9/20/14 6:04 AM

I think they purchased the name just like motobecane and others. I doubt they bought Merlin the company.

9/20/14 6:13 AM

I don't know what they purchased, but the website says they honor preexisting Merlin warranties and has a form for submitting a claim. When you get to the bottom of the various emails, they are not saying that they don't have responsibility for Lee's warranty, they are saying that his claim is not covered by the warranty because a weld crack after 14,000 miles is normal wear and tear.

9/20/14 9:14 AM

Dan summed it up concisely. What CC now asserts is that anything longer than 5 years on a lifetime warranty is not longer a manufacturing/materials defect and is considered normal wear & tear.

They don't respond to the warranty claim link on the Merlin website. I submitted a claim with few details and inquired how to proceed and received no response in 9 or 10 days, so I filed again and again no response at all.

I never really understood why anyone offers a lifetime warranty, but the original and 2nd owners of Merlin put it in writing. CC apparently now interprets lifetime as 5 years.

PS I had a 90's Litespeed develop a crack in a tube after 9 years and then owner ABG honored that warranty.

Last edited by LeeW on 9/20/14 10:38 AM; edited 1 time in total

9/20/14 9:17 AM

I'd like to see a class action. And maybe the worthless legislative body come out of a coma and act on this overall. Like the latter could happen, same pieces of shit.

9/20/14 11:34 AM

It's hypocritical for Merlin to suggest that one of the reasons you buy titanium is because it lasts nearly forever and then to suggest a frame that cracked (so obviously due to a contaminated weld, the crack couldn't be more centered on the "workmanship" and not wear and tear) due to it exhausting its useful life.

I tempered my earlier comments in this thread with the thought that any sale of a bike company couldn't possibly include the liability for years and years of product made before that point where the new owner had no control over quality control issues or production methods. I don't know what CC thought they were going to gain from the name considering the liabilities associated with it which they apparently also acquired. Did they think people would flock to a water transfer decal on a round, brushed titanium tube? I'd want ABG to pay me to take over the brand if that's all they were offering in association with the liability for decades of frames.

I don't know what the production method was when that bike was built but if the guy who welded the BB is the same guy that welded the head tube then I wouldn't want to get the frame fixed, it's probably only a matter of time before another contaminated weld lets go, you're lucky the first one was the bb and not the head tube.

9/20/14 3:37 PM

FWIW, if anything. Never heard of an XL cracking anywhere but there. And heard and read that plenty of time over the years.

9/21/14 6:15 AM

I had not really thought much about the other welds being suspect. Perhaps I will at least try to inspect each of them with a magnifying glass today to see if any other failure is evident.

My thinking was that the bottom bracket (BB) area of any conventional bike frame tends to take the highest level stresses. This is probably compounded if the rider is not the most efficient "spinner" and has to occasionally get out of the saddle and add a little muscle to close up a gap to his training group toward the crest of a hill in order not to be dropped for good (sounds like me). I think the majority of the manufacturers of high-end carbon racing frames have gone to oversized bottom bracket areas mainly to mitigate the flexing involved with all the levels of forces that come into play around the BB.

A few years back when I rode weekend rides with 2 different bike clubs of moderate size, I recall at least 2 Litespeed owners that experienced weld cracking around the BB and both were repaired (one under Lynskey ownership and the other under ABG) and continued to be ridden for years.

Any other feedback/opinions on the integrity of the other welds if one has failed?

Lee

9/21/14 10:42 AM

Is http://www.merlincycles.com the correct web site/url?


OK, so http://www.merlinbike.com/ is the correct site for Merlin Frames.

Two things.

1) $3500.00, putting that into $competitive$ prospective [questionable warranty not withstanding] includes +$500.00 worth of parts as well.

Each Extralight frameset ships with the following: an ENVE Composites Carbon 2.0 tapered road fork, a Chris King Inset 7 headset, and a Thomson seatpost collar.


2) www.merlincycles.com has some VERY attractive pricing on tires and complete groupo & parts. Tires in line with PBK.COM $4$.

Last edited by Sparky on 9/21/14 1:31 PM; edited 1 time in total

9/21/14 1:05 PM

These guys bought Merlin:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/

The Merlin Ti frame is really overpriced. At $3,500 you can buy a custom from a number of sources. And we have learned in this thread that their warranty is crap.

9/21/14 1:25 PM

Sparky,

That website is for a retail bike shop based in Ireland. They compete with the likes of Ribble and Wiggle for mail order business.

The Merlin website is:
http://www.merlinbike.com/

Again, they do not answer the link for warranty claims. At least they didn't in my case. I had to locate a phone # and ask for an email address for the warranty dept.

9/21/14 1:33 PM

Got it, was editing my post while you answered. Thanks

9/22/14 6:41 AM

I think they purchased the name just like motobecane and others. I doubt they bought Merlin the company.