The benefits of a lifetime warranty

I had noticed some noises emanating from my Van Nicholas bottom bracket generally heard when I honked up hills, so I decided to replace the bottom bracket.  The current one is a Dura Ace 7900 and I fitted it last August in an effort to resolve an occasional clicking which turned out to be from the pedal.

Given that I have got only about 3,000 miles from the Dura Ace part I decided to try a Chris King bottom bracket instead.  The Chris King part is serviceable and I'd read that they last over 5 years without needing replacement bearings so I went ahead and bought one from ProBikeKit after they offered me a further 15% discount on top of an already competitive price.

Ahead of tomorrow's planned pedal with The Hub, I removed the chainset and old bottom bracket and gave the titanium frame a wipe down with a baby wipe, then discovered it - a crack in the frame just above the weld!

 

 

The frame is 6 six years old but it has a lifetime warranty. I telephoned Fatbirds in Hunstanton, where I bought the bike new and they said it would be sent to Van Nicholas who would then assess it and replace it if they felt it was a fault, or offer me a half-price replacement if they thought it was as a result of a crash.

 

I need to strip the bicycle down to give them the frame and find the purchase receipt. I have also asked Fatbirds if they could offer me the loan of a demonstrator bike whilst I wait. 

 

Watch this space.