So today I was going to enjoy autumn's last hurrah on my Langster. The weather is gorgeous, and perfect for a nice fixed ride. I'm giving the bike a quick once-over and see a 1 cm crack in my headtube. Not happy. The bike's only a little over a year old, and I'm pretty religious about maintenance, so who knows when/how this happened.

I take it to my new LBS. My old LBS is about 320 miles away in Pittsburgh, and where I originally purchased the Langster. The new LBS owner immediately calls his Specialized rep, rep gets a few vital bits of info from the LBS owner, frame and me. LBS owner hangs up the phone and lets me know that Specialized is sending me a new frame today, and will arrive next week. No charges for shipping or any of that garbage. Quick and easy, about 5 minutes on the phone. That, my friends, is what creates loyalty and keeps customers happy.

I guess the moral of the story is make sure you send your warranty card in. I never do, but this time I did, and it's paying off. I shudder to think what would have been had I not been the original owner of the bike. Probably would be S.O.L. because a new frame purchase just isn't in the cards for me right now.

I've bought minor items from Specialized and had excellent customer service each and every time. I don't have an LBS with Specialized products, and like their computers, bottle cages and other accessories. One time I bought a seat, realized after two rides that it was too bulky for me ( I think it was a Milano). Sent it back, with the return slip, got credited with no problwms.

Stuff always ships quickly too.

Two thumbs up.

It's always refreshing to hear of a GOOD experience with a customer service department!

I'll keep this in mind next time I'm comparing products from different cycling companies.

So after only a few days the Langster gets to the LBS on Friday. LBS owner calls me to let me know that Specialized sent him a whole bike with the intention of a bike-bike swap. Well, I already stripped the frame bare, and I don't have many of the original Specialized parts (got major upgraditis).

Ended up rebuilding what I had and took it in for the LBS to pick and choose from the new bike as far as newer equipment. Long story short, although it was a pain, I did get a new wheelset out of it. I was a little apprehensive about getting the new frame because I really don't like the graphics on the new Langster frame. Much to my delight, the new frame came with the old charcoal grey paint and white lettering, none of that tribal/urban graphics crap that's on the new one.

So now I have a new Langster, again. The other benefit is I'm establishing a great relationship with a new LBS.

Brooks K.

I will second you on the great customer service from Specialized. When I had a bike destroyed in a freak highway accident in '03, they really came through for me. They could have just said, "Too bad for you" and I would have had to pay full retail for a new bike. But instead they hooked me up with a crash replacement frame. Even let me choose between the same frame that I had (Allez Sport) or upgrading to the previous years Allez Pro for about $50.00 more. That was a no brainer!

When I ran that bike into the garage a few months ago, that experience was a a big factor in my decision making process. My LBS and Specialized worked together to get me into a new Tarmac Sport.

I only wish I could ride it right now. It's too darn cold here in ND for riding.

About a week ago, the chainstay on my 6 year old Allez pro frame cracked in half. I stopped by the LBS to see if anything could be done, was not really expecting anything at all. Well, no questions asked, Specialized replaced the frame with a brand-new 2005 Allez Pro frame and fork. Class act all the way.

On the other hand, in July I had a 6 month old Cannondale frame develop a crack out of a 1/4 inch diameter (small) dent on the top tube. Cdale wanted something like 6 or 800 bucks for a new frame under their "crash replacement" program. KMA, man. I chose to strip teh frame and save the parts for a rainy day and ride my 6-year old Specialized, which cracked last week, you know the story.

So, end result is this... I will ride Specialized bikes from now on, period, or any other manufacturer with a good product who stands by their products like Specialized does. Cdale, never again. Never, ever.

Made me think, though. I mean, did I really expect Specialized to replace a 6 year old frame with something like 10,000 miles on it? No, not at all. I can honestly say that I was not expecting them to do anything, and was ok with that given the age of the fram, I guess, but I am extremely thankful that Specialized did replace it, cause I am short on cash and would not have been able to get a new rig until the spring.

About a week ago, the chainstay on my 6 year old Allez pro frame cracked in half. I stopped by the LBS to see if anything could be done, was not really expecting anything at all. Well, no questions asked, Specialized replaced the frame with a brand-new 2005 Allez Pro frame and fork. Class act all the way.

On the other hand, in July I had a 6 month old Cannondale frame develop a crack out of a 1/4 inch diameter (small) dent on the top tube. Cdale wanted something like 6 or 800 bucks for a new frame under their "crash replacement" program. KMA, man. I chose to strip teh frame and save the parts for a rainy day and ride my 6-year old Specialized, which cracked last week, you know the story.

So, end result is this... I will ride Specialized bikes from now on, period, or any other manufacturer with a good product who stands by their products like Specialized does. Cdale, never again. Never, ever.

Made me think, though. I mean, did I really expect Specialized to replace a 6 year old frame with something like 10,000 miles on it? No, not at all. I can honestly say that I was not expecting them to do anything, and was ok with that given the age of the fram, I guess, but I am extremely thankful that Specialized did replace it, cause I am short on cash and would not have been able to get a new rig until the spring.

Specialized got you a new product because it was their fault that their frame failed. Not yours. This is good, and really, should be expected from most reputable bike companies. But you're mad at Cannondale for not giving you a new frame when you were responsible for the crack? They were going to give you crash replacement, which is still a pretty good deal, and that's all that you should have gotten out of it after you dented the tubing on the bike and caused the crack to form. The workmanship in that bike was not the reason for the crack, whereas in the Specialized, it was. In my experiences, Cannondale will stand by their products as long as it was their fault. You can't possibly expect a company to replace something for free if you were at fault, which was the case with your c-dale, unless it came dented, and in that case, you shouldn't have bought it in the first place. Please, correct me if I'm wrong here.

Thumbs up to Specialized though. In the past, they have run a deal on their tires, and I think that they still do, that if you ride them, and are unsatisfied, return them, and get a new pair for free, no questions. Don't know if they're still doing it. Specialized is a good company, with great products. Simyard has done well out there in Morgan Hill.

So I call Specailized's customer service about a set of MTB wheels I bought off this dude for my Trek. He gave it to me with no axle / scewer, thing... And there-in lyes the rub... I'm like,,, Ummm, I have this Specalized Stout hub, and it looks like it takes an axle and scewer in one device? The guy on the other end says yes, it's called a scraxle, We feel it's stronger than the axle and scewer asybley,,, you need one?
He takes my name and number, and ships it imidiately, free of charge.
He didn't ask, or seem to care weather or not I was the origonal owner, or what had happend to the old one.
Oh yea,,, my latest bike puchase, a Specailized Allez...