Cracked Burner frame - third time's a charm?

[Octane]

Went for a ride with my 4-year old son to get breakfast today. Stood on the pedals and heard a significant "pop". Got home and noticed a significant through-crack on the rear triangle.

I bought the bike new from Turner less than two years ago. I warrantied the front triangle a year ago for a crack at the weld of the seat-tube and bottom bracket.

Then about 6 months ago I broke the "stub" off of the drive-side bottom linkage. (I don't have the newer "1-piece" linkage, which is another story). This was replaced with a used piece since there isn't new replacements available anymore.

Now, this crack in the rear triangle.

I'm a "big" guy, but I'm not an aggressive rider. Actually, I'm still running the ORIGINAL Hans Dampf tire on the REAR that came on the bike! The bike just hasn't been used/abused, and I've never had struggles like this with any bike/brand before.

I'm crushed. Disappointed. Angry. Frustrated. I'll submit yet another warranty claim tomorrow, but I've never experienced repeated failures of DIFFERENT parts before from one manufacturer.

(PS - The photos should be rotated clockwise 90*. It is the vertical connector on the drive side rear triangle.)

[renoirbud]

I feel your pain.

Being without a bike sucks.

It sounds like your frame was not stress-relieved or heat treated properly after it was welded.

I am sure that Turner will take care of you.

I have been on an RFX for almost a year now and have not been able to hurt it.

[GregorFuk]

Is that one of the original polished frames? I had one and it cracked at the head tube after around 9 months. I had it replaced with an anodised black frame and so far so good. Someone else posted on here about their Burner cracking and it was one of the polished frames too. I wonder if there is something about the early polished frames that makes them susceptible to cracking?

BTW, my riding buddy is on his second RFX 4.0 frame and not for no reason. Carbon is not the be all and end all.

[renoirbud]

BTW, my riding buddy is on his second RFX 4.0 frame and not for no reason.

Sorry, English is not my native language. What does 'and not for no reason.' mean?

More details?

[etacata]

I heard they are replacing broken burner frames with rfx's. should be a good thing for you. let us know how it goes.

[ajax247]

Sorry, English is not my native language. What does 'and not for no reason.' mean?

Pas sans raison.

Sounds like he's hard on them!

[Scottay5150]

Pas sans raison.

Sounds like he's hard on them!

Agreed.

Sent from the UnderWorld via Nexus 6P 😜

[GregorFuk]

Pas sans raison.

Sounds like he's hard on them!

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

[Scottay5150]

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

LOL.

Sent from the UnderWorld via Nexus 6P 😜

[Octane]

I heard they are replacing broken burner frames with rfx's. should be a good thing for you. let us know how it goes.

UPDATE: Turner quickly sent out a replacement rear-end and I received it Friday (less than a week turn-around!). No RFX upgrade.

The rear-end was similar and was lightly used. Turner included a One-Piece DW-link suspension upgrade with all the hardware.

The replacement parts and shipping were all complementary under warranty.

I installed the rear end over the weekend. A few things to note:

- My lower frame through-bushing on the 2-piece links was binding in the bore. When i removed it, I noticed it was VERY slightly bent. I have a feeling that this occurred when the old lower link broke a few months ago (Warranty#2). The updated one-piece DW-link through bushing replaced this and works much better.
-I removed, disassembled and cleaned all of the pivots/bushings before reinstall. This is the third time I've done this in less than 2 years. No major dirt, scoring, or contamination. I keep the pivots properly lubed.
-I removed, disassembled the upper shock eyelet bushing. I had not done this before and noticed it was really dry. This now pivots much easier than before.
-The rear suspension now moves much easier with less stiction then ever before. Several factors can account for this.
-The rear triangle seems to have less twist/torsion. Not sure if this is just my hopeful imagination, or if the new triangle/ one-piece linkage has anything to do with this.

OVERALL: Turner quickly replaced the rear-end of the frame, included a complementary upgraded one-piece DW-link, and my bike is back in action.

Planning on spending a few days up in the Downieville-Quincy area this weekend to enjoy it!