Finally! I got my allant 9.9 back from the bike shop. The techs ordered a whole new rear wheel from Trek and because of the "COVID-19 induced delays" it took about three weeks for the wheel to ship. Anyways, my bike shop techs replaced the rear wheel (with new hub). I have ridden about 30 miles on it and it is quiet so far. The "choo choo train" noise is gone (let us hope for good).
2020 Allant 9.9S Grinding Noise from motor or is it?
- Thread starter GuruUno
- Start date
That "buzzing bees" sound that is typical with free hubs (experienced when "coasting") is not present with this new Deore XT Hub either. I don't know what is up with these XT Hubs, but the one that came with the bike developed a sound best described as a "choo choo train" after about 300miles. At first, it was difficult to determine if the source was a failing motor bearing or a problem with the free hub. The tech at my bike shop was confident it was the hub, and since it is under warranty - ordered up a whole new wheel. Now, all I hear is the hum of the motor. Ill certainly post if the "grinding" or "choo choo train" sound returns - then it might prove to be a chronic issue with the Deore XT Hub.
GuruUno
Well-Known Member
Well, like I had previously posted, LBS put new guts in rear hub, no more OEM freewheeling pawl clicking, no more choo choo scraping, just dead silence and gobs of grease spewed from side.
As previously stated, curious if that grease will keep it quiet for the remainder of the warranty or?
As previously stated, curious if that grease will keep it quiet for the remainder of the warranty or?
GuruUno
Well-Known Member
I'm still awaiting (14 days) for my LBS to provide a complete breakdown, part numbers, performed rectification procedures, etc., etc., for which I've asked for 3 times with zero submittals. Other than a VISA receipt for 'hours', diagnostics (of which I'm sure those that were $0 were compensated for by Trek), I'd like to know what was done, what parts were replaced, and so forth, sop moving forward I have records in the event it is recurring, or designated EOL (discontinued), superseded, etc. (I had additional work done [SRAM AXS] which I had to pay for, but none of the "warranty" work has been disclosed or documented, not even the one when they replaced to motor (no documentation).
Much like Carfax, any bike that cost $6k and/or more with additional options should have a complete history record for any future litigation or sale.
I find it very, very odd that I have to practically beg for this information and still don't have it.
Much like Carfax, any bike that cost $6k and/or more with additional options should have a complete history record for any future litigation or sale.
I find it very, very odd that I have to practically beg for this information and still don't have it.
Seiber - unfortunately, I do not have the part number. The bike shop just ordered the entire wheel - including the Shimano Deore XT Hub, Rim, and spokes. The tech then transferred the original cassette, tire and tube to the new wheel assembly. This 12 speed free hub behaves differently than any other hub assembly that I have ever owned. If I pick the rear of the bike up off the ground and manually spin the tire with a moderate amount of force, there is absolutely no "buzzing bees" noise that is customary with a coasting free hub. BUT when I very gently spin the wheel, the "buzzing bees" sound is definitely present! I am not ready to figure out why out until after the warranty expires. As long is it is quiet and provides me with a pleasant ride, I am happy. If this problem comes back during warranty, I will argue strongly for a different model hub.
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Here we go again. Shimano will be in deep kimchi when this all comes out.
My newly rebuilt hub on my Allant_9.9s, with less than 300 miles on it, is now making an even louder, rhythmic, scratchy sound, same as the last time (but twice as loud) when the hub's clutch totally failed at the shop when they were test riding. The noise is in synch with the rotation of the rear wheel and does not vary with crank cadence. It is present constantly while pedaling with any effort at all and goes silent as soon as I stop cranking and let it freewheel. The replacement clutch has not failed...yet. I am confident that it will. The bike will sit in my basement Trek comes up with a solution and makes it right.
I predict a recall by Trek of all Allant+9.9s bikes. They will likely identify a suitable replacement hub, lace it into wheels and send them out to dealers to swap out. It will be interesting to see what alternative hub they come up with. The Shimano microspline hub was probably part of a groupset that Shimano contracted to Trek for this bike. Clearly this hub, which has been out for less than a year is going to put major egg on the face of Shimano, and rightly so. Ampother hub shimano called Scilence had it production cancelled last year due to a 50% failure rate and never made it to market.
I am sure Trek has great leverage with Shimano, perhaps their single biggest customer.
This situation will likely get some press once it comes out what an inadequate failure this Shimano hub is.
Fortunately our local Trek shop has already hired a mechanic and he is committed to making my bike right.
And on it goes...
My newly rebuilt hub on my Allant_9.9s, with less than 300 miles on it, is now making an even louder, rhythmic, scratchy sound, same as the last time (but twice as loud) when the hub's clutch totally failed at the shop when they were test riding. The noise is in synch with the rotation of the rear wheel and does not vary with crank cadence. It is present constantly while pedaling with any effort at all and goes silent as soon as I stop cranking and let it freewheel. The replacement clutch has not failed...yet. I am confident that it will. The bike will sit in my basement Trek comes up with a solution and makes it right.
I predict a recall by Trek of all Allant+9.9s bikes. They will likely identify a suitable replacement hub, lace it into wheels and send them out to dealers to swap out. It will be interesting to see what alternative hub they come up with. The Shimano microspline hub was probably part of a groupset that Shimano contracted to Trek for this bike. Clearly this hub, which has been out for less than a year is going to put major egg on the face of Shimano, and rightly so. Ampother hub shimano called Scilence had it production cancelled last year due to a 50% failure rate and never made it to market.
I am sure Trek has great leverage with Shimano, perhaps their single biggest customer.
This situation will likely get some press once it comes out what an inadequate failure this Shimano hub is.
Fortunately our local Trek shop has already hired a mechanic and he is committed to making my bike right.
And on it goes...
I have 575 miles so far on my allant and all seems well so far - knock on wood. So if the issue is with the Deore XT microspline hub - couldn't that be switched out to say a DT Swiss microspline hub? Or is it the microspline hub in and of itself an issue no matter what the hub brand?
So it's still really early days with my Allant 9.9s but I have to say that I'm definitely hearing the scratching noise. In addition I have two other observations.
One is a clicking sound that appears to be coming from the stem (or somewhere thereabouts).
The other (and this may be completely normal for ebikes... I wouldn't know) is some sort of friction when free-wheeling. It's not the same scratchy sound I get while pedaling but similar. Is this normal? It just feels like excess friction where there shouldn't be any. Not sure if it's the motor providing some resistance or not.
I'm still having an absolute blast but I'd like to get these issues cleared up. My local Trek shop is top notch so I suppose I'll drop it off and let them dig into it. It seems like many of you have significant experience in understanding the issues - any pointers before I give it back to them?
One is a clicking sound that appears to be coming from the stem (or somewhere thereabouts).
The other (and this may be completely normal for ebikes... I wouldn't know) is some sort of friction when free-wheeling. It's not the same scratchy sound I get while pedaling but similar. Is this normal? It just feels like excess friction where there shouldn't be any. Not sure if it's the motor providing some resistance or not.
I'm still having an absolute blast but I'd like to get these issues cleared up. My local Trek shop is top notch so I suppose I'll drop it off and let them dig into it. It seems like many of you have significant experience in understanding the issues - any pointers before I give it back to them?
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Lots of pointers already exist in this thread. Just review it before you take the bike in.
I had a "clicking" noise occurring somewhere in the headset - it happened when I would rotate the handlebar right & left. Took it all apart and tripped out on how they passed the signal cables, brake lines, and shifter cable down through the "rotary joint" in the head tube. It took me forever to get it all put back together, and I did re-route some of the cables in a "more logical" fashion - but the clicking did stop.
Over50
Well-Known Member
2020 Allant 9.9S Grinding Noise from motor or is it?
Got mine today as well. Same solution, all new internals on the original hub. There was a failure of the clutch plate mechanism after I heard the scratchy noise and turned the bike in. during the testing of the replacement motor (which turned out not to be needed). I just got back from a ride...
electricbikereview.com
My Shimano hub is confirmed to have failed ... documented here:
You were right @Kevmk81, the squeaking did come back, and it's louder than ever now. I ended up taking the front and rear wheels off in order to remove the fenders for the time being. The bike is extremely quiet now, such a pleasure to ride.I noticed this same thing - except I noticed if that contact point where the fender fits into that plastic 'holder' is a bit dirty - it will rub and still make noise. I took some teflon bike grease and applied a bit where fender rubs plastic - no more noiseSo just in case that sound comes back - I'd give that a shot as well. My bike is extremely quiet right now besides normal electric motor noise. In fact it's the quietest bike I've ever owned - again besides the electric motor. Now I just need to figure out why my right SPD pedal makes a noise when I'm clipped in. Doesn't do it when I'm using the platform side of the pedal... hmm.... thinking of maybe lubing the spring in the pedal and maybe using grease on all contact points on my cleats.... lol. Very minor annoyance and not bike related.
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Interesting - so I just posed a question on the root forum for the Trek brand on this site. I'm curious - how easy would it be to re-install the fenders that you took off? I wanted to remove the fenders just for my own curiosity a week or so ago but decided to not bother after seeing how they are attached to the underside of fender - an odd piece of metal with 2 bolts attached. It looked as if Trek purposely made it look like something that shouldn't be removed. I'd like to be able to remove the fenders - so much easier to take care of the bike, clean it, etc. especially when the weight is somewhat shed. Easier to handle a 40lb bike than a 50lb when working on it. I'm also curious - when you removed the rear fender - is there a quick connect of some sort for the rear light that can be disconnected easily?
The front fender is super straight forward, it took me less than 10 minutes. Here is a quick break down of the steps.
1. Remove the two small screws that hold the front fender cap in place. I focused on the front one.
2. Slide the center cover forward so that you can access the two bolts that hold the fender in place at the joint of the fork.
3. Remove the front wheel so that you can access the 4 bolts that hold the fender in place.
4. Remove the two small bottom bolts first, then proceed to remove the two top ones.
The rear was a bit more complicated but not terrible. It’s certainly not something I would be willing to do often. I’ll attempt to outline the steps
1. Remove the 4 bolts that hold the protector plate below the motor in place.
2. Trace the bi-wire rear light connector and unplug the red and black pins.
3. Untangle the wires and let them hang freely so that you can pull it out later.
4. Unscrew the two bolts at the end of the chain stay that holds the fender in place. Now it’s held in place by one bolt near the motor.
5. Remove the end cap again and slide the protector out of the way. Be careful since the rear light wire is tucked into this channel.
Now for the worst part...
6. You’ll have to remove the wheel to get to the last bolt :-( and in order to remove the wheel, I had to also remove the kick stand, which holds a sensor in place.
7. Once the wheel is removed, remove the last bolt and gently slide the rear light wire out.
The back took me about 30 minutes to take apart with a little help from my wife. She held the bike in place while I put the rear wheel back on since the bike is so darn heavy.
At this point, I’m planning to keep the fenders off all summer. Re-installing seems pretty straight forward. Best of luck if you decide to remove and I’d appreciate feedback if anything is unclear.
Note: I tested the bike with the rear light disconnected to make sure it didn’t throw any error codes before taking it all apart.
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Wow the steed is packing some serious range potential now
My Allant 9.9 is on its third rear hub. About 1000 miles total. First repair time it was repaired with a new internal part. That lasted about a month now they are installing a whole new XT hub on wheel. Also this time random loud popping noise from drive unit under load. Replacing the drive too. I was hoping for longevity with this bike given the price. I am beginning to wonder.
Great feedback! I think I'll leave the rear alone. I'd do this routine too often and it doesn't seem like an easy process. The front though I might get a process down. Seems like something that would be nice to be able to place on and off as I desire.
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