gsteinb

https://velonews.competitor.com/2010/...medium=twitter

fa63

Noone should buy a Trek; problem solved.

Seriously though; I am sure Trek designed the fork to their own stem's torque specifications. FSA's torque requirements are slightly more than some other stems on the market (6Nm), such as my 3T and Easton stems (5Nm). But I find it hard to believe 1Nm would cause catastrophic failure, assuming Bontrager uses the 5Nm spec.

I should say that I have seen some mechanics go to work on stems without torque wrenches, and it is a scary sight. As at least one person argues in the article, just because it was assembled by a Trek mechanic doesn't mean it was assembled correctly.

mzeffex 

That stem compatibility is a load of crap to get the burden off of trek.

patentcad

Trek says over-tightening stem bolts, incorrectly placing spacers above and below the stem, and using incompatible stems can all cause point loading (uneven clamping force) on the steerer tube, weakening it and causing it to break.


If Trek told me this after their broken steerer tube caused me to crash, I would go buy a different brand of bicycle right after I contacted my attorney. The staggering lameness of that bullshirt is hard to fathom. If I can't attach my stem and spacers without worrying about the stupid bike killing me, I can't ride it.

BengeBoy 

...assuming you survived.

gsteinb

I broke a steerer tube on a rented kona once. I got pitched into the weeds and the shop waived the weekly rental fee. Since I was on my way to return it I thought it was an ok deal.

CyciumX

Where's Imperputable when you need a hero?!

gsteinb

fa63

The market keeps demanding lighter and stiffer, and as a result the factors of safety on bike components seem to be going down.

Personally, I went out and bought one of the cheap Ritchey torque keys after getting a full carbon fork for my latest build. It doesn't take much to do damage to a carbon part from over-torquing.

Walter

Agree fully. If we are going to lose all part interchangeability I'm going to be a retro grouch and just ride my vintage bike.

Well, that's extreme but still....

Walter

Agree fully. If we are going to lose all part interchangeability I'm going to be a retro grouch and just ride my vintage bike.

Well, that's extreme but still....

patentcad

I'm like cockroaches and Al Sharpton. I will always survive.

Grumpy McTrumpy

cue that other song.

you know, the survive song that we play at weddings when all the women come out and sing while dancing, even though it's all about getting dumped.

heads up!

Trek is attempting to shove total BS down their customer's throats.

If there wasn't something fundamentally wrong, they wouldn't have changed the layup of the steerer tubes to reinforce them. That's tacit acknowledgement of a problem they're not willing to plainly admit.

They need to start replacing all those forks pronto.

BengeBoy 

To quote botto, "incorrect."

joejack951

Proof that Trek is full of it? Would they really let a pro-MTBer use a compromised set up like this?



From here: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...-d-trek-remedy

Psimet2001 

Total crap. I read the article earlier. There is no way for them to wiggle on this one. What's lamer is that a similar issue that Isaac experienced led to them doing a recall, losing their insurance and having to fold up shop.

I expect no less from a large company to do the natural first thing - point the finger.

Saying that industry standard components won't work because you designed around your own components is like a car manufacturer saying you can't use after market tires because they may cause the rim to explode. Time for a dose of reality for them.

Seeing as how they have already started added more material to te forks they are shipping now they have basically admitted, via action, that the design is at fault.

waterrockets 

The real problem isn't with Trek. Haliburton was contracted to produce the assembly instructions for that fork. Haliburton is at fault for failing to test with the top 15-selling road stems.

That's BS too. Lighter and stiffer is how the manufacturers are choosing to market. The bicycle is so simple that it's nearly impossible to screw it up. So, to get people to buy new bikes every three years, they have to be able to say 0.x% stiffer and 0.00x grams lighter.

waterrockets 

The real problem isn't with Trek. Haliburton was contracted to produce the assembly instructions for that fork. Haliburton is at fault for failing to test with the top 15-selling road stems.

That's BS too. Lighter and stiffer is how the manufacturers are choosing to market. The bicycle is so simple that it's nearly impossible to screw it up. So, to get people to buy new bikes every three years, they have to be able to say 0.x% stiffer and 0.00x grams lighter.

grimace308

FlashBazbo

Let's take Trek at their word:

Any stem other than a Bontrager is inherently dangerous on a Trek bike.
Any stem lighter than what a Bontrager weighs is inherently dangerous on a Trek bike.
Any stem without a spacer on top and a spacer on bottom is inherently dangerous on a Trek bike.

But I think they forgot one:

Any stem that has been flipped is inherently dangerous on a Trek bike.

The common denominator here is the Trek bike. Sounds to me as if buying a Trek bicycle is inherently dangerous. The other stuff is probably okay.

fa63

You are right, that is a better way to put it.

I think Trek's only fault here is to not include a warning against the use of certain aftermarket stems from the get-go. But it appears they didn't test with any other stems during the design of the fork so they are finding out the hard way now.

But no worries, times like these is where the profit margin built into carbon fiber frames comes into play.

heads up!

Perfect summary.

Fat Boy

Trek really knows how to piss people off. Look at Cervelo's approach with their fork issue. Bring it in, we'll put a new fork on it. We didn't even build that fork, but we'll make it right for you. They ended up with a lot of customer loyalty out of that action. Trek takes the complete opposite approach. The difference between 5 and 6 N.M torque is fly s$%t. In terms of clamping force, you'll see that variance from oiling the threads or not. The difference in once stem design to another is also splitting hairs. There is just no excuse for this poor of a response from a modern company. There are so many case studies on how to do things right that I can't conceive of a company that can get it this wrong. Having said that, Mavic played the same game. They're not likely to see a dime from me, either.

coasting 

I see Big Bicycle is as much full of bullcrap as Big Oil and Big Bank. And I thought made in USA was the gold standard!