Trek rail 9 Battery Mount Broken

[EBike-Doc]

Sooo, I've had this rattle on my bike for the last 4 to 5 weeks, it's got progressively worse, initially I thought it was the mudguards, but recently I took both the front and the back off as it's been so dry, the sound didn't improve at all, rode a small loop last night, I noticed the battery gap at the top was bigger than usual, investigated further tonight.

Looks like the battery mounts that are welded into the frame have both broken off, has anyone else had this?
Sorry havent had time to clean and investigate further.

View attachment 92785

 

[Ushtang]

Same exact thing happened to me. I bought my Trek from a Trek store and not an LBS, though it shouldn't matter as long as yours was bought from an authorized dealer. It was covered under warranty . I have found Trek warranty to be very good in dealing with this and was presented other options other than just replacing my frame.

My Trek store also fitted a brace that was bolted down in between the outer part of the frame and the screws in your picture which allowed battery to be secured to the frame again. This allowed me to continue riding while my warranty was being processed.

Definitely get the store you bought the bike from involved to contact Trek's warranty department.

 

[EBike-Doc]

Cheers Ushtang, The bike shop I bought it from is over 70 miles away, when my motor died I got Trek UK involved and they let me take it to a local dealer, and sorted out with him, so will try calling him tomorrow to see what he says.
I still struggle, that any warranty work it has to go back to the shop you purchased it off, why not any authorised Trek dealer??? if they are authorised surely thats, what authorised means?

 

[Ushtang]

Actually yes an authorized Trek dealer should be able to help you as well. In fact, my warranty was processed by a different Trek store and not the Trek store I originally bought the bike from.

Forgot to mention you can remedy this on your own until you get your warranty is sorted out. You should be able to find washers at your hardware store that have a diameter that is slightly larger than the head of the bolt. Add the washer between the bolt and the outer part of the down tube. This should allow you to secure the battery to the frame.

 

[EBike-Doc]

Yeah good point, I guess its a frame swap, so a temp fix is to just clamp it in there

 

[Ushtang]

If you are talking about the plate comes with the revised RIB system that came on models after the 2020 model, I had it retrofitted under warranty and this issue still happened to me.

A longer pair of bolts won’t fix it. The problem is that those bolts do not secure to the down tube itself, but to a bracket inside the downtube. The bracket is only epoxied to the downtube and not welded. In my case the bracket broke off. (See attached pic).

If you look at the poster’s 2nd pic you can see the head of the bolts pass through the bolt holes on the downtube and so longer bolts won’t work. You will either need bolts with a larger size heads or washers that are larger than the bolt holes.

 

[Ushtang]

I initially fixed this with the original bolts and washers. There is enough length on the bolts to hold a washer. The brace was on the outside of the frame, like one big washer for both bolts.

 

[EBike-Doc]

Yeah thats what I plan on doing, as a temp fix, Just spoken to the dealer they can't even have a look at it until a week tomorrow, so that the first weeks loss of riding???

 

[EBike-Doc]

Good solution, but surely Trek should be making this area stronger, it shouldn't be down to end users to solve the issues

 

[irie]

Well in response to this as preventive maintenance I did this
Now come unbonded

View attachment 93430View attachment 93431

Like that solution, where did you get those bolts/washers etc? Want to do the same to both our Rails. Cheers

 

[EBike-Doc]

Just search for "aluminium countersunk washers" on fleabay

 

[irie]

Just search for "aluminium countersunk washers" on fleabay

Thanks, but without taking it apart how long and what diameter are the 4 bolts (M5?), because to their length must be added the extra depth required by the countersunk washers ...

 

[irie]

Hi
Some links below ,
The bolts you get are M5 x 20mm dont get any longer as they hit the lock mech inside
If your gentle you dont have to remove anything inside the bike but be warned the nuts are loose on the mounts inside
Hope this helps

M4 M5 M6 M8 Countersunk Washers - Anodised Aluminium - Fairing Fender Alloy | eBay UK

ALUMINIUM COUNTERSUNK WASHERS. These Aluminium Countersunk Washers are manufactured in-house at GWR Fasteners Limited, using state-of-the art CNC sliding head lathes. Countersunk Washers. BA Steel Countersunk Screws.

www.ebay.co.uk

M5 COUNTERSUNK WASHERS WITH GRADE 5 TITANIUM SCREWS | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for M5 COUNTERSUNK WASHERS WITH GRADE 5 TITANIUM SCREWS at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Thank-you Paul, much appreciated.

 

[EBike-Doc]

UPDATE: Trek Uk has agreed to replace the whole frame, "But" and it's a big one, they only have red/grey available, mine was burnt orange, and my wheels and hub and fork stickers match, also they won't cover the cost of "invisiframe" I have to pay Arghhhhhh
I know its not a biggie, but dam annoying

 

[Ushtang]

Just picked up my warranty replacement for this issue. Went from a olive green Trek Rail 5, to basically a Rail 9.,...Carbon frame, Kiox, etc. Even moved over some of my old parts at no cost. All in all took about 3months from the time I filed my issue with the Trek store and today.

 

[EBike-Doc]

Sweet