Does anyone know the details of the Cannondale Slice RS recall? All I know so far is it might be related to the brakes and its a 2-4 week turnaround.
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My rep told me it has something to do with the braking plate (I work for a dealer)…which is vague isn’t it, but really the whole thing has seemed a bit hush hush even on my end. They are paying labor for me to break the bikes down and send them back, as well as giving RS owners $200 in Cannondale gear. I almost pulled the trigger on one but at this point I’m glad I did not…4 weeks away from the bike smack in the middle of the season, 6 weeks out from vineman full…that would have been not cool. I feel for the customers who are on them and have to deal with this.
Yeah… my shop wasn’t given a clear explanation on what the issue is either…
There is no recall on Cannondale’s websire yet…
I’m based in the UK
Just got a call from my dealer detailing they need/want my bike bike for 6-8 weeks and will be offering a 105 Slice as a replacement ride across the duration.
I will also demand £200 of Cannondale gear, I suppose ?!
Not ideal especially on £3500 of bike with an extra £2000 of wheels, right in the middle of the triathlon season!
I’m also in the UK and been contacted by my bike supplier. The entire brake designs on the Cannondale RS is a design fault. Especially the rear brakes , you cant adjust them , lack power and sloppy. I had the bike for about 5 months and its just been a nightmare. I’m requesting them to replace it with the standard slice and get my credit back. The bike is not fit for purpose.
I visited my bike shop today to get the low down, at least for me and maybe others in the UK.
I had to wait until the end of April for my bike, then they sent a 56cm which was too big and replaced with a 54cm…so already a saga has be experienced.
Apparently C’dale are exchanging ‘unsold’ bikes in the UK with perfect, ‘box fresh’ bikes which already have the brake issue remedied. I assume this is either the whole truth, nothing like the truth or somewhere near the truth! 
Anyhow, I am expecting a 105 Slice in the next day or so and also an update on a Box Fresh and perfect RS Slice. If this does not arrive, I am supposing my friends down the bakeshop, Cannondale and I will schedule to discuss some form of financial recompense for a faulty product and shitty experience. I am hoping this however will not be the case, fingers crossed!
I’m in the UK and spoke with the Cannondale rep today.
They are arranging to get a standard Slice out to me as a stand in for the RS while it’s being fixed. Apparently the frames are getting sent off to Taiwan to have the brakes re-bonded. So the replacements will not be box fresh. They will be the original frames reworked. There was no mention of any other compensation.
Personally I’ve already lost the will to live with the amount of time and delays to the delivery of the bike in the first place. I’ve had it for 2 weeks and had expected to have banked a load of training miles on it by this time of year.
In the short time I’ve had it I had managed to discover that if you set the brakes up for a slightly wider rimmed set of carbon wheels when you stick some training wheels on the brakes hardly make contact.
Suffice it to say there is nothing even remotely acceptable about any of this.
I spoke to a lady in the USA this evening.
I also picked up the replacement Slice 105 tonight form my local bike shop…it’s OK, but not the same and a little like leaving your Ferrari at the garage and being given a Ford Focus to come home in…nothing wrong with it, but its not the same!
The very nice lady gave me the US low down, as well as contact details for C’dale UK, so I will put some calls in next week.
As you wrote, the bikes will be ‘reworked’ so that the once riveted brakes are now riveted and bonded. For US bikes, this will take place in the USA, for UK/EU I would imagine this gets done in Taiwan, hence the 2-4 wks turnaround, but I don’t believe this for one moment!
The US are giving their clients ‘Cannondale gear’ as a gift for inconvenience and upset, so this is the minimum I will be expecting to be honest. If they don’t sweeten the deal then under UK Consumer laws, we are entitled to a full refund as the goods we purchased aren’t fit for purpose etc…this is UK Law, so I doubt this should be an issue.
This really could be a gunshot in the side of the head for Cannondale if they do not handle it beyond our expectations and very swiftly.
As already stated the UK only just got delivery of these bikes a month or two ago, so to be told not to ride them until the re rivet and re bond is quite irritating after spilling £3500plus depending on the model.
For anyone form Cannondale reading this, please feel to comment and PM me and others to let us know how you plan to handle this, because I think there are currently some pretty pisse doff people in the UK and other countries. We need and want some clarity, honesty and some respect shown ASAP!
I’ve been told 3 different things…
- Front brake bonding poor
- Rear Brake weak - fix was in progress and no recall
- The latest and greatest… we want your frame back to “Stress test it”
I just spoke to Cannondale UK and the Warranty Manager, who openly shared some comforting information with me, as follows:
To date there have been no consumer incidents / issues or accidents with any RS Slice bike on the road - the fault was found whilst product testing at Bedford in the USA, as such Cannondale locally (country specific) have contacted LBS and then consumers to ask all bikes go back for stress testing on the brake bosses / callipers as there could be / might not be an issue with individual bikes - only a stress test of each area will determine if this is the case.The stress test is only of the brake area and will not effect the rest of the frame. There will be no cracking of the frame, splintering etc…the uneducated nightmare thoughts a ‘real stress testing’ is NOT going to be this reality, fortunately!If a fault is found, the brake will be riveted and boned - as detailed in the threadCannondale are awaiting an update and final clarification from the CPSC (Consumer Protection Agency) ahead of formally putting a notification on the C’dale website - this is why the regional teams are making contact locally at country level and offering assistance on a country level basis.As an example in the UK, there are 45 RS Slices, 20 have been sold, so numbers are small scale in comparison to the mass market bikes.At the moment the exact location where the testing and repair will take place has not been determined but it will be one of three locations for the UK: Holland, USA or Taiwan - As such the turnaround time will be between 3-6 weeks, or somewhere in between perhaps (TBD).Due to the turnaround time Cannondale UK have offered the Slice 105 as a replacement ride, rather than leave anyone without a bike to use and train with - As before, not quite the same as the RS Slice, but an alternative to walking !There are no ‘box fresh’ replacements - only reworked current frames with new riveting and bondingFurther compensation will be on a case by case basis through the LBS to CannondaleThe final option is ‘Money Back’ and walk away to a different bikeThe decision is still to be made whether the new 2014 RS Slice will be brought into the UK due to the economics and size of marketplace, so getting a 2014 frame is currently not an option
And that’s about it!
Some thinking and deliberating to consider…whether to hold on or walk away with my money back?
offering the replacement ride is a good deal, thats costing them a fair bit,
but for sure its a bummer to loose your steed in middle of season
getting your frame reworked is bad, i dont agree with that. they should be handing out new frames.
with all the costs involved in reworking, i cant see why they dont just supply new frames, there could not be that much difference in cost {shipping, mechanic to dismantle and assemble, cost of reworking, loan bikes, gifts to soften the blow}
I agree on them just replacing the frame. I’m sure someone determined the $$ of testing/fixing vs just supplying new frames, then went with the most cost-effective solution. Of course, new frames would be the best from a PR perspective. I’m happy they are offering loaner bikes, but I already have a backup TT rig.
Oh, well…I’d love to swap my white frame for a black one…
Some great info’ there. Thanks!
Given that I’m also in the UK and looking at a 6-8 week turnaround I think I’m going to be asking for my money back.
That or a hefty discount on some wheels from the LBS as my road bike is better than the standard Slice.
What a rubbish start to the week. Thanks Cannondale.
The more I think about it and reflect on what you’re saying I think I’ll be researching a new bike tomorrow…
Shame as apart from the QR on the brakes being impossible to use they stop better than anything other than hydraulic discs.
I have exchanged my Slice RS for a Slice 105. CSG will credit my bike store £1700 and transfer my custom kit like cranks , aero bars fitting and recabling over to my Slice 105 at their costs. The angles and dimensions between the RS and Slice 105 are almost the same so hopefully will be able to get into the same position ? I have been riding the RS for about 3 months , its a nice ride but some thing such as the poor brake adjustments, headache of recabling and the inability to turn the handle bars without recabling made me make the swap. Think whats the time saving between the 2 frames …maybe 10-15 seconds over 40K for an extra £1700.
Jeffreytam what do you mean by -
“headache of recabling”? Under what circumstances are you recabling?
“inability to turn the handle bars without recabling” What do you men by turn the handlebars? Are you referring to removing the handlebars to pack the bike in a box or the like?
I’m trying to get my head around the shortfalls of this bike having only had mine in hand for a few days before being asked to return it.
The one problem I instantly encountered was in putting a set of carbon race wheels on with slightly wider rims and not being able to easily adjust the spread of the brakes to accommodate the extra width of the rims. The UK distributor has told me that there are different sized washers for the brake blocks that allow you to use different width rims. That said I wasn’t supplied with any of these and can’t imagine having to mess about with all that when simply wanting to swap between training and racing wheels.
Thanks
Hi Mark
Yes you need to cut the cables if you travel with your bike in a box or you need to purchase the sci con bag which allows the bike to fit without turning the bars. So you will need to recable once you reach your destination which a bike store will need to do for you unless you have the knowledge. I had to purchase some washers to adjust the brakes, its real fiddly to set up the brakes. Its a mission to swap between race and training wheels , give yourself at least 1 hour to set up properly . Example to adjust the rear brake with washers you need to remove the cranks due to the space constraints. I have raced the Slice 105 in a TT and triathlon and have not suffered from being any slower , personally it a much better bike as it can be adjusted and it practical and I can get into the same aero position for £1800 less. Hope this helps
Has anyone sent their frame in for the recall yet??
Has anyone sent their frame in for the recall yet??i dropped mine off last Monday… July 1. My main race is sept 21… I’ll update the official slice rs thread as news comes in.
Sent ours in 4 weeks ago Today. Originally our LBS told us 2 weeks. then after 3 weeks when we touched base, they tried getting more detail from Cannondale, with no joy. I am to say the least very disappointed, and since we are dead in the middle of our season, and the need for my wife to get used to her bike as it is her first TT bike, is huge. IM WI is coming up in Septemeber, a couple of smaller races in the next couple of weekends, and she has not had the bike long enough to spend more than a few hours on it. I would guess no more than 200 miles. Cannondale did not make us the offer of having a slice 105, and now that i read this as an option to some, I am even more irritated. The $200 worth of stuff is in no way an adequate compensation. Frankly, if they are stress testing the break mounts, with carbon there are many hairline fractures that could occur in the process without being visible. This concerns me deeply. While i appreciate the effort to correct this prior to an incident, there needs to be more compensation made to all of us owners at this point. When purchasing an item of this value, if something like this occurs, there needs to be some sort of overwhelming compensation. Frankly, I am considering telling my LBS we don’t want it back and requesting them get a refund from Cannondale, and moving her to a Cervelo…
My 2 cents…