# Colnago 2 year warranty



## skygodmatt (May 24, 2005)

I am looking into a new Colnago frameset. 
But, the warranty is only 2 years long. I expected a little more for my $3k to $5k bucks. 
Any issues with the models you guys are aware of?
thanks, 

Matt


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Colnago only needs to warranty the frame for two years due to their confidence in their product. If there is a manu defect in the frame, it will be evident within the two years. Likely within two months.
Companies who offer lifetime warranties do it because it makes the consumer feel like the product they are buying is going to be strong and last forever. If you look on these boards you will see that companies with lifetime warranties also have the highest rates of failure due to poor quality control. Colnago does not have these issues. They were the first bicycle company to be ISO certified. They have also never had a product recall in 60 years of operation.
We have warrantied a few Colnago's for people, but in my opinion they were not manufacturer issues they were ham-fisted home mechanics who screwed their frame up. Colnago still warrantied them though.
I have never seen a Colnago fail due to anything besides crashing, or over tightening. I honestly don't think I ever will.


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## merckxman (Jan 23, 2002)

I agree that Colnago makes an excellent product. There are also excellent manufactures that have provided a lifetime warranty. Eddy Merckx comes to mind....



mtbbmet said:


> Companies who offer lifetime warranties do it because it makes the consumer feel like the product they are buying is going to be strong and last forever.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

mtbbmet said:


> Colnago only needs to warranty the frame for two years due to their confidence in their product. If there is a manu defect in the frame, it will be evident within the two years. Likely within two months.
> Companies who offer lifetime warranties do it because it makes the consumer feel like the product they are buying is going to be strong and last forever. If you look on these boards you will see that companies with lifetime warranties also have the highest rates of failure due to poor quality control. Colnago does not have these issues. They were the first bicycle company to be ISO certified. They have also never had a product recall in 60 years of operation.
> We have warrantied a few Colnago's for people, but in my opinion they were not manufacturer issues they were ham-fisted home mechanics who screwed their frame up. Colnago still warrantied them though.
> I have never seen a Colnago fail due to anything besides crashing, or over tightening. I honestly don't think I ever will.


It is hard to believe that Colnago never has a manufacturing defect. I read a post on here a couple of years ago where the tubes on an Extreme C were pulling out of their lugs. Since the lugged frames are hand made, it seems like there would be some room for error. With that said, I haven't had any trouble with the 4 Colnagos that I have been riding and they are all over 2 years old.


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## nicensleazy (Aug 3, 2008)

I always find Colnago over engineer their frames. They are extremely well made with superb paint quality.


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

Lifetime warranties that bike companies throw out there are meaningless. Try and get your frame replaced if you have a warranty issue and have ridden the bike for more than a couple of years. It probably won't happen.

I've seen this issue first-hand with Cannondale and their SuperSix frames. Supposedly lifetime warranties, but several friends were forced to pay a replacement fee simply because they rode their bikes too "aggressively" and it was normal wear and tear that supposedly caused their downtubes to crack. It's all a marketing scam. I wouldn't worry about the warranty on Colnagos.

I have an Extreme Power that I've ridden for a year now. It is built like a tank and still looks like new, and I've ridden it on some very demanding training rides. My Cannondale by comparison squeaks and creaks all the time in the BB30 bottom bracket area, and the paint is already looking dull. The quality between the two bikes is just not comparable.


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## BikeNerd2453 (Jul 4, 2005)

fabsroman said:


> It is hard to believe that Colnago never has a manufacturing defect. I read a post on here a couple of years ago where the tubes on an Extreme C were pulling out of their lugs. Since the lugged frames are hand made, it seems like there would be some room for error. With that said, I haven't had any trouble with the 4 Colnagos that I have been riding and they are all over 2 years old.


Not to mention the C40s with corrosion at the rear dropout joints....

That said, my C50 is perfect, though I do wish the paint were a little stronger, but that's not a defect really.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

nightfend said:


> Lifetime warranties that bike companies throw out there are meaningless. Try and get your frame replaced if you have a warranty issue and have ridden the bike for more than a couple of years. It probably won't happen.
> 
> I've seen this issue first-hand with Cannondale and their SuperSix frames. Supposedly lifetime warranties, but several friends were forced to pay a replacement fee simply because they rode their bikes too "aggressively" and it was normal wear and tear that supposedly caused their downtubes to crack. It's all a marketing scam. I wouldn't worry about the warranty on Colnagos.
> 
> I have an Extreme Power that I've ridden for a year now. It is built like a tank and still looks like new, and I've ridden it on some very demanding training rides. My Cannondale by comparison squeaks and creaks all the time in the BB30 bottom bracket area, and the paint is already looking dull. The quality between the two bikes is just not comparable.


After riding a CAAD5 a couple times one winter down in Florida, I just could not bring myself to buy the team deal Cannondales even with the paint jobs that match our kits. The difference between the CAAD5 and my lower end Colnago Arte was significant. As you know, I have had my Cristallo since 2006 and done most of my training rides on it. It is still fine and dandy. The C50 is awesome too and I have had that one since 2008, but it doesn't have nearly the miles on it yet that the Cristallo has.

I take it that these defective Cannondales were from teammates of ours. Honestly, how can you ride a bike too aggressively to cause the downtube to crack. I understand about crashing it not being covered, but isn't a high performance bike supposed to be ridden aggressively. I would have to file a lawsuit based upon principle at that point.

I keep saying this, but eventually I will get down to Davidsonville for a ride so I can see that EP of yours in ST01.


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

"I keep saying this, but eventually I will get down to Davidsonville for a ride so I can see that EP of yours in ST01."

I love the EP, and the SRAM Red group looks surprisingly good on the bike. I think it's because the red accents work with the ST01 paint scheme.

As far as Cannondales go, they aren't bad bikes really. They just don't have the high quality that Colnago has. The carbon tubes on the Cannondales for instance feel very thin and fragile in comparison.

But when it comes to warranties, Cannondale is not the only company that won't warranty a bike if they find out it was raced. Even if you never crash it, the simple act of riding the bike aggressively is considered beyond its intended use. Specialized and Trek have this same policy. So much for the "lifetime" warranties.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

nightfend said:


> But when it comes to warranties, Cannondale is not the only company that won't warranty a bike if they find out it was raced. Even if you never crash it, the simple act of riding the bike aggressively is considered beyond its intended use. Specialized and Trek have this same policy. So much for the "lifetime" warranties.


What a crock. Luckily, I just ride mine like I am racing all the time. Granted, right now it is at the equivalent speed of a Cat 5 race, but I still ride my bikes hard.

What about hard group rides with a sprint finish at the end? Is that too aggressive too?

I know this isn't your warranty policy and I am not aiming those questions at you. More like rhetorical questions because this kind of BS pisses me off.


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## cornas (Sep 19, 2008)

nightfend said:


> But when it comes to warranties, Cannondale is not the only company that won't warranty a bike if they find out it was raced. Even if you never crash it, the simple act of riding the bike aggressively is considered beyond its intended use. Specialized and Trek have this same policy. So much for the "lifetime" warranties.


True. Last race of the season i got a large crack in the top tube on my Specialized SL3. I didn't crash, I did, however, ride over the rear wheel of another racer who crashed. The impact was significantly less than the impact of a small pot hole. But, according to Specialized, race bikes are fragile and I could not expect the frame to survive such incidents... This is the reason I'm in the Colnago section. I've always heard about their durability and I'll probably replace the SL3 with a C59.


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## ronderman (May 17, 2010)

In my experience warranty replacements are totally hit or miss - I did just get my cannondale warrantied, but it was not easy. I had to be VERY persistent - and I got it done under a cosmetic issue I didn't even know about. My buddy just got a 3 year old trek warrantied, which he rode VERY hard and crashed multiple times - he has a new one and it has a crack and now they are saying they wont warranty it - yet in the few weeks he had it he's not crashed. Go figure.

I just helped my buddy build up a specialized SL3 and I have my new dale super six and compared to the EPS there is simply no comparison - they are not in the same league. The dale and the specialized are bare carbon with stickers, yes, stickers, and the trek my buddy has is OK, but it's has about zero craftsmanship. 

Of course I am still waiting for Colnago - got a box of 2011 record just sitting here. BTW, the R&A paint job on the old mapie colnago is about my favorite frame right now - looks so bad ass. I'm a 62cm and traditional looks too big, the 58 sloping is way better and that wouldn't look as cool in the mapie, but damn if that aint a hot paint job.


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## ronderman (May 17, 2010)

In my experience warranty replacements are totally hit or miss - I did just get my cannondale warrantied, but it was not easy. I had to be VERY persistent - and I got it done under a cosmetic issue I didn't even know about. My buddy just got a 3 year old trek warrantied, which he rode VERY hard and crashed multiple times - he has a new one and it has a crack and now they are saying they wont warranty it - yet in the few weeks he had it he's not crashed. Go figure.

I just helped my buddy build up a specialized SL3 and I have my new dale super six and compared to the EPS there is simply no comparison - they are not in the same league. The dale and the specialized are bare carbon with stickers, yes, stickers, and the trek my buddy has is OK, but it's has about zero craftsmanship. 

Of course I am still waiting for Colnago - got a box of 2011 record just sitting here. BTW, the R&A paint job on the old mapie colnago is about my favorite frame right now - looks so bad ass. I'm a 62cm and traditional looks too big, the 58 sloping is way better and that wouldn't look as cool in the mapie, but damn if that aint a hot paint job.


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## cornas (Sep 19, 2008)

Yeah, hit or miss. I agree. The question is if we, as consumers, should accept this "hit or miss" -policy or not. Personally I think that, if a frame is built for racing (such as the SL3), then we as racers/consumers should receive a frame that can withstand the impacts expected while racing. This is obviously not the policy of Specialized. And yes, I’m heading out of topic. Sorry! I will go to the Spech section.
From what I’ve heard, Colnago build frames intended for racing. That’s why I’m here!


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## Clevor (Sep 8, 2005)

ronderman said:


> In my experience warranty replacements are totally hit or miss - I did just get my cannondale warrantied, but it was not easy. I had to be VERY persistent - and I got it done under a cosmetic issue I didn't even know about. My buddy just got a 3 year old trek warrantied, which he rode VERY hard and crashed multiple times - he has a new one and it has a crack and now they are saying they wont warranty it - yet in the few weeks he had it he's not crashed. Go figure.
> 
> I just helped my buddy build up a specialized SL3 and I have my new dale super six and compared to the EPS there is simply no comparison - they are not in the same league. The dale and the specialized are bare carbon with stickers, yes, stickers, and the trek my buddy has is OK, but it's has about zero craftsmanship.
> 
> Of course I am still waiting for Colnago - got a box of 2011 record just sitting here. BTW, the R&A paint job on the old mapie colnago is about my favorite frame right now - looks so bad ass. I'm a 62cm and traditional looks too big, the 58 sloping is way better and that wouldn't look as cool in the mapie, but damn if that aint a hot paint job.


Yup, just go over to the Pinarello forum and read about the song-and-dance routine you need to do to get a replacement frame. My beater bike is a Giant, and they are so big, and the frames so cheap, I don't think they will give me a hard time.

As for workmanship, I hear the headtube badges are still peeling off the $5,500 Pinas. Colnago clearcoats everything as it should be. Have you ever seen a Cervelo close up??? Worse! The surface of the carbon fiber isn't even even. Simple fact of the matter is the switch to Toray carbon tubes has improved the fit, finish, and workmanship on the EPS tremendously, over my ATR C50. The steerer tube of the fork is now perfect, in regards to thickness of the walls. The inside of the frame is cleaner than my Giant (the worse is on my Pinarello).

You can't beat the handpainted paint jobs on the Colnagos. I remember looking at one in a bike shop couple of years ago (I think it was the LX scheme), and I marveled at the fancy paint work. If it wasn't a bit too big, I think I would have gotten the frame, but fortunately, sensibility prevailed.

I agree about the R&A Mapei scheme; it's the best Mapei yet, but of course, it comes at great cost due to the current MSRP of the frame. Dave Sem can do a copy of the LX-Mapei scheme, but it's nowhere near as nice as the R&A original, I presume from the Colnago factory.


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## skygodmatt (May 24, 2005)

You're right about the Cervelo. I had a 2009 R3 and the surfaces were lumpy especially around the joints. Still didn't change the fact that the ride was fantastic. I read about bottom bracket shell cracks but never had an issue in the 6 months of ownership before a truck destroyed it along with my spine and arm. 

I agree that a warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it. I've been reading about these poor suckers that have broken $3k - $6k lifetime titanium frames they can't get fixed. So you buy a warranty now. Five years later when the company sells, you're screwed.
So much for the lifetime stuff. 

I have not seen a broken Colnago. I'm not saying they don't break - just that breakage seems more rare. Ernesto seems to build a burly, feel good race machine that is not twitchy handling. They seem designed to take the stress from pushing it hard. Is this fair to say?

Am I going to get slammed if I say that most broken frames I've seen are in the 900 gram or less category?


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