Every person who has asked me about my bike (MY24 Glory) has at some point asked “how many frames have you been through”. It seems to be common knowledge. I couldn't find any information on this major issue with a quick google search, so I thought that I'd be the person to supply what I know here for others out there.
Something all the reviews mention is its "angular yet flowing lines", which are particularly concentrated around the headtube. A little digging found this video by Giant where the design team share their favorite bits about the bike: Giant_Glory_Video.mp4 - Google Drive
Only issue is the design team and engineering team didn't communicate that these 'aesthetic' lines won't work on a dual crown bike.
To the point, what happens with these frames is the lateral force of the dual crown fork impacting the frame is concentrated to a very tiny point along these 'aesthetic' headtube lines, damaging the carbon underneath, causing it to crack and the headtubes to come off the front of the bikes. What appears to be paint chips, is a little more than just that.
A DH bike not compatible with dual crown. Not awesome. A bike meant to go this fast that can split in 2. More not awesomer.
I have not met one person who has not been through a frame or currently has cracks at the head tube. It's a fun game whenever you see one of these on the shuttle bus to find the cracks at the headtube. (Here's a few:
I know of a company who even has a rental fleet of these, and they have confirmed that this issue is real. Another Giant sponsored rider also confirmed this to me.
I am aware of the team riders using stronger ODI bump stops on their forks (than the stock Fox 40 and Boxxer ones) and I thought this (with some frame protection at the headtube) to be the solution. But then someone told me they broke a frame even with these measures in place.
It's even officially not compatible with old model Boxxers: "The frame isn’t compatible with older 35mm-stanchion RockShox BoXXer forks due to the clearance of the fork arch with this new head tube." I just wish they could state the same for 40's and new model Boxxers...and any other dual crown fork for that matter.
Finally, to Giants warranty policy. Advertised lifetime; fine print of "except for this intended for downhill purposes". For which the policy is 3y. Wow. For a $5,800USD frameset. I'd love to see what Giant have to say.
Let me know of your experiences with this bike.
This has just happened to me, giant are not willing to warranty it though. Do you have any evidence of these other people suffer with it that could perhaps be used to argue the point. I can’t seem to find much else online
I broke a 9 week old carbon Glory frame the same way all the way back in 2015. A Giant Rep told me “our bikes don’t break like that”.
They made me pay for crash replacement. I sold the new frame and I swore I’d never give them another dime.
They clearly haven’t changed much. It’s a shitty situation but my advice would be to cut your losses and move to something else if you can.
Also, on a separate note: those ODI fork bumpers in the first post are terrible and tend to break frames. They’re not “stronger” they just have no squish so they transfer all the force to your frame.
What are the chances that one of the test procedures is to test if the frame is strong enough to withstand the bump stop hitting the frame in that area.
It very much seems that given the evidence, that frame is far from being fit for purpose. You could also look at the other bike manufacturers and see what their solution is as supporting evidence.
Giant have definitely refused warranty. I’ve also had trouble getting warranty on a cracked rocker link for my ebike last year aswell so I would not recommend the brand to anyone.
The DH team itself is running frame protection on those spots now(rubber bumpers) - tells you everything.
Giant is such a tight ass with their warranty... every single time it was a ballache they always have said no by default... almost like an automatic response and we have to push on everything.
Yep. I did point that out but absolutely no give at any point through the 2 giant dealers or giant themselves.
Is the bumpstop causing this or is the bumpstop too high and the stanchion is hitting the frame?
I dont own a giant, but have doubled up on bumpers on my bike with 40's to try to spread the load in the event of a crash.
if you read this thread, its because of Frame design - even with the bumpers it hits the 'wave' design.
In NZ this would be classed as 'not fit for purpose' and Giant would have no option but to replace it or refund(Poor design for intended purpose and use)
-I've had to remind Giant NZ several times of Their obligations under the CGA which are met with a reply of instant Replacement or refund.
Giant NZ Are arguable some of the worst People to deal with, arrogant. (between them and blue shark NZ which is fox suspension nz, they battle for worst expereiences ever)
100% Giant's fault with the 'wave' design as you said, and definitely a warranty issue. Problem here I think will be gathering enough evidence to prove this. If you've got any photos of yours maybe post them on this thread @blueorange
I am sure by now Big Giant is aware of this with the DH team running the ODI bump stops. Someone I know who races for them is on frame no. 4
Also, the ODI bump stops are better than stock 40 bumpers. They might have had different versions in the past, but the current ones I got have more rubber than the stock ones (and so limit steering more) as well as locking in place. The stock 40's had such little rubber you could hit the hard stop of the stanchion against the frame through them by hand. The team uses them and that's all I need to know.
Get your mechanics a box of donuts so they'll fight that warranty claim for ya. 🤣 Don't forget it's not their fault - try to walk them through the design issue we have here.
That is some shithousery design work, no option to run the bumper any position other than that, as under compression, the stanchion will come into contact with the frame.
The team running the ODI bump stops says it all, the issue I'd then been concerned with is the amount of material at that area to support a bumpstop pushing against that area and not causing damage (delamination)
factory team's "solution" 🙄
bummed to hear so many getting hassled/denied on warranties with this
On the bright side, at least the visual lines of the sleek industrial design look cool:
I’m very suprised to see people running/preaching ODI bumpers. They’re terrible and actively contribute to frame damage. They’re hard plastic and they literally put a metal screw between your frame and fork.
Back when I worked in a shop it was common knowledge that they caused dented frames.
Fox bumpers are soooooo loosely goosey that riders with 40's have no other option (on any DH bike). So much as sneeze and the stock bumper has inevitably rotated and you fully go stanchion to frame
I thought it was clever way to allow me to run my data acquisition closer to the frame so the bike trays on the lift don't obliterate my fork tracer but ok... PS if anyone sees my toolbox in the Frankfurt airport at carousel 9 making infinite laps I'll pay for shipping please and thank you.
i think it is clever and it looks pretty good. the eyeroll is b/c it seems to be clearly needed to protect the frame and giant isn't helping customers w/ cracked frames. if the culprit is ODI bumpers on their own, so be it, but the problem seems bigger than that w/ so many instances.
Can confirm that the ODI bumpers are not a problem. More (and firmer) rubber sits between the frame and the plastic backing with these bumpers than between the fork and frame of the stock ones. They’re also taller ie more force dissipation.
The WC team runs them over the stock ones. That’s all you need to hear. All frames I’ve seen broken have the stock bumpers. Culprit is not the ODI bumpers - putting them on is a [bandaid] solution.
Either way, we do not need to be arguing about the effectiveness of fork bumpers here.
The problem is the industrial (“muscular”) design of the frame acting as a stress concentrator and ripping the frame in two.
Cheers @sspomer for the photo of the rubber they’ve stuck to the frame. Proves our concerns even more.
The ODI Fork bumper is definitely not the root cause but they don’t help the situation. It’s just bad engineering by Giant.
If 40 bumpers moving is a big problem then they might be an improvement over a bumper that isn’t where it’s supposed to be.
If I could find the ones that came on a used Boxxer I bought a while back I’d cut them in half to show just how little rubber they actually put between your frame and fork. I think I might have tossed them though.
This was the closest picture I could find for how they’re setup. It’s basically a thin rubber cap over hard plastic and a metal screw. (The picture is from a prototype but they haven’t really changed)
There are new ones with an embossed logo that have a fair bit more rubber than some older debossed ones I’ve seen, but yes, it’s still not great.
I believe it is beneficial to this frame problem and does dissipate more force, but only marginally. A bandaid-solution to shit frame design.
Where I’ve found they are useful is effectively extending the bumper length enough so that the bumper can be placed to contact the flat portion of the headtube without the lower raised portion of the headtube hitting the (now unprotected) stanchion. (Ie having the bumper contacting the frame at red circle rather than the green circle). This setup is not possible with the stock bumpers.
If setup at red, stock bumpers will allow stanchion to contact green.
Im curious Why Giant are like this... It's like when the yamaha Motors had a bad update and was locking a heap of people out of The systems(its all Dealt with through Giant if its in a giant bike) and Giant wanted the motors sent it in for a 2minute reset which cost a shit load and often they wouldnt even do it for a second time as they Said everyone was trying to get around the restrictions.... They pushed an update like 10 months later that fixed it.... for F$%k sake.
Id like to point out, they often said "sorry no, You need to purchase a new motor as not our fault' - despite it being in warranty.
The rubber I placed on the frame was to protect my data acquisition from garbage Alpine bike trays so...
Again...The rubber I placed on the frame was to protect my fork tracer and my 3d printed race plate since we designed it with a larger OD clamp...The rubber 3m also allows more space for the fork sensor, speed sensor, and brake sensor wires.
I’ve been running a small cable tie around my 40 bumpers, only need a little bit of tension and they seem to stay it place. Too bad they didn’t adopt Mazocchi’s 888/380 bumpers, they used to stick like glue
Dunno why but researching something else brought me back to this thread.
Its still not clear if people are putting the bumper in the wrong place that then allows the stanchion to hit the frame. If so, thats on them.
If the stock fox bumper is moving then put a short length of inner tube over the stanchion first. That prevents them moving.
Post a reply to: Giant Glory MY24 Broken Frames