Noisy 2021 Verve 1
 

I bought a 2021 Verve 1 in August. I typically ride about 10 miles a day on suburban streets at the Jersey Shore. Sometimes I ride on gravel bike paths or paved trails. I'm very happy with this bike having come from beach cruisers and a mountain bike. I don't know if anyone has this "problem" but though the bike rides great it's intermittently noisy. The rear end sometimes sounds like a train going down the track; then on the same ride is perfectly silent. The tech at the bike shop says that's normal but I have my doubts.

Sounds like time for a second opinion from a different shop. Or a different tech in the same shop, if there is not another Trek dealer in your area (guessing you're wanting to have it diagnosed/fixed under warranty). Are you in the same front cog/rear gear when you hear (or don't hear) the noise? Could be the derailleurs need fine tuning, or perhaps an upgrade? Check which position your derailleurs are in front and rear, if it's noisy in a specific combo, or range, it may provide the answer.

Can you tell where the noise is coming from? I have a 2021 Verve 2 and I do sometimes hear a little chatter depending which gear I'm in. It's not much, and sometimes if I shift away and come back later the noise doesn't always come back. When I test rode the bike and asked the dealer about the noise I was told the noise was normal. The guy that told me was one of the owners and had been there since maybe the 70's or 80's. The noise did get better, and now that I've rode it over 50 total miles I'd say its much improved.

It's either the rear derailleur or the bottom bracket. It's intermittent and will sometimes make no noise whatsoever then the clicking and clunking noises start. I can feel a vibration in the pedal when the clunk sound takes place so I'm leaning towards the bottom bracket. It can be completely silent then after coasting it will be back. I would hate to think that this is normal as it's very annoying, especially for a bike that was just purchased in September. I've got about 200 miles on it; all of it ridden on pavement.

I took the bike back to the dealer. One of their techs rode around the parking lot; of course it didn't make any noise even though it was noisy that morning. They decided to replace the freewheel based on my description of the problem. Should be fixed by the end of the week.

The freewheel was replaced. So nice to have a quiet bike again.