Trek Madone reliability

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.


Steve

On Nov 28, 7:16*am, steve wrote:
I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.

Steve

You don't have a Madone reliability problem -- you have a seat post
problem, and something really odd about your chain. Saddle clamp
bolts should not break, although they do sometimes -- and the failures
are generally related to bad QC by bolt suppliers or simply spec'ing
the wrong bolt for the application. If you have doubts about the
replaced bolts, take the post back and get a different brand.

As for your chain, when you say cracked links, do you mean the chain
broke through a link? I've never seen that happen. Replace the
chain, and you should be fine.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Nov 28, 9:16*am, steve wrote:
I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.

Steve

Was a torque wrench used to tighten the post bolt and was it properly
lubricated? Could be hardware failure, but since it happened again,
wrenching error is more like it.

On Nov 28, 8:19*am, landotter wrote:
On Nov 28, 9:16*am, steve wrote:

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.

Steve

Was a torque wrench used to tighten the post bolt and was it properly
lubricated? Could be hardware failure, but since it happened again,
wrenching error is more like it.

I'm pretty sure that a toque wrench was used but I don't know about
lubricant. It is an off-the-shelf bike but I assume the shop did some
assembly.
As to the chain, yes a link broke and the chain actually fell off.
What is embarrassing about this is that I should have noticed this
before the complete failure. The chain had been noisy. When I took the
bike into the shop they found that many of the links were cracked. The
best guess here is that the links were too brittle because the heat
treatment wasn't done correctly.

While I agree that it really isn't the Madone that has failed, it is
still sold and guaranteed by Trek. They buy or outsource all the parts
and sell the bike as a whole unit so they are ultimately responsible.

Steve
Steve

On 11/28/2011 10:16 AM, steve wrote:
I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.


Steve

Post to saddle bolt or frame to post bolt?

What brand of chain?

Post to saddle bolts are a bit notorious for failing from over
tightening. I'm sure many are tightened without a torque wrench.

There have been some reports of chain plate cracking after the use of
caustic chain cleaners.

steve wrote:

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.

Fastening is a chronic issue with plastic frames and seatposts. I
can't help you there except to recommend a more reliable material for
both, next time around. Find out the manufacturer's recommendation,
and follow it.

Chains are consumable. Trying to get too fancy with them (e.g. hollow
pins or perforated sideplates) is usually folly. Best bet is usually
to buy the cheapest SRAM chain that is compatible with your rear
sprocket spacing.

Chalo

On 29/11/11 07:02, Chalo wrote:
steve wrote:

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.

Fastening is a chronic issue with plastic frames and seatposts. I
can't help you there except to recommend a more reliable material for
both, next time around. Find out the manufacturer's recommendation,
and follow it.

Chains are consumable. Trying to get too fancy with them (e.g. hollow
pins or perforated sideplates) is usually folly. Best bet is usually
to buy the cheapest SRAM chain that is compatible with your rear
sprocket spacing.


You recommend fast wearing chains?

http://www.cantitoeroad.com/uploads/...0-JUN-2010.pdf

--
JS.

On Nov 28, 1:09*pm, James wrote:
On 29/11/11 07:02, Chalo wrote:





steve wrote:

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.

Fastening is a chronic issue with plastic frames and seatposts. *I
can't help you there except to recommend a more reliable material for
both, next time around. *Find out the manufacturer's recommendation,
and follow it.

Chains are consumable. *Trying to get too fancy with them (e.g. hollow
pins or perforated sideplates) is usually folly. *Best bet is usually
to buy the cheapest SRAM chain that is compatible with your rear
sprocket spacing.

You recommend fast wearing chains?

http://www.cantitoeroad.com/uploads/...Chainwear_Test...

KMC are generally cheaper and maybe longer wearing than SRAM, but in
any event, its all about cost when it comes to consumables. If a $120
chain actually lasted 6 times longer than a $20 chain, I might buy it
-- although then I would have to clean it. So strike that . . . I'll
go with the $20 chains, or in actuality, $15 chains from Universal.
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...47&category=60
Universal is my LBS, so no shipping.

Also, that chart shows 10 speed, and I wonder if the disparity between
chains is less great with 9 speed.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Nov 28, 10:08*am, steve wrote:
On Nov 28, 8:19*am, landotter wrote:

On Nov 28, 9:16*am, steve wrote:

I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.

Steve

Was a torque wrench used to tighten the post bolt and was it properly
lubricated? Could be hardware failure, but since it happened again,
wrenching error is more like it.

I'm pretty sure that a toque wrench was used but I don't know about
lubricant. It is an off-the-shelf bike but I assume the shop did some
assembly.
As to the chain, yes a link broke and the chain actually fell off.
What is embarrassing about this is that I should have noticed this
before the complete failure. The chain had been noisy. When I took the
bike into the shop they found that many of the links were cracked. The
best guess here is that the links were too brittle because the heat
treatment wasn't done correctly.

While I agree that it really isn't the Madone that has failed, it is
still sold and guaranteed by Trek. They buy or outsource all the parts
and sell the bike as a whole unit so they are ultimately responsible.

Has the dealer refused to warranty the seat post? Apart from torque
problems, posts can have bad bolts. I snapped a couple on a perfectly
torqued clamp bolts many years ago -- and I got warranty replacements
from the manufacturer, although your dealer will probably get some for
you.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Nov 28, 7:16 am, steve wrote:
I have a 5 series Trek Madone. It’s in many ways the best bike I have
ever owned but there seems to be an issue with reliability. Within 6
months of getting the bike one of the seat post bolts snapped off
while I was riding (I only weigh 155 lbs). Later the chain broke.
Inspection showed many cracked links. I suspect a problem during heat
treatment. Then yesterday I snapped off another seat post bolt. Is
this normal or am I just lucky.


If it were normal the bike would cost a million dollars to cover all
the lawsuits.