Critical pre-first ride checks?

[MTB565]

Just got my Rail 5 home and in the process of changing tires, brakes and fork.

Is there anything specific one should do on the Rail before use, known issues? Grease, tourque bolts or other? Should I give the electrical connections a dose of ACF-50?

 

[Hamina]

Tighten the chainring. Check the shock pressures. Grease all the bearings if time and interest.

Btw. Was there something wrong with the brakes or why changing?

 

[MTB565]

Tighten the chainring. Check the shock pressures. Grease all the bearings if time and interest.

Btw. Was there something wrong with the brakes or why changing?

Had new Magura MT5 laying around and not really a fan of the Tektro brakes, tried them before.

 

[Hamina]

I would put extra tape/glue to rim seam if running tubeless. Alex MD35 rims are not welded. Mines didn't last too long for rough riding.

 

[JMD]

Just got my Rail 5 home and in the process of changing tires, brakes and fork.

Is there anything specific one should do on the Rail before use, known issues? Grease, tourque volts or other? Should I give the electrical connections a dose of ACF-50?

As with any new bike check/torque all fasteners. Might as well get the chainring special tool now, as you'll need it one day. Check the battery alignment & TX25 fasteners

 

[MTB565]

As with any new bike check/torque all fasteners. Might as well get the chainring special tool now, as you'll need it one day. Check the battery alignment & TX25 fasteners

Yes I'll do the standard check but just intrested if the Rail have any special problem areas. From what I learnt so far some have had the crank arms fall off, loose chain ring and dropped battery while riding (yikes!).

 

[Darren]

Check your battery alignment (the cover should be flush with the frame) and make sure the battery is secure.

 

[steve_sordy]

Not Trek specific, but check the motor mounting bolts, check the axle tightness and be prepared to blue Loctite them. Check also the upper and lower shock mounting bolts. Also, stem bolts clamping the fork steerer. Some say check every single bolt, something I have never done, but if you check the ones I mentioned, then you will not have the problems I did!

Edit: I'm not saying they were loose, just not properly torqued up.

 

[MOTO13]

If you bought it from a good Trek dealer, they go over every inch of the bike...you should have to do zero to the bike. I looked over my Rail 9.7 when I got it very lightly. Lubed the chain, check tire pressure, got familiar with the controller...rode it.

 

[MTB565]

If you bought it from a good Trek dealer, they go over every inch of the bike...you should have to do zero to the bike. I looked over my Rail 9.7 when I got it very lightly. Lubed the chain, check tire pressure, got familiar with the controller...rode it.

Keyword here is should, isn't it? Bikes are not perfect and neither are mechanics. I dont really worry but better safe than sorry and if something would happen of course the dealer will have to fix it. I just rather save myself the trip (and the possible wait time for spares at these times) and it's always good to "know your bike".

Doubled up on rimtape at the rim seam, hope it holds up!

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[Mr_Price]

Picked mine up from the store. Road it 3/4 way home, was pumped and impressed so went for a lap in the woods. Came down a really mellow flow trail, in turbo, half a crank turn in between berms... base over apex. Broke helmet, mild concussion and smashed the Kiox controller. Couldn’t wait to get riding the next day. ??????

 

[MOTO13]

Good call on the tire sealant. Mine came with hardly any in the front and plenty in the rear. Had a flat front about a month ago when I found this out. I replaced the tires with Maxis and added orange to the new meats.

 

[Rotwilder]

Just got my Rail 5 home and in the process of changing tires, brakes and fork.

Is there anything specific one should do on the Rail before use, known issues? Grease, tourque bolts or other? Should I give the electrical connections a dose of ACF-50?

While you have the wheels off, torque up the cassette. I trusted mine and destroyed it; not being aware that slight play was too much play!

 

[MTB565]

All bearings were installed dry in the frame so added some grease and acf50 where appropiate, axels however were greased.

Torques were off in some bolts. Still waiting for the chainring tool.

Alex Rims are holding air so far with the tubeless setup.

Did a small test runt yestersay and a longer ride today. Both yesterday and today I got the Error 500. The motor however still provided power and the display went back to normal by pushing the powerbutton. The bike still works normal but this feels a bit sketchy, will give the dealer a call tomorrow.

 

[Atlas79]

What no one has specified (that I’ve seen in this thread anyways) is to not only tighten your chainring, but most importantly you should pull the crankarm, then the spidernut (this is the fastner for the chainring) and ensure there is an o-ring present between the spidernut and chainring. (It should be specified that the spidernut is reverse threaded; it tightens counterclockwise.) This acts as a preload to help keep the chainring from loosening. I have seen maybe 8 or so Rail 5’s that are missing this and according to Bosch service manuals, it is required for proper assembly.
If the o-ring is missing, check your bike shop to see if they have it (PN: 1.270.016.119). If they cannot acquire one, check around your local hardware stores for an o-ring measuring 28mm in diameter by 1.8mm thick. If the o-ring is present, loc-tite the spidernut with blue 242 and torque to 25-30Nm. The required tool is the Parktool BBT-18. Here is a link to Parktool. BBT-18 Bottom Bracket Tool – 8-Notch
As far as checking your battery alignment, everyone on the thread is correct to mention it, but unless you have the proper documentation and tools to do the check, you are mostly guessing. This might be something you have your bike shop do if it’s a concern.
In addition, torque ALL pivot bolts (including the rear axle bolts) stem bolts, brake caliper bolts (refer to manufacturer specs), thru-axles should be tightened to manufacturer’s specifications which are listed on the thru-axle (if not listed, 10Nm is a good number), check your headset for proper adjustment, and yes check your crank arms. Crankarms should be around 50Nm.