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Cracked Scott Spark frame - not 1 but 2!
Just wondering if anyone has experienced any problems with the Scott Spark frames? I purchased a Spark 50 about 6 months ago and the rear triangle cracked completely through on the bottom stay close to the main frame. Had the rear triangle replaced and frame upgraded to a Spark 40. Have ridden the bike maybe half dozen times around manly Dam Terry Hills etc. Last weekend the frame cracked in exactly the same place on the rear triangle after about the same amount of riding as the first round. The bike shop says this is unusual, but the consistency with both the amount of riding and location of the crack seems to me it must be a chronic issue with the frame. I m trying to get the rear triangle replaced with a carbon fibre option and definitely don't want another of the same alloy triangle. My understanding is that carbon fibre is not as durable as heavier alloy material but the logic is that maybe the carbon fibre frame doesn't have the same design fault as the alloy version.
Does any one have any experience with cracked Scott frames? What do you think about replacing the alloy triangle with carbon fibre?
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unaware of the cracking issue...however several shops are warning against buying Scott's these days....
My mate (63.5kgs rider) had a Speedster S30 2009 (flat bar roadie), and the lower section of the headtube cracked. We were told (by a certain insider) these frames had an issue due to a machine setting being incorrect and a manufacturer issue (""apparently"' there were sacked). It was replaced under warranty; Scott happily replaced it with a LTD Edition CR1 2009 frame with-in one week. Overall the bike is great and his had many Great comments riding it around Sydney. It's a nice looking bike and rides well. I'll update this post if it cracks again.
Scott, as far as i'm aware seem to have the lightest bikes on the market..maybe thats why? Less material....
Have been telling myself this, but still can't get my head around two broken frames and not much riding. Scott have been good with the first warranty claim, will just have to see where they go from here.
if you had two frames crack they have to do a recall imo just like norco did with all the 08 dh and freeride bikes,everyone that purchases one gets a new stronger front triangle replaced free.
Norcos were cracking at the head tube which could potentially cause a lot of injuries. They did a great job on recognising that and doing the recall
Rear triangle I think most bike companies would try and live with it.
I know I had one of the first models ACs and just about every one I knew with one eventually broke the chain stay. Next model had different stays. giant replaced them as they broke not as a general recall. I think Scot would possibly do something similar. It's not like there is a high potential of a face plant from a broken rear triangle
we get up to some fairly fast speeds, we are in full trust of the bike, brakes, suspension, wheels and frame integrity.
Anyone of the above stuffs up or breaks whilst negotiating a difficult section or stunt, it could sent you into a very bad situation. We try our best to keep our bikes well maintained so that things like this dont happen and we can trust our bikes.
I tell you if there was even the possibility of the rear triangle cracking (leading to all sorts of things) i would demand a different bike or a redesigned or stronger rear triangle, sorry but thats just me, i have to trust my bike.
I paid good money for a product and i paid for it to work.
Scott should do the responsible thing and notify all people with this frame, as imo the bad publicity from someone getting seriously hurt(or worse) would be much worse then the expense of recalling the rear triangle(relatively inexpensive for Scott). People would also respect Scott for doing this in the grand scheme of things, Just as i now trust Norcos so much more as they truly are concerned about the integrity of their bikes and thus their reputation.( I own a Norco and have a brand new redesigned stronger frame)
I know what you are saying but replacing busted bits is far different from doing a full voluntary recall on bits that may or may not bust in the future.
"Just wondering if anyone has experienced any problems with the Scott Spark frames? I purchased a Spark 50 about 6 months ago and the rear triangle cracked completely through on the bottom stay close to the main frame. Had the rear triangle replaced and frame upgraded to a Spark 40. Have ridden the bike maybe half dozen times around manly Dam Terry Hills etc. Last weekend the frame cracked in exactly the same place on the rear triangle after about the same amount of riding as the first round."
I agree your statement is true, but in this circumstance quoted in this post i reckon mate its Kinda not just broken bits, its happened twice to the same person on tame trails. I would be inclined to say that is enough to issue a recall or do some heavy investigation to see if more are cracking,then issue the recall if they do indeed find more cracking.
Ok Guys, the bike shop rang me today and said that Scott did in fact have a problem with the rear triangle of these bikes and have upgraded the rear triangle with thicker wall thickness for all the replacements, but to date no recall. They tracked my previous replacement frame (which was complete frame replacement) and came to the conclusion I was given stock old stock before the reinforcement came into effect. This is good news for me as I am completley happy with the bike apart from the frame falling apart. I guess it's time for suck it and see. If the next frame breaks I would expect a new top of the line Scott Genius to compensate, and the bike shop agrees. Don't want to run Scott into the ground as they have been pretty good so far.... will keep you posted. If you don't hear anything it probably means the rear triangle has snapped and I am wrapped around a tree!
Just riding on Sunday and the same place cracked on my frame. Snapped right in half. I have a call into Scott about this but am waiting to hear back. I have the Spark 40 and the frame is super sturdy all around, but for some reasone it snapped on me on a very easy and flat trail. Let me tell you what though, if anyone will make something like this right, it will be Scott. Those guys are awesome with Customer Service and make sure thier bikes are well thought of. The crack was on the passenger side just behind the front crank but about a half inch up on the tube that is headed back to the rear crank. It looks like the rear fork could be replaced, but I am curious if anyone else has had a problem.
A have a problem with Scott spark, too. I have cracked 2 frames. Both frames cracked on the same place on rear triangel near the main frame. First frame was ridden over 1000 km and cracked, then I got a new frame, but after same number of kilometers cracked again. I asked the dealer, if it is only coincidence or chronic defect of the frame and he told me, that he think, that it is a coincidence. But I dont thing so.
That sends my decision straight now ppl I was looking to buying one & i'm 90 kgs, I think I will stick to the trance now good luck
@djchristen: Frontg crank / rear crank - is this a tandem?
Hi there,
Did you find any more out about this. My 5month old 09 spark 60 frame cracked today. sounds like it is in a similar place to some of the other riders - near the crank. Its done the dam about 15 times so nothing serious in terms of use. Crack is not on a weld either - its just sheared clean through the tube.
Did you speak to Netti or just take it back to where you bought it? Can you take it to any dealer?
iMac
Wow. You've made me go to the garage and have a thorough inspection of my '09 Spark 60 with a very bright torch! It's 14 months old and going well thankfully.
Kinda glad I had the annual service done by a dealer to ensure the extended frame warranty though.
Hopefully you're problems are sorted out quickly and without fuss.
They're still an awesome bike
I was kinda hoping mine was a one off, but it seems not.
Bought my Spark 60 October last year (09 model) and it snapped at the same spot (I think? on the right hand side about an inch behind the weld?) about a month ago.
LBS fixed it up within a few days, but still had to walk 3.5 km out of Manly Dam when it happened.
All I can say is I'm glad it didn't happen the day before when I had my first ever "race" (being the MTB Cruise at Mt Stromlo), I would have been pretty upset if it had happened there.
Loki, what's the go with the extended frame warranty? My understanding was 5 years? Can this be extended if we get the annual service done?
From the manual:
"This warranty of 5 years for the frames shall only be granted in case once a year a maintenance service has been effected according to maintenance requirements as set forth in this manual by an authorised SCOTT dealer."
"In case such an annual maintenance service has not been effected the warranty of 5 years for the frame shall be reduced to 3 years."
great, thanks.
Are there any identifying marks to tell I've got the correct (stronger) part?
I was interested to read your post as a Scott Spark 40 owner, who on the weekend just experienced exactly the same frame damage as you described.
My frame sheared right through in exactly the same location as yours, without warning. The RHS chainstay, approx 1 inch back from the seat post pivot sheared completely - no where near any welds.
I would be interested to hear how long you had to wait for a replacement as the LBS is saying it could be as long as 6 weeks!
they weren't sure initially, I dropped it in on the Sunday and they said they'd call me when they had news as they couldn't do anything that day which was fair enough.
They didn't so I rang on Tues afternoon to be told pics had been sent to Scott and they were awaiting reply. Wednesday (lunchtime or so I think) I got a phone call saying it's all done and I could come and collect! Was a bit surprised, but happy none the less.
Just as an aside, when I was walking out of the Dam, 3 guys stopped and we had a chat and they mentioned a mate of theirs had to wait 6 weeks to have his cracked Scott frame replaced/fixed (wasn't sure what went wrong with it)
Wasn't happy to hear that at that point........, but turned out ok for me at least.
Good luck!
Heard back from the LBS today. Seems Netti the Aus distributor were well aware of the problem, albeit the LBS wasn't. Scott realised that the first run of alloy spark frames in 09 had issues with the thickness of the side walls to the chainstay section being too thin, hence the numerous failures.
They have now manufactured a "series 2" if you like of the same profile chainstay with considerably thicker side walls. I was advised that there have been many, many failures in the first run of the 09 frames so hopefully the new section will be suitably strong enough to withstand the rigours.
The LBS should have the replacement stay within a week, so all in all not a serious delay.
Cheers
My frame cracked on the way home tonight
Same place as the others have described. 2009 Spark 60, 16 months old.
I'll post some pictures when I can get them off the camera (why can't it use a "normal" USB cable!!!)
I was stuck with a 6km walk home from where it broke. Fortunately there was a bottleshop on the way that provided 'sustenance' for the walk
Guess I'll be paying a visit to the bike shop tomorrow! Sounds like a common problem well within the warranty period so I'm hoping for no problems getting it fixed.
Oh no. At least it wasn't 30km into a ride up GNR...
Photos of the cracked frame:
See just above the crank the left side chain stay is coming off the pivot point too.
Picked it up this afternoon, all fixed.
The lower section of the rear triangle was replaced.
Just in time for the rain to have stopped and the tracks starting to dry out!
(And time to get training again and knock off these few kg's that I found...)
Happy again,
Jon
Excellent news. Nice and quick service too.
This is exactly the same failure as happened to me on Sunday (1/8/2010) - the above pic may as well be my bike ...
I had just come down a section at my local trail centre (LLandegla UK) and started an uphill climb ... on taking a corner I heard a massive crack and, after an inspection, could see the damage ... I had to push the bike 4 miles, I obviously couldn't ride it for fear of doing more damage or having an serious accident ...
I bought the bike new & unused but not from a dealer so am not currently having much luck with a warranty repair as I am not technically the first owner. The bike has only been used for about 4 months so I am a little dissappointed in this - especially the fact the frame has snapped ... I would have thought the frame would be more robust - my hard tail Trek 8900 is 10 years old and still in fabulous condition ...
My other option is to simply buy the lower swingarm section and get the bike back on the trails ... I am waiting for some feedback from Scott UK as to the final outcome ...
If I'm honest, I would be seriously nervous about buying a Scott bike in future - and probably won't ...
Any further advice from anyone ?
Well with the help of an LBS, my swingarm has been replaced under warranty by Scott
The replacement item is the Spark 35 unit which is the standard replacement and looks to be slightly stronger and certainly feels a bit heavier than the old one.
Hopefully this will be built up tonight and I will be back on the road ... Perhaps I had been expecting too much from the Spark as I guess it can't do everything and so I have bought a Giant Reign Zero frame to build up an AM bike to complement the XC Spark
Hopefully anyone else looking for information on this issue will find this thread as it certainly helped me ...
Just found a crack on rear of the main frame where the crank shaft goes through( bottom bracket area}
Its adjacent to where the rear triangle chain stays attach to main triangle
anyone else seen this ????
I was riding the dam mid week at night and at about the halfway mark..about 1KM past the hill of death I heard an almighty crack!
I wasnt pushing hard at the time...only a slight incline and I snapped the triangle exactly the same place as the pics in this blog.
Now here I am on my own in the dark halfway around the dam with no way of riding back. Pretty spooky as your light hits dozens of little nocturnal eyes staring back at you through the bush.
I have had the bike less than 1 year and dont push it too hard as its my first ever MTN bike.
Its in for warranty repair now and im hoping for a new frame ASAP.
The shop said its not a known issue BUT from reading this it definately is and Scott must be all over it.
Hi guys .. i'm from Europe but found the subject .... just want to share mine.... 5 monhts old very well maintained just XC riding no stunts...
cracked at the same place ....
I see the new Spark is now symmetrical ........
Frame cracked on same place like everyone else described. I have same picture like the one in the post.
Scott send the new chainstay very fast, but disapointed anyway. Something like that should not hapen after one year, if at all
because bike was not abused. My frame is 09 and I wonder if anybody with new chainstay could tell a difference in quality, durabilty; or
should I be prepared for the new waranty claim or look for the new frame. Did someone hear the complaints about 2010 or 2011 Spark?
This is not a weak material case, this is a very weak design and Scott knows that. Just look at the 2012 Spark 60.
so did mine scott today "broken at the same place " i agree its weak design how did you get the new chainstay?
Mine was still under warranty, go back to the shop where you bought it from and check, it's out of warranty but since it was a flaw I'd check with them.
Even if it's out of manufacturer warranty, you may still be covered under statutory warranty (fitness for purpose). Look up "Statutory Warranty NSW" (or the state where purchased) on google.
The short warranty period on Scott frames demonstrates how little faith the company has in its own product.
They do ride well though.
I have just looked at the Yeti SB66 warranty on their website. 2 Years?
Still seem popular.
Primo Hollowbite cranks have a 90 day warranty. However, if you break them even after a year or two Primo usually swap yer old broken ones with brand new replacements - provided you didn't allow the old ones to corrode and so on.
I would hope that Yeti has a similar policy.
Scott unfortunately don't.
AFAIK, any new product sold by a company in Australia, is required by law to have a 1 year warranty. Auctions excluded.
That doesn't stop places trying to trick you. I had to return a helicopter, shop said it was outside their 90 day warranty, i needed to call the distributor. They said, to ship it to Melbourne at my expense (~$300). DOCEP advised I could return it to the shop for them to sort out, but either way I wasn't responsible for any costs. Even then they didn't want to budge.
Heres the fun part... the problem was minor, so its up to them to repair or replace, but once they refused a legal warranty, I was able to argue the problem was now major, and I would only accept a full refund. I would have been happy to have the part fixed, but ended up getting a free chopper for ~11 months.
In the EU they have a 2 year std warranty. Companies like Apple?? have been getting in trouble for not properly advertising that.
The only 90 day warranty would be a 'return to shop', after that you may need to return it to the distributor etc, but you don't have to pay shipping costs!!! Imagine if you had a problem with your Holden and they said ship it over east.
Cracked again. Not right through this time but would only be a matter of time I guess. At the shop now, let's see what happens.
I have the new 29er 950 Spark model will have to start checking it now ?
A completely different animal to mine.
Nice though