Fuel EXe Official Trek Fuel EXe Megathread!

[Bom6erm4n]

Post a picture of the mounts of your motor,I'd be very surprised if it doesn't have them.

They are adjusted using a torx bit, and to the untrained eye may look non adjustable.

I already posted some pictures in my previous post
I was so dumb and took two pictures from the drive side and none of the non drive side
There is no Interface for any torx bit only a hollow tube where the mounting bolt goes through.

 

[Mteam]

I already posted some pictures in my previous post
I was so dumb and took two pictures from the drive side and none of the non drive side
There is no Interface for any torx bit only a hollow tube where the mounting bolt goes through.

Yeah you did, they were posted while I was typing. Please Can you post some pictures of the non drive side. The adjuster are on that side.

 

[Bom6erm4n]

Haha,

maybe i'm not that dumb, i only uploaded the wrong picture.
If you zoom in you can see there is no torx socket.

 

[TheRed]

Haha,

maybe i'm not that dumb, i only uploaded the wrong picture.
If you zoom in you can see there is no torx socket.

View attachment 120010

That's one for going back to your dealer buddy.

 

[Mteam]

Haha,

maybe i'm not that dumb, i only uploaded the wrong picture.
If you zoom in you can see there is no torx socket.

View attachment 120010

Ta ,yep,looks like you are missing the adjusters, you can see the inner threads that the adjusters screw into . Time to go back to trek/your shop I think,unless you just want to see if you can take up the slack with a washer or two?

 

[Bom6erm4n]

There is no thread, the inner surface is completely flat and not interrupted. I think the "threads" you can see are only imprints from the mountingscrew in some grease inside the tube
It has to be a completely different part i think.

Maybe a washer would do the job but it hurts myself to fix something thats wrong from the factory with a washer, especially on a bike that expensive.

But thanks for the super fast help. I will contact my dealer and wait what they say.

 

[Swingset]

In my world we do quite a bit of shimming to close gaps. Its always using a combination of shims like these to get very close fit. PITA to install most times but its one and done.

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[Bom6erm4n]

I have nothing against shims, but there is a solution from Trek/TQ available which doesn't need shims, just not on my bike for whatever reason.

In my opinion TQ has to take responsibility for that. From what i read they are not quite user oriented. Slow response times, pretending that a problem has never occured before and quite restrictive when it comes to communication / information.

I mean come on...

• Service Manuals which are only accessible after creating an account on their website?
  The ones available are completely useless, apart from the Error Codes and some other basics
• No Firmware Update OTA via Smartphone (ok, this could be a business decision but still, Why? its 2023)
• The best thing, an openly available Website which shows the latest firmware releases but no way for the enduser to check which firmware is currently on their bike. This makes the Website complete obsolete. I can't even call my dealer to check if there is a firmware update available. I have to bring my bike to the bikeshop so they can check which version is on it.

They could avoid quite a few RMA's if they put the information out there so the techsavvy owners can fix some issues themself and they have less to do. In my opinion a win win situation. This wouldn't hurt the companys reputation or anything rather the opposite is likely to happen. They would show they go the extra mile to satisfy the customer. At least thats my perspective.

The way they are handling the situation right now, the information about issues is still out there and no real solution or statement from TQ. The HPR50 is in how many bikes used? 4-6 maybe? It shouldn't be too hard to monitor a few big threads from time to time in forums.

 

[TheRed]

What rear fenders are people using, pic's would be great if poss?
Ta

 

[konamac]

There is no thread, the inner surface is completely flat and not interrupted. I think the "threads" you can see are only imprints from the mountingscrew in some grease inside the tube
It has to be a completely different part i think.

Maybe a washer would do the job but it hurts myself to fix something thats wrong from the factory with a washer, especially on a bike that expensive.

But thanks for the super fast help. I will contact my dealer and wait what they say.

I seem to remember that the original motor in my bike didn't have the adjusters, but the next two motors both have had them. That could mean that certain of the original motors supplied to Trek in OEM spec didn't have the adjusters? (Perhaps because the mounting gaps were known and assumed to be in tolerance, but it seems several bikes creak out of the box) All "aftermarket" or replacement ones will have because they are universal.... I suspect this because there is an "extra" mounting bolt in the box along with the two that fir the EXe. Manufacturers don't throw in random extra bolts.

 

[Swingset]

Gaming this out a bit. TQ and Trek really develop the drive system as Trek is going to be the gorilla in the room in terms of sales numbers. They get some number of months of exclusivity in exchange for the promise of moving units and validating the concept. TQ fights to keep anything as standard as possible so that they know that the motor will fit all the frame manufacturers frames consistently. The would generate an interface control drawing with all the hole sizes, screw types, boss widths, volumes and all other info related to how it fits into a frame from anyone who buys the drive system. I don't understand why they would put adjusters on their motor in the first place. They can make the boss widths on the motor very accurately and tell the frame maker what the frame width needs to be. The frame maker then figures out a way to make it work.

In a perfect world the configuration of the motor never changes, making spares available for an extended period. The nightmare would be some flaw that requires a redesign that changes the center to center distance of the motor mounting screws and now does not fit any frame made previously.

Configuration control at TQ could be really a challenge if they are making running changes to how these are mounted. Mine has been blissfully silent so I am not going to curse it by checking what my assembly looks like.

 

[TheRed]

Mine was back to it's beautiful silent best last night. Shame about the high ferns/wet roots/lie down in nettles incident.

 

[Bom6erm4n]

Gaming this out a bit. TQ and Trek really develop the drive system as Trek is going to be the gorilla in the room in terms of sales numbers. They get some number of months of exclusivity in exchange for the promise of moving units and validating the concept. TQ fights to keep anything as standard as possible so that they know that the motor will fit all the frame manufacturers frames consistently. The would generate an interface control drawing with all the hole sizes, screw types, boss widths, volumes and all other info related to how it fits into a frame from anyone who buys the drive system. I don't understand why they would put adjusters on their motor in the first place. They can make the boss widths on the motor very accurately and tell the frame maker what the frame width needs to be. The frame maker then figures out a way to make it work.

In a perfect world the configuration of the motor never changes, making spares available for an extended period. The nightmare would be some flaw that requires a redesign that changes the center to center distance of the motor mounting screws and now does not fit any frame made previously.

Configuration control at TQ could be really a challenge if they are making running changes to how these are mounted. Mine has been blissfully silent so I am not going to curse it by checking what my assembly looks like.

The tolerances in the bike industry are sometimes more of a suggestion it seems.
I have seen hubs which are 1mm wider than they should and some more curiosities

I don't know if you are familiar with the roadbike world. Nearly every carbon frame with an pressfit BB has problems with creaking noises. Even the highend carbon frames from reputable companies with a pricetag of 5k+ for the frame only. There are as far as i know only 2-4 companies which produce really high quality carbon frames within tight tolerances.
I can recommend the videos of "Hambini" on Youtube, they are worth watching and quite entertaining

With that said, i think it is only a good decision from TQ to include the feature of width adjustable motor mounts to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of bike frames. If this was a running change in production or only the replacement motors will come with that feature only Trek & TQ knows.
I contacted my dealer today and they don't have any info about a bulletin or something else regarding the adjustable motor mount. It looks like they have to send in the motor and wait for a replacement.

 

[Bradleybourbon]

9.5 Build moving along…

 

[Swagger]

Took my headset apart tonight. I have the 9.7 bike. I noticed my top and bottom bearings didn't have the rubber seals that usually mount above/below the bearing (not talking about the seals inside the bearing, those are intact). Is this expected for this particualar headset, ? Picture below, components layed out in order.

 

[Gd3fit]

In that TQ motor install guide it does mention some motors without compensation adjusters..not sure what the description means though.. fixed installation dimensions for corresponding models? shrug

 

[konamac]

In that TQ motor install guide it does mention some motors without compensation adjusters..not sure what the description means though.. fixed installation dimensions for corresponding models? shrug View attachment 120137

I think the interpretation is correct, " corresponding models" are probably checked at frame manufacture stage to be the correct dimension for the fixed motor mount widths, but given achievable mass manufacture tolerances I can see how this leads to creaking in some new bikes. Compensation screws seem like a good idea....

 

[Canyon Shawn]

Hey guys! Can the TransX dropper on a medium 9.7 be changed to give 170mm of drop instead of 150mm of drop? Thanks!

 

[Rorschach84]

Hey guys! Can the TransX dropper on a medium 9.7 be changed to give 170mm of drop instead of 150mm of drop? Thanks!

Commented on your Facebook post, answer is no. To change the drop you need a new dropper.

 

[BuzzCanada]

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.

What were the 3 service bulletins? Does anyone have copies of them?

 

[Gd3fit]

I finally had a day to drive to Trek (corporate owned/bought out store). I had scheduled an “on the spot” firmware update over the phone the day before. I had not had any updates since purchasing my bike on 11/30/2022 so I figured why not. It took half an hour and they tried to charge me $36.xx but I argued the guy on the phone said simple updates they wouldn’t charge. So they tossed the service ticket. Meh. I still have my one year level 1 service so I may use that for another free firmware update in November if there is one.

Anyway enough rambling. I noticed something my TQ app allows now but I’m not sure if it’s related to firmware update to TQ app update. TQ app version 1.3.2b1

Before if I turned off walk mode it said it could not be done. Beep noise can be toggled on/off. Also, I can now enable stealth mode but it’s not fully stealth which is kind of annoying. Also the “extended center button functionality” works. What I find it does is a single click brings the motor up power levels and then back down in reverse. Double clicking the center button changes the pages. There is a cadence page and stealth page option along with deactivated option for pages.

I do not know my firmware version. Trek did not have any printout for me and I don’t know where to find that information in either apps.

I added pics and video if this is interesting for anyone.

 

[afk314]

I'm wondering if I could convert my wife's EXe to a full 27.5. She's short enough that she can't quite clear the standover on her size Small. I think a mullet would improve things for her, but a full 27.5 would be ideal. I know the BB drop would be a concern - but is this idea terrible for other reasons, too? Any other ideas for a 5'0" woman with a +1 ape index?

 

[Twisted Fork]

If 27.5” front and back doesn’t quite get the standover height low enough, you could even try swapping in a 27.5” fork to lower the front end another couple of cm. Obviously this will steepen the head angle and lengthen the reach somewhat, but it may be a trade off to consider. Lowering the back end will have the greatest effect on lowering the standover though. Maybe a 27.5 x 2.25” tire in the rear? You’ll probably also want to swap for some shorter cranks, as the bottom bracket will be getting quite low at that point. Her shorter legs would probably appreciate the comfort of pedalling on shorter cranks as well. A 30 tooth chainring will also help gain back a few mm of ground clearance (Wolftooth makes a direct mount 30T for the TQ).

 

[Nugget]

I'm wondering if I could convert my wife's EXe to a full 27.5. She's short enough that she can't quite clear the standover on her size Small. I think a mullet would improve things for her, but a full 27.5 would be ideal. I know the BB drop would be a concern - but is this idea terrible for other reasons, too? Any other ideas for a 5'0" woman with a +1 ape index?

Assuming when you say you want to convert to a "full" 27.5, you mean that you already have mullet'ed it (ie put a 27.5 wheel at the back) and now you want to put a 27.5 wheel in the front AND back - I would say you would an absolutely unride-ably low bottom bracket and have massive pedal strike issues, even with a shorter crank.

I have mullet'd EXe 9.5 and a 160mm front fork and even with the mino link on high I have several hold your breath moments each ride in terms of scraping the BB.

 

[Canyon Shawn]

Do yourself and her a favor, and just buy something that fits her properly.

 

[Swingset]

Sure seems easy to test- throw a front wheel on and give it a go. Talk is cheap.

 

[Julie_X1]

Maybe try the mullet configuration with 27.5 in the rear first.

If that doesn’t work, I would suggest you probably need to be looking at another bike for her…

 

[Gd3fit]

I'm wondering if I could convert my wife's EXe to a full 27.5. She's short enough that she can't quite clear the standover on her size Small. I think a mullet would improve things for her, but a full 27.5 would be ideal. I know the BB drop would be a concern - but is this idea terrible for other reasons, too? Any other ideas for a 5'0" woman with a +1 ape index?

I saw someone on fb go full 27.5 I think you’ll want like a 170mm fork though

 

[Emailsucks98]

I'm wondering if I could convert my wife's EXe to a full 27.5. She's short enough that she can't quite clear the standover on her size Small. I think a mullet would improve things for her, but a full 27.5 would be ideal. I know the BB drop would be a concern - but is this idea terrible for other reasons, too? Any other ideas for a 5'0" woman with a +1 ape index?

This is how we run my partners Specialized Turbo Levo. It was 29” stock and she kinda hated it. So much she was riding her meat bike even when riding other eBikers! She’s 5’-6”. We put a 27.5” 170mm fork on it, 27.5” wheels with 2.5” tires. I have to say it rides great!

We’ve run the geometry in both Hi & Low and she prefers low (which is real low). You can run the rear shock with less sag, so you have a lower static BB/CoG without It spending so much time deep in the travel.

If I was in your shoes, I’d buy/borrow a 27.5” wheelset and try mullet first. If you go full 27.5” I think you want the 170mm/27.5 fork too. You lose some roll-over with the smaller front wheel, so adding travel compensates for that and keeps things comfortable.

 

[Emailsucks98]

Has anyone sourced a replacement chain guide? The stock e13 on mine is shot (or at least the hardware is stripped) and the mounting pattern looks to be unique to TQ.