It is no stretch to say that lifetime warranties had a huge role in driving the acceptance of carbon fibre wheels in mountain biking. Offering free, or cheap, replacements transformed carbon fibre from a questionable and pricey risk into an arguably reasonable investment. I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of a free replacement for any part, let alone a very expensive one?
But what happens to those lifetime warranties when the company that backed them suddenly disappears? This is exactly what happened to customers of several brands – of mountain bike and gravel wheels – when CSS Composites announced its immediate and unexpected closure.
CSS vanishes in the night
Like many parts of the bike, carbon fibre rims are often made by one supplier for multiple brands. CSS Composites manufactured rims for several prominent brands. These included Chris King, Revel Bikes, Evil Bikes and even Trek’s in-house brand, Bontrager. While some of these brands, like Revel, no longer worked with CSS when it collapsed, many of Revel’s customers still had CSS-made, Revel branded wheels and the expectation that the lifetime warranty would be honoured.
New U.S. carbon manufacturer closure leaves major brands adrift
The twist in the CSS story is that the Utah-based carbon fibre manufacturer used a proprietary technology. When it went belly up, with little to no warning for its OEM partners, all those brand – and their customers – were left in the lurch. No other brand uses CSS’ FusionFibre, recyclable design. No other brand has stepped in to revive CSS, or its process. It’s not clear if that option was ever even on the table. That left customers uneasy and brand’s scrambling.
Finding a new way forward
In the weeks since CSS made its surprise announcement, and exit, the brands that it supplied have come up with various solutions to honour customers lifetime warranties on FusionFibre rims, in one way or another. What this looks like is different for each brand.
Revel Bikes: Keeping it rolling
Revel Bikes was one of the first brands to work with CSS for its FusionFibre wheels but also no longer a partner with the brand. The Colorado bike brand, which went through and survived its own financial difficulties recently, is partnering with Industry Nine to support any wheel warranty claims. (In an example of how complex all these relationships can be, Industry Nine’s own carbon wheels were/are built by Kamloops, B.C.’s We Are One Composites until the North…
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