Fuel EXe Official Trek Fuel EXe Megathread!

Xinto said:

That specific LBS I had asked for 9.7 and 9.8XT.

Other LBS I contacted said they would get 1 XL sized bike would be coming this month (no idea which spec) and L sized 9.7 would be coming at the start of November.

3rd company I checked today had 3.10. date on their website for 9.7 in M, L and XL size.

Wouldn't be suprised if these dates were pushed forward later.

Biggest thing for me is to get test ride so I could decide the right size (M or L). Will be winter soon, so wouldn't be much riding anyways until next spring. Of course it wouldn't hurt if I had the bike waiting for next season

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Thank you very much for your reply.
As far as I can see, the deadlines are similar to those in Spain.
In Europe we have to wait a bit longer.

Hi everyone
Slightly off topic but the LBS has built up another two brand new exes to test it for my wife and they started making that grinding/grumbling noise after they test rode it for ~20km. In essence, that would be the 5th faulty motor on three different exes.

Our LBS is trying to source the bike from a different branch however if the problem persists , my wife does not know what to do as it sounds louder than a rail uphill and the noise also appears on descents when pedalling is required. She is thinking of getting a Juliana instead to complement her rail.

Would you guys just return the bike back to the LBS or what would you guys do in this case?

I don't even understand how your LBS has been able to get three EXe with five different motors, considering the extreme small amount of EXes that are available. You really are unlucky, too!

Shades said:

I don't even understand how your LBS has been able to get three EXe with five different motors, considering the extreme small amount of EXes that are available. You really are unlucky, too!

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Yeah there are quite a few in New Zealand. In fact, it has just gone on sale …

I just feel bad for the LBS who are also frustrated with the issue and have been super helpful in trying to resolve it. They think it’s a bad batch.

Jujujuice said:

Yeah there are quite a few in New Zealand. In fact, it has just gone on sale …

I just feel bad for the LBS who are also frustrated with the issue and have been super helpful in trying to resolve it. They think it’s a bad batch.

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5 failures can not be a coincidence! It must be clarified whether it only affects one batch or every engine has the problem sooner or later. Are the engines not produced in Germany?

Perhaps Mitch@Trek can provide feedback here, thanks.
After all, there are a few prospective buyers here!

BenQ77 said:

5 failures can not be a coincidence! It must be clarified whether it only affects one batch or every engine has the problem sooner or later. Are the engines not produced in Germany?

Perhaps Mitch@Trek can provide feedback here, thanks.
After all, there are a few prospective buyers here!

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Did your LBS follow the 3 service bulletins, including re-torquing the motor? I was in my LBS yesterday and the let me know they’ve already receive 3 service bulletins; one of them Included re-torquing the motor as has been discussed earlier in this thread. They didn’t tell me the other service bulletins. My bike is quiet. They torqued it to new specs.

Cell4soul said:

Did your LBS follow the 3 service bulletins, including re-torquing the motor? I was in my LBS yesterday and the let me know they’ve already receive 3 service bulletins; one of them Included re-torquing the motor as has been discussed earlier in this thread. They didn’t tell me the other service bulletins. My bike is quiet. They torqued it to new specs.

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I think the question is for Jujujuice.
I don't own a Fuel EXE, but am thinking of buying one.

BenQ77 said:

5 failures can not be a coincidence! It must be clarified whether it only affects one batch or every engine has the problem sooner or later. Are the engines not produced in Germany?

Perhaps Mitch@Trek can provide feedback here, thanks.
After all, there are a few prospective buyers here!

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@Mitch@Trek

Cell4soul said:

Did your LBS follow the 3 service bulletins, including re-torquing the motor? I was in my LBS yesterday and the let me know they’ve already receive 3 service bulletins; one of them Included re-torquing the motor as has been discussed earlier in this thread. They didn’t tell me the other service bulletins. My bike is quiet. They torqued it to new specs.

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Can anyone give more info on the service bulletin for retorquing the motor? The only service bulletin my dealer could find yesterday was for retorquing the chainring; which seems to have eliminated my BB area clicking.

There was also a new firmware available yesterday my dealer installed. They don’t know what it’s for though.

Also, on my last ride the bike set an error code that turned off power. It happened during a downhill, which I thought was odd. I noticed when I went to pedal again and the pedaling effort was hard. The motor was still engaged. I turned off and on the bike and it worked fine again for the rest of the ride. My dealer could not find an error code stored in memory and I forgot to take a picture of the display.

Cell4soul said:

Did your LBS follow the 3 service bulletins, including re-torquing the motor? I was in my LBS yesterday and the let me know they’ve already receive 3 service bulletins; one of them Included re-torquing the motor as has been discussed earlier in this thread. They didn’t tell me the other service bulletins. My bike is quiet. They torqued it to new specs.

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Hi there

I believe so but will clarify with them. Our LBS is the main dealer of trek in New Zealand with multiple branches and they have been in contact with Trek everyday and trying to fix the issue meticulously.

Our LBS said they are now searching for the one bike here that is working without fault as my wife's motor was also jerking and cutting out in addition to the noise. We will wait for the fourth bike (6th motor) from a different branch to be built up and see if its doing the same thing. Otherwise, on the off chance ,I have asked Mitch if a working fuel exe 9.8xt can be sent here for my wife as the reviewers' bikes were all working fine.

Thanks for the tag, folks. Jujujuice and I have been in discussion as he is communicating with me through Instagram. We're unsure of the issue and I haven't been privy to any updates since our team in Australia is working with that dealer and also in communication with TQ. It does sound like either a service bulletin is missed or there is something about those specific motors causing it to sound off. I've ridden three of these so far and they've all been quiet and I haven't had any of the symptoms. Either way, we'll spend time with TQ to look into it and find a solution.

Also, see attached for the lockring service bulletin. This reads exactly like the noise being described.

Mitch@Trek said:

Thanks for the tag, folks. Jujujuice and I have been in discussion as he is communicating with me through Instagram. We're unsure of the issue and I haven't been privy to any updates since our team in Australia is working with that dealer and also in communication with TQ. It does sound like either a service bulletin is missed or there is something about those specific motors causing it to sound off. I've ridden three of these so far and they've all been quiet and I haven't had any of the symptoms. Either way, we'll spend time with TQ to look into it and find a solution.

Also, see attached for the lockring service bulletin. This reads exactly like the noise being described.

View attachment 97233

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Thanks for that info! Is the lockring tightening tool the same as any standard lockring tool required for a common cassette? It looks like it could be.

Mitch@Trek said:

Thanks for the tag, folks. Jujujuice and I have been in discussion as he is communicating with me through Instagram. We're unsure of the issue and I haven't been privy to any updates since our team in Australia is working with that dealer and also in communication with TQ. It does sound like either a service bulletin is missed or there is something about those specific motors causing it to sound off. I've ridden three of these so far and they've all been quiet and I haven't had any of the symptoms. Either way, we'll spend time with TQ to look into it and find a solution.

Also, see attached for the lockring service bulletin. This reads exactly like the noise being described.

View attachment 97233

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Is there a similar bulletin for the motor bolt re-torque? If so, can you post a copy?

DugT said:

Thanks for that info! Is the lockring tightening tool the same as any standard lockring tool required for a common cassette? It looks like it could be.

View attachment 97234

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That would not work, you would want a Park Tool BBT-22 or similar. The splines are different than cassette lockring. The BBT-22 is a bottom bracket tool for cartridge BBs.

socal_rider said:

Is there a similar bulletin for the motor bolt re-torque? If so, can you post a copy?

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None that I know of, this is the only one that mentions torque. The only others are crank arm and firmware related (which the firmware was the first one that should be addressed by all dealers before leaving the store).

Shades said:

I don't even understand how your LBS has been able to get three EXe with five different motors, considering the extreme small amount of EXes that are available. You really are unlucky, too!

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they are everywhere in New Zealand. In my city the 4 LBS that stock Trek have at least 18 EX-E’s in stock for sale currently. Very little chance of getting a Rail though

socal_rider said:

Is there a similar bulletin for the motor bolt re-torque? If so, can you post a copy?

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It is possible that some riders and LBS's, have conflated "Motor torque" and "Lockring torque".

Mitch@Trek said:

None that I know of, this is the only one that mentions torque. The only others are crank arm and firmware related (which the firmware was the first one that should be addressed by all dealers before leaving the store).

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I thought there were EXe owners who have mentioned a bolt re-torque bulletin ?

JP-NZ said:

they are everywhere in New Zealand. In my city the 4 LBS that stock Trek have at least 18 EX-E’s in stock for sale currently. Very little chance of getting a Rail though

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It's amazing how some countries get loads of some bikes and none for some.
We have Rails here laying around but like 1 Exe in the whole country.

Dave_B said:

I thought there were EXe owners who have mentioned a bolt re-torque bulletin ?

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I read that too but I think it is possible they misunderstood. For example, maybe their LBS mechanic said Lockring and someone thought they meant Bolt. Anyway, retorquing several different things is a lot easier and faster than redesigning anything so I think the news is good so far. Also, Mitch's explanation of it being a problem with bikes made before July 22. 2022 explains why some bikes have the problem and some don't. I'd guess that Jujujuices original motors were torqued weak and his LBS torqued the new ones weak too. I love guessing so take everything I say with a grain of salt. (Do they say that in Australia?)

As someone with a 9.7 on order in the US northwest (ETA December), I just read through this thread and found it to be helpful context. Hopefully Trek handles post-sales support well in the end.

My order began as a 9.5 until I saw that Hex Blue in person on another bike, yikes...no offense to anyone who has it, just not my thing. So 9.7 it is, in Matte Pennyflake. The upgraded suspension and brakes will be a nice perk too but I'll probably be migrating the rest of the hardware (wheels, mech, etc.) over from my old bikes anyway.

One question I had: Is it still feasible to have multiple wheelsets for this bike and swap them out as needed? Is it just a matter of migrating over this magnetic ring on the rear brake disc, or getting a different rear brake disc entirely? Asking because I currently have a more lightweight XC wheelset and more enduro-focused wheelset and I swap them between my hardtail and full sus depending on what I'm riding that day. It works marvelously well. Everything is 12 speed, Boost, 200mm front rotor / 180mm rear (I think SRAM rotors will probably work fine in the Shimano calipers, even though I've had weird experiences doing the reverse).

thecellofellow said:

One question I had: Is it still feasible to have multiple wheelsets for this bike and swap them out as needed? Is it just a matter of migrating over this magnetic ring on the rear brake disc, or getting a different rear brake disc entirely?

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This is the magnet on my 9.8XT. I guess you can just buy another from Trek. I have a Levo one spare that *might* work. I'll be likely crossing that bridge at some point when I try mullet.

DugT said:

take everything I say with a grain of salt. (Do they say that in Australia?)

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It's usually pinch of salt. But we'd understand

Just want to clear that my LBS said they torqued up some bottom bracket bolts as per the received bulletin. They weren't that specific understandably. Bottom line, it fixed my problem (clicking noise from the BB) I have done another hard ride since the fix and all is still good. Trek are as good a bike company as you can come across. I hope my bike runs perfectly from here on in but also I know I will be fully supported if other issues are found. The joys of being an early adopter.

I'm borrowing a friend's new ExE and have gotten a few battery error codes now three different times when riding. I've looked online and in the Trek doc but can't find any reference to TQ errors. Anyone have similar experience? Error 4414 and something ending in 045D. Both times JRA, then I turned the bike off and on again and it powered up fine.

rachraven said:

I'm borrowing a friend's new ExE and have gotten a few battery error codes now three different times when riding. I've looked online and in the Trek doc but can't find any reference to TQ errors. Anyone have similar experience? Error 4414 and something ending in 045D. Both times JRA, then I turned the bike off and on again and it powered up fine.

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Maybe the new firmware solves that problem. Mitch, the Trek rep, implied the new firmware is high priority.

rachraven said:

I'm borrowing a friend's new ExE and have gotten a few battery error codes now three different times when riding. I've looked online and in the Trek doc but can't find any reference to TQ errors. Anyone have similar experience? Error 4414 and something ending in 045D. Both times JRA, then I turned the bike off and on again and it powered up fine.

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View attachment TQ HPR50_Display_Remote.pdf
Error codes start on page 20 of the attached TQ manual.

This is an amusing error code:

"ERR 445 DRV HW Drive Unit overcurrent error Restart the system and avoid unintended use." What is unintended use? Is that when the bike takes off without you? Maybe they meant "Unnecessary" or "Use with lower power if possible."

This would be a good one, "Sober up, get a good nights sleep and try again in the morning". Girlfriends say that occasionally.

@Mitch@Trek What set of bearings is used in the ex-e suspension? I'm interested in their sizes. Are they full complement or cage-guided bearings?

Eugene Porcelain said:

@Mitch@Trek What set of bearings is used in the ex-e suspension? I'm interested in their sizes. Are they full complement or cage-guided bearings?

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The Fuel EXe service manual online has some good details on pretty much every part. I see bearing size, but not type though.