Scared to buy expensive carbon rims? This warranty from ENVE could help
Spending thousands of dollars on a high-end carbon wheelset can be a bit disconcerting. Wheels take a beating whether your riding road, gravel, or MTB, and as many of us have seen or experienced, a high price tag doesn’t mean the wheels will be indestructible. ENVE’s range of US-made wheels certainly fall into the premium category, and the Utah-based company has just announced two different warranties intended to relieve some of that worry.
So what warranty policy was in place before, and what do ENVE customers get now? While other wheel brands have offered “no questions asked” guarantees, and while ENVE was basically doing that in practice, they needed to make it official so consumers were aware.
ENVE’s VP Product and Consumer Experience, Jake Pantone, explained that originally, it was a five-year warranty covering manufacturing defects, materials, and workmanship. While ENVE has stood by its product, and covered all ride damage since 2011, its new five-year warranty now protects only against manufacturer screw-ups.
ENVE tries to mimic “idiot builds” to replicate mistakes made during wheels builds. Yes, ENVE even covers you if you mess up.
ENVE also previously had a Lifetime Loyalty Guarantee which ultimately was a crash-replacement warranty. It covered anything and everything — drove over it, dog ate it, etc. — and offered 50% off retail price. ENVE rarely saw this used, and has now replaced it with new Lifetime Incident Protection that was developed as a comprehensive ride and accident coverage. ENVE claims that everything is covered as long as you can prove you are the original owner of the product.
“ENVE Lifetime Incident Protection has been developed to remove all doubt that if you damage your product while riding, racing, or otherwise – ENVE has your back and the damaged rim, stem, seatpost, fork, handlebar or hub will be replaced at no charge,” ENVE said in a press release.
Idiot builds are even covered. Pantone explained that ENVE engineers create build scenarios to replicate a situation where someone may not follow proper wheel-building standards and damage their rim as a result.
Fortunately for previous ENVE customers, according to a press release, “all ENVE customers past, present, and future who are the original owners of their products are eligible for this program by simply registering their product.”
Last month Giant announced a similar program for its frames, saying “if any composite frame or component is structurally damaged while you’re riding in the first two years after you bought it” Giant will “repair it or replace it free of charge.”
You can learn more about ENVE’s warranty policy at the company’s website.
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