Anyone removed the Trek Rail Battery Lock?

Just done a couple of laps of the red route at Dalby with no problems. Everything looks good, no movement. Will strip it down during the week and check the bracket and rivnut but so far so good.

3D printed a plug for the key hole and a blank to fill the unused screw hole in the frame to limit water/mud entry points.

Also printed the plastic trim for the end of the battery cover. Looks pretty good but getting the corner rads to match was tricky and might try get it a bit better. Will post some more pics when I've cleaned it:) Was pretty wet and muddy at Dalby and hoping to get another lap in tomorrow before I give it full clean.

Blown away by how good the Rail is. Such a balanced bike and feels so much lighter to ride than the weight suggests.
 
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Bramble said:
Just done a couple of laps of the red route at Dalby with no problems. Everything looks good, no movement. Will strip it down during the week and check the bracket and rivnut but so far so good.

3D printed a plug for the key hole and a blank to fill the unused screw hole in the frame to limit water/mud entry points.

Also printed the plastic trim for the end of the battery cover. Looks pretty good but getting the corner rads to match was tricky and might try get it a bit better. Will post some more pics when I've cleaned it:) Was pretty wet and muddy at Dalby and hoping to get another lap in tomorrow before I give it full clean.

Blown away by how good the Rail is. Such a balanced bike and feels so much lighter to ride than the weight suggests.
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Sounds perfect and it sounds like your kit will be concise when available;):)
Would an option be for you to make a bracket and the user line up his own holes through the frame and drill tap/rivnut themselves?
 
Hi,
Just wondering if there was any further feedback around this? It looks a simple neat solution. I have no need for the lock so losing weight and a adding safety is a positive for me.
Thanks
 
Hi, sorry failed to come back sooner! All good, had no issues with the bracket. Still super quick to take the battery out. If anything it feels more secure. Couple of bad pics below:

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Bramble said:
Also now experimenting with making a fiberglass battery cover after I discovered the aluminium one weighs a whopping 400g. No real need but enjoy a project:) Going well so far but painting it will be a challenge! 95g in this state:

View attachment 75676
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That’s brilliant! Thanks for sharing! I’ll work on removing my lock over the coming weeks I think. I just simply have no use for it. The fibre glass cover is interesting as well. My rail 5 is the 2 tone purple so painting would be potentially disastrous
 
Hello

this ist Chris from germany.

I´ve made some changes to my rail 9.8-2020. I remove the battery lock and buildt a plate with a quick release. So changing the battery is done in 30s. I use 2x 500wh battery, but it will also fit with the 625wh-tight but it works.

The cover ist carbonfiber hinged with silicon at the frame.

I saves a lot of weight (alltogether ca.650g) and improve the usability. Only painting need a little improvement.

Overall weight is 21,5 kg with 500wh an DHF DD rear (some other changes done)-with pedals.

Best wishes

Chris

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Would make the thread holes deeper all made of aluminium or attaching a thicker backplate. Nice space for a spare tube and some tools.
 
Thread holes with thicker plate is a good idea-but for a little adjustment in the first version this is better-maybe V2 get a little improvement.

@Bramble: painting looks very nice. I can save a lot of weight with lighter wheels/tires/cassette-then 21.5kg with 625wh is easy possible. But I like the DD tire rear-don´t like flats.....
 
Could do with a nice CNC version in thicker material really. I’m tempted to find someone with the know how. The issue I have with the angled alloy section is the thread could pull easily. Doubling up on the alloy and fitting a rivnut is a decent option. It’s something I want to do, but will obviously ever get round to!
 
Finally got round to getting rid of my lock. I’m surprised how much quieter my bike is, I previously had packed the battery compartment with bits of thin foam to stop any movement but it must still have been rattling slightly over bumps.
The added weight loss and getting rid of the key is a bonus. Great mod.
 
Bramble said:
Decided to go with a single bolt which allows me to get the battery in and get the angle to locate the bottom lugs. Used an M5 rivnut to get a good amount of thread engagement. Feels solid as a rock! Just need to get the plastic trim from the battery end cap and jobs done. 400g saving and battery easily removed with a single bolt.
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Hello,Bramble, did you use blueprint which Rob provided? could you provide sketch of yours angled bracket?
 
Hi sqzer. Yes I used the sketch Rob provided at the start of this thread. I started with a 50mm x 50mm, 2mm thick aluminium angle (bought off ebay).

However, I did run in to problems as explained in this thread that led me to trim down the bracket and only attach with a single bolt. The trimming was trial and error to get to a point I can install the battery without the bracket clashing with the frame.
 
Still really want to do this to my Rail. Mines got the 750 battery so I think the design is going to be slightly different.
 
Looking at the parts diagram, the lock mechanism is separate from the plunger. Perhaps is a solution where we exchange the lock for something else that would actuate the plunger. I have mine apart at the moment so I will take a closer look tomorrow.

This would be a nice solution if possible.
 
Riding to the hardware store! Thanks Rob and all you wunnerful peoples!
 
and who can manufacture a carbon battery cover?
 
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