# we have a problem



## brett (Aug 14, 2005)

just built up my new 595 after being hit by a car. Her insurance covered me so i was lucky. I have just built up a black 595 Ultra. I have built it with record, deda alaneera bars, zero gravity brakes and a nice set of bora's. I took it for my first major ride on Wednesday. What a bike ! I did approx 75 km's in just on 2 and a quarter hours. The record is so good and a good set of tubulars really make a difference. I have a polar 600 and according to that i averaged approx 35 km's an hour. However my heart rate averaged at about 93% of max over the duration. Perhaps i should drop back the intensity.
However that is not the problem. I went out this morning for a couple of hours before breakfast. After about 60 kms i couldnt shift my front derailer and my rear was skipping around a bit .I could not physically shift the lever and i did not want to use over excessive force. I put this down to a new bike, stretching cables etc and maybe the front limiter was set incorrectly. I rode back to the shop to get the gears adjusted so i could do some more miles this week.

Here is the problem. The owner of the shop set the bike up in the jig and proceeded to re adjust the gears. He then calmly told me i have a problem. I thought the spring was buggered in the shifter or something equally frustrating. so much for record and its precision. I was not that lucky.

Instead i was told my frame had snapped. Brand new and with about 200 kms on it. It appears the upper carbon lug , in which the headset sits, has broken the bonding with the diagonal down tube. It has physically seperated by about 15 mm, or approx half inch. I now look at the carbon insert on the lug. It has neatly seperated and shows the exact profile of the butting tube. That is why my gears were stuffed as the tube was effectively half inch longer and stretched the cables. I can only imagine the cabes were the only thing stopping the lug from totally seperating and perhaps saving me from a major accident.
This is obviously under warranty however i think this was the last small ultra in Australia , which could cause major delays, and i am not really confident now in the product. Has this happened before to anyone and can i rest assured it is a one off frame problem.


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## takl23 (Jul 22, 2007)

It has to be a one off frame problem. I've never heard of such a thing. Bummer about the possible delay, but Look really stands behind their products, so don't worry about them not covering the warranty. Definitely get another 595. That frame is worth it!

Tim


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## CaseLawZ28 (Jul 14, 2005)

What takl23 said.


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## brett (Aug 14, 2005)

theres a shipment coming in 2 weeks, so i have a frame put aside in that. We sent photos to the guys in Australia and they are so amazed. It appears to the that the lug and tubes were not bonded together on the headset lug. It basically looks like it was forgotten during the manufacturing process. It was held together by paint and good luck. Of course they are apologetic, but very lucky. A few days prior i was doing 70 kph down hill. These things happen i suppose.
During manufacture how is the bonding done? Is it adhesive, pressure, heat or all of the above combined?


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## HazemBata (May 20, 2004)

Brett,

Dont be bumed out over the bike. Always look at the bright side. Thank God you didnt have an accident. Imagine having the frame come undone while flying down a hill? Having a shop tell you that "you have a problem" doesnt seem so bad in comparison.

Best of luck.


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## sweetnsourbkr (Jan 10, 2005)

Pics plz.


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## natbrown (Oct 7, 2005)

my 585 cracked at the bottom bracket-seat tube lug bond. Took me 3 months to get a new frame (in Australia too). You are lucky only waiting 2 weeks. And lucky you didn't crash. Are Look frames a bit dodgy?


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## brett (Aug 14, 2005)

i will post a picture if the frame has not been sent of yet. Im more than happy with the service, and after now riding the 595 over several months, both the pro team and the ultra, i would not have another bike. These things happen, it is only a bike and i am fortunate enough to have a bike of this quality and expense when a lot of people struggle to put food on their table. So we are all truly blessed in this regard. thanks brett


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## bigtino (Nov 5, 2004)

*Bonding 595 tubes*



brett said:


> During manufacture how is the bonding done? Is it adhesive, pressure, heat or all of the above combined?


Look uses a carbon resin to adhere the 595's shaped nano carbon tubes which taper into it's carbon lugs. There is pressure involved in the adhesion process but the bond is a chemical one between the resin and carbon fiber. I am so happy to hear that you are OK. Good luck with the warranty process.

[email protected]


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## brett (Aug 14, 2005)

spoke too soon. The frame is not here yet despite several promises. For a company with such a good product the service is shocking. They obviously think people wll be stuffed around and still buy the product. Well guess what, ive got news for look and its all bad. I have a 2 week old bike, worth over $16000 aud and its only good for a paper weight. I would of thought a company like look would bend over backwards when their top product is faulty and it was only luck it did not cause an accident.Well look, in one week from now i expect to have a new frame or i will seek a refund. I dont mind the wait, i dont like the promises that are made and not lived up too.


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## chas (Aug 10, 2006)

brett said:


> spoke too soon. The frame is not here yet despite several promises. For a company with such a good product the service is shocking. They obviously think people wll be stuffed around and still buy the product. Well guess what, ive got news for look and its all bad. I have a 2 week old bike, worth over $16000 aud and its only good for a paper weight. I would of thought a company like look would bend over backwards when their top product is faulty and it was only luck it did not cause an accident.Well look, in one week from now i expect to have a new frame or i will seek a refund. I dont mind the wait, i dont like the promises that are made and not lived up too.


Hi Brett,

I'm sorry you've been given the run around with regards to your replacement frame. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for distributors to be out of stock on certain sizes/colors at this point in the year. The 2009 models will be available in a of couple months, so distributors are wary of bringing in extra 2008 inventory that they'll end up having to discount as soon as the '09's hit the showroom floor. This doesn't excuse any broken promises you may have been given, but I just wanted to let you know why you've had a hard time getting your replacement frame.

Regards,
*[email protected]*


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## natbrown (Oct 7, 2005)

had to wait 3 months for mine! AND I ended up with a fork and frame that didn't quite match (different graphics)- NOT good!!


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## brett (Aug 14, 2005)

*diff between 07 and 08 595 ?*

done some phoning around and can get a new 07 595 frame. My frame was a 08 model. Is there any difference between 07 and 08 ,apart from maybe cosmetic? They are both the black 595. If this is this the only way i can get back on the road, do you guys think it makes sense to replace a new 08 frame with a new 07 frame ? I would obviously expect some sort of refund , do you also think that is reasonable?


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