ry5n wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:45 am
I've heard of other folks having trouble with Lupinas breaking, which is too bad. Any rhyme or reason to the failures in your case?
Yep. The saddle rails are glued to the saddle shell with expoxy, which makes for a weak connection.
In my cases, hitting a bump caused the saddle shell to separate from the epoxy. It's not fun when you're 30 miles away from home and your saddle shell separates. Some folks have not had any issues with their Berks. I am apparently unlucky in that regard.
Berk does offer warranty coverage, but that does not include shipping costs. So, owning a Berk can become quite the expensive endeavor beyond the initial cost. What did it for me was the third time one of my Berk saddles broke, I spent over $100USD and over 3 months attempting to ship it to Berk for repair. Berk refused to accept delivery of the saddle twice, and it got returned to me both times. I said the hell with it, repaired it myself, and then sold all my Berks.
Now, if Berk were ever to create a structural carbon fiber connection between the saddle rails and shell that didn't rely solely on the strength of expoxy adhesion, I'd probably reconsider despite the clownshow of warranty support because the saddles are extremely comfortable.