Record 12 / Cervelo Failure

[crossjunkee]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Big/big or in the granny gear?

Originally Posted by mcteague

Any CU photos of the rear mech so we can see where it broke? Any damage to the drive side spokes?

I was in 36 front, 32 rear (largest).

No damage to spokes.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by crossjunkee

Largest cog on the back, so 32. I think that was the first time I pedaled in the lowest gear for any length of time.

Also, did you shift and the derailleur got sucked in immediately, or were you in that gear for some time before the derailleur got sucked in? It sounds like the latter, but we'd probably want to clarify.

Very sorry to see this. I doubt this is going to be clearly attributable to shop error.

[crossjunkee]

Originally Posted by weiwentg

Also, did you shift and the derailleur got sucked in immediately, or were you in that gear for some time before the derailleur got sucked in? It sounds like the latter, but we'd probably want to clarify.

Very sorry to see this. I doubt this is going to be clearly attributable to shop error.

I was already settled in and spinning the climb, I'd say there hadn't been a shift for at least 4 miles. I was only going about 7.5 mph at the time.

[Hellgate]

Did you box the bike to travel to the event? If so, did you remove the derailleur from the hanger?

Even in hard case I've seen RDs get damaged if they are not removed prior to shipping/travel.

[crossjunkee]

Originally Posted by Hellgate

Did you box the bike to travel to the event? If so, did you remove the derailleur from the hanger?

Even in hard case I've seen RDs get damaged if they are not removed prior to shipping/travel.

Negative. Never even taken the rear wheel out. It was even stored inside. I babied this bike, loved it!

[weisan]

How was the bike transported to the event?

On a plane? In a bag?
On a car, bike rack?

Any chance that the bike sustained some kind of damage during transit?

Did you look at the chain? Anything amiss?

Direct some of your energy to doing some investigative work on the bike, come up with some plausible explanations...none of us here can do a better job than you can because you have the bike right in front of you.

[CSKeller]

Damn that sux!!
Sorry for your loss crossjunkie!!

Initial thoughts running through my head say it may have been the low limit adjustment not set right...maybe a slight bump on the road jarred the derailleur just enough so part of the cage could catch the edge of a spoke or maybe the chain pin wasn't put in fully and it eventually snagged the cage and then wrapped the derailleur.

I installed Record 12 on my ti bike. It wasn't difficult at all but I was pretty OCD about aligning the derailleur hanger, adjusting limit screws and pinning the chain correctly (I have a Park DAG tool and the Campy 11spd chain tool). I probably have near 1,200 miles on the gruppo and I love it!

Hope you can get some help getting this fixed. I would think Excel would work with you to get this fixed. If not, just go to Vecchio's in the future! great people, great shop and they know Campy!! (not that it is difficult but most other shops make it seem like alchemy and mysticism when working with Campy).

[crossjunkee]

Originally Posted by weisan

How was the bike transported to the event?

On a plane? In a bag?
On a car, bike rack?

Any chance that the bike sustained some kind of damage during transit?

Did you look at the chain? Anything amiss?

Direct some of your energy to doing some investigative work on the bike, come up with some plausible explanations...none of us here can do a better job than you can because you have the bike right in front of you.

Spot washed and lubed the chain the night before. I live in Denver so it was transported on my 1up rack to the event. The bike is at Excel, so I'm left pictures and a tear in my eye at this point.

Originally Posted by CSKeller

Damn that sux!!
Sorry for your loss crossjunkie!!

Initial thoughts running through my head say it may have been the low limit adjustment not set right...maybe a slight bump on the road jarred the derailleur just enough so part of the cage could catch the edge of a spoke or maybe the chain pin wasn't put in fully and it eventually snagged the cage and then wrapped the derailleur.

I installed Record 12 on my ti bike. It wasn't difficult at all but I was pretty OCD about aligning the derailleur hanger, adjusting limit screws and pinning the chain correctly (I have a Park DAG tool and the Campy 11spd chain tool). I probably have near 1,200 miles on the gruppo and I love it!

Hope you can get some help getting this fixed. I would think Excel would work with you to get this fixed. If not, just go to Vecchio's in the future! great people, great shop and they know Campy!! (not that it is difficult but most other shops make it seem like alchemy and mysticism when working with Campy).

I was loving it too right before this little hiccup! It's getting harder and harder to find shops that work with Campy. Schwab is usually my go to for Campy, and I know Vecchio's is good too. Never had a problem like this before with Campy 9, 10, or 11 speed groups. It's usually installed, tuned and forgotten until I need a chain replaced!

I stepped out of my comfort zone on this purchase, but Excel has a very good reputation. It's a warehouse store and kinda strange to shop there, but they sell highend gear.

[hoj]

One thing to maybe look into is the chain length, especially since you say you were in the largest cog in the back. How many links are there on your chain? If your LBS has the same bike in stock (or similar), count the chain links on that one to get a point of reference for the number of links that would be appropriate for your combo of frame size and cassette/chainring size. If you find that the chain that the bike shop installed on your bike was too short, I think that would be pretty solid evidence that it was a screw up by the bike shop mechanic when they originally built up the bike.

I actually had a similar thing happen to me a few years ago -- largest rear cog in back, too short of a chain, JRA and out of nowhere the rear derailleur was in the spokes and I came to a crashing halt. I think having too short of a chain causes the pulley wheels to be extended way out when you're in the largest cog in the back, leaving them susceptible to getting caught in the spokes.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by hoj

One thing to maybe look into is the chain length, especially since you say you were in the largest cog in the back...

I'd agree if the OP were in the big ring, but the OP did confirm that he was in the small ring:

Originally Posted by crossjunkee

I was in 36 front, 32 rear (largest).

No damage to spokes.

[Calnago]

I’m not usually on this forum, but I do loves me Campy. Read the entire thing for completeness. If it really didn’t get wrapped up in the spokes, then perhaps the rear derailleur just failed. Campy would want to know about this for sure and regardless you should report this to the folks (Dan Large) at Campy North America. However, I haven’t heard of any other failures like this so far.
I would normally say it was a setup issue somewhere. Also, Cervelo hangers are not exactly known for being made of the hardest cheese, and I’ve wondered before how much, if any, added stress that extra link between the normal hanger and the actual derailleur places on the hanger. This applies to both the new Campy 12sp mechanical, and the newest Shimano derailleurs as well with the b-link.
The only other thing I can think of that I’d be checking for sure is to count the actual number of links in the chain. For Campy mechanical 12sp, there should be exactly 110 links. This is constant no matter which cassette or chainring combo you are using and applies to chainstays lengths between 405-415mm. If there are fewer than 110 chainlinks, then perhaps that put some undue added stress on things. But even still, it wasn’t like you were in the large ring and the largest cog. You were however in the most likely combo where some inopportune flex or a soft hanger may have allowed the derailleur to meet the spokes. Check the spokes very carefully for signs of contact, around where the upper pulley would be in that combo.
This is like the worst case scenario for a new bike, because no one wants to take responsibility without absolute proof it was their fault. But if there are fewer than 110 links in the chain, then that points to at least one error in the build that a “Campy guy” should not have made.

[huck*this]

Had something similar happen to me with Campy 11. Seemed it was a faulty chain link in a KMC chain. KMC owned up to it and replaced the chain under warranty. Would not replace the Campy RD. I replaced that on my own. and being that this was on a Pegoretti the derailleur hanger stayed dead straight

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by Calnago

I’m not usually on this forum, but I do loves me Campy. Read the entire thing for completeness. If it really didn’t get wrapped up in the spokes, then perhaps the rear derailleur just failed. Campy would want to know about this for sure and regardless you should report this to the folks (Dan Large) at Campy North America. However, I haven’t heard of any other failures like this so far.
...

I was thinking something along those lines. The thing is, that derailleur looks like it broke at the knuckle (or whatever the part that holds the bolt going into the hangar is called). If it broke there, wouldn't the derailleur spring snap the RD body outwards, away from the wheel? Also, wouldn't that failure need to have been precipitated by some sort of side load?

[ultraman6970]

I had a potenza that did something similar to what happened to you, new like a week old, getting off my driveway and cracked similar to yours.


My frame was steel and nothing happened, not even a scratch because i was pretty much 1mph, but i almost fell when the RD pretty much exploded.

My best guess after getting an RMA is that i suspect the chain was a couple of links too short, moved the group with the rma RD to another bike plus a longer chain and zero problems.

PErsonally dont like some parts in RD's made of plastic or carbon, like for example the out case for the rd spring that goes attached to the RD hanger bolt. One manufacturing problem and the sucker will crack somewhere.

Mine had a crack from side to side and the tab that attach to the RD hanger gave up I think because of the spring load. After that the thing just bye bye. Similar to yours.

Call campagnolo, they will ask for pictures but since it happened to me i do not see why it couldnt happen in a high group.

[DRZRM]

On a different note, you should call your homeowners insurance agent and see if there is any coverage that applies to your bike. I've never had anything like this happen, but if a new frame and parts implode, there is some chance they will step up.

Or you can mount it on a roof rack backwards and drive it into your garage, then it will be covered. To the slew of people about to flame me, of course I'm kidding. Fraud is bad, and fraud after you call your insurance company to see if damage is covered is worse, and doing it after posting pictures of your bike on a website that would come up from a simple search even worse. So don't really do that...