Trek rail 5 water ingress after first ride ?

[Stengis40]

hello all... Im a noob obviously.... Mountain biker turned e mountain biker... Just bought a TREK RAIL 5 and have a technical question if anyone can help... After first ride in the scottish dust ie mud and wet i hosed bike down and seem to have muddy water in the battery compartment on frame and battery... ? i thought battery would be well sealed off from water etc... Like even a rubber seal around frame? It was dark when i washed it and dont recall any rubber seal... Any advice would be most welcome, cheers

 

[Philly G]

@Stengis40 Welcome! There is no rubber seal (I have the Trek Rail 7). The frame is designed so that water will drain out the bottom as long as the bike is standing upright. The motor is a sealed, waterproof unit, as is the battery. Where the wiring connects to the motor, weather-proof plugs with rubber seals are used. So not much to worry about! However, when hosing it down I would avoid the battery/motor area, as well as the frame bearings (suspension linkages) - especially if the hose has any decent pressure. Make sure the bike is switched off at the controller or just remove the battery. You can clean (and keep free of moisture) the battery terminals by spraying a small amount of electrical contact cleaner.

 

[neiloxford]

no seals so no pressure washer

 

[Stengis40]

Thanks guys... Much appreciated advice... Little or no advice about that in both manuals with bike...i did give it a good hosing so no surprise muddy water got in... Ill be a little more gentle next time... I have read threads about a seal upgrade available for the motor... Stops dirt and water getting in to drive... ?

 

[R120]

You're NOT a " Newbie " . Thats insulting and derogatory . I love this forum but the little military type ranking game that is being presented here is childish . It's like giving a grade school kid a gold star for handing in extra work , but in this case it's how many times have you posted before you can be considered on equal terms with everyone else . it's rubbish

Its simply a way of telling people you are new to the Forum, it doesn't mean you get treated any differently - It enables other members to see you are new to the forum and help point you in the right direction on the forum for help, and whilst this is one of the friendlier Internet forums out there, its also designed so that people can see a poster is new and don't pile in on someone when they ask a question that has been asked multiple times before.

It has no reference to if you are new to bikes or EMTB's, but if for example I see someone asking for help and they are new, I will assume that they are not familiar with either how to get the best from all the info on here, and that also they may not be familiar with a lot of the ins and out of life with an EMTB that many established members may be.

So in the instance of this thread I would point out firstly never you a jet washer or any type of high pressure hose on an EMTB, and that also drying properly any of the connections and electrical parts is very important, dont leave them to drip dry.

There are also numerous threads on the topic of how best to wash an EMTB, and also lots of info on how best to care for the Treks within the trek sub-forum.

 

[Stengis40]

Hi, thanks for reply... I wouldnt pressure wash any bicycle let alone my e bike...Did i post the question in the wrong section? My question was kindly answered and i now know why water gets in... All good ?

 

[R120]

No you have done nothing wrong, was just replying to @sirios.

 

[Stengis40]

Aah ? ive earned the term newbie alright... Thanks again...

 

[Stengis40]

Valid point however im an experienced mountain biker and enduro racer... Very technically minded... Repair my bikes myself... Service my own forks but i know nothing about e bike motors or batteries....hence why im happy to be called a noob... Remember we were all noobs to mountain biking at one point... ? stay rad

 

[Mteam]

yeah dont wash the bike upside down is the main bike washing tip I discovered after I washed my bike for the first time. The frame has holes in the bottom above the motor and any water runs through this hole into the frame - I think this applies to most/all ebikes rather than one specific brand.

I washed my bike upside down, water filled the frame, ran into the top tube, where it gurgled everytime I lifted the bike up, had to lift the bike by the back wheel to get it to drain back out via the battery cover. No damage done, just annoying, and a lesson learned about how not to wash an ebike.


PS - how many posts do I need before the newbie tag disappears?

 

[Zimmerframe]

You validated my point with this -" help point you in the right direction for help " You are assuming that because someone is " NEW" to the forum that they need help ? There are guys on this forum that know waay more about Mt. biking before they ever joined the forum .

Not trying to be argumentative, only to clarify what @R120 actually said, but that wasn't what he said ..

What @R120 actually said was :

It enables other members to see you are new to the forum and help point you in the right direction on the forum for help

As in, you are new to the forum, or even forums - who knows, and you might not know where to go to find the information you are looking for - or equally, you may not know where to post some useful information you have - because you are NEW and therefore possibly unfamiliar with the layout of the forum. It also means that other members will, hopefully, not be as rude to you as they are once they've established your personality. Except for @Gary of course, he's not title-ist - it can be your 1000th post or your first post - if you say something stupid - he'll tell you

For instance, you yourself are a "Newby" - this doesn't tell us if you are an MTB god or not, only that you are new here and there are things you don't know. Like what the title might mean for instance. On the off chance that you might know, I could ask you how to swap an SRAM brake lever over from the left side to the right side, whereas - as a newby - I probably wouldn't ask you how to upload images into the gallery and post them into a thread.

You could also excel yourself in stupidity and earn a custom title. Or sign up for the "100 year Subscriber" option and the Committee of Grumpy old men will think of a custom title for you - but only if they think you've earned it.

 

[Zimmerframe]

PS - how many posts do I need before the newbie tag disappears?

Good question ! It did all change a few months ago as after the forum upgrade people were losing their newby tag just by adding an avatar. I think it works on "point" rather than posts as this gives a better idea of how familiar you are with how things work on the forum.

At present you have 43 points.

For the points :

Trophies

You can earn trophies by carrying out different actions. This page shows a list of the trophies that are available.

www.emtbforums.com

Though there looks to be an error there .. you get 10 points for uploading an avatar .. and further down .. you get 50 points for uploading an avatar ??? @Rob Rides EMTB

 

[Stengis40]

To be honest i joined this forum for advice, info and chat... Instead all i get is members posting their opinions on the forum and how it works... Completely put off being on here now... If members are not happy with the forum then why be a part of it?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Trophies , points ?? Rob , i love the forum in terms of the valuable information that is exchanged but come on ,
titles , trophies and points . ?

It is already built into the software. Just ignore it like 99% of folks do and use the forum for what it is- a great resource for ebike enthusiasts ?

Plenty of helpful posts, members and advice here

 

[R120]

Oh i agree with the helpfulness and friendliness of the thread . that's why i joined . let's see if a little dissent on the adolescent rating system gets me into trouble .
You validated my point with this -" help point you in the right direction for help " You are assuming that because someone is " NEW" to the forum that they need help ? There are guys on this forum that know waay more about Mt. biking before they ever joined the forum . But their history is not taken into consideration as they are still children by the forums standard . sorry i think it's insulting to many of the guys on this site .

I think you misread my post, I was referring to how you find the relevant help on the forum, if that what you are looking for - people join the forum for many reasons, help, people to ride with, or to pass on advice, or indeed just to chat sh!t about bikes. Newbie just means your new to the forum, nothing more, nothing less, no assumptions made.