Known Issues & Problems with Trek Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[elyhim]

I'm okay with every 1,000 -1,500 miles, but every 500 miles would be a lot of money for a person who rides a lot of miles each year.

Yep, I rotate chains to make the cassettes last longer.

 

[eliot3b4]

Went to ride my super commuter +7 and saw the front tire was low. Did not know if there was/is and issue with the tire. Called the show here I have just purchased this bike and was told "we have seen a lot of Trek bikes with metal fiings in the tire. Pump it up and see what happens." Huh? I just spent a lot of money on a new bike and there is an issue with the tires? I do not want to be out riding my bike with the possibility of those tires going flat.

 

[slomoshun]

... I do not want to be out riding my bike with the possibility of those tires going flat.

Then remove the tires and check them for filings. Riding a bike 'requires' the knowledge and ability to do that, and to fix a flat because they happen. It's a 20 minute inconvenience.

 

[BigMark]

Hello folks, I have a XL 2019 Trek Powerfly 5 that currently has 2000 miles on it. The biggest fault of the bike is the front brake. I'm a large person and anyone riding an XL would be as well. Most of my riding is in the mountains above my home. The solution was going to Deore XT with Deore XT Saint caliper and SM-RTR 203 mm rotor. This requires a common adaptor SM-MA-F203P/P It's an expensive but necessary fix.

 

[Dallant]

I had my Allant+7 battery lock malfunction insofar as it would not release the battery. It was fixed by my local Trek shop by releasing the battery (not sure how) and adjusting a number of clearances/parameters of how the battery fits into the opening. The same appears to be true of those batteries that have come loose and fallen out.

 

[opimax]

Posted In the Bosch forum also

I have a Trek Alant 7s. I have a an issue with with chain skip. I am pedaling in in 8th or 9th gear , the top 2 speeds, and the bike will occaisionaly pedal a 1/4, 1/2 or more of air and then jump back on the gears. At 1250 miles I had the gear cluster and chain replaced. It continued to jump. The old gears were worn shiny on the sides so it made sense that it skipped. After the replacement of the parts it contInues to skip. It is different where it was skipping more on 8 but now it skips more on 9. It skipped within 3-5 miles from replacing and got slightly worse in 5 or 6 rides or about almost 500 miles I took it in today to get a last night’s flat fixed and spoke with my tech. He said since I rode in high power too much it may be my cadence is too slow.

This brings a few questions to mind. Since I don’t have any way to measure my cadence with the cheap display and know when I should shift I came up with the question of what speed is the lower end of acceptable cadence (he suggested 70 rpm) is equal to what speed. So at 20 mph what is my cadence in 7th, 8th and 9th gear? Same for 25 mph or any other speed. My belief is it should not jump with brand new parts and just pedal slower. Especially with no pressure on the pedal but pedaling along like clown pedaling but at slower speeds.

What other defective/worn parts could cause chain skip beside the chain and gear cluster? I don’t know what else to even look at? Am I the only 7s with this issue?
tia

multiple gear shifts at once sound prettybad to me also but I am not very knowledgeable but I have ridden bikes over 50 years and bad noises are bad noises....

he replaced the tube and I left him the bike to ride on his own time for a longer ride to get a better feel for the bike.

I do shift to lower gears when taking off, don’t stand and ride hardly at all. I never get air, I walk up all curbs and only ride the front wheel down and walk the back wheel. Tires hold 55 lbs which I keep,near 50at most times. I ride very smooth rail to trail 75 -100 mile trips so I am not doing much stop and go and try to stay above 20 and would do 25 the whole time if I had the strength. I avg just over 20 on a faster or really a stronger rear hub (both say 28 mph top speed).

i just don’t think it should shkip, to me something else is wrong and hasn't been found yet

thanks

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Have you inspected and replaced the chainring, too?

 

[opimax]

No ...on other post in Bosh thread chainring seems to be further down the the replacement parts. I am getting mechanical responses therre which is great but here I would change the focus to other Treks doing the same thing as a question, are others having this issue?

thx much

 

[Dallant]

No

 

[Bakunin]

No ...on other post in Bosh thread chainring seems to be further down the the replacement parts. I am getting mechanical responses therre which is great but here I would change the focus to other Treks doing the same thing as a question, are others having this issue?

thx much

It might be a bent derailleur hanger. But in general, I would think it would be a worn cassette. If it is a worn chainring, you will get skipping in the front. Also, you can pull the chain from the chainring teeth and see light. A cassette will wear out quickly if the chain is stretched. If you replace a chain, and then get skipping, it is diagnostic of this kind of wear.

 

[TrailSeeker]

A cassette will wear out quickly if the chain is stretched

I wanted to say that I had a thread where someone mentioned the chain which comes standard on the allant 7s, isn't made for Ebikes. It is the X9 chain but should be the E9 turbo- which is more heavy-duty, and made for ebikes.

The disclaimer is I'm a newbie and this is just something that was mentioned to me by another member here.

Maybe it's possible running the motor with higher levels of assist exposes the X9 chain to early stretching, which in turn might have damaged the cassette - as mentioned above. Just a thought.

Edit: I think it's the E9 turbo. There are 4 versions of the chain IIRC, that are specific to ebikes.

 

[California Flash]

Went to ride my super commuter +7 and saw the front tire was low. Did not know if there was/is and issue with the tire. Called the show here I have just purchased this bike and was told "we have seen a lot of Trek bikes with metal fiings in the tire. Pump it up and see what happens." Huh? I just spent a lot of money on a new bike and there is an issue with the tires? I do not want to be out riding my bike with the possibility of those tires going flat.

Hello! Here in Michigan it is quite common to find metal "filings" in a bicycle tire which cause flats. I believe that they come off the carbide snowplow blades as roads are plowed. Not much you can do about avoiding them as they are impossible to see. We also have a fair amount of flats caused by sharp gravel or glass. Prior to purchasing my EBike, it was very common to have flats every 500-750 miles. Best thing you can do is to buy tires with high puncture resistance. I have 3500 miles on my Trek Allant+ 8s using Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus tires. They are nearly impervious to the typical punctures caused by small objects. They are given the highest rating for Road Grip, Durability, and Protection. I did have one flat just recently. There was a very large sharp screw that entered the tire just outside of the protection belts. My Allant+ 8s has just over 3,500 miles and these tires show no wear. Typically I had to replace tires at the 2,000 mile mark.

 

[LongeLance]

Hello from a Scandinavian newbie. I just bought a Trek Allant+ 9s. I use it for commuting. It's really a great bike. I haven't regretted for one second that I bought it. Before I would be stuck in the traffic. Now I commute along the ocean, through woods and marshes. Enjoying the wild life. There's is just one thing. When I ride at +20 miles pr hour the front wheel starts to wobble. A lot. I expected it wouldn't be as stable as a road bike as it's smaller and more compact (27.5x2.4"). But as it is now it's clearly unsafe to ride without a firm grip on both handlebars. Is this normal? Never experienced anything like it on other bikes or motorbikes. I hope someone on the forum can advise me here.

 

[fooferdoggie]

two things to check. lift the front off the ground and spin the wheel. see if the rim has a wobble in it. if it spins without any movement check the tire see if there is up or down movement in it or side to side. if the tire is moving then let the air out squeeze around it to unseat it and fill it back up with air and see if if is now spinning smoothly. those are the first two things to check. if the rim is off it will need to be trued at the store.

 

[LongeLance]

That sounds like god advice. I will try that. Thank you

 

[opimax]

Make sure nothing is loose, press on the rim side to side, wheel bearing “slop” or not seated properly. Also the headset needs to be tight , with the brake on push the bike forward and back to feel slop in the frame and the handlebars and / or wheel.

 

[archerlc]

Hello from a Scandinavian newbie. I just bought a Trek Allant+ 9s. I use it for commuting. It's really a great bike. I haven't regretted for one second that I bought it. Before I would be stuck in the traffic. Now I commute along the ocean, through woods and marshes. Enjoying the wild life. There's is just one thing. When I ride at +20 miles pr hour the front wheel starts to wobble. A lot. I expected it wouldn't be as stable as a road bike as it's smaller and more compact (27.5x2.4"). But as it is now it's clearly unsafe to ride without a firm grip on both handlebars. Is this normal? Never experienced anything like it on other bikes or motorbikes. I hope someone on the forum can advise me here.

This is not normal. I have the 8. It is very stable at all speeds. Something is wrong. Have you LBS check everything.

 

[folmonty]

We have two Allant 7's. One is a stagger and one traditional. Plus a Trek Rail 7. The bikes have been great for going on a 8 months. I enjoy working on and maintaining them myself. One issue I've been made aware of is the chain ring lock nut. On the mountain bikes these have been coming loose. For grins and giggles I checked our Allant's and sure enough they weren't any more than 15 Nm and should be 30 Nm. Something to check when you service the drive train (chain, freewheel and chain ring).

On another note: been chatting with others regarding the Allant 8s and racks vs the 7 series. Here's the solution we've used. The bag is more or less a traditional bag but I've had this for over 35 years. Used on a tandem prior. The brand Jandd out of Santa Barbara uses really good materials and the quality is quite nice. The trick using the "Racktime" rack is to buy one of the attachment devices. This allows super quick attach and detach without having to use the velcro straps which are fiddly and not that secure if hauling any weight. What you have to do is attach the fixing rails to the bag. Once done it's a fantastic system!

Keeping the drive line clean and lubricated is very important on eBikes. The chains and gears take a lot more abuse do to the the power the motor adds. Shifting and working the gears and power modes same as you would a car will help avoid wearing out things faster and give you a bit more exercise at the same time. If you don't like doing maintenance throw your LBS a bone every once in a while. It's money well spent on a bike of this investment.

I'm not keen on mounting my phone to the bike (just personal preference) but found a great solution to navigation in a product called Beeline. Mounts right to the bars, and uses a phone app as the engine via Bluetooth. The app is really easy to use. I use it for motorcycle and bicycle applications. They make bike specific and moto models. The moto model has duel use for bike or motorcycle.

Lastly, I was worried about roadside repair and tire flats. There's a device called Handlebar Jack that works really well. Carry it on any of our eBikes were on. Saves mangling the display, bell, phone / GPS or anything else on your handlebars. Well made, not too large and extremely functional. Highly recommended!

The Original Handlebar Jack Ultra Portable Bicycle Repair Stand

The Original Handlebar Jack is a portable bicycle repair stand. Protect your handlebars, expensive accessories, ebike displays, carbon fiber handlebars, break levers and more.

www.handlebarjack.com

 

[folmonty]

Something that I hope will help many with Allant's wearing the Schwalbe G-One tires or any other hoop that seems glued onto the rim. This is simple and effective way to reduce major aggravation when trying to fix a flat or remove a tire. The trick is to find a long flat piece of wood like a 1X2 and use it as a lever pushing down on the tire bead. Use your feet if necessary just be careful as to not damage the disc or wheel on pavement or anything. Guaranteed to work You may still need tire levers to pop the bead over the rim. Sometimes I need nothing more but good to have just in case. Remember to squeeze tire into the center of the rim to make install and removal easier. When filling the tire it can take up to 40 psi or more to seat the bead. You'll hear a satisfying POP when it's found it's way home. Hope this helps out.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Something that I hope will help many with Allant's wearing the Schwalbe G-One tires or any other hoop that seems glued onto the rim. This is simple and effective way to reduce major aggravation when trying to fix a flat or remove a tire. The trick is to find a long flat piece of wood like a 1X2 and use it as a lever pushing down on the tire bead. Use your feet if necessary just be careful as to not damage the disc or wheel on pavement or anything. Guaranteed to work You may still need tire levers to pop the bead over the rim. Sometimes I need nothing more but good to have just in case. Remember to squeeze tire into the center of the rim to make install and removal easier. When filling the tire it can take up to 40 psi or more to seat the bead. You'll hear a satisfying POP when it's found it's way home. Hope this helps out.
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thats a good idea. though thats the part I ahve the least trouble with. sometimes its hard to get the tire off to be able to push hard enough on the lever.