[goofyarcher]

I love my Trek before I start, Love it enough I have a matched pair of them one for me and one for my wife.

bad on me for not double-checking a new bike assembly from a dealer/factory.

I noticed about a month after I got my bike the BB sound like it was going bad,
I decided to check some basic checks before assuming it was a BB that went bad for sure, Stuff like are the pedals rtght, crank arms tight, does the BB appear to be pressed in all the way, just some basic, quick checks.

I set my torque wrench to 12.5 kn, and proceeded to check cranks, OH problems were found, one bolt got between 1/8-1/4 turn the other almost a full turn, the inside bolt was almost finger tight, the noise for the most part went away, a minor creaking but not sure where. at that point, I should have just checked all the bolts after finding this I not sure why i did not check them, looking back ( im hoping there was not any damage to the crank arm, never seen this situation before)


today i noticed my back brake just did not feel right, I was parked with one foot on a rock and others in clips, the bike rocked, I thought that is odd, then notice the rotor had few degrees of rotation on the hub. Again loose bolts were found on the rear rotor, 2 bolts were very close to finger tight. the other 4 were very low torque I assume the disc has some wallering out in the bolt holes with 5-6 months of riding ( it was a new bike)` I will check out the rotor , this week while doing my cleaning and service. I torqued them disc does not move on the hub now,

I did a very quick check of the rest of the bike and found several others issues,, I guess it was just bad judgment on my behalf to expect the Trek Bike shop to check the bike out before letting it off the floor. I can see 1 mistake but not this many, pretty sad., ( never assume right )

I have a creaking sound in my bike somewhere, not sure where it is but My guess is one of the pivot points maybe a mino link area, I will clean them and retorque see if that fixes it, If the clean does not fix it I might ask for some advice andl post a video , maybe yall can help me find it.


would i get another Trek ,, 100% for sure an amazing ride, I would just do a once over before riding, it
so this week while doing my basic service both bikes get a full torque spec check.

I expect to replace rotor at least it is a cheap repair..
blessing and enjoy

 

[kosmo]

Maybe just my long-lived dirt biking background, but I can't imagine riding a bike of any kind for a month without checking every single fastener on it. Even a road bike.

Anyhoo....I bet your dealer offers a free 30-day tuneup. Might be worth taking advantage of that, and I'm sure they'd dig into the creak at the same time.

 

[milehi]

I was at the brick and mortar location of everyone's favorite mail order outlet. I pushed down on some bars to check out a fork and the bars rotated forward. I told the staff but always build my own bikes for peace of mind.

 

[r-rocket]

with 5-6 months of riding ( it was a new bike)

I don't think I would go that long without checking the torque on every bolt after building a bike or buying a new bike.

New bikes go through a bedding in process. Bolts that were perfectly torqued to spec on the assembly line quite often loosen up. If they aren't re-torqued they just keep getting looser the longer you ride.

I could be wrong, but I don't think any of those bolts were loose when the bike left the shop. I say this because you didn't observe any symptoms of loose bolts until after 1-6 months of riding. Sounds like they got loose as part of the break-in period?

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

This may seem like a lame excuse, but the mechanics assembling the bikes may have overlooked those things due to habit. You see, traditionally bike assembly is the simplest job and is often rushed. You may expect a shop to check things like the wheels for true and the bearings, but that just doesn't happen. Often the new guy is shown how to assemble the bike and told to do ten a day- most of the time that was fine.
The problem arises with this massive shake-up in the labor force. Bicycle manufacturers have had to leave partially assembled bikes sitting for months, train new people and even deal with new factories. So now bikes are showing up at your LBS in far poorer condition than in the past. I used to assemble bikes that shifted perfectly out of the box. Now every one is screwed up.
There's stories like one I heard of an S-Works Tarmac coming out of the box with two left brake levers! Some of the stuff we received this fall looked like it should be headed to Walmart.
Not an excuse, but at least you have an explanation.

 

[blkdout]

I learned a similar lesson myself after hearing some creaking a few weeks into a new bike. Checked every bolt, etc. and found a few loose. Not the manufacturers fault but one of my own for not checking sooner. No biggie, it stopped the creaking and no harm done. However, shortly after, the noise came back in the middle of a ride. I went home and rechecked. One shock bolt was loose enough to be concerning... I removed it and found it had no loc-tite. It also was a pain to remove because it loosened enough to bend under pressure. Now it's the manufacturers fault.

Long story short, they sent me new shock bolts and I removed every other bolt and screw to check for loc-tite. Now I continue to check torque before every ride and even made a couple special sockets to make checking easier.

 

[goofyarcher]

I don't think I would go that long without checking the torque on every bolt after building a bike or buying a new bike.

New bikes go through a bedding in process. Bolts that were perfectly torqued to spec on the assembly line quite often loosen up. If they aren't re-torqued they just keep getting looser the longer you ride.

I could be wrong, but I don't think any of those bolts were loose when the bike left the shop. I say this because you didn't observe any symptoms of loose bolts until after 1-6 months of riding. Sounds like they got loose as part of the break-in period?

I would love to do that , but the Trek Dealer I got it from is a 7 hour drive.

 

[eri]

I assembled my friends diamondback. Supposed to be quick but I had to tear bike down and redo everything. Was much more work than starting from scratch. I have a lot more respect for bike shops now, would have been easier if they’d just left parts in baggies rather than knot up the cables.

helped my friend to ‘pick up’ his new commuter. Mostly eyeball that he wasn’t getting a lemon. Bike store must have hated me but crazy bad assembly. Headset loose, handlebars under torqued, rear brake had air in lines, internalshift routing was kinked so derailleur wouldn’t return. The more I rode it the more problems I found. Finally just begged to borrow their tools and did it myself.

Sloppy bike mechanic…not a surprise… how you going to keep someone good for the price you must pay?

 

[mlx john]

One of the main culprits when it comes to creaking on a Trek bike is the main pivot. The alloy axle usually comes bone dry from the factory. Needs a thin coat of grease.

 

[RS VR6]

Maybe an inexperienced mechanic? I would think most experienced mechanics that have built enough bikes to know how certain bolts should feel. I don't use a torque wrench on parts like saddle bolt clamps, rotor bolts, caliper bolts, brake lever clamp. I've never had an issue with them working loose. Where I do use a torque wrench is on all the stem bolts, seat clamp bolt, and the bolts related to the rear suspension.

Sometimes when bolts are new...they need to be retorqued. Once retorqued...they won't come loose again.

When I worked in a bike shop...certain people would come in and ask if we used a torque wrench when working on a bike.

 

[teK--]

There should be 3 opportunies to check/torque: assembly line, bike shop which you pay them for a predelivery service as part of the retail purchase price, and finally after the first 500km or so after which they should offer a free followup check.

Thereon I check all critical bolts every 2-3 rides especially after a very rough ride.

 

[goofyarcher]

It only takes a few minutes. I will check them fairly often. In future.

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[goofyarcher]

Maybe an inexperienced mechanic? I would think most experienced mechanics that have built enough bikes to know how certain bolts should feel. I don't use a torque wrench on parts like saddle bolt clamps, rotor bolts, caliper bolts, brake lever clamp. I've never had an issue with them working loose. Where I do use a torque wrench is on all the stem bolts, seat clamp bolt, and the bolts related to the rear suspension.

Sometimes when bolts are new...they need to be retorqued. Once retorqued...they won't come loose again.

When I worked in a bike shop...certain people would come in and ask if we used a torque wrench when working on a bike.

I always use a torque on bolts under 10. To easy to over tighten. I use to have very good touch like you but not doing work often enough to keep the touch. So just use a torque now.

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[chiefsilverback]

I had the local Orbea dealer swap the 2 pot on the front of my Oiz for a 4 pot as part of the build. I had planned to do it myself but figured it was easier to have the store do it so I mailed them the caliper. When I picked up the bike I had to ask them for the 2 pot they had removed, it had disappeared into the parts bin and then when I got it the pads were removed. Then I was a couple of rides in and noticed a strange noise and the front caliper was not even remotely torqued!

 

[GSPChilliwack]

Maybe the mechanic could learn from my Subaru dealer? I made the mistake of having them put my winter wheels on a couple of years ago. I had to replace 4 wheel studs due to over-torqueing. Oh well, local shop does the servicing for about a 1/3 of the cost, so long-term win.

 

[Shark]

This is why I do my own work(bikes and vehicles).

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[cdalemaniac]

On a side note in every instruction booklet/pamphlet that comes with a bicycle it clearly states along the lines of checking all bolts and nuts before every ride to avoid serious injury or death…….just sayin’


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[chiefsilverback]

Maybe the mechanic could learn from my Subaru dealer? I made the mistake of having them put my winter wheels on a couple of years ago. I had to replace 4 wheel studs due to over-torqueing.

Why use a torque wrench when an air gun will do!

Years ago in the UK I was driving a rented box truck and it had a flat. Called the rental place and they sent a mechanic out in a van. His air impact gun couldn't touch the lug nuts, and he snapped his 3' breaker bar jumping on it trying to loosen them, so he admitted defeat and said it would have to go back the workshop!

 

[RS VR6]

Maybe the mechanic could learn from my Subaru dealer? I made the mistake of having them put my winter wheels on a couple of years ago. I had to replace 4 wheel studs due to over-torqueing. Oh well, local shop does the servicing for about a 1/3 of the cost, so long-term win.

I see mechanics use an impact gun on wheel bolts/nuts and never use a torque wrench. When I get home...I will always loosen and use a torque wrench to tighten them back up...then re-torque after 100 miles. One time...one of the bolts would not loosen. I had to go back to the shop and have them loosen that bolt.

 

[teK--]

I see mechanics use an impact gun on wheel bolts/nuts and never use a torque wrench. When I get home...I will always loosen and use a torque wrench to tighten them back up...then re-torque after 100 miles. One time...one of the bolts would not loosen. I had to go back to the shop and have them loosen that bolt.

Impact guns on wheel nuts are ok. Just start the nut by hand first, and use a torque limiting bar on the gun.