# trek 4.5c broken frame



## Optiwizard (Jul 25, 2012)

I snapped my rear derailleur off don't know how as I don't remember hitting anything and it has never been bumped or banged by me. Bike has 400miles on it 4 weeks old. Bad part is it broke part of the frame when it happened. LBS seems to think Trek wont cover it as they think it was something I rode over and got caught up. Bike shop wants to epoxy the frame where the hanger screws in. One of the screw holes is now broken off. Should I be looking at Trek to cover the frame. When it broke I was 0.5miles into my ride just started to pick up speed was doing 16.5mph at the time was not standing or shifting when it broke and was on flat clean road. Is this something that Trek covers?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

These are tough. If the bike ever worked correctly then it's hard to say that it's a defect because things don't change without an outside influence (bike falls on drive side, hangar damaged in trasnport, etc.). Sometimes things happen without your knowledge, ie. someone knocks your bike over without telling you. Bad adjustment is a possibility but it's difficult to get most shops to volunteer that since the bike spends most of it's time in the owner's possession. 

If it cannot be demonstrated to be a defect in manufacturing then it will be hard to get a 100% replacement. Most big brands offer a crash replacement to soften the blow of a non-warranty replacement. Your shop should be able to help there.


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## Vitamin G (Aug 3, 2007)

My guess is this will be seen as a crash type of issue. I had a legitimate crash on an older Trek, and there are options.

1) Trek may offer a new frame for some amount of money.
2) Trek may offer a percentage off of a new Trek bike

or you can 
3) Send your bike to a 3rd party carbon fiber repair company


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Optiwizard said:


> I snapped my rear derailleur off don't know how* as I don't remember hitting anything and it has never been bumped or banged by me*. Bike has 400miles on it 4 weeks old. Bad part is it broke part of the frame when it happened. LBS seems to think Trek wont cover it as they think it was something I rode over and got caught up. Bike shop wants to epoxy the frame where the hanger screws in. One of the screw holes is now broken off. Should I be looking at Trek to cover the frame. When it broke I was 0.5miles into my ride just started to pick up speed was doing 16.5mph at the time was not standing or shifting when it broke and was on flat clean road. Is this something that Trek covers?


this is the case 99% of the time. no one ever remembers 'anything' happening that could cause their bike to break. 
if the last time you rode it it was fine, how would it just 'break'? defects like this are extremely rare...modern bikes don't just break from one ride to the next.


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## Optiwizard (Jul 25, 2012)

Just doesn't seem like a 2k bike should break and not feel anything. Wouldn't you feel something get caught in the gears? wouldn't it jam up? It just dropped off and into my spokes it went. Cant believe I didn't wipe out rear wheel. Are road bikes that delicate?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Optiwizard said:


> Just doesn't seem like a 2k bike should break and not feel anything. Wouldn't you feel something get caught in the gears? wouldn't it jam up? It just dropped off and into my spokes it went. Cant believe I didn't wipe out rear wheel. Are road bikes that delicate?


That is either an out of adjustment end point (allowing over shift) or a bent derailleur hangar. 1st one is on whoever made the adjustment, 2nd one can happen if the bike falls on the drive side or from a shot travelling or shipping which would not leave a mark like falling on the ground would.

Unfortunately, they are pretty delicate. The replaceable hangars help but if the spokes get the derailleur to break off, then it goes directly into the seat stay. FWIW, not even a steel bike stands up well to that. Sorry to hear about this, I know it's disappointing. I hope your shop and Trek can help you out and get you back out on the road.


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## BlueWheels (Oct 17, 2008)

If the first dealer won't help you out with contacting Trek to find out their thoughts on a replacement, you should go visit another Trek dealer. It never hurts to get a second opinion on something like this, especially if the bike is only one month old and has never gone down in a crash.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

being crashed or not doesn't really matter. the amount of impact needed to bend an alloy derailleur hanger is very small. it can happen in so many ways that you might never know anything happened 'til it's too late. if your bike gets knocked over on the drive side it can happen. at the coffee shop, in your garage...you might never even know it hit the ground. people knock over bikes and pick them up all the time...you'd never know it even happened while you were getting your coffee. if you lean your bike against a wall, then someone else leans theirs against yours w/o making sure they're not leaning it against the derailleur...it can happen. 
you definitely don't have to crash on the derailleur to bend the hanger. i literally see this every day at the shop...twice yesterday and it was a slow day. most people have no idea how it happened...but we all know they don't just bend themselves.


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## Optiwizard (Jul 25, 2012)

maybe the part is inferior or improperly engineered.


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