Yea no offense but he obviously did something wrong or they were crappy straps. I've run small cranes and Pettobones lifting items that weighed up to 10,000 lbs and I've honestly never seen a strap break. I'm not saying that it's impossible but breaking over a 400lb bike seems improbable at best.

That's why I'm asking...

I got some straps on their way to breaking, I marked them and wont use them for anything important, like tying down a bike, but I will use them for holding stuff down in the back of my truck.

Generally after a few years of use and neglect the ratchets become beat up and the straps start to develop tears and frays that make them pretty much worthless.

Its very possible that they were damaged before use

I do my own stress test on my ratchet straps before each heavy use. I put one hook at a solid point, then wrap the other end around my pee pee. Ratchet down tight, then I get a boner. If the strap doesn't break then it's good to go.

Yea I'm thinking broken/fail as in they were new or in good condition not...

I was thinking there was a weak point, like fraying, a tear, or a damaged strap

Doesnt take long for a frayed strap to give up. I use these everyday at work. Ive used big name brands and even HF ones. Theyre all about the same and do their job but one slight cut and itll give eventually.

true, but that's no reason not to use them to lift a bike....:idk:

not at all, just take a look at them before use to make sure they are serviceable

Something in the ratcheting/locking mechanism let go. The strap itself was fine. There was tension on the strap at all times; somehow, after three days of being in the same position, it unwound in an instant and down I went. Inspection of the strap after the fall didn't reveal any defects.

It wasn't attached directly to me; I was using it to pin a ladder to the steep incline of my roof. Perhaps me moving up and down the ladder was enough to jostle the strap loose over time. When it let go, there was no warning, and the ladder and I slid off the house like a rollercoaster.

This was one failure among thousands of times I've used ratchet straps without incident. It only takes one, however, to totally fuck up your life (or your bike), so now I just don't take the chance.