I’ve seen my first frame failure which was undoubtedly caused by a SRAM Full Mount rear derailleur. Or, more accurately, it was undoubtedly caused by a rider creating contact between an immovable trail feature and a part of their T-Type (Transmission) rear derailleur, which clearly was not the derailleur cage, with an amount of force that required something to fail.
I’m purposely not mentioning the brand. In this case, the rear triangle was covered quickly under warranty but I would hate to commit them (or any brand) to that in the future because I definitely don’t see how this situation could be considered a defect in manufacturing or materials. I have worked on tons of bikes from the same brand and while I have replaced plenty of smashed-to-shit rear derailleurs and some beyond-bent UDH hangers, I have never seen or heard of one of their frames failing in this way.
But the real issue here, which yes, bike companies are absolutely taking on themselves by choosing to spec Transmission drivetrains, is the potential shift in financial responsibility when something inevitably breaks (that’s mountain biking). Even if there is only one frame failure for every ten, twenty-five, or even fifty-plus (I mean, it’s too soon for anyone to say) wildly warped derailleur hangers or smashinated rear derailleurs, if the broken frame or frame member is going to be replaced on the manufacturer’s dime we’re talking about potentially many thousands of dollars in parts and shipping.
More simply, I’ve never seen a damaged hanger or pre-AXS rear derailleur covered under any sort of warranty. The guaranteed lifespan of those obvious points of trail contact is thirty feet or thirty seconds at best. The hitter’s the remitter. You smash it, your cash hit. You bent it, you spent it. Grab the thrill, get the kill, know the drill, and pay that bill. You case it, you replace it.
{Drewitors note: Hit me up if a good rhyme comes to mind and I’ll add it.}
This used to be the universally accepted norm. I was chatting with my friend BEE about what he classically calls “$100 Rides” when we were pedaling a few weeks ago. Reinforcing that once fully accepted inevitability of breaking derailleurs on any given ride when everyone was slipping their rear wheel off of skinnies or crunching into janky sections of trail. Many folks I knew kept a spare derailleur on hand at home and it was common to have a spare hanger attached to your frame or in your pack. Part of a rider’s yearly budget accounted for the inevitable “$100 Rides” after run-biking out of the woods.
Broken derailleurs, and to a lesser extent broken brake levers, and then also broken everything else, were an accepted cost of mountain biking. But as the cost of these items at the premium end of the market has increased so have riders’ expectations of a buy-once, cry-once experience. I would think that those who can afford to buy luxury goods to shatter off-road would also be able to afford to replace them, but the number of times I’ve heard “It’s a THOUSAND DOLLAR derailleur!” as justification for demanding a free replacement for some serially smashed up AXS-action is depressive.
And if direct-mount-rear-derailleur-related frame failures are the exciting new frontier in the amorphous warranty, crash-replacement, or pay-to-play grey zone wait until you get to deal with a few of the teary-eyed-terrible-T-Type-‘tragedies‘ themselves.
Smashed rear derailleur cage? That’s on you starting with the tune of CA$42 if you’re just grabbing the cage and pulley kit or CA$186+ if you’re planning the tool-free quick swap with the damper (clutch) included. Fair enough. Break it, buy it.
Battery interface issues causing unreliable power delivery to the shifting system? Original owners get a brand new derailleur, including the cage & clutch, of the same or higher level. Current inventory levels have had more than a few riders I know seeing their GX T-Type rear mech morph into an XO (nice!). Wait, you power-washed the shit into your bike such that it’s no surprise that the battery/derailleur electronic interface isn’t working? Doesn’t matter.
{Drewitors note: Water-boarding your bike, and other maintenance torture techniques, doesn’t come up for eeb motor warranty considerations either.}
But what if there are battery issues on a derailleur that has also clearly been used to stop one’s bike a few times? I have not seen, or heard of, a refusal yet, but as with frames getting dominantly ground-grappled by their rear derailleurs there simply has to be some situation where the combination of smash-crash-bash results in an N+O on the freebie front? Even if there’s also a battery interface issue? Right?
I don’t know where the yes/no line, dotted or otherwise, will eventually settle but I do know that, regardless of how you feel about b-tension and limit screws, T-Type has already changed the culture around rear derailleurs in a significant way. I mean, besides the fact we didn’t use to intentionally stand on them.
I know a couple of folks who’ve been mountain bicycling since the days of $100 rides who have asked about warranty replacement derailleurs because they have bent their rear derailleur cages smashing them off rocks and considered paying to play more of a grifting for their shifting. And if they don’t get it, anymore, there’s not much hope for newer riders?
Anywho, say it with me now: “This is a derailleur warranty, right!?”
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