Pivot bearing issue

[MrLizard]

My Rail 9.8 XT is in for repair at the moment. I thought that the issue was limited to a dodgy pivot bearing. Specifically the left hand side bearing that is at the bottom of the rear shock.

It turns out that the seating in the frame for the bearing in question was somehow defective, to the extent that the bearing could never have been correctly fitted in the first place.

I am thanking my lucky stars that I didn’t try to replace the bearing myself, especially as this has gone from a bearing warranty issue to a frame warranty issue! However I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar? I took delivery of the bike in September 2020, so maybe a problem with some of the earlier bikes to be manufactured?

 

[PetrD]

Note only, that Rail 9.8 is a carbon version.

 

[MrLizard]

Thought I’d share a quick update on this. The bike went back to Trek for them to inspect a couple of weeks ago. It’s definitely got a manufacturing defect so is covered by the warranty. Apparently my existing frame is safe to ride and I’ve got the bike back, but Trek are sending over a new frame in a couple of months to resolve the issue. It will be a different colour, but I’m not really too concerned about that having seen the 2022 frames.

I’ve had some great service here from my local bike shop (Voltz in Blidworth, Nottinghamshire), and of course Trek as well. Looking forward to going out for my first ride in weeks a bit later!

 

[Bomble]

What were your symptoms of the fault?

 

[MrLizard]

What were your symptoms of the fault?

It started off a a pretty annoying creak that was coming from the middle of the bike. A bit like a seat post creak but more noticeable. The other big symptom was that the pivot bolt kept coming loose, to the point that I was having to tighten it up every ride. It was only when I took the bolts out and found that I couldn’t put one of them back (where the dodgy bearing is) that I suspected a more challenging issue.