9 month old Trek 7.7 FX Snapped derailleur hanger

[aidancs]

I was cycling home the other day on my 9 month old Trek 7.7FX and as I pulled off there was a loud crunch from the chain. On further inspection the dérailleur had actually snapped off and ended up in my spokes. Basically this resulted in damaging my spokes, the plastic behind the rear cassette, the frame and chain.

I bought the bike from Brookvale cycles who have been pretty rubbish from the start but as I live nearer Albion cycles (authorised Trek dealer) i'm using them for repairs / warranty.

The first conversation I had with Albion they informed me they would photograph the bike and send the images to Trek in order to get permission to repair on warranty. It now turns out they cant be bothered as there calling this a maintenance issue!
I haven't had the free service as I live too far from the original shop, I always look after my own bike and have made sure the chain is always oiled, not too much and gears are clean.

I'm finding hard to understand how a 9 month old bike which I use for commuting to work about 4 days a week developed such a fault when I've always looked after it.

Anyone have any tips on how I should go about getting a replacement on my warranty?
The frame has also been damaged in the process which has left a deep cut in the frame. Never good with carbon fibre.

I'm thinking ill avoid Trek bikes from now on as this must be down to inferior parts, I've used a bike for 10 years previously without so much as a broken chain.
All pictures available here:http://imgur.com/a/A7xwd/embed#0

[mick243]

In General, Australian consumer law states that you claim warranty at the shop you bought it from, nobody else is "required" to help you (although they may out of the goodness of their hearts...) - if you contact the distributor they may direct you to a certain place if the original store can't/won't help, otherwise contact ACCC

[bianchi928]

Hi Aidan,

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, I want to be clear that I do not think this is what happened, just working on previous examples and hopefully assisting you pre-empt the reposnses you may get from the stores/Trek.

I assume it was your dérailleur hanger which snapped, as they are intended to do to save your derailleur and they just shouldn't snap by themselves.

1) have you dropped the bike and possibly bent the hanger. This has happened to me, Chain into spokes etc.
2) is it possible someone at work may have knocked your bike and bent the hanger (happened to my wife).

From experience, I have found, through my Trek retailer, Trek have been excellent to deal with (although different forum members have had different experiences).

Who is calling it a maintanance issue? Trek or the store?

Best wishes, I hope it all works out ok.

Cheers

[mikesbytes]

dérailleur hangers are very strong but are also designed to protect the frame should an event put unnatural stresses on it. I would be very surprised to find one fail due to a manufacturer issue. Trek is a reputable brand, I have not heard of any valid issues against them.

In this case it is highly likely that the bike has taken a knock to cause the hanger to fail

[Xplora]

Inferior parts - sorry the hanger is a sacrificial part, designed to break first, and they are a standard part across all makes and models of bike. The hanger is no stronger or better on a 20000 dollar bike than a 200 dollar pub bike.

You are getting the run around because the shop would be thinking "how do we fix this? It is always user error" unless no one has ever tuned the gears. This is unlikely because you have had the bike for months. They tuned them when they bought it, and you admit you have not used the free service which is supposed to check thw gears and cables. If you did have a faulty hanger, your maintenance schedule outlined in the Trek manual very clearly would have prevented the fault.

I have had the same issue with my Madone worth 4000, it was a freak accident that might have been the fault of the shop, but I took the bike so far out of spec at that moment that it isn't really their fault. Can't even blame Shimano. A rough gravel road, uphill, changing down, wheel slipped as I stomped the pedal while standing up - bike isn't designed for that at all. It could happen to anyone. Look after your bike, don't assume that you can ignore the maintenance schedule and always get your free service.