The Cannondale Lifetime Warranty - Tested 

cannondale insulted him as a mechanic so he went ' fine my turn ' then proceeded to point out every flaw he could find and backed it up with their own documents , indisputably taking a legal and passive aggressive shit on cannondale 😂that's my type of mechanic

How can Cannondale justify charging him for the second frame when it has the same issue with the headset(straight out of the box) that they say he caused on the first frame? It has really left Cannondale with egg on their face, they've proven that they've falsely denied the initial warranty claim by supplying a second frame with the same issue. Cannondale should refund him the money and supply a suitable replacement.

The selling dealer needs to have a long talk with it's employees. Never ever decline a customers warranty, that is for the manufacturer to decide.

So glad to have cleared out all my Cannondales . I was offered a cheap replacement frame when one broke on the seat tube/ top tube after 8 weeks of being a warranty frame itself. Was an alloy Flash 29er frame. They refused a replacement . I had to take the bike shop I bought it from ( who were really good to deal with, but as I spent my money there) to small claims , even though I advised them of the process to advise the UK Cannondale importer of my intentions. As soon as the paperwork hit their doormat, then they knew I wasnt bluffing. Cannondale immediately sent a frame. I never built it up, but sold it and the other 3 Cannondales in the garage, Never again. I sent pictures to Hambini of the dreadful welding internally and he wasnt surprised. Never, ever again.........................................

I am so happy that there still are mechanics like you. I felt gaslighted (working briefly as a mechanic for a trek dealer) when people were denying my own skepticism regarding post monts/ flat mounts being not machined and things like that. There is so many frames made to rubbish tolerances that it is insane!!!

I have to say that your enthusiasm for calling out some of the piss poor QC in the bike industry must feel highly disruptive to the manufacturers, suppliers and retailers; this is a good thing & must be maintained. Also, you don't just call out the bad stuff, you praise good workmanship and this is also very important. Reasoned and detailed criticism of the shoddy alongside positive strokes for good quality - that's the balance point and you always seem to strive for that. Well done and keep it up!

The insult was bad enough. What is unforgivable is that Cannondale is endangering their customers safety while refusing to accept responsibility for their dangerously defective products. Your diligence could of well saved your customer from serious injury or worse. Well done on your part! Cannondale is off the consideration list for my next bike purchase.

"We can live without Distributors but can't without Customers" True Mechanic ✊🕴👍

'Hey, anyone see that frame we use to show the new guys the difference between right and wrong sized bottom brackets?' 'What, the one with the wonky brake mounts?' 'Yeah, I swear it was in the quarantine section on Friday'

Ive steered away from Cannondale a long time ago because of their infamous BB issues. Amazing they are in business with this qc

"Don't buy from direct to consumer brand. Buy from shop you will get service and warranty." they say 😅

I worked in bike shops in London for 7 years, I sold many bikes and dealt with many warranties. Cannondale got its name 'Crack and fail' or 'Crap and Fail' for good reason. Granted they did often come through with new frames but personally I'd never go near one. I have also commented before how much I dislike pressfit BB's, my opinion on them hasn't altered.

I work as a bicycle mechanic and speak directly with some of the "big brand manufacturers" on a daily basis. Some are much better than others, and some are pretty bad. Your experience with Cannondale is not dissimilar from my own (i.e. condescending tone, pointing the finger at the customer and/or bike shop). The general dynamic has become somewhat adversarial. Big brands are not only squeezing their own dealer networks, they're putting the squeeze to their own customers in the form of astronomical prices, poor quality control and bad customer service. It's good to see videos such as this one. As long as it's factual, there is nothing wrong with taking Cannondale to task. In fact, it's very much appreciated! Honest, balanced information helps consumers make more informed decisions. There's no reason why Cannondale cannot make a consistently high quality product that meets its own specifications. And if consumer dollars move away from Cannondale towards other brands making product worthy of our hard earned money, then maybe Cannondale will fix these QC issues and get back to making good bikes.

The last Cannondale I owned was a Rush 3000 from several years ago. At one point, I was looking at the rear triangle and realized that the swingarm assembly was a full centimeter offline, and the whell had been dished incorrectly to compensate for the misalignment, which meant that they knew it was offline before it left the factory. It is mindblowing how Cannondale has survived what is simply a terrible business model of inferior and unsafe products. Bravo to you for this video!

I definitely am intrigued and also very interested in hearing about what happens next. I am also, once again, more or less in chock over what the manufactures think that they can get away with, snatching peoples hard earned money in exchange for disgustingly poor quality, and then try to blame everything on everyone but themselves when they are caught out, twice! If that had been a car brand they would be all over the news with lawyers queuing up to sue on behalf of customers.

Easy answer. Customer's contract is with Pedal Power. Issue a formal written complaint stating what resolution is sought and in what timeframe. Follow up with a Court Claim if needed. Doesn't help the customer in the short term, but it does prevent banging your head against a brick wall. Not fit for purpose trumps warranty.

Bought a brand new 2015 SLR01 with my hard earned cash from dealer. Rode it for about a month with no incidents and noticed crack in super thin top tube (could crink it between thumb and forefinger). BMC dealer immediately went in to bat for BMC, not me, accusing me of all sorts of things. Eventually got a new frame on warranty but that shop has lost my business forever. Love that you’re showing this stuff. Kinda benign Hambini 👏

I've written Cannondale off for life a long time ago due to creaking BBs and headset nonsense, and this video is yet another affirmation.

I have to say your content is excellent and your honesty and integrity are grade A. Chapeau.

Thanks for the headsup. Cannondale was on my list narrowed down to three frames. I verified the info in this video and due to the way Cannondale denied the warranty I nixed them from the list. Will be sharing info with all of my riding friends.

Keep fighting. And yes I DO want to know what will happen next. It's important for all of us. And thank you.

Had been strongly considering picking up a SuperSix as a base for a light climbing bike but after this I'll be sticking with my CAAD10 and live with the extra few hundred grams.

Always thought Cannondale QC was sub-par (and they relied almost totally on superfluous gimmicks to stay relevant in the bike industry). This really hammers home my perception of Cannondale spending all their engineering on gimmicks rather than doing the basics (like making a headset race safe) properly. Never buying or advising anyone to buy a Cannondale.

I had a similar warranty claim with Trek bikes and it took months of fighting to get them to honor the warranty. We should keep the bike industry accountable!

This stinks to hear and I'm glad you put this out there. Thank you. I have had multiple issues with Cannondale in the last year. The representatives stopped returning my emails and I had to leave comments on every RU-vid video that they released until finally someone reached out apologizing. It wasn't sincere to say the least. My last 3 bike purchases have been Cannondale, purchased new, from authorized dealers here in Texas. They've always been my favorite bikes since the golden age of Aluminum. Going forward, I cannot give anymore of my money or loyalty to a company that refuses to address customers issues. This is coming from my own personal experiences, not this video. FYI Considering the amount of good bike manufacturers out there, and the almost unreasonable cost of a new bike nowadays, I'm now forced to be very diligent with where I spend my bike money. I can no longer make my purchase based on emotions and the fact that I have ridden their bikes forever. It's not fair to people who drop thousands on a bicycle. Do better, Dale. Do better.

You're definitely right about how the shop approaches the warranty makes a huge difference. How the warranty issue is presented to the manufacturer by the shop employee makes a big difference.

I showed this to a close relative who spent 15 years as an engineer in F1. The team he worked for did a collaboration some years ago with a well known bike brand. He called the design engineers he worked with on the collaboration as the bottom feeders of the engineering world. He wasn't surprised at what he saw in the video.

Here's a story from Japan. A mechanic I know who's really reputable locally who has his own little shop told me how much he hated Cannondale's warranty system. A customer went in with a creaky BB on a SuperSix evo. He checked for the tolerance, turned out it was crap, so they contacted Cannondale for a warranty claim. A few weeks later, new frame came in, turned out the tolerance was still crap, but the customer really wanted to ride his bike and since it wasn't as bad as the previous frame, he rode away with a new BB fitted. For a few weeks it was trouble free but it eventually creaked again. So the two of them emailed Cannondale again. This time instead of a new frame, they sent in some sort of locktight glue for the BB. That solution fixed the creaking for a few months, until the framed creaked again. Cannondale said the best they could do was to send these glue again for as long as they needed to, which honestly was insane, since they didn't even follow up the next time they called. "Don't get a Cannondale, I'll fix it for you if you come to me with one, but don't get a Cannondale" He told me so when I said I wanted a CAAD 13.

Really like your videos Mapdec... You present very well too. There is a sincerity to your channel. Keep it up.

It’s all about the shop. Several years ago I cracked a NDS chain stay on a Trek cyclocross bike. I took it back to the dealer and two days later had a new frame. If you have a good relationship with the shop and the shop has a good relationship with the manufacturer, things work out for the better.

Gezzz, I was seriously considering SuperSix Evo 3. After this video, my excitement of getting new Cannondale has significantly deminished.

That was an excellent report, with or without a beep machine. Thank you for taking the time to share this information

Thank you! Finally someone exposes that the "lifetime" warranty that Cannondale offers is, well, not for a lifetime! Had a 4 year old mid-range AL hardtail MTB that I rode as a gravel bike and on a few easy trails quite periodically. Btw, I purchased a Cannondale bike BECAUSE of their lifetime warranty. On the 4th year one of my chainstays completely cracked on the weld near the axle. Spoke with Cannondale, inform them around the usage of the bike, my weight+gear, that I had not changed anything except the handlebars, etc. etc. They requested detailed pictures of the whole bike, along with the crack in the frame, among others. They informed that my bike is of course still under warranty but they do not offer the exact same model anymore and that sending a new frame will require lots of changes by my part (e.g., new wheelset as it was qr boost) but I had no issues with it! I even offered to send them the frame for inspection. After long talks with the shop from where I purchased the bike along with direct communication with Cannondale the best they could offer was 25-30% discount for any bike up to 1500$ (the initial cost of my bike with pre-COVID pricing). Total disappointment and naturally I preferred to stay without a bike than give them my money having to possibly face the same issue in the future.

Trek in the US (for me) is strong and 100% in support of their warranty on all connected to each bike.

I own several Synapses plus a Pinarello. It was only through viewing videos by Hambini that I became aware of the very poor manufacturing tolerances of Cannondale frames, especially bottom brackets 30/30A. I will not risk buying another Cannondale frame and thank you for highlighting the issues with this bike manufacturer. The Pinarello Marvel is a great bike in all respects btw.

As consumers, we are often price driven and don't value good service enough. None of the bike bike companies seem to produce bikes that pass the Hambini test. I see many people complaining that bike companies are ripping customers off by charging too much for high-end bikes: the market is fairly competitive and top price bikes are not necessarily a rip off but you are not generally paying for good engineering. As a bike company, it is easier to sell a product that is new, light, aero and has loads of fancy looking bits than it is to sell something that is a bit boring but is well engineered. The constant redesigning of products so that they look new and "better" means that design and manufacturing problems don't get ironed out before the product is redesigned. It takes time and money to produce well engineered products and it takes a decent profit margin for shops to offer good customer service. Sadly, as customers, we do not support either business model very well. Imagine a bike costing £4000 that had 9 sprockets on the back, weighed 9kg and looked pretty much the same as the model available 5 years ago. Who would buy it? It might be well engineered but its up against a bike with 11, 12 or 13 rear sprockets that is 2kg lighter and looks new and exciting. Bike companies respond to the market and the market is us. If anyone out there wants to loose all their money, try starting a company that only sells well engineered, quality bikes with reliable, well made components. At the moment, there seem to be a few Chinese companies that produce good carbon products for a fairly low price but these are relatively small companies that supply direct to customers. Also the average wage in China is less than about £12K per year, so if you do want to start your bike company, you might have to pay your employees less than the UK minimum wage. Any takers?

Links to the various documents mentioned are in the description.

Great video, It's awesome you hold them to account and you're not hyperbolic about it. However unlikely, I'd love to see Hambini get his hands on this frame. hehe

Well done Paul. It's great to see that some businesses still care about their reputations and are professional when dealing with their customers.

Děkuji pane za pravdivý poučný a zajímavý videa 👍

Cannondales are so hit or miss. That headset is scary. My superx bb failed and they gave me a brand new upgraded frame. They even brought one over form Europe to match my team colours. Fantastic service.

Never owned a Cannondale, but currently on my third Trek carbon frame based on a OCLV purchased back in 1995. Each warranty experience with Trek has been straightforward and hassle-free.

Love this, Ive been on the receiving end of bike shops and manufacturers fobbing me off with frame defects several times. Massive kudos and thanks to Mapdec for being a consumer champion and improving standards in the industry 👌

I just sold a mountain bike to help purchase a Cannondale road bike. Thanks for the video, I'll be shopping for another brand now.

I had problems with Cannodale and their warranty, that they wouldn't honor. I bought one of their first road bikes back in 1984 and later 2 mountain bikes. I have not bought a bike from them since. Lifetime warranties aren't really honored anymore. I have a lifetime warranty on my Kona but they were sold and I hear that warranty is out the window, fortunately I'm having zero problems with the bike and it has seen a lot of miles. Thanks for sharing these issues!

This is one of your most important videos- thank you for raising it and the honesty. I had a F1000 that with problem such that the rear wheel wouldn’t align with the disc callipers The dealer I’d bought it from no longer existed and my local shop (cannondale dealer) failed to help me. Cannondale wouldn’t warranty the bike. Lifetime warranty was worthless.

This will spread like wild fire time to time. Great information.

Thanks for raising awareness!

Typical of the contempt companies have for customers. Having fleeced the person for a second frame you would at the very least have thought they would thoroughly check the second frame before sending.

Hilarious and absolutely stinks. How can the customer make carbon disappear? Hows that wafer thin section going to hold when the top cap and preload bolt is pushing a couple hundred kg down on the bearing seats?! The bike companies have got to stop blaming customers for their dogshit tolerances. Its patronising and tiring. Giant UK recently tried to blame a fork steerer de-bonding at the crown on the customer. Dude broke his back. Giant settled 200k out of court, they got lucky! I had this exact bike and it was pig. Headset cups were way oversized and loose, si compression ring was plastic, top cap rubbed on frame due to top bearing seat being moulded too low. Ironically the BB was fine. Note to the customer: get out of this shit and get your money back.

Jeez! What a shocker. Thanks for sharing.

great video- well done for being the voice of the consumer

I was previously a Cannondale dealer in New Zealand for many years. What I can say is that the distributor of Cannondale in NZ was excellent to deal with and always did the right thing for the customer even when there were times that the warranty claim was questionable. So with the stark contrast of service between the UK distributor and NZ I would say that it is probably the UK distributor that is not very good. Cannondale make great products but all brands have some problems from time to time.

I do hope you get some good news to deliver to the customer. It must be so frustrating for both of you knowing that youre doing the right thing, but facing repeated disappointment.

Thanks for this video, I was considering a Cannondale Synapse as my first road bike, will shop elsewhere now

Spot on video!! Thanks for making this and educating us on the current state of Cannondale carbon frames. While I have never owned a carbon frame of theirs, I own one of their early 1992 2.8 R900 aluminium frames. I have ridden that bike (with Shimano 600) for over 30 years and it rides almost as it did new. Not much has been changed on it except for a cassette (and chain) just recently. Wanted a wider gear range to cater to “mi old bones”. 😅 Cannondale has certainly come a long way since!

This is gonna be so much more expensive than just sending the customer a new, working frame. Congrats, Cannondale. You played yourself.

Damn… When I bought my Gravel frame 2 years ago I was not even thinking about stuff like this. Checked headset, was OK, not the best, bit of overspray, cleaned it, thankfully BB was BSA68 and perfect, brakemounts needed a bit of reaming, got them perfect and got it built, two years, almost 7000 km and it works perfectly. After looking all the Hambini, Mapdec and other videos on the appalling quality and tolerances, I now know, I basically won the lottery… 😂 My god, what have we come to…

I want this guy as my mechanic. Well done.

Really happy I came across your channel, always very informative and educational. I had a similar Cannondale in recently for a new build/PDI in my workplace that the customer bought online and ended up advising them to send it back as I had the same sort of problem with the brake mounts. No way to face them and definitely no way for pad/rotor alignment. 😊 Thank you for your videos and your contribution for better standards in the cycle industry!

You know what's amazing? The frame was sent in with a headset area that was askew. They happened to have one sitting around they say, and send it back at a price mind you, and it has the SAME ISSUE. Wouldn't they check it just for kicks, let alone how did it get through QC in the first place? I mean seriously that seems terrible.

This is just scary. What about the millions of riders that don't have access to good mechanics? This is way outside my meager abilities. Good work!

Thank you for bringing this up. I was about to buy Cannondale. I changed my mind.

First let me preface this by saying that my 2016 Cannondale Trigger Black Inc. is the best MTB I've ever ridden. The Lefty Supermax is beyond belief in it's slow speed plushness and nothing short of a FOX 40 is stronger. The frame is the highly regarded, at least by Cannondale, High modulus carbon fiber weave. I've personally experienced the rear triangle crack 3 times, twice in the rear seat stay, and once in the non-drive side chain stay. Cannondale did warranty the first breakage, but couldn't honor the second & third times because they didn't have any spare parts. They did offer me a discount on a new bike, but I just ended up reinforcing the entire rear triangle with uni-directional carbon, and now it's stronger than ever and I have not had any issues for a few years. I'm a big fan of Cannondale, but I'm afraid those days of innovation and product support are gone seeing as how it's been bought out....in other words, the party is over.

My 2019 Santa Cruz Chameleon had a defect in the lower headset bearing race (IS) where the headset would start to creak after a few weeks and then the lower bearing would become frozen into the frame requiring it to be punched out and destroyed. I never even called the online shop I bought it from (Colorado Cyclist) and instead used SC's warranty contact page and sent them a quick note of what was going on, a few pictures including the serial number on the BB, my receipt and a link to my private 60 second You Tube video showing the problem. I had a reply from Willy at SC the same day and by that night a brand new frame was on its way to me along with a call tag for UPS to pick my defective frame from my house once I had it boxed up... That's how you do a lifetime warranty, and proof sometimes you get what you pay for.

I had exactly the same problem with my headset this year. It was a Cannondale Supersix Evo from 2019. In my case, the area was already broken. I then got a new frameset from Cannondale Germany. Luckily, they even had the same paint job in stock. The new frameset wasn't quite perfect in that area either (small bumps around the cone) but it was stable. That was at the beginning of the year. so far all good. I also have pictures of the damaged frame and the replacement. If you would like pictures or more information, please get in touch. Greetings Felix

Great work! Can't wait to hear what Cannondale is going to say.

You seem like a mechanic I would trust! Going above and beyond for your customers 👏 👏

I had two carbon frame failures with my Creakendale. The first one they refused to warranty but offered a deal on a new frame they had lying around; after $1500, I had a bike I could ride. The second time, after spending money to have the bike disassembled and the frame sent for inspection, they refused to warranty or offer a replacement, so I ended up with a box full of components and a broken frame to hang on my wall. Neither failure was the result of my misuse. The warranty on their eggshell-like frames is worthless. The bike shop offered no support. I'd never buy again from Cannondale or that bike shop. I bought a Trek from a good shop and have been very happy.

I am extremely surprised by my Look 795 blade RS (previous '22 model). After a few months and a few thousands of kilometres since I've built it, I didn't noticed single tick or rub of the brake rotor.

Paul, just wanted to say you do awesome work in making informed commentary on the failings of design and QC from manufacturers, without all the histrionics, personal insults and name calling from some other channels. Keep up the great work!

I f*****g love how you won’t accept nonsense from large companies.

So he had to buy a new frame because they said he was responsible for the damage and they sent him his brand new frame with the same damage, plus a little extra problems? Wow!

Terrible customer service. Can't believe Cannondale were dumb enough to send out another frame with the same issue which they claimed to be caused by not fitting the headset correctly on the original. Clearly this is not the case at all. They cannot be trusted. In other news I see Giant UK are being sued for £200k after one of their 6 month old Propel bike forks snapped - initially they denied responsibility until the frame & fork were inspected then they admitted it was their fault - unfortunately this does not help the poor owner who suffered horrific injuries. Like Cannondale they initially denied it was their fault - seems to be a trend these days! Can't wait for the follow up video.

💯 customer is always right! It’s called delivering happiness at the end of the day. Good work.

Ouch! Thanks for posting this. Keep up the good work!

Cannondale sales in Scotland just dropped by half.

I bought an aluminum Cannondale Topstone this summer. I went over the thing bolt by bolt checking it. Even the BSA BB came apart to see if the threads were greased. The all carbon fork clamp bolts were spot on torqued. A subscriber to Hambini, I'm aware of Cannondale's reputation with some modlels terrible. Even aluminum frames can go very wrong. A nice robust, straight frame with odd but smooth welds is what I observe with this one. No oddball proprietary gizmos observed. I buy things with little expectation of warranty performance. Choose carefully and buy after close examination in person.

It's quite refreshing to see the truth! 👌🏼 Someone on the side of the customer and not the massive brands.

Thank you for your outlook and honesty with this. As a solo shop owner/ mechanic, customers are always backed at my small shop. Unitl proven otherwise of course.

Well done. Worrying i have just bought a Cannondale, so i will be interested to see their response to this. And as a business owner, both parties in this chain need to readdress their focus a little. Hopefully they see the light and this bloke get his bike back without all this sh*t..! Come on @cannondale sort it out!

Interested to see where this goes. I'm currently waiting to here back from Cannondale via the shop where I bought my System six in April. It started making a load knocking noise. It's been back 5 times prior to this time for this issue, which started on the 3rd ride. Cannondale have reviewed the videos that I took of the issue. Now just waiting.

30 years owning and riding ‘dales. In that time I’ve received good and bad service from Cannondale’s UK distributor and various LBS’s. My first warranty claim was against a CAD mtb frame-set. The drive stay snapped. Free, like for like replacement. My second claim was for an Fsi 29er. 500miles Cracks appeared by the seat post. Still within warranty but made to pay for a replacement frame at reduced price. Recently, I had to pay to replace the rear triangle on my Scalpel. Owning ‘dales is painful! Proprietary standards like AI offset don’t help. However, the most painful experience was with Sigma Sports in London. Top tier Cannondale dealer. I asked them to send my Ocho for servicing. Charged £80 for the privilege. Ocho came back with an issue. Gave it to the mechanic, who couldn’t fix it and said “You didn’t buy it from us so take it elsewhere.” Later, I took the Ocho back to Pedal-On in Taplow. No charge to send for service. Back within a week! Happy days.

Love it Paul.

Thanks for helping to make the cycling industry honest! I’ll remove C’dale from my new bike list. They should just do what BMC did for me back in 2014 (I think)…they didn’t have any of my then 5year old frameset anymore so they offered me the latest greatest flagship model frameset for $500usd as a good will gesture. That frameset at the time sold for almost $3000 retail. My old frameset (front mech mount had failed) was bought on sale for less than $500usd and was just iverv5years old, so out of warranty. Also, I had moved to norway by the time it failed. I felt valued and looked after. I felt excited even to get the opportunity to ride a top end bike, something which I had no chance of affording at the time.

Cannondale SuperX bottom bracket shell de-bonded. As I had changed the, terrible, Cannondale bb for a good one, it was obviously my fault and warranty refused. The shell had minimal adhesive on it, I don't know how it lasted as long as it did. I repaired it myself using a fantastic 3M product, and it's been good for the last three years. I would never buy another Cannondale. Just built up a Time ADHX, it's another world!

Last summer I bought a fezzari. They are based out of Utah. They’re customer service is top notch. I highly recommend them

I’ve never had trust in Cannondale. This confirms my thoughts on the company. Thanks for sharing.

You are 100% correct frames not fit for purpose leaving the factory with the prices being charged to day should be perfect if it was myself i would go to law and i would go all the way that frame is dangerous.

Well done Cannodale on a great quality product! 😂

Current Giant Defy owner here. I was looking for a Supersix Evo. Good thing I watched your video. Always happy to learn from you. I guess it’s time to wait for the new TCR then.

I had a a Pinarello frame issue… warranted professionally and without question by Pinarello via my LBS. Great experience.

Both a bicycle and motorcycle will send you 60km/hr down public roads. A compromised steering and braking component on a motorcycle would translate to complete stop ride and national recall through transport safety bureau --- yet because its a bicycle she'll be alright mate.

The 'don't buy a bike from' list grows...

You make me so glad I spent £25 on my '97 CAD2 Cannondale frame from the Bristol Bike Project jumble sale....AND IT WORKS PERFECTLY. Brilliant video!

This is your best video ever

Every manufacturer has problems (I mean everyone!), it's all about how you deal with it. I really would like to know how this case will be solved. (Good case to learn for any dealer and manufacturer out there).

That looks like a potential recall problem. They should be held responsible for that!

Super informative thanks for sharing!

Good to know that while products may be similar between companies, customer service may be vastly different. This is definitely something I will research when I buy a tri bike