# Lawsuit against Trek USA



## FSonicSmith (Jan 2, 2003)

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## tbb001 (Oct 1, 2007)

We now live in an age where having a seatmast with chipped clearcoat and having a front derailleur that rubs occasionally is grounds for a lawsuit.

Sad really.

Explain both of your problems more thoroughly. How is the seatmast cracked? What is wrong with the front derailleur shifting? I'm not sure how either of these are issues that would be grounds for a lawsuit...one of them seems to be an adjustment issue and the other more than likely is just a crack in the clearcoat from tightening/loosening the seatpost to find the correct height.


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## FSonicSmith (Jan 2, 2003)

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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Quit complaining. The bike has been used and it shows that it's been used. If you're shop is incompetent and can't fix the problem, find a better shop.

Suing Trek won't get you anywhere except a large legal bill and a reputation as "one of those people." Really, go ride the bike, it will get more scratched and chipped, as bikes do when they get used, or worked on, or whatever. 

And if you didn't want someone to weigh in on right of wrong, why'd you bother to post this?


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## FSonicSmith (Jan 2, 2003)

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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Please do let us know how this proceeds.

Has a complaint and summons been served, or, by "no choice," do you mean you are merely contemplating filing suit? Have you retained counsel, or, is this a small claims matter?

Finally, are there other threads I have missed regarding your troubles with this bike? I do not know in in particular but I am curious to know what shifting "properly" means to you.


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## fontarin (Mar 28, 2009)

Unless there is a defect with the frame causing it to shift poorly, that's more SRAM's problem than Trek's. 

What kind of crack/chip are you talking about? When did you notice it/how did it occur? It could be something totally out of Trek's hands, such as over tightening something in the stand, or anything along those lines.

I don't see how it's Trek's fault, unless there's a frame defect.


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## zac (Aug 5, 2005)

Purely from an economic perspective, not many lawyers would take this type of case. You do realize that you are going to need an expert, perhaps two, and expert testimony is not cheap. Neither is the time for a lawyer.

The above is regardless of the merits of the matter and the burden of proof on warranty and or products liability are not easy to establish. What are your current damages? What was the cause of the damage? Was it due to product design or defect?

Showing signs of cracking without more, is likely not actionable, unless you have a frame/carbon expert willing to render an opinion that it is damaged and that damage was due to said design or defect, and all that will get you is past a motion to dismiss, and possible not even survive a motion for summary jd.

As to the derailleur, I fail to see how that is actionable at all. If it was fixed, then it is a non-issue. Otherwise, it can be replaced or repaired, if need be. 

Sounds to me like you have a shop that isn't exactly up to par. Especially if you are getting your bike back with further damage due to shop action! WTF is that all about?


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## Munk69 (Mar 10, 2011)

it sounds like the whole process was handled bad.. Which I can understand your frustration. However instead of filing suit, have you tried to go up the Trek leadership ladder? That is what I would do. If your not staisfied, then show their company by going up their internal ladder until you get satisfaction. 

Honestly, filing a suit over this seems very frivolous and wasteful.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

A lawsuit is not really going to help resolve your situation. Why not wait and see if Trek have fixed the FD issue? Why not negotiate with them to fix the clearcoat issue?

If it is still not fixed to your satisfaction, why don't you reject the bike and ask for your money back. There is no lemon law for bikes for there are similar provisions for warranty disputes. I presume you paid with a credit card - you could ultimately dispute the charge with your credit card company. However, if you go down this route you are going to burn all bridges with the LBS, and it sounds like they have really tried to work with you to solve the problem.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

fontarin said:


> Unless there is a defect with the frame causing it to shift poorly, that's more SRAM's problem than Trek's.
> 
> What kind of crack/chip are you talking about? When did you notice it/how did it occur? It could be something totally out of Trek's hands, such as over tightening something in the stand, or anything along those lines.
> 
> I don't see how it's Trek's fault, unless there's a frame defect.


TREK has very good record of replacing frames *free of charge* if there is even a hint that it may have been defective in any way. I had a frame replaced after riding it for 10 years and developing a crack in bottom bracket area - even though it was clearly not TREK's fault, it was just an old frame that had a lot of use and abuse, but they did it under lifetime warranty anyways.

There must be a reason TREK wouldn't replace your frame - most likely, and it's only my guess, because there is nothing wrong with it.


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## FSonicSmith (Jan 2, 2003)

I was wrong to air my problem here. I was wrong to talk about lawsuits. Trek is going to take care of me, and I believe it has nothing to do with, and in fact is IN SPITE OF, talking the "L" word. I was off base and I apologize to the folks at Trek for that. There was a problem that took a long time to solve. The source of the problem has still not been specifically identified. I don't agree it was necessarily a SRAM problem because replacing the front derailleur with a Shimano did not alleviate the problem. We will get it sorted out.


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## Road Hazard (Feb 5, 2011)

Hey, you wiped out your post just as I was clicking to quote it...

Anyway, you said that Trek was able to do in five minutes what the shop couldn't do in 20 hours... namely get the front shifting adjusted correctly.

Right there it seems that your issue is not with Trek but with your local shop.


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