BH Warranty?

[e-ocean]

Hi All,
I have a BH Atom X Pro RC that has a cracked frame. Has anyone had any luck with frame warranty since BH left the U.S.? I have been contacting dealers around me (Nor CA) that are on the lists circulating in this forum. So far the word is I am out of luck since BH U.S. does not exist. I have not ridden my bike very hard and it only has 350 miles on it. So seems a real shame. LBS says to part it out including the battery and trash the frame...I see some folks looking for Atom X batteries, so may be the way I go. Any tips on saving the bike appreciated.

 

[J.R.]

Hi All,
I have a BH Atom X Pro RC that has a cracked frame. Has anyone had any luck with frame warranty since BH left the U.S.? I have been contacting dealers around me (Nor CA) that are on the lists circulating in this forum. So far the word is I am out of luck since BH U.S. does not exist. I have not ridden my bike very hard and it only has 350 miles on it. So seems a real shame. LBS says to part it out including the battery and trash the frame...I see some folks looking for Atom X batteries, so may be the way I go. Any tips on saving the bike appreciated.

I spoke to a former BH USA executive when they closed down bike operations in the US. He said at the time he expected they will be back, unfortunately for us that hasn't happened yet. BH is still a licensed corporation in the US and they still sell fitness equipment.

BH Fitness

BH Fitness manufactures and distributes treadmills, ellipticals, upright bicycles, recumbent bicycles, indoor training cycles, whole body vibration platforms and strength equipment.

www.bhfitnessusa.com

I don't know how they can "legally" not support warranties for a proven failure. That would be for an attorney to explain. Might be expensive to fight.

 

[JRA]

A frame builder that does aluminum frames can fix that as well as re-heat treat it.

Wouldn't hurt to plead your case to BH in Spain though first.

 

[e-ocean]

An update for those curious. I was able to submit a claim for my cracked frame to BH using one of the dealers here in California. I received an email 3 days later from BH stating my claim was rejected because the frame is out of warranty despite that I have an email from 2019 from BH with all the registration info. Seems really shady of BH but I seem to be SOL unless I want to hire a lawyer which I am sure could solve this pretty quick given I have all the documentation.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I think the usual BH warranty was two years, and then the US distributor offered and additional 3 years. Thus BH is saying you are out of our warranty, and since the US distributor is kaput, you are indeed SOL. As are we all.

 

[e-ocean]

My understanding is the motor comes with 2 years when purchased, and if you register its 5 years. The frame is a lifetime warranty once registered. The letter they sent me stated the lifetime warranty was not activated. It was activated, just here in the U.S. not in Europe.

 

[J.R.]

My understanding is the motor comes with 2 years when purchased, and if you register its 5 years. The frame is a lifetime warranty once registered. The letter they sent me stated the lifetime warranty was not activated. It was activated, just here in the U.S. not in Europe.

That was my understanding as well. I think I would take it to a TIG welder and have it repaired. I know a few welders that would do it for me, but I can understand many might not have access or knowledge on what to look for in a shop. There are bike frame specialists, I don't have that service available to me out in the countryside, but we do have good welders that I know. A MIG welder can weld aluminum, I own a MIG and they aren't ideal for the thin walled aluminum bikes are made from, they also aren't really clean enough for the strong weld needed. Bike frames are most often hydroformed and the wall thickness varies from thin to thick on the same tube. Tricky to weld correctly. If you look around for a shop that does TIG, I'm sure you could get it repaired.

 

[e-ocean]

Thanks for that information. I will take a look around. I suspect there would be a market for such skills in my area.

 

[EMGX]

I hope you can find a good welder who can help you with that. The tube farther up from the seat stays also looks deformed, is it? I don't know if aluminum requires heat treating after TIG welding but I have MIG welded aluminum years ago on a hobby project. I thought it was tricky even with 1/8" stock and careful surface preparation, it would take a magician to MIG tubing as thin as your bike. After my MIG welding the aluminum surrounding the weld was noticeably weaker than pre-weld, I think I used 6000 series stock, not sure. If a welding shop can't help you might want to look into repair with carbon fiber cloth/epoxy. Easy availability, inexpensive, and others have done this with carbon, titanium and aluminum bike frames. Your cracks are in tough spots no matter what you try.

edit:
Just a thought. If you can't find a professional to help and if you are a DIY guy aluminum brazing rod might be something to look into. Heat is kept low so temper might not be affected, I've seen videos of aluminum beverage cans being brazed, could reinforce the repair with carbon fiber.

 

[EMGX]

Thanks for that information. I will take a look around. I suspect there would be a market for such skills in my area.

Any updates?

 

[e-ocean]

I found a metal shop that said they could tig weld the crack for me for $200. Just concerned not being a bike shop what kind of hack job I might end up with. I have also still not totally given it up with BH and have got a BH dealer involved to help argue my case. The LBS agree my warranty should be validated. Once I know BH is a dead end i will probably go spend the couple hundred $ on the weld. The saga continues....

 

[EMGX]

Hopefully BH will stand behind their warranty, I'd definitely exhaust that first.
I've had a local welder do some work on a couple occasions, high quality and reasonable prices. He also builds aluminum watercraft so I'd expect he would know how to deal with thin wall bike frame as well if I ever have the need.

 

[LimboJim]

My 2017 Raleigh Tokul iE's seat tube cracked (pic below) because they didn't make the gusset high enough to reach the top of the post on large-size frames - this happened with the seatpost at minimum insertion. When I bought the bike new, it came with a 5-year frame warranty. Because Raleigh Electric has also pulled out of the US market, I contacted their parent, Alta Cycles, who agreed to cover it and determined the replacement value at $600.

At first I was pissed: I'd never find a Bosch CX equipped ebike - especially in great condition like mine was - for anywhere that that price. But then I realized that I knew a fabulous fabricator/welder (my neighbor), and that expanding the gusset while fixing the break (2nd pic) would result in a sturdy frame that I could keep riding, even offroad. He didn't want my money but I told it was Raleigh's, so he accepted $150 (the job took about 2.5 hours).

The result isn't exactly pretty, but 200+ miles later it's holding up just fine. I hope you have similar or better results if you go this route...