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Kik is cracked

3K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  hallin222 
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#1 ·
I cracked my 2004 Kikapu today. I am not sure how I managed to do it, I don't jump, I don't drop, and I dont freeride on it. Seriously the bike has left the ground so few times it's rediculous. I was grabbing it from my rack after a ride today and I noticed a crack on the top tube near the seat tube. The crack goes about half way around the seat tube. I am pissed because I have no idea how this happened. I have crashed the bike a few times but nothing more than washouts or a few endos.

I have contacted the shop I bought it from via email about an hour ago. Is there anything else I need to do to start the warranty process?
 
#2 ·
Just contact your LBS.

Caseyls said:
I cracked my 2004 Kikapu today. I am not sure how I managed to do it, I don't jump, I don't drop, and I dont freeride on it. Seriously the bike has left the ground so few times it's rediculous. I was grabbing it from my rack after a ride today and I noticed a crack on the top tube near the seat tube. The crack goes about half way around the seat tube. I am pissed because I have no idea how this happened. I have crashed the bike a few times but nothing more than washouts or a few endos.

I have contacted the shop I bought it from via email about an hour ago. Is there anything else I need to do to start the warranty process?
I found a small crack on my 2004 Coiler about a month ago, my LBS contacted Kona distributors here in th UK and my frame was replaced within about a week, plus i got a new 2005 Coiler Primo farme in glorious yellow!
 
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#3 ·
Well they didnt take care of me as well they did you. I was given the choice of either a 04 King Kik or a 05 Kik. Problem is they were going to charge me 350 for the King but for the 05 I have to buy a new shock. Just doesnt seem like much of a warranty when you have still shell out around 200 bucks, I am sure they dont have a shock laying around they could throw in. :rolleyes:
 
#4 ·
Well i'm in the same situation as you, but even a little worse. My 04 Kikapu is cracking. I caught the craqck in really early and sent the frame to Kona. Well they got it, dye tested the frame and said it isnt cracking and sent it back. Well when I got it back I take a look at this dye and wash most of it off. Much to my suprise the dye has made the crack even more visible!!!!! WTF KONA?? So $50 shipping and 2 weeks later I get the same damn cracked frame back. Grrrrreeeat. I decided that it wasn't worth the effort to argue it and am still riding the frame waiting for it to snap. Then when it does finally break I'm going to have to shell out even more dough to either get a new shock or king frame. Awesome. In a few days I'm going to NC for the week to ride and such. We'll see if the frame lasts.

Now I work for a Trek/Fisher dealer and I can tell you that if this was one of those bikes I would have had a new frame a long time ago and wouldn't be worried about the stupid crack. I showed the frame to our head mechanic and he just laughed and said "How the hell could they not see that is a crack?" This just irritates me that it wasn't taken care of the first time.

I know Joe from Kona reads this forum too. This situation should be taken care of. I don't really think it's a good warranty if you have to shell out $300 just to make a warrantied frame work. I know Joe isn't part of the warranty department but still. I like the bike but this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth....

Sorry for the rant but come on.
 
#7 ·
Acme54321 said:
I have no idea what our Florida rep said. The guys at my LBS were kinda suprised they said it wasn't a crack too.

Sorry if I came off rude Joe. You have been nothing but excellent on this forum and in emails I have sent you.
You did not come off as rude. Yiou came off as frustrated. I'm not irritated with you whatsoever, i just want to get this resolved as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, i won't get any more information until Monday.

I'll keep you posted,
Joe.
 
#11 ·
That's not where mine is craking. Mine is on the seat tube just above the rocker arm pivots. The noticeable crack is mostly on the tube but goes right through the top of the weld. The other side seems to be cracking along the base of the weld aboive the pivot but it's harder to tell on tat one.
 
#13 ·
Acme54321 said:
Joe did you ever send this to the warranty department? I'd like to know what they thought about it?
I did, but you need to go through your shop and have them take care of it. The Dye testing thing still confuses me, they say they hardly do that anymore.
Please include a photo, and i will make sure they see it monday. I will also forward it to the florida sales rep.

Thanks,
Joe.
 
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#14 ·
I thought I would give an update... Kona really treated me nicely. They sent me an 04 King Kikapu frame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was kind of surprised and definately thankfull. It ended up saving me a lot of money that I can now put towards a singlespeed. I can't wait to do business with these guys again.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I finally got some decent pictures of the crack(s)

The first one is on the right side of the seat tube. You can see the dye that I could not get to wash off in the crack from the first time it was sent in.

Second picture is of the left side where it seems to be cracking as well. Notice the dye to the right of the weld in the crack but on the left where it isnt cracked the dye washed off. Also notice paint chipping in that one spot.

Last picture is a zoomed out shot of the crack.

Sorry for the dirt I just got back from NC :)

Thanks for your help Joe.

I'm emailling my LBS where I bought the bike. I wish I wasn't 150miles away from them (Or some other Kona dealer) for the summer or this would be alot easier.

Also is there anyone else I should contact about it other than you?I know you arent in the warranty department and dont want to waste your time.
 

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#18 ·
Sort of.

I got a call today that it is being replaced under warranty. The only options I have are going to cost me at least $250. I can get an 05 Kikapu, and buy a new shock. I can get an 04 Dawg, and pay a $350 upcharge + new derailleur and seatpost. They said there are no 2004 Kikapus left. I'd be happy with an 04 Dawg though, but if it is going to cost me $350 I'll just get an 05 Kikapu cause that would be cheaper. Now I gotta sit here and figure out what I want to do.
 
#19 ·
My buddies Kula cracked as well

We've just completed a 50 mile ride and my riding buddies Kula has cracked on the TT at the ST intersection. Some of the crack follows the weld, and the crack comes completely around the TT. The bike is around 18months old and has been used regularly. Is there a problem with the Kona alloy and welding making it too brittle? Anyone else have any problems?
 
#20 ·
I'm no metalurgist but here is a somewhat educated opinion....
Welding of any materials induces stress. Stress means the molecular structure of the materials are upset and not in their normal state. Of course this change in the properties of the material in a localized zone can be detrimental to the strength of the material and resulting joint. We combat this through a heat treating process generally referred to as "stress relieving". This allows the molecules to re-organize themselves into the proper pre-stressed structure (pattern) hence making the zone as strong as possible. I am wondering if there is a failure of some sort either in the welding process or the ensuing heat treat process. Having dealt with many weldments in my carrer I've seen all sorts of failures. It could even boil down to a raw materials issue. Bottom line is Kona is doing the right thing by replacing these frames and we must trust they are investigating the failures and determining root cause with their frame manufacturer.
 
#21 ·
Yep...That was me

Strong Ti said:
We've just completed a 50 mile ride and my riding buddies Kula has cracked on the TT at the ST intersection. Some of the crack follows the weld, and the crack comes completely around the TT. The bike is around 18months old and has been used regularly. Is there a problem with the Kona alloy and welding making it too brittle? Anyone else have any problems?
..Yes that was my 2004 Kona Kula....I've sent some photos to Kona in an email, hopefully they can help out as the dealer here in New Zealand said I had to send the whole bike to them......and given all the extra bits I've put on my bike (Salsa seatpost, better discs, tyres, handlebars etc) I was not keen on sending the whole bike back to them.......all I'm after is a replacement frame from Kona......hopefully the photos I've sent to them (along with the serial numbers) should be enough.....
Cheers....Kiwiboy
 
#23 · (Edited)
Very old thread, I know.

I just noticed that my 2005 Kikapu frame (just like Acme54321's replacement) is showing the beginning of twin cracks exactly where his original 2004 started to let loose (scroll up for photos. Mine didn't come out well).

My LBS is aware of this and plans to get me taken care of this week. Hopefully the Kona facotry guys will help him do so. I'll keep you all posted.
 
#24 ·
UPDATE: although my frame was delayed in shipping (shipping company's fault) it finally made it to Kona on 12/10/07 and per the owner of my LBS, Ed is sending me a 20" 2007 King Kikapu frame to replace my cracking 2005 Kikapu. Thumbs up, Kona! I half expected a small battle, but it looks like I'll be back on the trails again soon.


I don't have a delivery date yet, nor do I know if it has even shipped yet. I'll try to post up some pics when it's back together again, and maybe some of the small cracks on the old frame too.

I was hoping to maybe up-size to a 22" frame, but Ed hooked me up with what he had available (20"), and it's appreciated. Only drawback is now my wife and I will look a little geeky on our now near-matching bikes. The paint schemes are nearly identical. Neither are stock anymore, but here are the stock photos for comparison:

Her 2006 Kikapu Deluxe


My new 2007 King Kikapu frame
 
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