it’s goodbye commencal sadly , Just put a deposit on a rail 9 , anything I should know before diving in ? Reviews certainly seem to rate it but there is always something they don’t tell you . What’s the bontrager stuff like. Especially the wheels ?
Hi Trekkies
- Thread starter Kernow
- Start date
Philly G
Well-known member
My Rail 7 is my 2nd Trek, I also have a Remedy. I love riding my Rail, and I think in general Trek offer well designed bikes and good bang for buck ( at least here in NZ they are good value for money ). That said, I think there are always minor issues with any bike, and Trek is no exception. While waiting for delivery of my Rail I joined this forum and read up on a couple of issues, and I'm glad I did. I addressed these issues before I even rode my bike for the first time and I have had no problems.
- Quite a few riders have had the battery fall out whilst riding, due to incorrect alignment of the latch. My latch was definitely not aligned correctly, maybe the battery wouldn't have fallen out, but I wasn't keen to risk it. Solution here:
- Another fairly common fault (and this is a Bosch issue, not Trek's fault) is that the chainring lockring nut loosens. You will need a special tool for this, but it's a simple matter of dismantling, discarding the o-ring, applying strong (red) loctite thread locker, and tightening (anti-clockwise, it's a reverse thread) to the specified torque. A lot of discussion on this issue, just go to the Bosch section and search chainring
www.emtbforums.com
- Some riders have had the cranks come loose as well. Seems to me this is just poor assembly at the bike shops. Did mine up to the proper torque and have had no problems.
Bontrager parts. The bars are heavy, overly stiff and harsh feeling. Quite a few riders have fitted Oneup carbon bars (me included)
I have had bad experiences with Bontrager wheels. The alloy wheels are pretty soft, too much lateral flex, and the cheap Dusters that came on my Remedy constantly broke spokes so I gave up on them. The carbon ones ride a lot better and are stronger. They have a plastic rim bed fitted, which makes it easy to seat tyres tubeless with just a hand pump, however the flip side of that is, it's the devil's job to get tyres on and off, and if you want to run inserts as well, good luck with that! I had Bonty carbon wheels on my Remedy. The hub centre is bonded into the wheel, and the glue let go, which ruined a ride I had travelled 400km for. Trek gave me a whole new wheel but I was done with Bonty wheels after that. Also the freehubs are poorly sealed and require regular attention. I found a couple of broken pawl springs the last time I serviced mine.
- If you want to raise the seatpost, take the battery out. Loosen the bolts that hold the cable camps and feed the dropper cable through as you're raising the seatpost. Otherwise the cable could part from the connector on the dropper, which is usually a motor out job to fix.
- Quite a few riders have had the battery fall out whilst riding, due to incorrect alignment of the latch. My latch was definitely not aligned correctly, maybe the battery wouldn't have fallen out, but I wasn't keen to risk it. Solution here:
- Another fairly common fault (and this is a Bosch issue, not Trek's fault) is that the chainring lockring nut loosens. You will need a special tool for this, but it's a simple matter of dismantling, discarding the o-ring, applying strong (red) loctite thread locker, and tightening (anti-clockwise, it's a reverse thread) to the specified torque. A lot of discussion on this issue, just go to the Bosch section and search chainring
Bosch CX gen 4 chainring nut
Chainring nut / spider nut or other names... Has anyone experienced their chainring nut coming loose? Today is the first day my Rail has let me down, I had to cut my ride short today when I felt a vibration at my feet, checked the chainring and it was wobbling and the spider nut had come...
www.emtbforums.com
- Some riders have had the cranks come loose as well. Seems to me this is just poor assembly at the bike shops. Did mine up to the proper torque and have had no problems.
Bontrager parts. The bars are heavy, overly stiff and harsh feeling. Quite a few riders have fitted Oneup carbon bars (me included)
I have had bad experiences with Bontrager wheels. The alloy wheels are pretty soft, too much lateral flex, and the cheap Dusters that came on my Remedy constantly broke spokes so I gave up on them. The carbon ones ride a lot better and are stronger. They have a plastic rim bed fitted, which makes it easy to seat tyres tubeless with just a hand pump, however the flip side of that is, it's the devil's job to get tyres on and off, and if you want to run inserts as well, good luck with that! I had Bonty carbon wheels on my Remedy. The hub centre is bonded into the wheel, and the glue let go, which ruined a ride I had travelled 400km for. Trek gave me a whole new wheel but I was done with Bonty wheels after that. Also the freehubs are poorly sealed and require regular attention. I found a couple of broken pawl springs the last time I serviced mine.
- If you want to raise the seatpost, take the battery out. Loosen the bolts that hold the cable camps and feed the dropper cable through as you're raising the seatpost. Otherwise the cable could part from the connector on the dropper, which is usually a motor out job to fix.
Doug Stampfer
Well-known member
What Phil said!
Most upgrades I've done are for comfort. The seat is a plank I went with a WTB pure. Carbon one up bars (with new 35mm stem- stock are 31.8) & deity grips help stop the trail hitting your hands. Dealing with the knockblock has been covered on different threads. The seatpost on the 7 is short (130) so upgraded to longer oneup post (also need better lever as they require more force to activate).
I've lost a crank mid ride & found loose bots after a shop service (mech was very concerned & went round with locktite n nearly everything)
The wheels have a rubber strip inside them to make them tubeless. They make it very hard to fit stiffer sidewall tyres as they take up real estate in the middle of the rim where you want the beads to go while fitting. I removed mine & put in tubeless tape. (I also fitted cushcores but they're not necessarily needed depending on the type of riding you do).
I've found these bikes to get better the harder you ride them. They don't really come into their own until you're on the edge of your abilities, wherever that is, & definitely give me more confidence on gnarly stuff I wouldn't have looked at before. They're also nice for cruising as well
Most upgrades I've done are for comfort. The seat is a plank I went with a WTB pure. Carbon one up bars (with new 35mm stem- stock are 31.8) & deity grips help stop the trail hitting your hands. Dealing with the knockblock has been covered on different threads. The seatpost on the 7 is short (130) so upgraded to longer oneup post (also need better lever as they require more force to activate).
I've lost a crank mid ride & found loose bots after a shop service (mech was very concerned & went round with locktite n nearly everything)
The wheels have a rubber strip inside them to make them tubeless. They make it very hard to fit stiffer sidewall tyres as they take up real estate in the middle of the rim where you want the beads to go while fitting. I removed mine & put in tubeless tape. (I also fitted cushcores but they're not necessarily needed depending on the type of riding you do).
I've found these bikes to get better the harder you ride them. They don't really come into their own until you're on the edge of your abilities, wherever that is, & definitely give me more confidence on gnarly stuff I wouldn't have looked at before. They're also nice for cruising as well
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks for the tips , bars will be changed for my renthal carbons , looking forward to having a bottle cage , although it looks like a small bottle is required .
Jubby
New Member
Another issue is Trek is heavy on the paint so I would recommend applying clear vinyl in the most common area's, otherwise your gonna end up with some nasty paint chips.
JMD
Member
Rims are soft, won't last the distance & hubs are suspect, I swapped wheelset & kept original as emergency spare set.
Loose chainring locknut, cheap tools under £10 on eBay, blue locktite 25-30nm LH thread.
Theather (Garmin style) on kiox display to frame/cable, can be knocked of, if happens at night could be a issue ( also possible to bolt kiox permanent to holder, but not recommended)
The paint on carbon can chip, not sure about alloy frames.
Changing dropper or mech outer cables you need to drop motor, I can manage this without having to unplug any wiring
Loose chainring locknut, cheap tools under £10 on eBay, blue locktite 25-30nm LH thread.
Theather (Garmin style) on kiox display to frame/cable, can be knocked of, if happens at night could be a issue ( also possible to bolt kiox permanent to holder, but not recommended)
The paint on carbon can chip, not sure about alloy frames.
Changing dropper or mech outer cables you need to drop motor, I can manage this without having to unplug any wiring
I've got 1500 hard miles on my wheels and they're still functional. Of course there are better wheels out there, but I'm not spending money fixing something that isn't broken.
What size frame are you getting? The shock is pretty poor and you have to be careful what replacement you buy as the reservoir can hit the frame on full compression. I've got a medium frame and run a DVO Jade X with 60mm stroke giving 157mm rear travel and it has plenty of clearance.
What size frame are you getting? The shock is pretty poor and you have to be careful what replacement you buy as the reservoir can hit the frame on full compression. I've got a medium frame and run a DVO Jade X with 60mm stroke giving 157mm rear travel and it has plenty of clearance.
Doug Stampfer
Well-known member
One of those is gonna be my late christmas present to myself soon!
- Thread starter
- #9
I have been very impressed with the coil shock on my commencal , so much less faff than air shocks , so good to know the rail can take one ok . The model Iam buying has quite a decent air shock , so hoping it’s going to be ok .
| NEW RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate RT3, DebonAir spring, Thru Shaft 3-position damper, 230x57.5 mm |
Forever Wild
Active member
I like the bontrager wheels and tires. The only upgrade so far is a 35mm Renthal Fatbar with a 40 mm rise. My wife’s Trek RIB battery I think has an issue. The motor occasionally cuts off on hard jolts. The LBS already fixed it once under warranty. Only happens occasionally now. My trek has never done it.
Last edited:
Jubby
New Member
That motor should never cut out, so if I were you I would take it in before it gets worse again or before your warranty runs out.
Man of Finland
New Member
I`ve had a Trek Rail 7 for about 1,5 months. Was planning to by the 9 but the shops didn`t have any here in Finland and I got a good bargain for the last Trek in that shop (Specialized dealer). What I`ve read, the Shimano is better vs. Sram. I also had the chainring lockring issue. Really like my Rail 7!
Did my first ride on my Rail 9 today. Damn the seat is a plank! Sure gonna replace that one!
- Thread starter
- #15
Getting used to the seat ,it’s broken in a bit , not as comfy as my wtb , it’s slippery and the shape makes it very easy to slide off the back which I quite like
Doug Stampfer
Well-known member
You actually rode on it? Did we forget to tell you it's really just for show? - like the plastic pedals some bikes have to make them look complete in the shop. ?
Thanks for all the replies guys, just got a rail 7 and can't wait to ride it!!! My ride wrap is coming Friday, so glad I decided to wait after reading the comments on the paint.
Quick question on the Bosch locknut, does anyone know what tool I need to have? I called a shop and they couldnt really be very specific. figured I'd get a now one since I plan on changing my crank arms length in the near future.
Quick question on the Bosch locknut, does anyone know what tool I need to have? I called a shop and they couldnt really be very specific. figured I'd get a now one since I plan on changing my crank arms length in the near future.
JMD
Member
Shimano ISIS Drive and ISIS Overdrive eight-notch bottom bracket tool
- Thread starter
- #19
IceToolz Bosch Lockring Tool Sprockets M801 Bike Bicycle Lockring Remover 4718152228017 | eBay. This is best value I could find on the lock ring socket . icetools quality is pretty good
Sean1.0
Member
I don't think that will fit the Bosch CX Gen4 fella.... won't clear the spindle. Its for Gen 2.
Best value I found to fit a Gen4 was the Unior Tool 1671.2/4
Unior Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool 1671.2/4 | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unior Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool 1671.2/4 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
In stock at a few usual EU online suspects as well.
You can see its deeper than the Icetools M801...
Shinn
Well-known member
I saw the title and thought it was about StarTrek - apologies for the interruption. ?
- Thread starter
- #23
Ohh bloody hell , looks like I may have wasted 15 quid then . you posted this link and I followed it to eBay then bought the other one because it looked like a better deal . There’s no info on them as to which model they fit so presumed all bosch lock rings were the same Doh!I don't think that will fit the Bosch CX Gen4 fella.... won't clear the spindle. Its for Gen 2.
Best value I found to fit a Gen4 was the Unior Tool 1671.2/4
Unior Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool 1671.2/4 | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unior Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool 1671.2/4 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.www.ebay.co.uk
In stock at a few usual EU online suspects as well.
You can see its deeper than the Icetools M801...
View attachment 49893
Sean1.0
Member
lol... yes, I pm'd you the Unior tool link and not the cheaper Icetools one as that doesn't fit ?
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