I bought the R3 the first year it came out. At that time, they shipped with either the Wolf SL or the Alpha Q Sub 3. I took the Alpha Q Sub 3. I believe the construction and alloy insert are the same for both forks and TT makes them both. I wonder whether my fork is subject to the recall as well.

goodboyr:

I wonder whether my fork is subject to the recall as well.

 

No. Not according to the recall notice. It is very specific - Wolf SL forks. There is no mention of AQ forks.
 

My Wolf steerer tube broke on a decent this past March (I posted about this a few months back when I saw some threads regarding the Wolf fork).  I also posted the link showing the broken steerer tube from USA National Crits this apst weeend.  My LBS replaced my fork with an Easton the same day (I had a race two days after the crash) and called Cervelo.  Cervelo was very concerned and was relieved to hear that I only had a minor hand injury.  I'm glad that Cervelo has finally taken the appropriate action and recalled this product.  The fact that there is so much confusion or questions about the installment of this fork, to me equals a bad design.

 Regarding the Easton 90 fork, honestly, I can't tell the difference, but maybe that's just me.

Working for a manufacturing company, the negative comments so far in this thread are exactly why companies will do almost anything to avoid using the "R' word.  The company does what they think is the right thing, and people tear them a new one.  Cervelo isn't the manufacturer of the fork, yet they volunteered to do the recall - that's good customer service.  I think they probably didn't even weigh the cost versus the lawsuits (those are unlikely to be many and probably unlikely to succeed) but rather the cost in dollars and people's complaining about the recall versus the cost in losing face by having a failed part associated with the brand.

My company makes products used in surgery and I know we do anything we can to avoid recalls - included painting them as voluntary "upgrades".  That doesn't say our products are dangerous - they are not and are considered the highest quality and technology in the marketplace.  It does say every manufacturing company runs across quality issues and rare is the one with the sack to volunteer to do a recall, especially of a supplier's part.

I'm not affected, but kudos to Cervelo for going through with it.

To the guy complaining about 61 grams, your 20 oz. water bottle weighs 591.61875 grams at 4 degrees C.  Fill it to 18 oz. and there's your 61 grams.  You're getting a brand new fork for free!  Sheesh! 

Thank you Cervelo.

I commend you for taking a huge step in customer service, and I garauntee my next road or tri bike will be another Cervelo.

It is very rare in this age for a company to stand up the way you have.

The SL steerer issue has been in the back of my mind for a while, although I have always felt safe riding.

I will be sure to contact my LBS regarding changing to the Funda, and can't wait to try it out.

Thanks again Cervelo for your outstanding commitment to us the customers.
 

I'll bet lawsuits and money had a part in this recall decision....... and if you don't agree I'll sue you! But I totally agree with you - kudos to Cervelo and boo to True Temper. Weight weenies agonize over weight, carefully weighing (pun intended) all the options. So while I agree with you that 61 grams is nothing, it is 61 grams to a weight weenie. So let the guy (or gal) cry in their water bottle.

paddlepedalski:

it is 61 grams to a weight weenie. So let the guy (or gal) cry in their water bottle.

 

No way dude. No weight weenie would cry into their bottle. Each tear is a precious gram ;-) 

Weight weenies drink a lot of alcohol so their tears are lighter than water or those that don't drink alcohol don't cry either. They remind me of the wrestlers when I went to high school giving themselves enemas, spitting and not eating/drinking before weigh in.

The interesting thing is when I purchased my SLC at the beginning of this year, Cervelo supplied the CL instead of the SL fork. Maybe they knew something was wrong with them then or it could have been a supply issue. Anyway, I was quite annoyed at that time that I got the inferior, heavier and cheaper fork but I was told by the mechanics at the LBS that it is a better fork, so I didn't pursue it any further. 

I know the recall is only for the Wolf SL but after reading all the horror stories on this forum about fork failures I couldn't help feeling paranoid while riding at 60km/h downhill!

I asked a few LBS in Sydney that sold Cervelo and none of them have heard of a problem with the CL fork (although some admit there are corrosion issues).

However, for some unknown reason, a Cervelo dealer offered a RED 3T Pro fork as an "upgrade" for my Wolf CL fork at $250 (including installation). It would have otherwised cost me twice that much.

Anyway, I received the bike and the red fork looks awesome on my SLC (although the red is a slightly darker shade). And I also only have the words FUNDA on it. Which I don't mind since I can pretend it is the TEAM.

Well, I had a short ride on it and I don't know if it was psychological or not but it felt like it handled a lot better. Although It did feel a bit more bumpier on paved roads. But the big plus is I feel a lot more confident on it!

Thanks again Cervelo!

Dave

Ps. I do miss my Wolf CL fork though, I would have liked to have kept it and hang it on the wall or something!

 

Cycleboy, companies do "upgrades" just to avoid getting FDA or similar bodies up their a** (I do work for a company developing heart surgery device) As for "volunteered recall" equals to "good customer service", I don't agree. Companies do "volunteered recalls" because they have to. If they don't do them, they're gonna run into deeper problems. It's simple risk mitigation. However, I'm worried by the time frame between the first user reports and the action now beeing taken. If you search the forum, threads about Wolf SL failure appeared a long time ago. Apparently, Cervelo discovered the problem and tried to solve the issue with the insert. All in all, it's sad that Cervelo is affected by a product which they do not produce. But it's taken a long time to solve the issue. I'm not really impressed.

McLovin:

Regardless of the recalled forks, I think it's irresponsible or even negligent to not use the registration info to inform owners of recalls, especially for something as dangerous as this.

--Unsatisfied customer

 

leegil:

So they are replacing it.  What a hassle now to get that fork replaced (my bike is in Australia but I am in the UK).  ...

Why not replace it with something more comparable such as the 3T Funda Team fork, as it is more compatible?  It's like replacing an SLC-SL frame with an SLC (imagine the price difference).  It just comes down to the fact that for comparable value (and the hassle of it all and the down time) that the 3T Funda Team would be more appropriate substitution.

 

maxz:

However, I'm worried by the time frame between the first user reports and the action now beeing taken. If you search the forum, threads about Wolf SL failure appeared a long time ago. Apparently, Cervelo discovered the problem and tried to solve the issue with the insert. All in all, it's sad that Cervelo is affected by a product which they do not produce. But it's taken a long time to solve the issue. I'm not really impressed.

 

And there you have it. You can't please all the people all the time. "I didn't get an email; the recall is inconvenient for me; I want something better than what's on offer; the recall should have happened sooner."

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

greg66:

And there you have it. You can't please all the people all the time. "I didn't get an email; the recall is inconvenient for me; I want something better than what's on offer; the recall should have happened sooner." Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I think you misunderstood me (otherwise, it's me misunderstanding you :)). I have a CL fork, so I don't really care about the recall. I think the recall is a good thing since this known problem will disappear when all users have upgraded their fork. What I'm commenting is the time frame between the first failure reports and the corrective action. Apparently, there's been a first try which didn't solve the problem (the aluminium insert), and thereafter a 2nd step (recall and replacement). I don't exactly recall the 1st thread about this problem, but I believe it's at least 6 months. Cervelo is a great company, but a recall has nothing to do with good customer service when there's a non-negligible risk for injury due to known product defects.

Also, I'd like to see what the company developing and producing the Wolf SL has to say about this issue... Bad design, defective production, defective QA or un-intended use?

maxz:

Also, I'd like to see what the company developing and producing the Wolf SL has to say about this issue... Bad design, defective production, defective QA or un-intended use?

 

Without a doubt un-intended use. The the main reason the Wolf SL is being recalled is that there is too much of a risk of people installing it incorrectly, many of the accidents involving this fork have featured people using it with an inappropriate stack height with respect to insert length, over torquing the stem bolts or in one alarming case, using a start nut directly instead of the insert.

All Alpha Q forks use exactly the same steerer wall thickness and insert as the Wolf SL range. CSC rode these forks in Paris Roubaix and the TdF this year without failure. Perhaps it is the competence of their mechanics which makes the difference.

greg66:

goodboyr:

I wonder whether my fork is subject to the recall as well.

 

No. Not according to the recall notice. It is very specific - Wolf SL forks. There is no mention of AQ forks.
 

I know that the recall specifically refers to the Wolf SL, but in the first year of the R3, when I bought, we had a choice between the Wolf SL and the Alpha Q Sub 3. I chose the Alpha Q Sub 3. Both made by True Temper. Both use the aluminum glue-in insert. And my original insert was not glued in properly and pulled out when I tried to adjust my headset, so I ordered a new insert, and installed it properly. Its been solid ever since, but I am concerned that the same issue applies to my fork, but I've been left out of the recall.