# Has anyone actually read the Cannondale warranty?



## msrothwe (Jan 16, 2008)

My 2006, Made in the USA, CAAD8 looks like crap. The clearcoat has started to crack and peel, and the frame is starting to corrode. I consulted the Cannondale warranty page to see if it was covered, and sure enough, corrosion is not covered. I'm not surprised, and honestly its probably my fault for riding the crap out of my bike over the past 8 years on dirt, in thunderstorms, through 2 crit crashes, all while coated in sweat from 100+ degree days without much thought to the "paintjob" of my "raw finish" clear-coated bike. 

That's okay with me. 

However, I kept reading the warranty page. The most distressing thing was the section of the warranty below:



Cannondale Warranty said:


> Damage resulting from normal wear and tear, including the results of fatigue, is not covered. Fatigue damage is a symptom of the frame being worn out through normal use.


Now, I have no way to back my credentials up because I'm not posting a resume or diploma on this site. However, I have engineering experience in the field of metallurgy for aerospace and automotive applications. A large part of my time was used investigating field failures. In nearly EVERY case, there was a component of fatigue that involved in the failure. For just about every frame failure with the exception of impacts, fatigue is the issue. A weld with undercut that creates a stress riser that allows a crack to initiate and propagate to failure is fatigue. A bad heat treat that causes lack of strength and ductility in the HAZ of the tube junction can concentrate the stress in that weak area and invite a fatigue failure. A slag inclusion in the tube wall can cause a stress riser that can (you guessed it) allow a crack to initiate, propagate and cause a fatigue failure. All a fatigue failure is is a crack that starts slowly and grows as the number of cycles increase, and the cause can be any number of things.

There are also customer-caused issues that can cause fatigue failures, such as chain suck gouges that eat into chainstays, dents from wrecking, and pitting corrosion from harsh environments. The three mentioned instances can be notch initiation points for crack propagation resulting in fatigue failure. 

With that said, a properly designed and manufactured part should not have fatigue failures in its lifetime. I imagine that very few people put enough miles on their frame to crack a properly manufactured CAAD-Whatever in a "pure" fatigue failure mode. The small minority of the original owners who do should be given a new frame, and maybe a medal! 

I'm not worried that my frame is going to fail. Sure, it may, but I've definitely gotten my use out of it. It just bugs me that Cannondale doesn't believe in their design and manufacturing abilities enough to warrant against fatigue.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

msrothwe said:


> It just bugs me that Cannondale doesn't believe in their design and manufacturing abilities enough to warrant against fatigue.


Have you read the warranties of all the other bike mfg's? They pretty much all say the same thing. Many don't offer a lifetime warranty. Some only a couple years. 



> With that said, a properly designed and manufactured part should not have fatigue failures in its lifetime.


Define its lifetime. Cannondale offers the warranty for "the lifetime of the original owner". Someone could buy a bike at 18yro and ride it for 45yrs. Would you warranty something that long?


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## msrothwe (Jan 16, 2008)

tlg said:


> Define its lifetime. Cannondale offers the warranty for "the lifetime of the original owner". Someone could buy a bike at 18yro and ride it for 45yrs. Would you warranty something that long?


Hell freakin' yea I would. If the frame failed in a "pure fatigue" mode, I'd ask for the frame, give them a trip the factory and make them proud to be a loyal customer. And I'd send them on their way with a new CAAD10. 

The point I'm trying to make is that those original owners that keep their bikes long enough to cause a fatigue failure should so rare it shouldn't be an issue to replace their frames.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

msrothwe said:


> Hell freakin' yea I would. If the frame failed in a "pure fatigue" mode, I'd ask for the frame, give them a trip the factory and make them proud to be a loyal customer. And I'd send them on their way with a new CAAD10.
> 
> The point I'm trying to make is that those original owners that keep their bikes long enough to cause a fatigue failure should so rare it shouldn't be an issue to replace their frames.


Good luck with your bicycle frame business. And fighting all those warranty claims... trying to prove which are not "pure fatigue" failures.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

A frame failing purely from fatigue is very rare. Sure sometimes it happens triggered by a dent/crash/other issue like you said but rarely does one fail from just normal fatigue. Frames are being tested with machines that simulate many years of exagerated heavy use (well, Cannondales are) to make sure they remain safe for years.... And to Cannondale's credit, they will sometimes replace a frame even if they don't legally have to according to their warranty text. Those texts are written by lawyers whose jobs is to protect their asses as much as possible... It's like the warning sticker near the BB that used to be under the clearcoat, that was another work of overzealous lawyers. Common practice especially in the US.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

"a properly designed and manufactured part should not have fatigue failures in its lifetime."

I think the key here is Cannondale's CAAD frames are aluminum.

From all the literature I've read about aluminum and bicycle frames, you can expect virtually all aluminum frames to fail from "fatigue" if the frame sees any flexing whatsoever. No doubt Cannondale tries to design long lasting frames but I think any aluminum frame that's subject to the stresses of aggressive riding such as racing and training is expected to fail. Cannondale is merely trying to CTA.


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## msrothwe (Jan 16, 2008)

Peter P. said:


> "a properly designed and manufactured part should not have fatigue failures in its lifetime."
> 
> I think the key here is Cannondale's CAAD frames are aluminum.
> 
> From all the literature I've read about aluminum and bicycle frames, you can expect virtually all aluminum frames to fail from "fatigue" if the frame sees any flexing whatsoever. No doubt Cannondale tries to design long lasting frames but I think any aluminum frame that's subject to the stresses of aggressive riding such as racing and training is expected to fail. Cannondale is merely trying to CTA.


I'm including aluminum when I say that properly designed and manufactured parts should not fail. The cycles to failure on an aluminum part still decreases substantially with lower stress. That's why the tube walls and tube cross sections are larger in high stress areas like the bb and head tube junction. I'm not saying it will last forever, but likely far longer than the original owner will own it. And if somebody does keep it and ride it to failure, then bravo, replace the frame! If the number of frames coming for fatigue failures gets too high, then it's a sign that you didn't design or build it correctly.


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## Team Sarcasm (Oct 22, 2012)

Im my eyes, offering a "life time warranty" means the frame should be able to withstand normal wear and tear for how ever you own it. 

Some auto brake pads have life time warranties, and as cruddy as they are, as lone as you bring back piece of a fully warn down brake pad, they company will give you a new set. 

The one downside to cannondale, again in my eyes, is not admitting their frames only last x amount of years. I think a 10 year for sure warranty is better than a "we might cover it" _forever_warranty. 

But I didn't buy my caad10 for the warranty (well partially it was the reason). I bought it because it's an awesome bike that fits me like no other. 

Odds are I will crash down the line and void the warranty anyways, but I would not be happy if I had a relatively pristine bike that broke a weld 15 years after owning it and cannondale says the warranty does not apply.


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## tpcorr (Feb 27, 2014)

I wonder what the frame warranty would be on my 1987 Cannondale SR500?


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## SNS1938 (Aug 9, 2013)

msrothwe said:


> ...
> ... a properly designed and manufactured part should not have fatigue failures in its lifetime.
> 
> ... It just bugs me that Cannondale doesn't believe in their design and manufacturing abilities enough to warrant against fatigue.


I would guess, that if they wanted to make their alloy frames in such a way that the stresses are kept below those which will cause crack growth (and using a grade and manufacturing technique to minimize the initial cracks/voids etc in the metal) in 99.99% of bikes, then the frame would have to be 'too heavy' for what consumers want.

I.e. a 1400 gram CAAD frame may have sufficiently low stresses to last indefinitely (as the stresses will be too low to cause crack growth). Whereas, a 1200 gram CAAD frame may result in stresses that cause one in a hundred bikes to have crack growth and eventual failure..

So Cannondale could 1) improve manufacturing (they could already be at the limit), or 2) add some material, but then they'll lose more sales to other brands that have lighter alloy frames and a 'Lifetime' warranty too.

I purchased a 'heavy' carbon bike to know I've got a bike that has a good chance of lasting my lifetime. I do completely agree that I'd rather have a good 10 year warranty (with a nice crash replacement offer), than some 'lifetime' warranty which the manufacturer will do everything to avoid honoring.


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## jsellers (Feb 14, 2008)

There is a difference between defect and fatigue. All material will fatigue but if it breaks at a weld or bonding point that is because of manufacture, the way they see it.


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