Got a '22 Orbea Wild FS a few years ago, have ridden roughly 2500 km on it in total, plenty of jumps and such.
The aluminium
rear triangle has developed a
crack on the right seatstay at the weld next to the cassette.
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The
rocker link arm progressively
bent slightly (the rear section bent upward), and I've noticed the bearing holes/seats on the rocker link arm have oval holes, probably not what you want for round bearings...
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Notice that the bike is officially
ASTM category 5 rated, which is a downhill bike standard, meaning Orbea allows you to hit jumps etc. and it shouldn't bend/break.
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Talked to my dealer about these issues, they sent some photos to Orbea, but
Orbea refused the warranty claim, stating that rear triangles are not covered by the lifetime warranty and neither is crash damage.
That's strange. Their very own
lifetime warranty policy explicitly says that rear triangle is included, quote:
I also have no idea why they think this is a crash damage, there are just minor scratches on the frame, nothing you wouldn't expect on an enduro bike that's actually being used as one.
Sure, there were some minor tipovers, but the bike has never see a major direct impact, plus it still wouldn't explain any of the issues the frame has.
My dealer agrees this should've been covered by the lifetime warranty, but there isn't much they can do, as it's Orbea's decision now that the statutory warranty period is over.
The best offer they were able to get from Orbea was 250 euros for a replacement seatstay, but I believe they're still trying to negotiate.
When I bought the bike, the lifetime warranty on the frame has been a major decisive factor for me.
I certainly wouldn't have paid the insane full price knowing that warranty only exists on paper.
I'm disappointed.
