Manufacurer Warranty on Bicycle Parts- JoeBlow Pro Pump

[Sandy]

Some years back, I bought two Topeak JoeBlow air pumps. One the JoeBlow Pro and one the JoeBlow Sport. I gave the Pro to my brother. I was always impressed with the Pro. I decided to get a new pump recently. I first bought a cheap model, but then decided to return it (just bought it) and get the much more expensive JoeBlow Pro model.

It works great and seems to be built very well. But I was very surprised to read the Manufacturer Warranty-

Limited Warrranty- 90 day Waranty-All mechanical components against manufacturer defects only.

The pump is only warrantied for 90 days, and only for mechanical components. That really seems to be a weak warranty, especially for Topeak's top of the line pump.

Is that type of warranty typical for pumps and other bike related items? What is your experience? Heck, if my wife sold me to some unlucky fool, she said she would warranty me for 120 days, and I am far from brand new!


Sandy

[Marcusaurelius]

Good pump, bad warranty. I have a Joe Blow but I wouldn't buy another if it came with a 90 day warranty.

[rePhil]

Sandy,
Being the devils advocate, what would make you happy? Year...lifetime?
Would you have been willing to pay more if it had a longer warranty?

[skijoring]

Lots of companies are great when you contact them about broken parts regardless of warranty: Park, PlanetBike, Ritchey, etc..

[jasond]

Sandy,
Being the devils advocate, what would make you happy? Year...lifetime?
Would you have been willing to pay more if it had a longer warranty?

My Blackburn Airtower 5 comes with a Lifetime warranty. Not saying Blackbrun is the best and I believe there are other companies that give lifetime warranties on their top of the line floor pumps

J

[false_Aest]

That warranty blows . . . . .

But then again I've had my Joe Blow for over 12 years and there's only been one problem with it. I called Topeak and they sent me out new parts free of charge.

I guess warranty is one thing and customer service is another.

T

[tv_vt]

Have one of those Joe Blow pumps. Had something break on it, years after I bought it. Emailed the company, they sent me a replacement part, free, no questions asked. I was impressed.

T

[cmg]

how difficult are parts to get for the pump? how many parts are there that could fail? usually it's just a rubber seal on a disk at the end of a shaft. probably easier to fix it on your own than to get the manufactuer to do it under warranty. take the pump apart to see how it's built, but that might violate the warranty.

[Ahneida Ride]

Sandy

I had a few problems with my Joe Blow. Top Peak fixed em outside
of warranty. Prompt courteous service. I'd purchase another Joe.

[Sandy]

Sandy,
Being the devils advocate, what would make you happy? Year...lifetime?
Would you have been willing to pay more if it had a longer warranty?

I simply thought that a bicycle pump would have a longer and more complete warranty. I would expect at least one year. When I bought the pump, I didn't realize what the warranty was. Even with the warranty that exists, I would have bought it, because of my experience with Topeak's JoeBlow Sport pump, the appearance of the pump, and how remarkably easy it was to use. However, there would not be too many items that I would purchase with parts that move, that only are warrantied for 90 days.

I certainly would never buy a frame or frameset that only had a 90 day warranty. I wouldn't buy one with a 1 year warranty either.


Sandy

[Keith A]

No comment on the warranty, but I will say that the Joe Blow pumps are some of the best ones out there. I have a Pro at home and a Sport at the office and they both have performed flawlessly for several years.

[bzbvh5]

I know of someone whos Joe Blow Pro leaks after years of use. He said there is a Rebuild Kit you can buy to fix that. I searched on the internet and saw one for $5.51 plus shipping. The MSRP was $9.99. I've had mine for several years and it works like a champ. I'll be buying the rebuild kit when the seals wear out.

[Volant]

Most warranties these days cover defects in materials or workmanship not from expected use/wear and tear. There is a trend, and I understand it from a manufacturer's perspective, to shorten warranty periods because the majority of defects in materials or workmanship will show up almost immediately. Beyond that, problems develop over time from use/abuse.

Most quality-manufacturers want to know about their defects ASAP. By shortening the warranty period, this entices consumers to point out their problems quicker. The mfgr. can then match that up with other complaints/problems and date codes and pin-point problems to runs or vendors and fix it ASAP. These same manufacturers typically go the extra-mile on customer service and fix problems long after the '90 days' because they want to retain their valuable customers AND, they want you to tell your buddies about the great service you received (= new sales).

If the history of the company shows that they stand behind their product regardless of what the stated warranty is, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the product. (Topeak and Cane Creek come to mind quickly)

The flip-side being those companies that want to control costs and shorten warranty periods as a cost-savings measure - knowing their products will fail and not doing anything to help the customer out when they have a problem. Like Sandy, I would stay away from them.

[jlwdm]

I bought the Serfas pump a number of years ago because of the lifetime warranty and it has been a great pump.

My understanding is that a lot of companies provide lifetime warranties on pumps now - also like many items these days a lot of brands are manufactured by the same company.

Jeff

[Ken Robb]

a complicating factor in providing warranty service on a floor pump is shipping. Warranty impies that you send them the pump and they fix it and return it to you. The hassle of packing and sending it would seem considerable to me relative to the value of the pump ATMO.

OTOH, the parts that usually wear out or fail are small and cheap to make and ship. I think that may be why you get a short warranty and an almost unlimited supply of free parts.

[xjoex]

Topeak is absolutely amazing when it comes to support. After 12 years the head on my topeak air hammer broke. I called up and they sent me a new one, no questions asked.

-Joe

[Keith A]

No comment on the warranty, but I will say that the Joe Blow pumps are some of the best ones out there. I have a Pro at home and a Sport at the office and they both have performed flawlessly for several years.I'm bringing this one up from the grave to comment on their customer service. The SmartHead on my Joe Blow Pro finally stopped sealing. Knowing this was way out of warranty, I called Topeak (actually Todson) and the guy was nice on the phone and told me how I could order a new SmartHead :)

[vqdriver]

yeah. i recently rebuilt mine with their seal kit. i've had it for years without issue and consider these rubber seals to be consumable.
aside from the warranty, what drives me nuts is when products change and the companies stop making parts for them. even with a three year warranty, i would have been outta luck if they didn't support it with replacements.

[John H.]

I used to use a Joe Blow Pro- I would buy them from REI because they always died on me.
That way I could return them for another unit.
But then REI changed their return policy.
I tried to return one and the guy accused me of using it for a touring business- he claimed that is the only way it could wear out or break.
Now I have moved to a Specialized floor pump. Works great, nothing special about it.

[Keith A]

I actually don't think the rebuild kit will solve the problem with this Smarthead. The problem seems to be more related to the clamping mechanism as I have a very difficult time getting the stem in the pump head and then it can't seem to clamp down on the stem. The clamp lever has no tension on it and moves freely when moving the lever up and only has some resistance at the end of the range of the lever.

[christian]

I have a broken Joe Blow Pro. Less than 5 years old. They were unhelpful and rude on the phone when I called them. I wouldn't use anothe rTopeak product if it were free.

Blackburn.

[tumbler]

I guess warranty is one thing and customer service is another.


+1. A warranty is only as good as the company offering it. If the company doesn't want to honor claims, they discourage them with mandatory registration cards, "normal use" clauses, high return shipping costs, etc. I've had my Joe Blow for probably 8 years and it works like a top. I've always heard good things about Topeak's service and wouldn't let the 90 day written warranty discourage you.

[bargainguy]

Two experiences with Topeak customer service. One good, the other not so much.

Had a Joe Blow that needed some new parts a few years ago. Parts were sent gratis after I described the symptoms. Good.

Had a Topeak LED headlight that attached to the handlebar with a rubber strap with holes that you hooked over a tab. First time I tried to attach it to the bar (26.0 bar, to be specific), it snapped in half. Emailed Topeak and asked for a replacement.

They said sure, and asked me for full price and shipping for the part. I used a zip tie instead of ordering from them a replacement for a part that broke the first time I used it. Not so good.

[Louis]

My Joe Blow has been giving me many, many years of faithful service. No issues at all, so I have no clue if their warranty or customer service any good - just haven't had a need to try them out.

[Nags&Ducs]

The JoeBlow Pro may be a good pump. I've never used that particular one. But I've had many a products from Topeak, and I have to rant that they are in general, mediocre products. Nothing lasts, or the quality of the mechanics/motion have never been any good to begin with. Every Topeak pump I've had (4 from as far back as I can recall) ranging from the the JB Floor pumps to road morphs have failed on me.

But to give kudos, they seem to have excellent customer service. I probably should have tried calling them for warranty even after the warranty period expired.

[oldpotatoe]

Some years back, I bought two Topeak JoeBlow air pumps. One the JoeBlow Pro and one the JoeBlow Sport. I gave the Pro to my brother. I was always impressed with the Pro. I decided to get a new pump recently. I first bought a cheap model, but then decided to return it (just bought it) and get the much more expensive JoeBlow Pro model.

It works great and seems to be built very well. But I was very surprised to read the Manufacturer Warranty-

Limited Warrranty- 90 day Waranty-All mechanical components against manufacturer defects only.

The pump is only warrantied for 90 days, and only for mechanical components. That really seems to be a weak warranty, especially for Topeak's top of the line pump.

Is that type of warranty typical for pumps and other bike related items? What is your experience? Heck, if my wife sold me to some unlucky fool, she said she would warranty me for 120 days, and I am far from brand new!


Sandy

Most are a year, Blackburn forever.

[Ken Robb]

The rubber washer on my Joe Blow got worn so the seal was not always perfect/secure. Three days after a phone call to Topeak I received a whole new double pump head. Two weeks later I also received a rebuild kit. My guess is they were temporarily out of the kits and didn't want a customer to wait for replacement parts. I wish all manufacturers were this good.