Thinking of buying a Kestrel bike? THINK AGAIN!
82
Member
1874 days
trianimal posted 3 years ago.
Ouch, my Kestrel Talon is still hanging in there. Pretty rough treatment for a bike warranty though.
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
Here is the reply from Kestrel after I sent them a email informing them of my displeasure and informing me I had posted the matter on a online forum.
========================================================
I trust that you will also mention in the forum that 3 engineers
inspected
this frame and concluded that it suffered a heavy impact to the chain
stay.
I also would assume that you would know we at Kestrel have no reason to
shy
away from our ability to produce a quality product out of carbon fiber
as we
have been doing this since 1987.
My goal in all this is to better serve you. We offer a crash
replacement
option that can get you a new frame set for 35% off retail cost. I will
be
happy to do this at any time in the near future. I am sorry for your
frame
breaking.
Sincerely,
Ryan
Kestrel Bicycle
============================================================
What do you guys think? Should I be upset? The bike was never crashed but it is possible that it recieved the damage while being transported to a race on a bike rack.
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
118
Member
1427 days
NateDawgK2 posted 3 years ago.
that really stinks
only reason I am posting here is because I have to stand up for specialized, they have a lifetime warranty on their frames - I had an old all steel stumpjumper which I completely loved
and I bent the frame just doing some normal trail riding; at first I figured that I had just worn out an old frame so I took to a local specialized shop, where I didnt even buy the frame
and they store owner was so sure of specialized's warranty that he took my old frame, I think it was a 92', and assured me that specialized would give me a brand new frame - and sure enough, after he sent in the frame - they sent him a brand new frame - switched my components over and I was set up !
since then I have sworn by them & this past fall just got a new allez comp
I guess this cant really help you now, but I just wanted to share my experience on a similiar situation
~No Excuses~
[url=http://www.imagetrash.net]
82
Member
1874 days
trianimal posted 3 years ago.
I've had frames replaced for free by Trek (near fatal collision with motor vehicle) and two replaced by Cannondale (seatpost binder).
834
Member
1372 days
JamieM posted 3 years ago.
I had my Aegis frame crack after about two years. Aegis replaced it with no problem, even offered a new custom paint job at no charge.
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
I am looking into getting a steel training bike and after reading the above comments I think that Specailized will be recieving some specail attention.
Thanks
ex Kestrel customer
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
414
Member
1377 days
trithis04 posted 3 years ago.
Man, that's the problem w/ a warranty on anything (car, bike, TV, ect.). The whole process is subject to whatever the manufacturer deems as the cause. They can have three engineers say whatever the hell they want.
My issue w/ this would be the fact that they just did not stand by their product. When you compare the costs manufacturing that frame to what you pay for it, one might surmise that Krestrel would just replace it in hopes of establishing customer confidence and increasing the likelyhood of future purchases. They would end up making more $ than it cost them. Unfortunately, I see this as trend among manufactures of various products. Not much that can be done I'm afraid, there's probably some fine print somewhere that frees them of any liability.
And yes, I'd be pissed!! That is a serious investment and barring any owner neglect or abuse Krestrel should stand by it's product PERIOD!
[FONT=Impact]-Jason
"Fatigue will make cowards of us all!"
82
Member
1874 days
trianimal posted 3 years ago.
smittycb10 wrote:
I am looking into getting a steel training bike and after reading the above comments I think that Specailized will be recieving some specail attention.Thanks
ex Kestrel customer
What size was it and what are you going to do with the damaged frame?
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
I think the Kestrel is about a 53 or 52. I was thinking of just keeping it for racing, are you interested in the frameset? Or do you have a training bike for sale?
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
175
Member
1324 days
Dkidd posted 3 years ago.
Why don't you try calling again and speaking to someone else. Maybe you will have a different result. I have had many expiriences with different compannies diong it this way and most times speaking to someone else does the trick.
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
Update
After 3 weeks of waiting Kestrel sent me a new fram, for which I have been billed $800. The frame that was recieved by my local bike shop had a defect! The head tube was cut at a bad angle making it imposible to put together. My bike store have had to send the frame back and I am still waiting for a replacement. It has now been 2 1/2 months since I orignally sent the bike into Kestrel. I had to buy a new bike for training and racing.
Bottom line is I am still waiting. Once again if you are thinking about buying a Kestrel...THINK AGAIN!
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
494
Member
1692 days
trainDaBrain posted 3 years ago.
That sucks man. Sorry to hear you're having problems with your bike. I've had my Kestral 200sci for 13 years now. It's possible their manufacturing process has changed, and I'm totally happy with my frame. You are doing the right thing tho. If a product's quality is lacking, the company, and consumers should hear about it. The onus is on Kestral to get this thing worked out. I'd be doing the same thing you are, it only takes one angry customer to affect hundreds, or in this case, thousands :)
The old model of "ignore the angry man at the counter" really doesn't work anymore with the internet around. :)
Meanwhile, I love my Kestrel.
Good luck with your new bike!
232
Member
1323 days
ironmike12 posted 3 years ago.
Man, I was thinking about getting a Talon. I had a couple different frames picked out and had narrowed it down to the Talon and the Felt DA or the B2. Looks like I'm going for the Felt. Glad I cought this thread, I was gonna pick it up here in the next week or so.
thanks,
Iron
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
Glad I could help, the second replacement bike arrived yesterday and is being assembled right now. I am going to write a lettter to the COO of Kestrel. I really wish that I had brought a Felt. $800 land 2 1/2 months latter.
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
33
Member
1883 days
BigMatt posted 3 years ago.
Feel like I have to chime in to this one. I will start by saying, yes I am sponsored by Kestrel and have been riding them for the past 4 years. I have also been selling them for the past 3. I only write in response because I have not ever had anything but good experiences with them and their bikes. I respect all of your views and understand that when we spend our hard earned cash on something and it does not work out the way we want it to, we get emotional and upset.
I'll start with my experiences, I have ridden 3 Kestrel frames all of which had more than 8,000 miles on them, and the one I currently use as my TT bike has over 13,000 miles. All of these bikes rode like a dream and I never had any problems on any of them. None at all. And if it was up to me I would ride their bikes forever. They really do ride well.
As far as being a retailer the only issue we have ever had with them, was that due to high demand in the last couple of years they have been on low stock of some frames. I would assume that if there was any delay to the shipping of your bike, it was because of this reason. They had been out of most talon sizes for the past 3 months. Any warranty issue was always dealt with a high priority and sensitivity toward the customer.
After reading these emails I called up Kestrel and talked to the head of Sales and Ryan at customer service. I was concerned and wanted to hear their side of the situation. I spoke to ryan for quite a while about the bike in question. He did inform me that he took the frame to 3 different engineers hoping that one would have doubt about the cause of the damage to the bike. All 3 said that they felt their was no doubt that the damage was an "impact" and could only have been caused by a crash or other out of riding situation. As far as he was concerned he wanted it to be another reason so that he could have sent a new frame free of charge, but unfortunately due to the engineers evaluation and the company's policy, he could not. Carbon frames are fragile and must be taken care of in out of riding situations, travel, bike racks, storage, they simply cannot take hard forces the the side. This is true of all carbon fibre bikes.
As far as the replacement frame that was sent, he and the production team do not know how that could have gotten out of the wherehouse without them noticing. The day they got visual conformation of the problem by photo, the sent the new frame out. All they can do is apologize and send a replacement, that is what Ryan said happened.
Again I am sorry that you had to experience a situation that did not turn out the way it could have. I do understand how frustrating it can be, and how you just want to get out and ride the bike you payed good money for. I am very picky about the people and companies that I am sponsored by or am associated with. I will not represent a company if I don't feel they act with dignity and accountability. I do feel Kestrel is a stand up company with the customers needs their main concern. I am confident with them and would not hesitate in the slightest to recommend their bikes. Good luck- Bigmatt
44
Member
1618 days
smittycb10 posted 3 years ago.
Thanks for the reply,
it is interesting to hear the other side of the coin. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to Ryan about this matter. I do have the new bike and I will be taking it out for a ride tomorrow. I agree that these bikes are smooth riding and feel great. However, if I had been made fully aware of their warrently I would not have brought this bike. I spent $2300 on the bike orignally and have just spent another $1000 to get the crash replacement on the road. Considering that this happend all within the first year of ownership I feel this was harsh treatment.
Once again thanks for your time and thoughts, hopefully some sub- 5hour 1/2 ironmans will restore some good Karma to the bike. I will be writting to Jeff the COO of Kestrel, however, I hope that future experiences with this bike will out-weigh the extremely negative past.
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/
Hello Folks,
I brought a Ketrel Talon last year for racing and training. This bike was my pride and joy, I even posted a glowing review in this forum. One month ago with the bike having logged less then 1000 miles and only about 8 months of light use the dream turned sour.
After a group ride I was cleaning the bike down and found a rough patch of carbon on the left chainstay. This roughness was a seris of hairline cracks in the frame amounting to the size of a dime. I could flex this part of the frame with my thumb.
Of course I was worried and upset, I had spent a lot of money on this bike, however with such a high end product I was convinced that this would be covered under the bikes warranty. I was so wrong. Kestrel told me the fractures where due to a "non-fault" impact, they also told me that the fork had crack in it. This bike had only been used for racing and a couple of long training rides. The bottom line is that Kestrel charged me $800 for a new frame. That to me was the final straw, they cannot stand by there product or workmanship for a year? I have friends who own Treks and have had ruined frames replaced free of charge, Trek even payed for shipping and the stripping down of the bike. No such luck with Kestrel. My advice if you are thinking of buying a Kestrel is DON'T. If you are thinking of getting any carbon fiber bike look into the companies warrenty and ask the bike shop if they have returned any bikes back to the company.
Kestrel really impressed me until the bike let me down. Look out for me in the Chicago area, I will be riding an all steel bike.
view my blog at: http://smittycb10.triathlonlife.com/