UPDATE:
According to Quarq, the electronics pod failure that I experienced was not necessarily weather related; it was more of a "destined to fail" issue. (After searching the web) It appears that there were a bad batch of electronics pods installed on some units. Quarq says "There was a flaw in the molding of the electronics pod that caused a stress crack allowing moisture to get in."
Disheartening that something like this slipped through QC initially, but I'm pleased it was a fast turnaround.
Original Article:
Many of you know that I'm a fan of Quarq and their Cinqo power meter. I was thrilled to hear they had become a division of SRAM and I was excited to see that the new Red group had been built to include an updated Cinqo power meter. I own a Cinqo power meter and I've been very pleased with it (except for the weird 2450 battery that it takes) for the past year or so. But one thing I was always hesitant about was the inevitable change in customer service principles that generally accompanies a large scale purchase such as the SRAM/Quarq purchase. Unfortunately, I recently had to make use of the Quarq warranty process, and fortunately, it is still everything that it has been reported to be.
The Back Story
Here in the northeast, we've been lucky this year: cold and wet weather managed to hold off until late December, making it extremely easy to ride outside and enjoy real, live on-road training as opposed to "illin' with the trainer." In this case, approximately two weeks ago (on a Sunday) we ventured out for a "classics" ride, taking in the rural dirt and gravel roads of southern Hunterdon county. And what "classics" ride would be complete without some damp and drizzle? The rain mostly held off, but we did find our fair share of puddles and grime, and our bikes were well washed off by rain as we drove home.
Upon arriving home, I toweled off the bike with a shop towel, wiped the chain and left it to air dry in the garage. Monday happened to be a rest day so the bike was never moved from the garage. Tuesday morning was a scheduled training day (short ride on the trainer) and upon pulling out the bike and trying to start up my Garmin, the Cinqo would not pair. I tried four different batteries, three different Garmin devices and eventually gave up and called Quarq support. John at Quarq talked me through shorting the terminals to (hopefully) reset the unit. No dice. He immediately emailed a shipping label and RMA number, saying the unit was in warranty and they would take care of it.
The Warranty
The unit went out Wednesday before Christmas and was received Friday afternoon. Being the Christmas holiday weekend, Quarq was closed Monday, so nothing happened until Wednesday (a week after I had shipped the unit out.) I received confirmation that the unit had been received and was going to be attended to that day. Much to my surprise, that evening I received an email from Kai at Quarq stating that the unit had been diagnosed. In this case, a faulty electronics pod had been determined to be the culprit: essentially, the unit was dead. They confirmed that the pod had been replaced and that it was shipping out Wednesday evening. I had it on my doorstep 10 AM Friday morning.
It should be noted that I'm still awaiting confirmation whether this was a general electronics failure (there was discussion of some faulty electronics pods on Cinqo models earlier this year) or if it was a moisture-induced failure. If the latter, I'd like to know how I can further waterproof the unit in order to make it deal with the elements better. After all, it's barely January and there'll be a few more wet rides in the future I'm sure.
Overall
When it comes right down to it, if you subtract the Christmas holiday, service (including shipping) only took 6 days. That's wonderful. The unit was essentially replaced, with only the crank arms and chainrings the same ones that I sent in. I'm very pleased with the quality and speed of Quarq's service and for John and Kai's attention to my issue. With just this experience alone, I feel justified in recommending Quarq products to my athletes and readers, if not for the ease of use and the quality of the unit itself, but the high level of customer service and support offered after the sale.
