Quintana Roo rear dropout adjuster stripped
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1205 days
PJT posted 1 year ago.
1. It's really not the best form to make your first post here an anonymous attack on a company and naming the names of people who aren't here to defend themselves. The tri bike industry isn't exactly huge, and those guys could have this post pop up when interviewing for a new job, etc. I'd recommend editing your post to delete their names.
2. That said, I'll assume you're legit and not just a rep from a competing bike company looking to stir trouble. If QR won't take your warranty claim b/c the bike was a gift, why not contact the gift giver and ask him/her to make the claim? Presumably he/she still has the paperwork or knows where to get a copy at the store where it was purchased.
3. If QR still says that their warranty doesn't cover this problem, read the warranty very carefully and see if they have a good faith basis for saying so. If you are 100% certain the warranty covers the problem and you/your friend are eligible to claim warranty protection, don't take no for an answer. For the amount of money you're talking about, it's probably not worth it to hire a lawyer, but you can definitely keep calling, write letters to QR's president, etc.
4. If the warranty really doesn't cover your situation, well, the quality of a warranty is one of the things you need to take into account when you buy a bike. A solid lifetime warranty on a bike by a reputable company is going to make the bike cost more up front, but can save a world of hurt down the road. In your case, the bike was free so I know you didn't necessarily have control over this. But, like cars and houses, all bikes have ongoing costs and I would view this as one of those situations.
5 If QR can re-tap the dropout for about $220 (labor plus shipping), there's probably a bike mechanic near you who can do so for less. Ask around.
6. Good luck.
I was wondering if anyone else has had a problem with the rear dropout screw adjusters on a QRoo Caliente. I have a 2005 Caliente with 66 miles on it. On Saturday, while doing a pre-race check ride for the first tri of the year, I felt a 'pop' and the rear wheel started rubbing the inside of the left chain stay. I thought that I had possibly broken an axle (done that before) so I changed out my wheels at home and adjusted the dropouts. I noticed that the deraileur side one needed me to use a phillips head screw driver from the inside of the dropout.
On Sunday as I left T1, the wheel started rubbing again. A TriSport's mechanic assisted me by straightening the wheel in the dropouts and tightening the QR as tight as possible. I still had to stop twice and had a terrible bike leg.
When I had time on Sunday night, I took a closer look at the problem. I ruled out the broken axle pretty quick, so I started looking at the dropout. I found that the stainless steel screw had stripped the aluminum tap inside of the dropout. I can't believe that QRoo's engineers DIDN'T think that would happen (fine screw, dissimilar metal, very little surface area to 'bite').
I contacted Dean Jackson of Quintana Roo who said that because the bike was a gift and I didn't have a receipt in hand, that I was SOL, although I registered the bike for warranty when it was built. He handed me off to Jason Bryant who said that for $100/hr labor (minimum of 1.5 hours), parts and shipping both ways, QRoo would re-tap the dropout and put in a bigger screw. When pressed, he admitted that wouldn't guarantee that it wouldn't strip again. When I balked at spending that money for what should be a warranty repair and still doesn't correct the original poor design, Mr. Bryant said that I could go to a hardware store, buy a couple of nuts for the screw and fix it myself....
Anyone else have any warranty issue problems with Quintana Roo/American Bicycle Group? Anyone have any solid solutions to this problem? Apparently there was a redesign of the dropout of the 2007 Caliente (the only change from 2006).