
-week 1) fuji wanted pics.
-week 2) fuji want more pics.
-week 3) fuji wants frame sent to them, but then a day later....fuji denies warranty because they said it was from impact. fuji tries to get me to pay 700 for an sst crash replacement.
-week 4) Performance gives me a few good options. One being the exact frame as mine in the back on a brand new lay-away bike (this bike came in at the same time as mine over a year ago). 

-Conclusion) After being played like a fool from fuji (my bike never had any impact of any kind and had no scratches on any part of the bike, it looked like new), I declined the offers and will never ride a fuji bike or any of their sister brands. I was done fighting the same fight as others in this thread, and I have no trust in fuji or their frames. 

I do want to thank performance for giving my money back. 


The funny thing is in the email from fuji posted in this thread:

_Fuji takes every warranty claim requesting our consideration very seriously. I don't know if you examined the pictures (one that he posted on our official Fuji facebook page is attached), but if you take a look at the crack you can see that it does not follow the cross-hatch grain of the carbon. It is true that carbon can crack, but those cracks are results of stress on a weaker bond between the fibers. Those weak bonds, which are manufacturer's defects, result in hairline cracks that stretch and grow along the grain of the carbon until it is visible or the stretching causes very loud creeking. Raymond's frame cracked in a way that we have seen on many crash instances- crossing over the grain of the carbon instead of following along it._

This pretty much spells out what my frame looked like. My crack was _perpendicular _to raymonds crack but on the other seatstay. 

I did enjoy the bike, but I am over it and the whole situation. I can't wait to get another bike (Different brand) when the 2011s roll out.


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