Catastrophic component failure

Ron Olson said:

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the broken
part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the premise of "pain
and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I don't see is in any
way my fault.

While I understand how you feel, let's put this into perspective.
There are lots of parts on a bike, and sometimes parts fail. This was a
simple bolt failure. I don't think any manufacturer can guarantee that
every nut and bolt will be failure free. Your dealer or Cannondale may
replace the bolt or the entire seat post if you bring the bike in. But
I'd think you'd want to switch to a different brand of seat post after
what happened. What was the brand and model of the seat post?

Art Harris

Ron Olson said:

Hi all-

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able to
get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness where I
hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a busy
street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have been a
disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I was able to recover all the pieces, I think, though it was dark, and
it's clear that the bolt has broken in an unnatural way; nothing came
loose or just fell out...this is an obvious break.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the broken
part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the premise of "pain
and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I don't see is in any
way my fault.

I was wondering what other people's thoughts were on this matter.

Thanks,

Ron

This is a 'common' failure with one bolt seatclamp post. You were lucky.
Get a two bolt seatpost like a Thomson Elite or so.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

Quoted message said:

Ron Olson wrote:
The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post
then clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the
seat itself; it had snapped in half.

Substituting the original bolt for a proper graded bolt is always a good
idea with these posts
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

I do feel very lucky in that it didn't happen in traffic. I think my
next seat/post will definitely be in the two-or-more bolt variety.
Thanks!

In article <[email hidden]>,

Lou Holtman said:

Ron Olson said:

Hi all-

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able to
get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness where I
hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a busy
street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have been a
disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I was able to recover all the pieces, I think, though it was dark, and
it's clear that the bolt has broken in an unnatural way; nothing came
loose or just fell out...this is an obvious break.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the broken
part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the premise of "pain
and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I don't see is in any
way my fault.

I was wondering what other people's thoughts were on this matter.

Thanks,

Ron

This is a 'common' failure with one bolt seatclamp post. You were lucky.
Get a two bolt seatpost like a Thomson Elite or so.

Lou

Hi Art-

Just to be clear, I'm not angry at Cannondale nor am going to boycott
their stuff (hard to do as I've only ever bought Cannondale kit), and
you're right, parts do fail. I guess because this particular failure had
never happened to me or anyone else I know, I thought it to be almost
impossible.

However, thinking about it on the walk home with bike in tow, I had time
to appreciate how much stress that part of the bike probably gets, in
terms of having a big guy sitting on it, while the bike goes through
potholes, general bumps, etc. I was thinking that I'm surprised it
doesn't happen more often, and as you point out, apparently it does.

The seat post is a Kalloy SP-263B with a Selle Royale Freccia seat,
which are stock components for a 2005 T800
(http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5TR8.html).

I will definitely be going for a different seat/post when I go over to
the store.

Ron

In article <[email hidden]>,

Art Harris said:

Ron Olson said:

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the broken
part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the premise of "pain
and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I don't see is in any
way my fault.

While I understand how you feel, let's put this into perspective.
There are lots of parts on a bike, and sometimes parts fail. This was a
simple bolt failure. I don't think any manufacturer can guarantee that
every nut and bolt will be failure free. Your dealer or Cannondale may
replace the bolt or the entire seat post if you bring the bike in. But
I'd think you'd want to switch to a different brand of seat post after
what happened. What was the brand and model of the seat post?

Art Harris

On 2006-11-18, Ron Olson <[email hidden]> wrote:
[...]

Quoted message said:

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever?

This is said to be a common failure. I personally witnessed one.
The bolt snapped in the very beginning of the club ride, fortunately
the guy was not hurt at all, and just walked 10 minutes back to
his car. This may be "just a failure", or a result of overtightening.
Search this group for "seatpost bolt failure":
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=seatpost+bolt+failure

Konstantin Shemyak

Lou Holtman said:

Ron Olson said:

Hi all-

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able to
get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness where I
hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a busy
street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have been a
disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I was able to recover all the pieces, I think, though it was dark, and
it's clear that the bolt has broken in an unnatural way; nothing came
loose or just fell out...this is an obvious break.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the broken
part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the premise of "pain
and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I don't see is in any
way my fault.

I was wondering what other people's thoughts were on this matter.

Thanks,

Ron

This is a 'common' failure with one bolt seatclamp post. You were lucky.
Get a two bolt seatpost like a Thomson Elite or so.

Or periodically replace the bolt as a function of "saddle time".

Ron Olson said:

Hi all-

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it and
apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able to
get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness where I
hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a busy
street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have been a
disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I was able to recover all the pieces, I think, though it was dark, and
it's clear that the bolt has broken in an unnatural way; nothing came
loose or just fell out...this is an obvious break.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike has
all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as routine
wear-n-tear.

No, Ron, it has never happened to me. I've ridden ( and still ride )
some really shabby bicycles, too. I took a fall years ago, got up and
walked away, lucky I didn't get run over. Sometimes the aches and
pains don't go away, for years and years. Sometimes they get worse as
the years go by. See a physician pronto. The severity of injuries may
not be immediately apparent. Some day you might be old and gray,
wondering why something always hurts.

Save all the parts. Consider the possibility that you, or someone else
may have overtightened or otherwise damaged the bolt at some time in
the past. You don't mention ever having loosened it, but it's a fact
that bolts can be damaged thusly, and fail at an unpredictable interval
of time later. Consider very, very carefully.

If you are sure you have never even possibly damaged the bolt, then see
an attorney who handles injury cases. The cheapest bolt in the local
hardware store even if only 2/3 the size of the clamp holes should have
easily been strong enough. Primo bicycles like Cannondale often use
ultra lightweight fasteners, which may be 'counterfitted'.

Advise Cannondale of the matter. Manufacturers don't read usenet.

Most importantly, see a physician soon.

Ron Olson said:

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I had it happen earlier this year and posted about it in rb.misc:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.misc/browse_frm/thread/
122603f0266d94d3/e211af2115e5e10d?lnk=st&q=%22dane+buson%22+bolt+
break&rnum=2&hl=en#e211af2115e5e10d

http://tinyurl.com/ymptn4

Marian Rosenberg had it happen shortly after and also posted about it:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.misc/browse_frm/thread/
bf4d111a46c15998/bab0174c92408ba5?lnk=st&q=%22dane+buson%22+bolt+
break&rnum=1&hl=en#bab0174c92408ba5

http://tinyurl.com/yhn44n

I still haven't gotten around to getting a two-bolt seatpost for my
bike, but it's definitely on the list. Commuting standing up kind of
sucked. A two-bolt just seems like a good idea for any bike that gets a
good amount of miles.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

No, the reason they blessed W2K is that they run some auditing software to make
sure you're up to date on your anti-virus software and patches and all the
other [censored] that's necessary to semi-safely put W2K on a network.

ping $W2KBOX || echo $W2KBOX is secure.

Ron Olson said:

Hi all-

I have a '05 Cannondale T800 touring bike that has 1550 miles on it
and apart from the standard flat tire, I have never had a problem
with it.

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto
my rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able
to get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness
where I hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a
busy street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have
been a disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post
then clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the
seat itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer
attached to the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

I was able to recover all the pieces, I think, though it was dark, and
it's clear that the bolt has broken in an unnatural way; nothing came
loose or just fell out...this is an obvious break.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes,
and I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends
that had reported anything like this.

I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike
has all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as
routine wear-n-tear. If anything, I'd like them to simply replace the
broken part. I'm not talking about suing for gagillions on the
premise of "pain and suffering", but I do have a busted bike that I
don't see is in any way my fault.

I was wondering what other people's thoughts were on this matter.

Thanks,

Ron

These seatposts often have steel bolts threaded into soft aluminum,
sometimes stripping out with larger riders.

Better designs such as the Thomson mentioned earlier not only have threaded
cylindrical nuts into which the bolts thread, but they are heat-treated as
well.
--
Phil

Lou Holtman said:

This is a 'common' failure with one bolt seatclamp post. You were lucky.
Get a two bolt seatpost like a Thomson Elite or so.

Having ridden racing bikes for over thirty years, I still have my
oldest bikes with many of their original parts, among which the
seatposts. All my ten, or so, racing bikes have the old type 2-bolt
Campagnolo seat clamp..
Never had, nor seen, any such clamp fail.

Sergio
Pisa

sergio wrote:
All my ten, or so, racing bikes have the old type 2-bolt

Quoted message said:

Campagnolo seat clamp..
Never had, nor seen, any such clamp fail.

The bars clamping on top of the saddlerails can crack over the bolthole 😉
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

"dalebenjamin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ron Olson wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hi all-
I'm also wondering if Cannondale has any liability in this; the bike

has

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

all its original parts and this incident doesn't strike me as

routine

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wear-n-tear.

No, Ron, it has never happened to me. I've ridden ( and still ride )
some really shabby bicycles, too. I took a fall years ago, got up and
walked away, lucky I didn't get run over. Sometimes the aches and
pains don't go away, for years and years. Sometimes they get worse as
the years go by. See a physician pronto. The severity of injuries

may

Quoted message said:

not be immediately apparent. Some day you might be old and gray,
wondering why something always hurts.

Save all the parts. Consider the possibility that you, or someone

else

Quoted message said:

may have overtightened or otherwise damaged the bolt at some time in
the past. You don't mention ever having loosened it, but it's a fact
that bolts can be damaged thusly, and fail at an unpredictable

interval

Quoted message said:

of time later. Consider very, very carefully.

If you are sure you have never even possibly damaged the bolt, then

see

Quoted message said:

an attorney who handles injury cases. The cheapest bolt in the local
hardware store even if only 2/3 the size of the clamp holes should

have

Quoted message said:

easily been strong enough. Primo bicycles like Cannondale often use
ultra lightweight fasteners, which may be 'counterfitted'.

Advise Cannondale of the matter. Manufacturers don't read usenet.

Most importantly, see a physician soon.

Yes, see a doctor soon. I was T-boned in 1998, tweaked my back which
eventually led to AVN in my hip requiring hip replacement 5 years later.

Most responsible companies in the US carry product liability insurance.
Informing Cannondale will more than likely result in their insurance
company contacting you. If so, they may want to offer you a settlement.
I suggest that you wait some time before signing anything to make sure
that you don't have any complications.

Also, informing Cannondale is important because they may have gotten a
bad batch of seatposts. If so, this is how product recalls get started.
Another poster suggested that the same problem has happened to other
riders.

A number of countries in Asia have had a reputation/tradition of making
poor quality fasteners; places with a 3000-4000 year tradition of
"cheaper is better". If the shoe fits....

I personally don't like single bolt seat posts because I find them hard
to precision adjust. I use a precision level to adjust my seats.
Sometimes just a 1° change in seat angle makes a big difference in
comfort. I've been looking to switch back to good old fashioned Campy 2
bolt NR and SR seat posts but they sell for TOO much on eBay.

Good luck

Chas.

* * Chas said:

I personally don't like single bolt seat posts because I find them hard
to precision adjust. I use a precision level to adjust my seats.
Sometimes just a 1° change in seat angle makes a big difference in
comfort. I've been looking to switch back to good old fashioned Campy 2
bolt NR and SR seat posts but they sell for TOO much on eBay.

A good design feature, which was copied by at least one asian
manufacturer; you might, aesthetics aside, consider that one if the
price of Campagnolo seatpins is too rich.

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 07:07:23 -0600, Ron Olson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Last night I was coming home from work and riding down a side street
when I heard a loud CRACK, then suddenly I was flung backwards, onto my
rear rack, then onto the street, as the bike fell over. I was able to
get up and walk so I'm physically fine, apart from some soreness where I
hit the ground. The really terrifying part is that I was on a busy
street just a couple minutes earlier, where it could really have been a
disaster.

The cause of all this was the bolt that goes through the seat post then
clamps the two metal "braces" (for lack of a better term) to the seat
itself; it had snapped in half. The seat was now no longer attached to
the post, and slid off, taking me with it.

Quoted message said:

My question is, has this happened to anyone else, ever? I've had a lot
of bikes, from the giveaway Huffy to some fancy fancy racing bikes, and
I have never ever ever had this happen to me, nor had any friends that
had reported anything like this.

I've done it three times. Once with an American Classic seatpost
around 1984 or 1985 -- I think I overtighted it and it snapped, but
without me on the bike. And then in the early 1990s with some other
post I can't remember -- while riding. And again about 3 or 4 years
ago with a different post while riding.

In the last instances I noticed that the bolt was somewhat rusted
through where it snapped, so it was cracked for awhile before
breaking. Inspection might have caught the problem earlier.
--
JT
****************************
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Visit http://www.jt10000.com
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sergio said:

All my ten, or so, racing bikes

WTF? Ten? Dang.

--
JT
****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

sergio said:

All my ten, or so, racing bikes

WTF? Ten? Dang.

What's that in plain English?

Sergio
Pisa

sergio said:

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

sergio said:

All my ten, or so, racing bikes

WTF? Ten? Dang.

What's that in plain English?

Sergio
Pisa

Dear Sergio,

"Good heavens, your vast herd of racing bicycles impresses me! I
seethe with envy."

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

sergio said:

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

sergio said:

All my ten, or so, racing bikes

WTF? Ten? Dang.

What's that in plain English?

Sergio
Pisa

He's saying you have/had a large number of them.
--
Phil