I took delivery of a Giant Defy today which I purchased online. After unboxing and inspection I noticed a small crack on the frame by the entry point of the seatpost. Is this a serious problem? Should I return this to the shop or would I better placed asking for a discount on the price paid? Thanks
by stelliosuk
20 Comments
Return it
Return it ASAP
Return.
Don’t keep it (just to be different from the other posts but with the same meaning).
Return it, make sure they aren’t just “repairing” it
These questions kill me. “Hey I bought a brand new *bike thing* it arrived broken, what should I do???
Brand new bike! Return.
I don’t know why everyone’s saying return it. Ride it and when it clearly breaks into two file warranty claim, much easier that way.
Well someone didn’t use a torque wrench on the seatpost wedge…
Which is likely to be a problem because they’re typically shipped without the seatpost installed and this photo clearly shows it inserted.
If the shop has another one in stock, I’d exchange it. If they don’t, and you wanna ride now, get them to file a warranty claim with Giant and go swap it for your new bike when it arrives. As long as they think it’s safe to ride (I’m not sure if that is a concern or not, and I find Reddit to be overly conservative / too fond of losing-your-teeth jokes to be taken seriously when people ask about whether or not something is safe to ride, ask an actual mechanic at a shop)
Yeah not a good sign. Warranty/return and grab something else
Exchange it
This is why I love aluminium bikes!
I think it’s a crack in the paint, but you should reject it, all the same
Return it – would you really be happy if you got 10% of your purchase price back and 1000 miles down the road the frame catastrophically fails???
DO NOT RIDE
RETURN ASAP
did you over torque it or was it broken already? i’m on your side and think you should try to warranty regardless
I’m going against the grain a bit here but I believe there is a good chance that is just cosmetic paint cracked. I think there is a joint there between the top tube and the seat tube. You can see a bump or divot there in a lot of giant frames. If not a physical joint where 2 different carbon components are combined, there is certainly some different overlap/design there to allow for that style of seat post retention. On my tcx there is some very slight paint cracking around the seatpost area and I have seen it in other giant frames as well. Though admittedly I haven’t seen it manifest exactly like that.
Paint cracking around flexible joints is very common with carbon frames and many manufacturers take extra precautions to avoid it even when it purely cosmetic. Giant has had many different frame-specific cosmetic paint cracking around the seatpost insertion for years. It can happen even under the proper torque of the seatpost wedge. They have put out notices for this many times. Often they will not warranty the frame for cosmetic paint cracking around the seatpost insert – it doesn’t meet the warranty conditions unless it is severe. You should look into whether or not there has been a notice for your specific frame model.
Reach out to giant about it. I’ve had far better success with them than any other bike brands. Even when a warranty condition isn’t met my conversations with them have been beneficial and very informative.
I’d suggest, as many others, trying to return it to the bike shop. If you get a new frame that’s a win and you don’t have to worry about it. If not, hopefully you’ll be able to determine whether or not it’s an actual crack in the carbon.
Lastly, I saw in your comment that you don’t think you would’ve overtightened the clamp because you consider yourself to be mechanically inclined. It is very possible that you did in fact overtighten it – you can’t know without a torque wrench. 5nm is not very much torque at all and when it comes to seatpost wedges the amount of torque applied does not increase at the same rate as normal fasteners. The increase in thread tension in normal fasteners is a lot more noticeable than increase in thread tension when it is dependent on the tension applied to a highly flexible hallow piece of carbon.
I mean I would definitely return it, but I’m fairly sure it is only cosmetic. If have noticed white paint seems to be more susceptible to crack from temperature changes. You can take a metal coin and tap around the crack. If it sounds nice and clear, the carbon is likely fine, but if it sounds dull it’s a crack. But again, I would just return it if I were you