01 CAt Man Do

This is the post that is going to be very frustrating for me to write. It seems my initial test with the Velcro strap ( helping to hold the battery ) must of been some kind of fluke. Tonight after getting home from work I decided to do a quick ride just to unwind. To my dismay I began to have more intermittent power outages then I've ever had before. The difference this time though was sometimes it would happen after a bump but sometimes it would just happen for no apparent reason. My ride was short, no more than 5 miles and on nice asphalt roads. And in that five miles I had the e-assist cut out three times in the first three miles. To me this is something I am not willing to tolerate. Could be the strap lost tension but from what I could tell it hadn't moved. I may have to reposition just to see if that helps but I have to be careful with how much tension I put on the straps because if I put too much tension on the strap one of the plastic buckles could break.

If I can't figure this out by the end of next week I'm going to have to return it to the LBS. I doubt they will have a replacement because this model is no longer sold. This is even more sad because I go on vacation in a couple weeks and this could ruin my plans on taking some road trips. Odd though that the first ride with the strap was completely perfect ( hitting every bump I could find ) and then the next time I ride I barely hit any bumps and I get the complete opposite effect, go figure.

If there is one type of problem I hate more than any other it's intermittent electrical problems. I've assumed to this point that the issue is with the battery moving and losing connection with the electrical connector built into the battery mounting platform. However there are other possibilities. Could be something wrong with the computer control module or perhaps the switch. I think I can cross out the switch as the problem because I've seen the module screen go completely blank and then come back on. You can't turn the power off to the module screen from the handlebar remote. Sometimes the module stays on and I just lose power from the e-assist. When that happens I just turn it back on. Other times I see the entire module screen go blank and then come back on. Of course when that happens the e-assist automatically turns off and you have to turn it back on with the remote when the screen reboots. This is not looking good.

Next time I go out for a ride I'm going to try double strapping and see if that helps. There is one other possibility; It might be the battery itself. When I look at the female end of where the connectors are suppose to go I can't help but notice that it seems the copper contacts are pretty far up into the battery. Maybe too far up (?) ......uhhhhhhh...boy...what a PITA this is going to be.

There is only one upside to this. I should be able to get my money back since I've only owned this bike less than a month. That said I've learned some things about ebikes that I didn't know before. This will help me if I choose to buy a different brand.

***Edit; I read on EBF that the intermittent "cutting out" is a software problem. Seems others have had the same problem. I need to go to the Trek dealer to get the software updated. Hoping this will not take more than a couple days. I'll give the LBS a call tomorrow to inquire about getting this done. Glad to hear that others had the same problem and that the newer software is able to get it all working again. We will see.