Over50's Trek Allant 9.9s Chronicles

[Alaskan]

Hi Over50,

Exactly 510 miles, and mine has been great. No flying batteries, although I am very careful when I reinstall to make sure tight.

Only issue I am having is the scratchy, grinding noise that I had mentioned to you privately. Was intermittent starting at 100 miles, they could not find a problem at 300 mile checkup - but since 400 miles noise is non-stop. Syncs with the cadence of the back wheel, not the pedals. I think hub, tech says hub is fine, talking to Bosch. Bike is in the shop right now. Will report on outcome.

Unlike GuruUno, Alaskan, and you, my bike is still totally stock.

Happy Riding!

Tell your tech he is going down the wrong path. IT IS THE HUB. My bet is that there will be a recall on the hub coming soon. The stock Shimano hub is failing all over the place. Mine which had the motor replaced by Bosch, continued to make the noise until they replaced all the internals of the hub. The noise is caused by the failure of a spring for one of the pawls in the freehub, which in my case interfered with and caused total failure of the clutch plates. Now with under 300 miles the rebuilt hub is failing to, making the identical scratchy noise, in synch with the wheel spinning, not the crank. Stop pedaling and coast and the noise goes away. Tell your mechanic to call Trek tech support and don't bother the folks at Bosch.

 

[Alaskan]

New member here. First post.

I had been researching electric bikes for quite some time and I finally pulled the trigger on the Allant 9.9s yesterday. My LBS gave me a great deal on it and so far I've been ridiculously pleased.

I'm mostly a runner but I mix in some mountain biking (old Kahuna hardtail 29er that's still serving me well) and some road biking (Trek Domane SL5) here and there. I don't do a ton of riding - I maybe get up to 125-150 miles per week in the summer when running in the south gets tough!). Anyway - I bought this bike to use for multiple tasks such as commuting (I have a 9 mile commute each way), running errands, active recovery days, and just plain fun!

I'm going to ride over to my local REI later today to pick up some panniers and a good bike lock. Starting to eye some other accessories but so far I'm just having an absolute blast riding the bike!

I HAVE had the bike shut down on me once so far. Not sure if it's due to a bad connection with the phone (this is what I suspect) or what. It's easy enough to remedy but it's a little bit a buzz kill to the flow when it happens.

Anyway - happy riding!

The Bosch battery connection is quite sensitive and should be checked out. A minor adjustment may be all that is needed. This is usually the culprit. Don't try to fix this yourself as that could jeopardize your warranty. This is why we pay a premium for a Trek bike, to get support and service for issues just like this. Make sure the tech is Bosch certified.

 

[mebby]

The Bosch battery connection is quite sensitive and should be checked out. A minor adjustment may be all that is needed. This is usually the culprit. Don't try to fix this yourself as that could jeopardize your warranty. This is why we pay a premium for a Trek bike, to get support and service for issues just like this. Make sure the tech is Bosch certified.

Thanks for the tip. If it happens again I'll take it in and have them look at it. The Trek store is 2.2 miles from my house luckily. Easy ride down there and I can run back home if they need to keep it!

Quick question on a safety topic. On my road bike I have the Garmin Varia light/radar paired up with my Edge 520 to alert me to traffic behind me. I'm considering adding a mount for my 520 and the Varia on my Allant but would a mirror serve me just as well? Thoughts? Having the 520 on my Allant seems like overkill - especially since I'm using the Cobi.bike app for all my navigation/tracking.

 

[Alaskan]

I upgraded my grips to the SQ Labs 702 medium size with the Selle Italia mirror. It looks cool on the bike and a quick glance down is all that is needed to see what is behind. In town and generally I am just in the habit of giving the mirror a glance every 30-60 seconds. For me it is just right to maintain situational awareness. Here is a view of my cockpit.

 

[mebby]

I upgraded my grips to the SQ Labs 702 medium size with the Selle Italia mirror. It looks cool on the bike and a quick glance down is all that is needed to see what is behind. In town and generally I am just in the habit of giving the mirror a glance every 30-60 seconds. For me it is just right to maintain situational awareness. Here is a view of my cockpit.

View attachment 53678

I'm probably going to regret asking this but what is that head unit that you have on there??! And what's the blue thing on the right?

 

[Alaskan]

My display is a Bosch Nyon. The blue thing is a quad lock phone mount.

 

[mebby]

My display is a Bosch Nyon. The blue thing is a quad lock phone mount.

That looks very nice! How do you like it? I worry about my iPhone falling out of the mount even though it feels very secure in there (and I've tested it pretty agressively). I do not use cases on my phones so if it comes out it's going to be ugly.

But a dedicated head unit seems to be a much better option in my opinion as long as the functionality is there.

 

[Alaskan]

That looks very nice! How do you like it? I worry about my iPhone falling out of the mount even though it feels very secure in there (and I've tested it pretty agressively). I do not use cases on my phones so if it comes out it's going to be ugly.

But a dedicated head unit seems to be a much better option in my opinion as long as the functionality is there.

I have been using Nyons on my bikes for the past two years and would have nothing else. Unfortunately they are neither sold nor supported in North America. Bosch is coming out with an updated version this summer and rumor has it it will be available in NA. Function wise, they are far more complete than the Kiox, have a large, easy to read at a glance screen, custom ride and fitness screens, custom ride modes, decent navigation, maps and routing with GPS, okay phone integration, great data gathering with auto upload to the Bosch cloud via wifi, with an online, detailed record of each ride starting on day one of installation. Plus I prefer using a dedicated unit rather than taking up phone bandwidth.

Here are my custom screens

 

[Akrotiri]

I have been using Nyons on my bikes for the past two years and would have nothing else. Unfortunately they are neither sold nor supported in North America. Bosch is coming out with an updated version this summer and rumor has it it will be available in NA. Function wise, they are far more complete than the Kiox, have a large, easy to read at a glance screen, custom ride and fitness screens, custom ride modes, decent navigation, maps and routing with GPS, okay phone integration, great data gathering with auto upload to the Bosch cloud via wifi, with an online, detailed record of each ride starting on day one of installation. Plus I prefer using a dedicated unit rather than taking up phone bandwidth.

Here are my custom screens

View attachment 53700View attachment 53701

Any word whether it will be compatible w/ the allant8s,9 etc?

 

[Mulezen]

Mine’s been at the LBS awaiting new door latch/cover...in the meantime I’ve been riding around on my SC7 so can compare somewhat, impressions of a causal rider. The Allant is way more comfortable which, as was pointed out, is surely a combination of things...I’ve got the Molokov handlebars on the Allant with a bit of a sweep to them...Ergon Bio-cork grips with short ends. Also the horns up front for a back stretch. The buzz I get in my hands on my beater never bothered me BEFORE the Allant. One thing the SC7 has going for it is Schwalbe Super Moto tires. Even I can feel the difference so I will be replacing the Bontrager with the E-Plus Schwalbe.
One other thing I’ve noticed in comparison is the gearing. The Allant seems one gear short on the high end...I’m inarticulate in these matters...but say pushing hard down a hill past 24-25mph you’re pretty much free-wheeling whereas with SC though the assist is gone by 19.5 you can still engage the pedals w/o being in the highest gear.

 

[Alaskan]

Any word whether it will be compatible w/ the allant8s,9 etc?

The new Nyon should be compatible with all contemporary Bosch Motors. The ones I have fit on an Intuvia mount but need a different controller attach ed to the back of the display mount. I don't know if the new one will have a unique mount, share one with the Kiox or what. They are keeping it very hush hush

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The new Nyon should be compatible with all contemporary Bosch Motors. The ones I have fit on an Intuvia mount but need a different controller attach ed to the back of the display mount. I don't know if the new one will have a unique mount, share one with the Kiox or what. They are keeping it very hush hush

I would highly recommend the new Nyon.

"Lock" feature like the kiox
Custom rider profiles
on-board Navigation
Higher resolution display than Kiox

 

[Ebiker01]

I upgraded my grips to the SQ Labs 702 medium size with the Selle Italia mirror. It looks cool on the bike and a quick glance down is all that is needed to see what is behind. In town and generally I am just in the habit of giving the mirror a glance every 30-60 seconds. For me it is just right to maintain situational awareness. Here is a view of my cockpit.

View attachment 53678

Congrats for SQ lab upgrade. Most members (99%) don't have a clue about this German brand on ebr forum.
I've been using the SQ lab for 12months for their 702 grips and saddle. Defintely the absolute best.
Far superior to the much hyped but totally features lacking Ergons.

I would also add a right side mirror . It can help sometimes and is better to have it and complete the look.

 

[Alaskan]

You can get this mirro in either a left or a right side version. The arm is not quite as long as the one on the Selle Italia mirror but it still works quite well.

Hafny HF-MR081 Fully Adjustable Magic Bike Handlebar Rearview Mirror-Left/Right | eBay

Bicycle Part. Bicycle Accessory. Bicycle Components. GOBT banner (Bike products). Clamp material: ED Aluminium. Having a fully adjustable silver mirror ball jointed head that is attached to the base makes it easy to adjust to any riders specifications and may be fitted to a full range of bikes...

www.ebay.com

Th absolute best left hand mirror you can get is the Busch & Muller 701, more robustly built than any other and a nice large surface. It will only work with grips that do have their clamp on the outside with a removable plug for the bar, like an ergon grip.

Busch & Muller 701 Mirror for E-Bikes

The Busch & Muller 701 Mirror is designed for fast e-bikes, offering effortless installation, a pivoting mount for impact resilience, and substantial visibility. Ideal for commuters, this mirror provides quick realignment and is compatible with handlebars with an inside diameter of at least 16.7mm.

propelbikes.com

 

[Rob NJ]

Tell your tech he is going down the wrong path. IT IS THE HUB. My bet is that there will be a recall on the hub coming soon. The stock Shimano hub is failing all over the place. Mine which had the motor replaced by Bosch, continued to make the noise until they replaced all the internals of the hub. The noise is caused by the failure of a spring for one of the pawls in the freehug, which in my case interfered with and caused total failure of the clutch plates. Now with under 300 miles the rebuilt hub is failing to, making the identical scratchy noise, in synch with the wheel spinning, not the crank. Stop pedaling and coast and the noise goes away. Tell your mechanic to call Trek tech support and don't bother the folks at Bosch.

I agree. I gave them a copy of all of our emails. Personally handed them to them. Thanks.

 

[Over50]

500 mile update (537 to be exact) addressing some of the issues brought up by other owners on the forums:

• bad hubs: not sure yet - see odd noises below
• odd noises and creaking: right after purchase I had a creaky stem (after the Baramind had been installed). LBS went over the bike and checked torque on everything and noise gone. Just recently, I've developed a noise that I think is the hub but am not 100% sure. On freewheeling, I just have the buzz from the hub. As soon as I engage the pedals, it sounds like I have a frantic duck trapped in the bike...

It really is the hub! I finally was able to snag an appointment with my LBS (they are slammed). The ride to the LBS was excruciating because the noise was so loud. Mechanic confirmed hub. Rebuilt the hub, test-rode once and no noise. 2nd longer test ride and noise started again. Call in to Shimano. I've pleaded with them to start the wheels turning on the SRAM AXS upgrade with a different hub. Preferably the Onyx. Bike will be out of commission for awhile longer (its already been 3 weeks of only riding class 1 Terns).

 

[Mulezen]

I got my Allant9s back from the swamped LBS yesterday...new battery cover and latch. Trek’s dime not that I’m getting away clean. 1) today after about 30 miles (nice ride) I decided to remove the battery. The key refuses to engage. LBS says bring it back...I think I’m going to ride for awhile...so I put off the fix asking about putting in an Onyx hub. I’ve had no problems with hub noise (maybe 200 miles) but why not head it off at the pass. Anyone installed one yet?
As I left the LBS and was Trying to load the bike on my Saris hitch...my problems positioning the wheels, navigating the fenders Made one old shoulder tear object. No fun then I remembered the answer was on this forum...the $750 Thule Easyfold. One expensive door latch.

 

[JimFMB]

I sold my Saris rack and purchased the Thule Easyfold a couple of years ago. Pricy, but well worth it. I’m never hesitant to load the bikes on this rack and have made several trips to Florida using the Easyfold

 

[mebby]

I've got three issues that I've noticed so far. I'm struggling to hand it back over to my local Trek shop though because I'm enjoying the bike so much... even WITH the issues!

Issue 1 - I get a clicking noise from time to time in the head tube. From reading here it seems like that has to do with the cable routing. I'll let my LBS fix that - I'm not messing with it.

Issue 2 - I have a noticeable clicking sound AND feeling when I pedal. It's present with the motor on and off. I can literally FEEL it in my left pedal. Sometimes it happens at the bottom of my stroke and sometimes at the top.

Issue 3 - When freewheeling things just sound scratchy and resistant. It's like the bike isn't coasting like it should.

Items 2 and 3 are my most worrisome. I suppose I'll ride it down to the shop this week and let them have it for a few days. I'm not 100% convinced that I'm having the same rear hub that others have noted here but perhaps I am.

I'm REALLY loving the bike though. I'm getting out to ride a whole lot more and the rides are always super enjoyable. Once our office reopens I plan to commute on my bike most days.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

The last time I had a click in my pedal the damn thing fell off and I had to walk a mile and a half through the woods. LBS had put them back on the wrong sides after removing them.

Obviously yours aren't backwards, but maybe the left one is cross threaded just a bit? Since you can actually feel it?