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Trek Fuel Ex problems


Wade

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Hi all

 

I purchased a Fuel EX 9.9 in August last year.

 

After about 2 months; a noise like a cracked frame started... I was assured it wasnt the frame. I have since spent R9 k on bearings and just about everything has been replaced, including BB, etc.

 

I replaced the seat post the saddle...

 

I am well within tolerance of the maximum weight allowance...

 

Trek recently gave me a new frame... last a couple of weeks and the noise is back...

 

Its driving me nuts!

 

Anyone else had similar problems?

 

Wade.

 

 

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Have it cleaned out and rebuilt by A reputable mechanic 

 

you've listed many of the most common causes for creaks so I think you will have found it on your own by now 

 

 

but i do want to ask if it comes out when you're hard on the pedals ? In or out of the saddle ? How much are you leaning/pulling on the handle bar ?

 

IS it another generic nylon BB or something proper like Wheels MFG/Enduro that screws itself together within the shell ?

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On dual suspension bikes it could be a dry pivot. In creaking frames grease is your friend.

My bikes have grease everywhere from seatpost to axles. And since I do this I have no issues with noise. Not a lot just a thin layer.

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Hi all

 

I purchased a Fuel EX 9.9 in August last year.

 

After about 2 months; a noise like a cracked frame started... I was assured it wasnt the frame. I have since spent R9 k on bearings and just about everything has been replaced, including BB, etc.

 

I replaced the seat post the saddle...

 

I am well within tolerance of the maximum weight allowance...

 

Trek recently gave me a new frame... last a couple of weeks and the noise is back...

 

Its driving me nuts!

 

Anyone else had similar problems?

 

Wade.

Could be anything but most probably the seatpost or the BB.

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Grease the freebody, the rear axle, pedal threads, between shoes and cleats, check the saddle rails aren't loose in the body, clean and grease headset and stem bolts, chainring bolts should be greased and tight, clean and grease seattube.

 

There will be many more bits to check, clean, and grease, but try those first.

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Wade I have a 9.8 ex. Had the same issue. Apparently the pivots needed to be greased . After I did that it was sorted.

I was told that upon assembly overseas they do t really grease the pivots properly .

Call the gearchange I. Cape Town and speak with Justin he will tell you exactly what to do.

 

The fact that it is on both frames is a tad odd but I’m sure it’s the same issue.

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Is it a creak or a knocking noise?

 

If it’s a knocking noise and your shock is a fox Re:aktiv, that could be your problem. I had the same on my Top Fuel and had to send it to Omnico to get re-valved and the noise disappeared. If you have the receipt, they should cover it under warranty.

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I think a gopro in the hand whilst riding on some smooth tar and closeup of all moving parts will help. I found my saddle rails were the issue. Really annoying. The other contender for sneaky sneaky click was chain ring bolts. Damn annoying

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If this is a 1 x do not grease chainring bolts. They should be clean and loctited in place with removable loctite and torqued to the correct spec as they have been known to come loose. One should lightly grease the contact surface.

Grease the freebody, the rear axle, pedal threads, between shoes and cleats, check the saddle rails aren't loose in the body, clean and grease headset and stem bolts, chainring bolts should be greased and tight, clean and grease seattube.

There will be many more bits to check, clean, and grease, but try those first.

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I also ride road (for my sins), therefore when a noise starts I chase it incessantly......

 

On a MTB the greatest culprits are BB and pivots. I made the mistake of cleaning and greasing my pivots (different bike) and the noise would come back within a week or two.

Now I clean but do NOT grease, leaving the bearings to do the work and only get the noise every 8 weeks or so when it is time to clean the pivots again......

 

Others in order of priority....Where stem and bars meet, seatpost and then axle contact surfaces ie where quick release and hub/frame make contact.

Funnily enough I even got a noise out of my derailleur hanger assembly - clean and light grease....

Good Luck!

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This is the issue with carbon frames...a small noise can and is amplified and "diverted" by the frame...so something like a pedal axle can sound like a headset making a noise...

 

Kudos to Trek for replacing the frame - but I would start ruling other components out...

 

I once had a client that had a creaky bike and was 100% sure it was the frame at fault as we had done everything - everytime i rode the bike after working on it, it was quiet, he rides it and it makes a noise within 10km of his ride...turns out it was his pedal/shoe/cleat interface was creaking, so when I rode the bike with normal shoes - no creak as soon as he got on and rode with cleats - creak...

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Hi all

 

I purchased a Fuel EX 9.9 in August last year.

 

After about 2 months; a noise like a cracked frame started... I was assured it wasnt the frame. I have since spent R9 k on bearings and just about everything has been replaced, including BB, etc.

 

I replaced the seat post the saddle...

 

I am well within tolerance of the maximum weight allowance...

 

Trek recently gave me a new frame... last a couple of weeks and the noise is back...

 

Its driving me nuts!

 

Anyone else had similar problems?

 

Wade.

On my alloy Fuel EX I've had the following creaks: lower headset bearing, lower main pivot, dirty/under-torqued flip-chips & most recently loose-ish bottle cage mounts. Non-frame related bar-stem interface and pedal-crank interface are big ones. But the one that had me baffled for the longest was a Selle Italia's saddle rails creaking against the plastic saddle shell.

 

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

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