I recently purchased a Guru Chrono from a fellow triathlete. The seller disclosed that after owning the bike for a few months, it had to be returned to Guru because the joint at the rear dropout had come unbonded. Guru fixed the bike, even repainted it, and said it was in “new” condition. After riding the bike only 2 times, the bike frame came unbonded again, this time at the joint above the dropout where the aluminum and carbon come together.
Apparently when the bike was originally produced, certain quality control steps were skipped due to a worker at Guru overlooking them. That person no longer works there after this was discovered. Since then, they have instituted a new procedure in which all the joints are now “wrapped” with carbon. I’m told this is what they have done to my bike.
Guru said I should rest assured that it is structurally sound and I “should be confident that everything will be near perfect”. Needless to say, I’m very concerned about the integrity of the bike. I’d like to find out if any other Guru owners have had similar issues and if so, how you’ve handled it and what kind of measures Guru took.
If you are not the original owner - you are SOL in most cases. If you know the original owner see if they will handle it for you and DONT POST ABOUT IT on the forum as Guru could use the thread to prove that the bike is no longer owned by the original owner.
Or you could be honest with about the situation with Guru and see what they can do. Most smalller companies that want to survive will bend over backwards to ensure that owners of their product are happy. In this case I doubt that they will replace the frame, but suspect that they will fix it so its structurally sound for either low or no cost.
I found two cracks at both sides of the dropouts on mine. My fork steerer tube also has two horizontal “dents” and one long vertical “line” about 7 in. long. Needless to say I am not riding it until I get it fixed. Keep this thread updated about your bike.
So the update on my Guru bike is that Guru admitted that “certain quality control steps were skipped” due to an employee overlooking them. The guy was then fired. Not that it helps me.
Apparently Guru now “wraps” all the joints with carbon fiber to prevent this from happening on their new bikes. So that’s what they say they’ve done to my bike. I get it back tomorrow so I’ll ride it (with trepidation) and see what happens. Hopefully it will stay in one piece – as will my body.
They are saying the warranty is no good after this – even though I have it in an email that they are admitting it’s their fault!
Please keep me posted on your fix, too. I guess I should feel lucky that I only had it break in two places, sounds like they used yours for crash test dummie testing.
Below is a copy of the PM that we sent you on March 23. Based on your latest post, I’m suspecting you may not have received it. The bike was repaired at no charge to the customer; that means that it was considered to be a warranty case. Based on the thorough inspection and work that went into the restoration, I urge you to go ahead and ride it with no trepidation whatsoever. We look forward to getting your feedback and will continue to stand behind our product (your bike).
Regards,
Rob
GURU Bikes
Hi,
We’re really sorry to hear about the issues with your Crono. When you spend us much time as we do making a carbon frame, the last thing you want to hear is that one of them is not holding up as intended.
I’m not sure who you spoke to, but your description of what may have led to them problem was essentially correct. There was a specific period of time where manufacturing procedures for our carbon frame fabrication were not being followed correctly. This situation has been rectified.
In the vast majority of cases, the seam / crack issue you appear to describe has no structural implication. That said, the issue in question does not make the grade with regards to our fabrication standards. As such, whether or not you are the original owner of the bike in question, we would prefer to have the problem fixed (at no charge). If you have not yet proceeded to send back the frame, I would encourage you to do so via your local GURU dealer.
I think a few things are getting lost in translation based on the way the author is phrasing things. My interpretation was that Guru was going to fix the problem and call it a warranty claim, but that once fixed the warranty on the bike would no longer be valid due to the resale. I did not take her comment to mean Guru was going to, or had intended to, stiff her. It sounds like a few others did not interpret things that way, but I can see how that happened based on how the author wrote her post.
“once fixed the warranty on the bike would no longer be valid due to the resale.”
i did not see that in guru’s PM, nor did i see that anyone was fired, nor did i read anything other than very good customer service. if the PM this guru owner received was the correspondence upon which the post here relied, i can see no reason for complaint whatsoever.
accordingly, i think an explanation is in order: either you apologize to guru, here, using the same megaphone with which you called the company to account; or you detail why your complaint is valid, notwithstanding the PM from guru reprinted here.
this is why we don’t like trial by internet, because it’s very hard for a company to respond in a way that appears to readers high-minded.
Oh but some of us customers remember the pre internet days (and early internet days) when companies would pretend a problem did not exist, when we knew it did. (referring to companies in general, not bike companies)
Thank science the internet has leveled the playing field a bit =)
this is why we don’t like trial by internet, because it’s very hard for a company to respond in a way that appears to readers high-minded.
If you read both of her posts, she is worried about the integrity of the bike, since it came unbonded twice (if I follow this correctly). I don’t see where she said, “GURU customer service sucks” or “GURU does not stand behind their product”. She clearly states that Guru fixed her bike, but she is looking for other input because she is concerned about some sort of frame failure again. What I do gather is Guru told her, through this process, that they were done giving her free fixes on this issue because they believe they have remedied the situation. I’m not sure I see the “trial by Internet” vein, but I appreciate that your sensitivty meter is on high alert with these things.
It seems like Guru had a QC breakdown and should have notified owners and offered to inspect or fix their bikes to insure that the owners were not at risk. This would have mitigated the negative publicity they are receiving as a result.
“I don’t see where she said, “GURU customer service sucks” or “GURU does not stand behind their product”.”
what the guru customer wrote was: They are saying the warranty is no good after this
what guru apparently PM’d her was: whether or not you are the original owner of the bike in question, we would prefer to have the problem fixed (at no charge).
if there is more to the story, fine, let’s here it. otherwise, guru is doing what many bike companies do not do, which is to treat a bike in the secondary market as still subject to the warranty.
let us say guru is getting a bad rap here. i won’t name the person here with the guru bike, nor parade my private views about the situation to the guru customer’s friends and business associates. i won’t despoil this person’s business reputation. i won’t write “my” half of the story to the exclusion of the other legitimate side of the story.
the blind spot jackmott and perhaps you too have is that you folks, most of whom are anonymous@anonymous.net, get to write what you want with impunity. that’s not “leveling the playing field.”