Paint peeling of 7 month old bike for a 2nd time.

snowman28

Hi i'm looking for some advice on a purchase made on the 13/11/2012.

I treated myself to a new mountain bike purchased online via my credit card - (1999.00). Within a couple of rides i noticed that there was some rubbing between the front wheel and the forks. I informed the seller, a shop located a long distance away from my location in the UK and eventually i was given the option to return the bike to the actual manufacturer due to them being closer to me.

This issue was sorted out with a new set of forks and tightening the spokes.

On getting the bike home i was refitting the mud guards and noticed that around the rear part of the frame some 'flaking' had occurred of the top gel coat finish. As the bike was so new i emailed both the shop and the manufacturer about the problem. Another journey back to the manufacturing team and they said they had not seen this before, but replaced the rear section.

So i thought all was complete and no further issues.....

During cleaning last week I noticed that the flaking had returned, I have again emailed both the shop and the manufacturer with the issue.

Today I received an email from the manufacturer saying,

"I have had a good look at their pics provided and I am convinced I am looking at lacquer peeling which is as a result of where the pivot bolts go into the frame, although this looks unsightly there is no cause for alarm, due to the thickness of the lacquer this is always going to happen in areas like the swing arm, an occasional inspection and touch up with a clear coat lacquer is probably the best option,

If you want to bring the bike in to us we can have another look and put your mind at rest."


Now i have no issue in taking the bike back to the manufacturer, but i do have an issue with the comment...

"this is always going to happen in areas like the swing arm, an occasional inspection and touch up with a clear coat lacquer is probably the best option"

I want to keep the bike in the best condition possible for future resale values, but having to 'repaint' the lacquer is not something i would have expected. You wouldn't expect to repaint your new car after 6 months...!

What are the options available to me..?

Many thanks..

CoolHotCold

If its in a area that is under stress, yes it will happen as the finish isn't as flexible as the metal and will over time crack up.

Seems like a standard issue but not a manufacturing issue or fault.

A car is different, all the stresses are on parts you can't see, if you painted them you'd get the same problem. There's just less places to hide essential load bearing bars on a bike.

snowman28

Thanks for the reply, I guess I should have mentioned the bike is made from carbon, not metal.

I understand the point about stressing in particular places, but if this was the case the gel coat should be flaking at more stress points across the whole bike frame. I'm also not aware of any other bike manufacturer suffering with this issue on their carbon bikes.