Fuel EXe Trek Fuel EXe Megathread!

[WipeOut]

I had a similar dilemma as I was in the middle of medium and large. The M/L/XL is meaningless as different manufacturers at different times use different designations. Pay careful attention to the stand over of the bike as its very similar if not identical on some sizes. Perhaps reach should be your main consideration? I am longer in my top body (arms) than in my legs) so a medium frame can feel crowded. In the end I went for large. The stand over between M & L is the same. It's not perfect, but that's the problem with off the shelf sizing of bikes.

Good luck with your decision, and hope this helps.

 

[KevinNY]

Does anyone have creaking / clicking noise when a heavy load is applied when pedaling (such as pedaling uphill)?

To test this, you have to flex the frame. Have your bike stationary, with one side of the pedal down, step down hard on it like you are trying to compress the rear suspension, then repeat on the other side. The creaking seems to happen when the frame flexes.

All the areas that should be greased (per the service manual) were bone dry, so I greased them up (main pivot bolt, etc.). Unfortunately, this did not solve the creaking, and I can't pinpoint where it is coming from.

It sounds to be somewhere on the downtube. Perhaps I'll pull the battery out next to see if that's the contributor.

Is anyone else having this issue?

Edit: I should add, this is not the lockring issue on earlier builds. My lockring is stamped with the 50nm. I took off my cranks, lockring, and chainring. Lockring torqued to 50nm.

 

[socal_rider]

Does anyone have creaking / clicking noise when a heavy load is applied when pedaling (such as pedaling uphill)?

To test this, you have to flex the frame. Have your bike stationary, with one side of the pedal down, step down hard on it like you are trying to compress the rear suspension, then repeat on the other side. The creaking seems to happen when the frame flexes.

All the areas that should be greased (per the service manual) were bone dry, so I greased them up (main pivot bolt, etc.). Unfortunately, this did not solve the creaking, and I can't pinpoint where it is coming from.

It sounds to be somewhere on the downtube. Perhaps I'll pull the battery out next to see if that's the contributor.

Is anyone else having this issue?

Edit: I should add, this is not the lockring issue on earlier builds. My lockring is stamped with the 50nm. I took off my cranks, lockring, and chainring. Lockring torqued to 50nm.

Yep, I have this noise as well. So far I can’t find the source. I’ll keep looking and report back if I figure it out.

 

[apollon]

Don't mean to hijack this but do you also hear same kind of noise if you press the brake and try to move the bike backward?

 

[Emailsucks98]

Does anyone have creaking / clicking noise when a heavy load is applied when pedaling (such as pedaling uphill)?

I breifly had some creaking- Found one of the through-bolts that holds the motor into the frame had loosened up slightly. Didn’t know the torque spec so I just gave it a half-turn (<10nm) and it’s been silent since.

 

[KevinNY]

I breifly had some creaking- Found one of the through-bolts that holds the motor into the frame had loosened up slightly. Didn’t know the torque spec so I just gave it a half-turn (<10nm) and it’s been silent since.

Thanks. I will give that a try. According to the service manual both should be 20nm.

 

[Endoguru]

I’m 5-11 and always between medium and large. I have a 33 1/2 inseam and 6-1 1/2 wingspan. I’ve found my ideal reach to be 460-465. I decided on the L because I’d rather run a shorter stem and more backsweep on the bar than put a longer stem on a shorter reach and be out over the front of the bike. I’m running a 30mm stem with 9 degree backsweep bar. I did a quick run yesterday on a local trail that has a bit of everything—drops, jumps, steep and loose descents with a fair bit of climbing. The bike felt great and not too big. I almost ordered the M, but happy I got the L. And I love how quiet this motor is!

 

[Mteam]

I'm 5 foot 10 and ride a large,it fits me great,feels really good.

 

[Endoguru]

Also, I’m running a 160 fork with a 205x65 shock. Zero clearance issues. I know Trek says it may void the warranty, but I’m confident Cam Mcaul puts far more stress on the bike with 140 in the rear than I will ever do with 150 travel.

 

[KevinNY]

Thanks. I will give that a try. According to the service manual both should be 20nm.

I tightened the motor bolts to spec 20nm. It was way out of spec as I had at least a half turn before it hit 20nm. Bad news is it did not fix the creak/clicking noise.

I also took out the battery and that was not the cause either.

Any other ideas?

 

[Cell4soul]

Also, I’m running a 160 fork with a 205x65 shock. Zero clearance issues. I know Trek says it may void the warranty, but I’m confident Cam Mcaul puts far more stress on the bike with 140 in the rear than I will ever do with 150 travel.

This is good to hear. I am running a 205 x 60 Float X2. I have been considering taking out spacers to lengthen the stroke By 5 mm. I think I am able to do this with the Float X2. Does running a longer shock increase the bottom bracket height if you are running mullet?

 

[Emailsucks98]

Does running a longer shock increase the bottom bracket height if you are running mullet?

Your BB will be the same unsagged, slightly lower with sag, and definitely lower at bottom out (by however much travel you add). You’re adding travel only to the end/bottom of stroke.

 

[Endoguru]

Your BB will be the same unsagged, slightly lower with sag, and definitely lower at bottom out (by however much travel you add). You’re adding travel only to the end/bottom of stroke.

Are you running a mullet setup? I would be interested in trying. I definitely get the dreaded butt buzz with this bike. For some reason more than I do on my Kenevo SL.

 

[Cell4soul]

Are you running a mullet setup? I would be interested in trying. I definitely get the dreaded butt buzz with this bike. For some reason more than I do on my Kenevo SL.

I am running mullet, but get a lot of pedal strikes. I am running 160 mm cranks. I’d like to bring the BB up a little, but would like to stay mullet. I think this bike as a 150/160 would be perfect.

 

[Endoguru]

I am running mullet, but get a lot of pedal strikes. I am running 160 mm cranks. I’d like to bring the BB up a little, but would like to stay mullet. I think this bike as a 150/160 would be perfect.

I’m a big fan of shorter cranks. In the 150/160 mode I’m not getting pedal strikes with the stock 165 cranks. I would think 160 with Mullet setup would be the same. What 160 cranks were you able to find that fits the TQ motor?

 

[Swingset]

I am developing some play in the pivots. Bike unloaded and pick it up off the ground. There is about .020" free play. Looked like the lower shock mount. Took the shock out and measured everything. Maybe there is .002. check torques in all the other pivot screws except for the main pivot in the right side under the chain guide. Completely baffled. Anybody have any clues before it goes back to the dealer?

 

[Emailsucks98]

I am developing some play in the pivots. Bike unloaded and pick it up off the ground. There is about .020" free play. Looked like the lower shock mount. Took the shock out and measured everything. Maybe there is .002. check torques in all the other pivot screws except for the main pivot in the right side under the chain guide. Completely baffled. Anybody have any clues before it goes back to the dealer?

DU Bushing?

 

[steveL]

I would doubt it, it's just wear and tear, that's what frame protection tape is for. Just like if the frame cracks because a rock hits it, that would not be warranty, might be covered under a crash replacement scheme though.

Warranty would be if the paint is peeling off without any external influence.

But I'm just some bloke on the internet ,so could be wrong...

I'm going to respectively disagree that it is normal wear and tear. The scuff on the top tube are likely from my shorts rubbing on the top tube, that shouldn't happen. One of chips fell off when I removed the shock pump on the rear shock and the chuck touched the rocker. I also own 2 other Trek Carbon Fibre bikes and they don't come close to this amount of damage this frame has and both are over 4 years old. I don't think the paint on this frame is very robust and I hope that Trek will do something.

As for ride wrap, had I know how fragile this paint was I would have done that, unfortunately that ship has sailed as I would now just being covering chips and scuffs/ scratches with the wrap. I also don't think you should have to ride wrap as long as you are okay with a few marks, that has been my experience with 2 other Trek Carbon frames and numerous aluminium and steel frames.

It sounds like a few others are having similar experiences.

Steve

 

[socal_rider]

I am developing some play in the pivots. Bike unloaded and pick it up off the ground. There is about .020" free play. Looked like the lower shock mount. Took the shock out and measured everything. Maybe there is .002. check torques in all the other pivot screws except for the main pivot in the right side under the chain guide. Completely baffled. Anybody have any clues before it goes back to the dealer?

Try retorquing the lower shock bolt. I’ve had this happen twice already. The bolt wasn’t loose. It just wasn’t tight enough to pinch the lower shock bushing.

 

[socal_rider]

I tightened the motor bolts to spec 20nm. It was way out of spec as I had at least a half turn before it hit 20nm. Bad news is it did not fix the creak/clicking noise.

I also took out the battery and that was not the cause either.

Any other ideas?

I pulled the battery out today too to see if that was the source of the noise somehow. It wasn’t. Same as you found.

I hope it’s not something internal to the motor.

 

[dannyb]

Try retorquing the lower shock bolt. I’ve had this happen twice already. The bolt wasn’t loose. It just wasn’t tight enough to pinch the lower shock bushing.

Yep. I was shocked to find mine was only torqued to about 7nm when I first got the bike and it was creaking a bit also. Spec is 15nm.

 

[JP-NZ]

I see Trek have increased the price 5% on the EXE 9.8 XT in New Zealand. Up exactly $700 to $14,699

 

[Swingset]

15nm doesn't do it.

 

[dannyb]

15nm doesn't do it.

According to the service manual, the top shock bolts are 17nm and lower bolt is 15nm. Need to be careful going much further than that not to damage the frame...

 

[DugT]

My LBS was trying to find a clicking noise on my 9.8XT. They said they were torquing the upper shock bolt and the bolt broke. The bolt is aluminum so be careful with it. The bolts aren't readily available.

 

[steveL]

i have the same paint observations On my blue 9.8XT EXe. My bike had two chips down to the frame after just 2 rides. Paint seems very hard. I did add some helicopter tape to chain and seat stays to protect them going forward and I put on the down tube protector that came with the bike. Did you get the correct carbon cranks? mine Came with Al cranks.

Mine didn't come with the carbon cranks, Trek did give me a credit to compensate for that. Apparently they can't get the carbon cranks at this time.

 

[Cell4soul]

I’m a big fan of shorter cranks. In the 150/160 mode I’m not getting pedal strikes with the stock 165 cranks. I would think 160 with Mullet setup would be the same. What 160 cranks were you able to find that fits the TQ motor?

I am running E13.

 

[Swingset]

According to the service manual, the top shock bolts are 17nm and lower bolt is 15nm. Need to be careful going much further than that not to damage the frame...

I took the shock out of the frame to get to the internal spacers inside the air can. I took the lower eyelet parts apart in sequence which is a ~1mm plastic spacer, a ~10mm plastic spacer, and an o ring which goes into the IGUS plastic bearing in the shock eyelet. The fit on the anodized thru spacer is an interference and its fairly stiff. Put everything back in the same order and installed into the frame. The overall length of the shock bushing is very close to to the internal gap in the frame. It would not take much deflection to clamp up the shock bushing. I torqued the bolt up to 15nM and its still rattling. The only thing else to check is the aluminum screws at the link going into the trunnion. There is no magic there as the screw shoulders against a reducer through the bearing bore and into the shock. The 17nM torque on those aluminum screws is pretty scary. Good, crisp, hex keys with full engagement are key. Mine are starting to look a bit used at this point.

I can only think that they over torqued the lower shock bolts to get it to clamp. I am taking it back so they can document the fix and if they break something its on them.

 

[Tolyho]

Picked up a 9.7 a month ago from my local shop. I liked all the colors but this one caught my eye most. I've since upgraded the following permanently - stem, bars, X01 AXS, BikeYoke dropper, Dominion A4 Brakes/Rotors and i9 Carbon 31.5 hoops. Temporarily, I moved my Zeb over from my EVO to see what the 160 travel felt like.

My initial take on the bike stock - poppy and super fun on medium/groomed trails with the ability to do many more miles, of course. Stack height is lacking quite a bit.. added a riser bar and i9 stem flipped to get a more comfy riding position. SLX brakes lack in the heavy hitter category where I like to be so they were the first to go. I lean more towards gravity fed trails/extended downhills with random drops and rock gardens. The fork changed everything. Running low BB with dual 29 and a 160 fork really helped keep the front end up. The Zeb is burly anyway as well as weighing in the same as the Rythm so I though I would need to upgrade to a Zeb as well after testing it for a few weeks. Instead I spent the 75$ on a 160 airshaft from Fox for the Rythm and I have to say I'm very impressed. At 170lbs I pulled one token leaving a total of 2 and cleaned out the excess fox grease and it's pretty butter. If I every feel I need to drop a half pound or gain more rigidity in the future I'll upgrade but for now I'm liking the Rythm. Moving to X01 AXS allows me to keep all of my bikes maintenance the same and share parts if I'm in a pinch. Swapping that from the SLX/XT group shaved some weight as well as the carbon wheelset but EXO+ casing Assegai and DHRII added all of that weight back on. It's sitting at 41lbs as pictured and is riding great. It's not as much of a basher as my EVO, which I've kept, but it get a lot done well and I can still scandi-flick it around a corner with some extra umph on the way out. I'm getting close to the 3k' as advertised for range +/- depending on the terrain.. super technical climbs take more juice, extra boosted steep gravel road climbs do the same whereas if I have extra time I can same much more energy.

Items that popped up since picking this up - crank needed the 50nm treatment to get rid of the creak that started day 2. Lower shock bolt has now been torqued to 15nm after rattling for a while - keeping an eye on this per the forum. Finally; I've noticed the dreaded motor noise between pressure and coast coming from the TQ. If y'all hadn't said anything I probably wouldn't have heard it over the Hydra hubs screaming. It seems to come and go or my style of riding doesn't get to the point of noticing it as much as others but I'm keeping an eye on it and notified the dealer as well. For the future - I was thinking of a coil shock to soften the rear up a little.. it's a XCish trail bike after all but the Float X has really impressed me. I'll leave that alone for now. I'm not on forums much nor monitor but there was some really great info here so I though to share my experience. Hope this helps others!

 

[Swingset]

I am developing some play in the pivots. Bike unloaded and pick it up off the ground. There is about .020" free play. Looked like the lower shock mount. Took the shock out and measured everything. Maybe there is .002. check torques in all the other pivot screws except for the main pivot in the right side under the chain guide. Completely baffled. Anybody have any clues before it goes back to the dealer?

Took the bike to the dealer. Guy puts it into the stand and agrees that it is the lower shock mount, grabs a wrench and cranks on it. I tell him to back it off and put the 15Nm spec on it first, then we can creep up on higher number. We go to 16Nm and its still rattling but a hair better. Go to 17Nm and that does the trick. He scans the serial number and adds the value to the Trek website on 'real world solutions' link. He says its the fourth time he has had to do the over torque on customer bikes.

So I know the lower will take 17Nm. Make damn sure you don't exceed 17Nm on the uppers. He showed me some broken examples.