Just picked up a 2021 Trek Rail 7...first ride and big concern

[GrantMeThePower]

Hi all,

I had a Haibike AllMtn 3.0 and decided to upgrade to the rail for better ground clearance (was having a ton of pedal strikes) and the new Bosch motor.

The good news is that the rail is awesome in those regards. Great geometry and it climbs like a goat! Love that.

However, I had a real problem upon the first hard brake-and I found it happened every time I broke hard with the rear. See the video (more importantly hear it). Anyone have any idea what this is all about? Is my new bike already messed up? Thanks so much for your help!! (I don’t think I can add video here so I put the clip on YouTube)

 

[Man of Finland]

I have the Rail 7 too. Never experienced such a noise.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

I have the Rail 7 too. Never experienced such a noise.

thats what I thought. I emailed the bike shop. We’ll see what they say.

I would love to hear back from anyone else with a rail 7!

 

[j3ayy]

That would be going straight back to my LBS to get sorted

 

[LeeSeb83]

I’m a Rail 7 owner and have never heard anything like that from my bike.
As above, straight back to the shop with that.

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

That's the ABS! ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Sounds like you have either some really weird resonance from air in the system, or an unseated calipers, warped disks, unattached disks, anal vibration, incorrectly bedded in pads to the extreme, wheels not attached correctly.

 

[Zimmerframe]

It looks like the rear wheel is bouncing up and down when it makes the noise ? Even the skid mark goes light/dark/light/dark ..

So most likely warped disk, air, pads incorrectly fitted, needs bedding in again (was it bedded in properly ???) Something loose ?

 

[Jackware]

It looks like the rear wheel is bouncing up and down when it makes the noise ? Even the skid mark goes light/dark/light/dark ..

So most likely warped disk, air, pads incorrectly fitted, needs bedding in again (was it bedded in properly ???) Something loose ?

Good to see you narrowed it down for the OP ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Good to see you narrowed it down for the OP ?

I was going to go for "Something's not right" .. but I thought I'd try to help .....

Lets be fair, normally I'd say something like "Saves buying a bell...."

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Thank you all for verifying that I'm not crazy for thinking this is wrong.

Just got off the phone with the bike shop I bought it from. we did some looking over FaceTime and found that the caliper is broken. It is impossible to say if it was a manufacturing defect that allowed it to brake under the first brake or if it was installed poorly (that's my take).

Here's the problem now: They say it is a Shimano problem, not a trek one. And that they would have to work with Shimano to get it "warrantied". To make the problem worse, they are about 4.5 hours away (the only place I could find that had one in stock) and they want me to go to the closest Trek dealer to get it fixed. But I sort of want this one week only, ridden only one time, bike fixed by the people that sold it to me. They just said that they will work on it and see what they can do but they really did encourage me to take it locally instead. In the end they sounded like they wanted to be helpful but it was off-putting to feel that they just didn't want to deal with it.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Sounds like you have either some really weird resonance from air in the system, or an unseated calipers, warped disks, unattached disks, anal vibration, incorrectly bedded in pads to the extreme, wheels not attached correctly.

Also- relieved it wasn't anal vibration!

 

[Marley]

That's unfortunate but fixable.

Hope it's not a color thing as my bike looks exactly like yours.
Hope your back out riding soon.

 

[Jackware]

In the UK, the seller would be responsible for fixing it as your contract is with them. Is it not similar in the States?
It's for them to either sort a faulty part or make amends for a poorly completed PDI.
I guess it depends how much time and effort you want to put into chasing it, or just buy and fit a new caliper yourself if you're able.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

It's a shitty start to a new bike ownership however talk to the local place & see what they say. They could be very understanding if they're a Trek dealer. I get my bike serviced at a shop 100metres away from the shop I bought mine off as the workshop is a lot more accomodating & they don't seem to mind even though they know I didn't buy it from them.
I would have had a terse retort for the staff member if they told me it was a shimano problem not a Trek one - they put the bloody things on their branded bike to sell!
In reality though it is a small problem & once it's done you'll be away laughing.

 

[flightrisk86]

NM

 

[GrantMeThePower]

In the UK, the seller would be responsible for fixing it as your contract is with them. Is it not similar in the States?
It's for them to either sort a faulty part or make amends for a poorly completed PDI.
I guess it depends how much time and effort you want to put into chasing it, or just buy and fit a new caliper yourself if you're able.

I think in the US it’s the manufacturer’s responsibility-but it isn’t super clear and you never want to like “go to court” or something like that to figure out who is really to pay. However the way dealers work is they represent the manufacturer and handle repairs and warranty things. Since there is a network of dealers it was easier forthis guy tosay to take it elsewhere.
The truly strange thing they said was that it was a Shimano issue and not a trek issue. Typically trek would pay the dealer to fix it, then take the issue up with their vendor, in this case Shimano.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

It's a shitty start to a new bike ownership however talk to the local place & see what they say. They could be very understanding if they're a Trek dealer. I get my bike serviced at a shop 100metres away from the shop I bought mine off as the workshop is a lot more accomodating & they don't seem to mind even though they know I didn't buy it from them.
I would have had a terse retort for the staff member if they told me it was a shimano problem not a Trek one - they put the bloody things on their branded bike to sell!
In reality though it is a small problem & once it's done you'll be away laughing.

Perfectly put!

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

The truly strange thing they said was that it was a Shimano issue and not a trek issue. Typically trek would pay the dealer to fix it, then take the issue up with their vendor, in this case Shimano.

It is like BMW (or any car brand) would direct you to Bosch if you have issues with your car brakes, or Apple would ask you to go to Samsung if there is a problem with the phone memory... Very strange approach and probably not legal in any western country where you need to take full consumer responsibility for the product you sell.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

It is like BMW (or any car brand) would direct you to Bosch if you have issues with your car brakes, or Apple would ask you to go to Samsung if there is a problem with the phone memory... Very strange approach and probably not legal in any western country where you need to take full consumer responsibility for the product you sell.

Agreed. It seems strange. That’s kind of why their response seemed so strange. I can’t tell if they just wanted me to get help sooner since they are further away or if they didn’t want to deal with it.
And I’m in California. Just outside of LA and they are up north.

 

[Voluptua]

So if Shimano say it's a faulty bit of metal, you could eventually work your way back to the mine concerned and get them to dig you out a new lump of ore.

 

[Mteam]

I know its not ideal, but a new shimano caliper is very cheap , so in order to save a load of time and hassle in trying to get someone to take ownership of the problem, it might just be more pragmatic to buy a new caliper and fit it rather than trying to get someone to take responsibility for the problem.

 

[steve_sordy]

I know its not ideal, but a new shimano caliper is very cheap , so in order to save a load of time and hassle in trying to get someone to take ownership of the problem, it might just be more pragmatic to buy a new caliper and fit it rather than trying to get someone to take responsibility for the problem.

Exactly!
Buy a new one and fit it. Send the old one off for warranty and eventually you will get a new one in the post. Then you will have a spare that you can either keep or sell. The cost is slightly more, but the riding you can get done vs what would happen while you stick to your guns will be payment enough.

I have done this.

 

[Pan]

Always best to have a good relation with your lbs. I would go see them and ask what they think. I would suggest you buy the part from them, and if need be pay them to do the repair. Send the defect part to the shop you bought the bike and get them to do the warranty claim. Once you recieve the new part ask your lbs if they will take it and reimburse you for the part. Do not xpect your lbs to do the waranty claim on a bike they did not sell, no sense to me.
cheers

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Hi all- I would have considered just getting a new one and installing it, however, while my bike maintenance skills are not entirely zero, I haven't installed new calipers or bled lines before. I don't mind learning when the need arises but this bike is brand new. I want to make sure it is done perfectly to start.

As for the issue of Trek vs Shimano being responsible, I had another phone call with the service manager at the shop today and sort of pressed him about it. He said something to the extent of, "yeah, you'd think it would work that way, huh? Unfortunately the bike industry doesn't function like that. Trek would tell us to contact Shimano, which we did, and they will warranty it. They are shipping us a new part. The problem is that no one reimburses us for our labor and we don't feel right charging you."

But, like, that was kind of my point about taking it to my local dealer for the warranty too when I talked to him the first time. I was thinking, why would I make this THAT stores problem? They've got no skin in the game, they didn't make any money on selling me the bike, and I'm supposed to make a problem for them?

The whole thing is weird.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hi all- I would have considered just getting a new one and installing it, however, while my bike maintenance skills are not entirely zero, I haven't installed new calipers or bled lines before. I don't mind learning when the need arises but this bike is brand new. I want to make sure it is done perfectly to start.

As for the issue of Trek vs Shimano being responsible, I had another phone call with the service manager at the shop today and sort of pressed him about it. He said something to the extent of, "yeah, you'd think it would work that way, huh? Unfortunately the bike industry doesn't function like that. Trek would tell us to contact Shimano, which we did, and they will warranty it. They are shipping us a new part. The problem is that no one reimburses us for our labor and we don't feel right charging you."

But, like, that was kind of my point about taking it to my local dealer for the warranty too when I talked to him the first time. I was thinking, why would I make this THAT stores problem? They've got no skin in the game, they didn't make any money on selling me the bike, and I'm supposed to make a problem for them?

The whole thing is weird.

Any decent bike shop would get this sorted out quickly without pushing any burden or unnecessary information your way.

They sold you a bike with a faulty part and should put it right. Was it like that on the first ride? If so I seriously doubt that it was tested before handing over to you.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Any decent bike shop would get this sorted out quickly without pushing any burden or unnecessary information your way.

They sold you a bike with a faulty part and should put it right. Was it like that on the first ride? If so I seriously doubt that it was tested before handing over to you.

Yes, it was the first ride. I did "test ride" it in the parking lot of the store (which I assume is all they would have done) and it wasn't noticeable. It wasn't until being on a trail and the first time I had to really squeeze the brake that I noticed it. That being said-it was the very first time I really "needed" to brake and it happened. I don't know if it was an installation issue or a manufacturing defect that allowed it to fail.

They've been really communicative-they respond to calls and like I mentioned the guy called me back today with an update. I am not getting the sense that he is "lying" but the whole thing just doesn't add up. In the end they are taking care of it but it sure feels weird and to say "they don't feel right charging me, but are out the labor" is kind of like-uh, that's what a warranty is. But he says it isn't like automotive dealers and do not get reimbursed for any labor from Trek (or any of their brands, they also sell Giant and Specialized).

 

[j3ayy]

that's what a warranty is. But he says it isn't like automotive dealers and do not get reimbursed for any labor from Trek (or any of their brands, they also sell Giant and Specialized).

When i am spending 6K on a bike i expect it to be right & everything covered under warranty

 

[Rosemount]

Hi all- I would have considered just getting a new one and installing it, however, while my bike maintenance skills are not entirely zero, I haven't installed new calipers or bled lines before. I don't mind learning when the need arises but this bike is brand new. I want to make sure it is done perfectly to start.

As for the issue of Trek vs Shimano being responsible, I had another phone call with the service manager at the shop today and sort of pressed him about it. He said something to the extent of, "yeah, you'd think it would work that way, huh? Unfortunately the bike industry doesn't function like that. Trek would tell us to contact Shimano, which we did, and they will warranty it. They are shipping us a new part. The problem is that no one reimburses us for our labor and we don't feel right charging you."

But, like, that was kind of my point about taking it to my local dealer for the warranty too when I talked to him the first time. I was thinking, why would I make this THAT stores problem? They've got no skin in the game, they didn't make any money on selling me the bike, and I'm supposed to make a problem for them?

The whole thing is weird.

Loss leader .
They replace the caliper free this time . You return for years and pay normal labour costs in future .Because we know you will need a chain and brake pads in the near future . And so it starts .

Win / Win .

 

[Mikerb]

The only calliper fault i can think of that would make that sort of noise is one of the mounting bolts coming out. The calliper would then rattle on top of the mount when braking. So why not take a look at it and see if it is just a bolt missing. I suppose an alternative could be that the bolt is still there but the thread is stripped due to overtightening....the thread is in the calliper mount/post so not a calliper fault at all in that case...just needs a new mount/post. DIY seems the best solution to me....do you really want to take it back to a dealer that sold the bike to you with that sort of fault and risk them fixing it?!!