My 06 Top Fuel 110 has jusst stripped its drive side BB thread. The bearing outer simply rotates in the frame and has pretty much stripped both the thread of the drive side bearing and the thread in the frame.
Has anyone else had this problem or know of anyone who has?
Personally I consider this to be a warranty issue but I bought the bike from a guy who got it as a replacement for a stolen bike under insurance so I can't prove it's purchase....
Not really an issue of not being able to prove purchase, even if you could prove you're not the original owner you don't techincally have a warranty, and Trek are rather hot on such things.
Depending on how far gone the thread is, that frame is fooked basically. You can probably get a new front end for it, but it won't be cheap!
NO I didn't put the LHS bearing in the drive side! I know my R from my L!
There is no other part to the story. My local dealer is trying to get something sorted but I don't hold out much hope.
There are two options to fixing it though, so you are wrong and the frame is not 'fooked'.
1. Insert a heli coil. Basically cut a new thread and open out the frame,, insert the helicoil into this to take it back to it's original diameter.
2. (And this is the one recommended by the Trek dealer......) Remove a portion of the bottom bracket inner, bond in a new cylinder and cut a new thread....... Sound feasable to me. Raleigh used to bond lugs together on their Dynatech frames, although they don't make them anymore...... wonder why?!
BB threads strip when people try to remove the BB turning anti-clockwise. Why did the previous owner sell? Perhaps because he stripped the threads, bodged the BB back in with loctite and sold the problem to someone else (you). This is of course pure speculation but based on real experience.
many years ago, a numpty, screwed the offside bearing cup into a frame with an overlong axle he sheared the outer cup from the threaded part leaving just a threaded part inside the frame, which was steel.
the shop spent hours trying to remove it, and when they eventually did somehow the guy refused to pay and left the frame there, but bikes where cheaper then, and he was rich, or daddy was. oh and it wasnt me.
your story seems a bit strange, a lot of force would have been required to stripp the thread like stated, how can you succesfully helicoil a 1.75 inch diameter opening,
so you write with your right, and the hand that is left is left, easy.
The bike was new when I got it. No chain wear, little bits of rubber extrusion on the tyres, no air in the shock or forks, no chainring wear, no chaffing on the frame/cranks/grips etc etc etc, it'd even still got the stickers on the discs. And no I haven't tried to remove/replace/adjust the drive side BB bearing...
Neither side has been removed since I got the bike last October......
I agree with Sad Bloke, that this story seems a little strange. I can't understand why this would fail like this. There are no turning forces on the bearing outer to overtighten or loosen the outer (the bearings had not seized). Unless it had been overtightened or loosened the only thing I can think of is that I must have hit the drive side crank arm rather hard during a crash. If that's the case I find it strange that it's only just failed because I haven't had a good quality spill for ages.
So you'll all have to come up with some new theories..... Like the thread was shagged when it was built..... The diameter of the hole could possibly be at fault, but unlikely I would think presuming that tolerences on such high stress areas are kept tight. There is no evidence of cross threading on either the frame or bearing.
Apparently the company that the bike will likely get sent to, to do the bonding process, is called Argos and they do a lot of work on Trek frames. Ever heard of them?
Apparently the company that the bike will likely get sent to, to do the bonding process, is called Argos and they do a lot of work on Trek frames. Ever heard of them?
yes , theyre a major catalogue retailer, owned by great universal stores, they also own homebase.
being serious now, i do think trek have some serious quality control issues, i have a trek, had a new bottom bracket, loads of spokes and new headset, and its 1.5 years old.oh and now the paints bubbling on the rear stays.
Yes, but that didn't help Ride with his enquiries.
I don't think Trek are much worse than anyone else, ok spokes breaking isn't great, but it's not a problem I've ever really seen on their wheels. But do you really expect more than 18 months out of a headset or bottom bracket? I killed the headset in my Epic in 5 months, and that's better than some are lasting! Their paint is shockingly thin, I'll give you that, but that also makes it lighter.
i saw a chap at the southern champs on a ti' charge with the bb loose, he aparently stripped the threads, but was still riding it, because the cranks were holding it all together (xt ht2)
