From your picture, it looks like you are missing the spacer that sits between the clamp faces.

Mine was missing the spacer as well, but I still don't trust it. This is a known issue they should be more forthcoming about

wow, and I was considering a felt but, .....

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

That would certainly be terrifying. Do you mind posting a photo of the whole front end? Do you have very long extensions? Do you push and pull a lot on them when riding?

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Wow. 3-5 times per year? Wow. That scares me. I have a torque wrench for this very reason and only torque to the specified levels. We really only adjust the bike during bikefittings - then tighten as needed. What perplexes me is that no recalls have been made on this bracket. I understand the concept of cost/benefit ratio , but this is downright dangerous. This is a weight-bearing structure that is prone to failure. We're not just talking about my crashes and injury but we're talking about a potential loss of life. It's like an eight dollar part (retail) , why wouldn't they just replace it? I like the bike, but this is just unacceptable. Thanks for the response - I appreciate it.

as soon as i heard of this happening many months ago I swapped out the bayonet risers and brackets with Profile Design's J2 bracket kit. Never worried again. that's the beauty of it being a glorified clip-on standard based system

Not an expert here, but I wonder if overtorquing the bolts could possibly contribute to that sort of failure? For example, if it's clamped too tightly, maybe the forces from the bars are incorrectly focused on the weakpoint rather than distributed into the stem? Just wondering. Looks awful in any case.

Nope. I use a torque wrench and only torque to the specified 6 Newton meter recommendation. Have used it for years on all my bikes. It appears that this happens quite frequently so I doubt all cases are related to over - torquing. But I agree, we should look at everything.

The bike is currently at the shop so I don't have pictures. I Just use the stock extensions. I'm a slightly larger rider, 190 pounds and I do torque on the bars. But again the bike is only slightly over one-year-old and supposedly they have quality control and one would hope the product was constructed to endure forces for beyond what people can generate. I check and tighten parts w my torque wrench so this does not happen. And it kind of sounds like it's happening to larger and smaller riders alike.

Even a small guy could torque pretty hard on their extensions - it's a pretty big lever to apply to that little aluminum bracket. I suspect felt underestimated how much some people pull and push on those extensions. I've got probably 12,000 miles riding IA's and have never had an issue, but I do not push or pull at all on them. My hands just sort of lay relaxed on top of them.

I do not think bolt torque is an issue at all with this.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Yes, it is unacceptable but so far with us it never broke so that the whole extension seperated from the base bar. In all cases there was a crack and the extension came somewhat loose but more or less stayed in place although you could not ride it any longer.
This year we had 3 occasions where it happened but all on bikes that were bought 2 to 3 year ago. In total i think about 10 x in hundreds of bikes. But agreed, if you are the one where it happens and you crash bad you don't care that it didn't happen hundreds of other riders.
We pointed out the issue to the distributor and they told us that they told felt. We did get a bunch of replacements.

I do advise all to grease all the bolts that are used to attached the extension to the clamp because when you do not your torque wrench can give incorrect values especialy on the newer bars/bolts.

If i recall correct i think jim from ero also mentioned this already once in a thread.

Take care

Jeroen

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

Good idea

They should be designed for this: consider that a guy like Tony Martin pulls "up" on his extensions (pretty hard too) to generate some extra power. Also consider that you might have to brace yourself against the extensions if you hit a bump. Felt should be aware of these use parameters and design accordingly.

I agree - they should have designed something that could withstand that kind of use. It sounds like maybe they did not. I think that pulling on the extensions is the likely culprit here. All this talk of improperly torqued bolts is a red herring.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Completely agree. Not everyone rides the same. And you know someone like Tony Martin is putting abnormally high stress all over the bike. There are serious competitors far stronger than the recreational athlete like myself riding these bikes. I would think a company like Felt would realize this. I wonder how long the problem has exsisted and what it would take to get Felt to actually fix the issue.

Thanks again. I guess the question I have is what the rate of failure for a relatively common bike part is acceptable? 1-100?, 1-1000, 1-1000000? It sounds dramatic but seriously do we need fatalities before it gets fixed? Recalls happen all the time. At what point does the liability caused by defective parts outweigh economic viability for a company? I was told by Felt that they had no knowledge of this particular issue (I get why a company would do that but it's still shady). This is clearly untrue. And it's not just that this happened to me. As a cyclists we have to about the weather, motorists, Road conditions etc,. No one (including me or you) should have to worry about their bike just falling apart for some bizarre reason mid ride. Honestly I don't want this to happen to anyone. Whether it be a bike number 1 or 10 of 200....just send out stronger and better designed brackets - they exist. Willful neglect endangering cyclists is inexcusable in my mind. I'll just go with another bike.

Thanks

Just get over it and upgrade to a Tririg Alpha X. You will be faster, better looking, and safer. And, you will eliminate that dodgy stem that is also waiting to kill you.

I primarily do time trials. So I do put some torque on the bars particularly at the start of a race. I think a lot of TT racers do the same. I think the quote about Tony Martin is on point. it often seems in these cases that people's first inclination is to blame the owner of the bike with any bike failures that occur. Whether it be sweat, spacers, too much torque, improper tightening etc. lots of people seem to make exuses for the manufacturer. ED you may be right on. Felt may have not considered torque forces. Irregardless, there have been enough posts on this one forum to suggest that this is at least a mildly occurring problem (likely many more cases we aren't aware of) that has been ignored by the company. I for one asked specifically if Felt was aware of any occurrences like this. They said no. That does not appear to be true. There have likely been other crashes due to this faulty part. Hopefully no one has died. If Felt didn't consider the possibility of the rider torquing on the aerobar to some degree, or actually sweating a little when they ride their bike - that's beyond short sighted and really just kinda dumb. But if they truly know there is a problem and choose to do nothing about it that's willfully negligent. That's my issue.

I think I have officially "lost that lovin'' feeling"
-two failed extension brackets
-one failed set of rear brakes
-lousy calpac
-no draft box (nor will I ever have one on my 2015 Ia1)
-and a company that fails to accept responsibility for its mistakes.

Beautiful fast bike, but enough is enough

Seriously?
You think spending $1000 or thereabouts to replace what should be a perfectly decent aerobar is a reasonable suggestion?

Seriously, I think that you have a tough time detecting written humor and sarcasm. On one hand, the reactions to the broken clamp may be overblown a bit. And on the other, the stem clamp is poorly designed and may also break.

There's nothing wrong with my sense of humour but this is Slowtwitch; where comments like that, when not in pink, are likely as not meant in full sincerity!

Wow. Well I for one am glad that you originally posted your concerns. You are a more patient person than I am. That's quite a list. One bracket failure, a crash, surgery for some of the damage - I'm done. People seem to want to minimize this issue - maybe if someone gets paralyzed or dies it will migrate from "overblown" to the "dangerous issue" it is. I would prefer not to wait for that to happen - not for me ( obviously I will recover ) , but for any expecting rider who has the bracket randomly bust at a less than ideal place or time. As cyclists we should all be doing exactly what you did. Looking out for each other. Raising issues so problems get fixed and accidents are avoided. Even more so if bike companies aren't willing to do it unless forced. So thanks. Enough is enough.

This is what I would recommend you do...

1. Decide what you want: A new bar? An upgraded bar (Devox, perhaps)? Felt to buy you a third-party bar? Felt to give you cash toward a third-party bar? Felt to buy your bike back?
2. Decide how much effort the resolution is worth to you.
3. Collect some objective data. This will be hard, because the Internet and forums like this one are prone to adverse selection. If you are not thorough and objective, you will get rejected at your first contact with Felt. If you get some specific data points from a few local bike shops and specifics here, you might have enough. Including you, this thread has four encounters plus an anecdotal "3-5 per year" from a person from a bike shop. However, at least one of the encounters in this thread is from a different bar (IA1 has Devox, not Bayonet 3).
4. Write a detailed letter outlining your specific data points and personal impacts.
5. Put what you want in the letter.
6. Call Felt directly and get past their tier-1 help desk to someone with actual decision-making authority.
7. Call Rossignol directly and get past their tier-1 help desk to someone with actual decision-making authority.
8. Discuss the issues with a real person, and let them know you will be sending the letter via registered mail.
9. Send the letter, and wait for the reply.
10. Let us all know the outcome.