[liltommy]

I was going to take my paragon in and let the rep look at the peeling paint and see if they would repaint it under warranty. Well on a ride today and my seat felt like it was spinning a little. I thought the seatpost collar had worked loose.
The tube that the seat post goes down into had broken off from the rest of the frame.
WTF. I hadn't evan wrecked and there was no sign of exterior damage.

Its not a year old yet so I'm expecting to get it replaced under warranty.

Anyone have experince with getting a replacement frame from fisher and any idea on the type of wait I'm looking at.

Do the Paragon, xcal, rig, and the new one all have the same frame? Just different components?

seeya
tommy

 

[Chequama Mama]

The current Fisher 29ers are all basically the same frame. (cobia might be "gold" instead of "platinum" level)

I work for a Fisher/Trek dealer, and they have done a great job on warranty turn around. (your experience may vary, based on lots of variables) 29ers may be harder to come by,

YO MAMA

 

[goneskiian]

Bummer.

Hope they turn it around quickly for you.

Would you have any pics? Did the post extend below the TT/ST/SS junction when it broke? I guess it must have otherwise it would have fallen to the ground but I thought I'd ask.

Cheers!
-Ian

 

[shiggy]

And the Rig is different. EBB and no derailleur hanger.

 

[Potential Roadkill]

That seems like it would be the weak link in the frame

I've noticed my seat tube flexing when riding. It has always concerned me with that frame. At 200 lbs riding a 17.5 paragon I've got a fair amount of seatpost sticking out, but plenty of post in the tube. Still, now that I've built up my Sutra as a 29er SS I'm thinking that frame/bike is getting handed down to my buck 35 wife, seems like it was made for lighter riders.

 

[shark67]

GF warranty frame

Early this spring I noticed I had some flaky paint around the joint where my ST went into the bb and noticed some creaking as well. I had the LBS take a look at it and they were pretty sure it was cracked.

I took some very high quality hi-rez photos of the crack and the LBS emailed them to their rep.

It took about a week for them to get back to me that GF was going to warranty it after they got the photos. It took about a month to actually get the new frame as there weren't any xl 29er frames in stock (this is nothing new). I had to hound my LBS quite a bit, but mostly just because I know they are busy and I didn't want them to forget.(Initially there was 1 xl warranty frame in stock and he said to himself, I need to take care of this customer real quick and then I will take care of this warranty issue" he was busy all afternoon and the next morning when he got back to it the xl was gone--otherwise I would have had the new frame in a week {so 2 weeks total})

the one thing that I did happen was this, I had an 03 MtTam frame. I received either a '04 frame or a 05 Montare frame painted like a 05 paragon. so no external butting, no extra seattube,no higher bb.

here is the thread with a picture of the crack

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=90117

here is a picture of the 2 frames together

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=102461

good luck

--btw--overall I was pleased with the service that I received from both Gary Fisher and the BikeLine in Carmel, Indiana. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that this post wasn't about complaining, but I wanted the above poster to know what sort of service he might be able to expect from Fisher--First Rate!

 

[liltommy]

thats it exactly

Early this spring I noticed I had some flaky paint around the joint where my ST went into the bb and noticed some creaking as well. I had the LBS take a look at it and they were pretty sure it was cracked.

I took some very high quality hi-rez photos of the crack and the LBS emailed them to their rep.

It took about a week for them to get back to me that GF was going to warranty it after they got the photos. It took about a month to actually get the new frame as there weren't any xl 29er frames in stock (this is nothing new). I had to hound my LBS quite a bit, but mostly just because I know they are busy and I didn't want them to forget.(Initially there was 1 xl warranty frame in stock and he said to himself, I need to take care of this customer real quick and then I will take care of this warranty issue" he was busy all afternoon and the next morning when he got back to it the xl was gone--otherwise I would have had the new frame in a week {so 2 weeks total})

the one thing that I did happen was this, I had an 03 MtTam frame. I received either a '04 frame or a 05 Montare frame painted like a 05 paragon. so no external butting, no extra seattube,no higher bb.

here is the thread with a picture of the crack

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=90117

here is a picture of the 2 frames together

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=102461

good luck

--btw--overall I was pleased with the service that I received from both Gary Fisher and the BikeLine in Carmel, Indiana. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that this post wasn't about complaining, but I wanted the above poster to know what sort of service he might be able to expect from Fisher--First Rate!

Luckily the seatpost went into rest of the frame a good 3-5 inches so it just sort of wiggled around a little on me. I'll try to get some picts up.
I'm surprised that this seems to be a more problem area. I'm no engineer, but that would have been one of the last joints I worried about cracking especially with the amount of post that continued into the frame.

I know I should pay better attention to the joints.
For reference, its a 21" frame, I'm 6'3", 240#. But really don't ride it all that hard.

I'll let yall know how the replacement goes.

 

[Captain Kana]

I broke my '02 Mt Tam. It took about a little over a month for the new frame. The place I had purchased from had gone bankrupt. A small local shop took care of me.

Dan C.

 

[Deep Fried Ride]

Same failure with a Rig

I had the same failure with an '05 GF Rig. Even though the seatpost extended into the seat tube below the top tube junction; the internal butting of the seat tube means that the seatpost isn't held very snugly below the top tube. My LBS was able to get me a warranty frame in about a week and a half.

 

[liltommy]

Update and pict

First , forgive the quality of the pict. The only digital camera I have at my disposal at the moment is a camera phone. Took it to the LBS. The factory said it would be January until they could get me a replacement frame. The mechanic is going to get hold of their rep and see if he can do any better.

What I learned. This is a common failure and is going to be addressed in future designs, but the mechanic informed me the replacement frame will probly also fail on me in the future. I guess until the design is fixed , they'll keep replacing it under warranty unless I can lose some weight and no longer be considered a clyde, yeah, thats gonna happen.

seeya

 

[29inch]

more cracked 2005 + Fisher HT photo's

here's one I cracked.

I've got buddies who have cracked there's multiple times. 30 minute ride until failure on last warrenty frame by a buddy.

 

[Potential Roadkill]

Hmm I see a flaw in my logic

I've been riding my Sutra to save the Paragon for the wife, I need to start riding the Paragon, break it and use that as justification to get a nice high zoot steel frame.. Sorry about the breakage dude, that pretty much s*&ks

 

[Cloxxki]

Oh wow, that sucks.
I always get a little scared when I see such long seat tube extensions, especially on relatively low frames.
I have an XL Paragon frame I'm building up, I guess I'll best use the longest seatpost I have in it. Hmmm, that'd be my proky 450mm Thudbuster. Second is a an old Syncros Hardcore 425mm, third a U.S.E. 420mm that needs a new clamp, fourth only one of my Thomsons 410mm.
Good thing I'll be using longer (185mm) cranks, allows me to lower the seat some more for peace of mind.

 

[Potential Roadkill]

Got to wonder

Have to wonder how many people have had this same problem. Nothing but rave reviews for the Paragon in the review section of MTBR. Frankly I've seen some flexing in the seatpost extension while peddling seated on mine, and had some serious creaking issues (fixed that with an over greased seatpost and some torque). I do find that the section where the seatpost extends from the frame seems to move less when you use a stiff long seatpost. Something to think about, I noticed when I run my Thudbuster it seems to flex more than when I run a 430mm Ritchey Logic Comp. I'm thinking if it causes less flex in the frame then there will be less likelyhood of frame breakage. Hope my logic works.

 

[Cloxxki]

Visual flex. Wow.
This is probably one reason the 2005+ generation Fishers are reported to be so much more comfortable. And the Rig I rode (with Moots seatpost) was indeed very soft. For anyone less that featherweight, a long insertion makes sense to me though.

 

[Potential Roadkill]

I'm a clyde but found it a bit disconcerting

Visual flex. Wow.
This is probably one reason the 2005+ generation Fishers are reported to be so much more comfortable. And the Rig I rode (with Moots seatpost) was indeed very soft. For anyone less that featherweight, a long insertion makes sense to me though.

I'm 5'10 and weigh about 200 but yeah it was odd to see a part of a rigid aluminum frame flex for sure. Prior to the fisher my only experience with Alu was a C-dale, which has its picture next to stiff in the dictionary. I figure you can't go wrong with a longish post, especially with that much of it sticking out. Still I've got insertion well below the seatstay so I figure I'm fairly safe, if it ever does break at least I won't find myself getting a seattube enima. Overall it's hard not to dig the frame, I just wish I'd gone with a Rig.

 

[Cloxxki]

Don't regret. Try a Ghost ring setup and end up with a half pound lighter singlespeed setup that could ever be achieved with the Rig's EBB.

 

[Missle]

fingers crossed

Don't regret. Try a Ghost ring setup and end up with a half pound lighter singlespeed setup that could ever be achieved with the Rig's EBB.

I just bought a used paragon (which is actually new) so I'm hoping not to see any of this! I'm a chic so at least I'm not weighing in near the 160s. Anyways, I bought this 'cuz of the KM situation and now (just now) I find they're avail! Oh well timing is everything. I am super stoked to ride this paragon!

My better half has been on an x-cal for about 2 years as a commuter (rain, snow, road juice) and he has had no probs thus far!

 

[dfcas]

suspension seatpost?

I wonder if a sus post would help soften the stresses on the seattube extension?I hope they don't end up with a strut like the 06 Dos Niner has.I find it kinda homely.

I'd like to see a redesign that goes inbetween where they are and where they were-65-68mm drop,less tt slope.

dan

 

[liltommy]

I was running a thudbuster.

I wonder if a sus post would help soften the stresses on the seattube extension?I hope they don't end up with a strut like the 06 Dos Niner has.I find it kinda homely.

I'd like to see a redesign that goes inbetween where they are and where they were-65-68mm drop,less tt slope.

dan

Keep in mind I do weigh in buff at 240#. I wonder if its just a clyde thing.
As of last report, the factory won't be able to get me a replacement frame until January.
That sucks.
Looks like I'll be back on 26" wheels until then.
I hope I remember how to ride them.

Tommy