DANGER: Trek multitrack 7300 (hybrid) aluminum bracket sheers off, rips apart entire rear end of bike

Hi,

Because this is a hybrid I'm not sure whether to place it in racing or
off-road. But here goes my story.

Saturday afternoon I was riding along a clean flat nature trail; no
sticks in the gears, no nothing. I was going at an even speed of
about 20-25mph in the next-highest gear when all of a sudden I hear a
*SNAP*, then something smashed into the rear spokes, causing an almost
instant stop. I was lucky I wasn't going downhill when this occurred,
or I would've flown over the handlebars.

It turns out that a small piece of the aluminum frame supporting the
gear shifter wore out due to metal fatigue. The shifter mechanism
ripped off the aluminum frame, got caught in the rear spokes, and
destroyed the entire rear end of the bike. Several spokes are broken
and/or bent. The shifter mechanism is bent in several places, the
shifter wire is shredded, and the front crank apparatus also has some
damage due to the sudden awkward pull on the chain.

I was not happy. I had to walk 8 miles home while contending with a
pair of minor stress fractures in the legs (I was biking because I
can't run for the moment). I've contacted the dealer but so far no
reply. This $420 bike is just barely over 2 years old, with less than
500 miles on it. I expected to get more than a dollar per mile for
this bike, and I'm really not happy with Trek's poor design of this
frame and model.

If the dealer or Trek will support the repair of this obvious
manufacturer's defect, I will keep you apprised.

Dan

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