drewguy

Throwing in here . . . about 2000 miles on Domane 4.3 (2015) and LBS told me BB needs to be replaced (based on crank arm wiggle). Haven't had chance to discuss full diagnosis (I had it in because the rear rim had cracked - that's under warranty).

robbyville

It seems to happen every now and again. I went through the BB challenges, used loctite, etc. Finally about a year ago (frame is a 2013 first gen Domane 5 series), it couldn't be fixed any more. Sent back to Trek, where they built it up and refaced. Couple of weeks turn around including stripping, shipping, etc. Of course I was hoping for a brand new frame but no go

Great service from Trek though, and no problems since, knock on wood.

Gasser5.2

drew - That's the route I went, but just a warning - if your crank play is significant - say, greater than 1mm - an oversized BB and loctite won't fix it. Try to avoid taking it in 4 times like I did before getting the issue resolved. Let your LBS know you're aware this is a known issue and that you want it to be fixed right the first time so that you're not inconvenienced like I was. If you get pushback from them, call Trek customer service.

I've put maybe 1300-1400 miles on my Domane 5.2 since the BB shell repair, and so far so good. What I didn't like about the ordeal was the half-measures taken before they finally did the shell repair. Over the course of the four months it took to fix the issue, I took my bike in four times, and was without it for a total time of about 5 weeks. I think my LBS is largely to blame for not advocating more aggressively on my behalf with Trek that the extent of my shell damage could only be resolved with a new frame or shell repair. The shop guy I worked with the second time acknowledged this, then later called and said they would try stronger loctite. I expressed my doubts, but could tell either the shop warranty guy or Trek had dictated this "let's try this first" approach and overruled him.

It pays to be informed about know issues with any product, as well as what's required to resolve them so you're not at the seller's mercy if they take an incremental approach you know is going to waste a lot of your time before the matter gets resolved.

Campag4life

Speaking bluntly, Trek's BB90 is a crap design. Using carbon press fit bores interfacing with steel outer race bearings is an accident in waiting as it has been since this design came out several years ago.. I will say, shame on Trek for this design. One of the reasons it exists, just like carbon fiber bore based PF30 that at least uses larger bearings...is cost plain and simple. Its cheap to make. Its more expensive to create either BSA which most wish they had on a bike and BB30. If you must have a press fit bike, at least have precision machined alloy bores to press metal bearings into. An alloy bore is a much more precise and robust bore surface compared to carbon fiber which is softer and has much worse abrasion resistance...aka it wears down more readily as bearings squirm in their respective bores under pedal load and with each bearing change. Further, it is not a good surface for adhesive like Loctite to stick to.

Are Trek's bicycle frames by and large excellent? Absolutely. Their performance is among the best. But their BB design sucks as it always has and so does its wonky condom seat post design which is proprietary and stuck with a single bolt seat clamp and isn't even aero for all that trouble.

Of course the consumer who buys a Trek knows nothing about these foibles. But these design deficiencies born out of cost and creating a marketing diversity that the public is ignorant of...they change the complexion of the ownership experience as many know for the worst.. There is a reason why Specialized abandoned their version of a carbon bore press fit BB on their flagship S-works bikes in their similar attempt to 'cheap out' and shamelessly trying to upsell PF30 as an advantage because they could advertise their frame weight as lower...when it was just the opposite...a huge disadvantage. Specialized design sucked just as bad as Trek's current design they still have in production. Make no mistake, it costs more for Specialized to offer BB30 on their high end bikes compared to Trek with their BB90. And because Specialized is in the business of making money, the reason for BB30 and not PF30 is warranty cost which was killing them. They had to stomach that lack of marketing reason to upsell their S-works bikes other than 1 pt of carbon modulus. Many owners resorted to pressing sleeves in PF30 bikes to get them to work. At least Specialized stepped up and stopped doing what is wrong. So far Trek hasn't and continues to muddle along contending with frustrated customers. Sad. A creaky Trek bike somebody paid $3K or more for...fight over warranty...has to go back to the company...where they 'massage' the worn bores and build them back up with epoxy resin. A kluge. BB30 and BSA doesn't have that problem. Pinarello did the right thing and went back to Italian threaded BB on their top bikes...one good reason to consider that brand in fact. They also don't use a crappy one bolt seatpost on their bikes. They get it in other words.

Trek's BB90 with carbon resin bores:

motosonic

I've had issues with my Press Fit BBs in my bikes. But, I do have a solution. Aqua Proof Paste. Use this instead of your standard grease and it should solve the creaks. I swapped over all my BB's with Kogel sets, but it'll work just as well with any other brand. Shimano, Wheels Mfg, etc.

Campag4life

To me Aqua Proof Paste is a complete waste of money. To quiet a creaky BB you need adhesive not grease. Grease because of its lubricity...it hydraulics out of micro crevices between bearing and BB shell ID. Any grease is a short term solution to quieting creaking...until the grease pushes out which it does like a small pump in a captured volume as the bearings waver cyclically in the vertical plane due to pedaling forces.

robbyville

Good to hear that you haven't had any problems since. I think I have a couple thousand miles since the repair now with no issues. You're bang on regarding having the LBS stand up for you. I was fortunate, I bought my frame when I was a partner of Trek by virtue of a bike park that I built at the resort I worked with at the time. I had done the locktite thing while still in VA, but brought the bike to my local LBS when I moved to CA. I let the store know that I had already gone the first route and that I'd prefer when they checked it out to start the warranty process immediately which they did. I then reached out to my old Trek rep in VA since I had the original Trek invoice but no proof of purchase. The warranty dept got the bike turned around in about 5 days.

To the comment regarding the poor design for cost reasons... Probably quite right, but from a business standpoint I wonder what the actual numbers of warranty repairs have been, less than 1%? I have no idea. And, although I was one of the many challenged by both repair and later rebuild it wouldn't stop me from buying another (Although a Speedvagen will soon be in my future )

drewguy

Thanks. Could get interesting though . . . the LBS I bought the bike from was purchased by, yes, Trek, which is now operating it as a Trek store.

Of course, the store staff may not have the same authorities that the corporate folks do. We'll see what happens.

Gasser5.2

That might actually work to your advantage by providing a more direct line of communication and accountability.

Campag4life

And why history repeats itself. You win Trek's gold star customer award.
If manufacturers aren't penalized for putting an unreliable product in the field, then they are incentivized to continue to put substandard product out in the field because it doesn't matter.

The balance is always warranty versus piece cost X volume to build a reliable product. Its the same reason that BB30 tolerances are held so closely...to ensure adequate performance. More sloppy tolerances increases warranty. Bottom line rules the day and why bike companies exist. I know many that have owned Madones with BB90 issues that wouldn't own another....not when there are equally good bikes out there with more robust BB without bearings washing around in a carbon fiber bore when carbon fiber should never be a bearing bore material.

robbyville

quite right again, but I also know many who are perfectly happy with their products (Including myself), the joys of an open market. In the great scheme of things, stuff is going to happen, good and bad, it's how people recover from the challenges that define them as a company and individuals. I was very happy that Trek stood behind their problems with no muss no fuss. One of the people I ride with is one of the larger Pinarello dealers, wonderful fellow, shop, and product, but the turn around time for warranty issues takes almost a month, and by the way... there have been a few (not many but some). They also stand behind their products beautifully. For me, that's what its all about.

Campag4life

And you are quite right as well but with one caveat. Stuff inevitably happens yes. But it is a matter of frequency. In the case of Trek's notorious BB90, the story has now been out for years. The point is, its needless. Trek, like Specialized could have changed its design. In some ways, Trek's BB is among the very worst. Why? Because it uses small bearings that press right into the carbon shell. At least with PF30, larger bearings are used which have a cup around them...the bearings are integrated with the cup...whereby the cup can be loctited to the larger bore which is more secure. BB90 is the least secure bearing in bore design out there. Trek elects to have this weak design out there when if they spent more money in their manufacturing process like similarly priced Specialized framesets which use BB30, there would be less BB warranty issues.

So you can say that Trek stands behind their customer but they are obligated if they want to stay in business because they put a weaker design out there compared to the competition. Warranty issues with BB30 are rare because an alloy machined bore surface held to a higher tolerance has a better press compared to metal bearing in a carbon bore. Further, BB30 could be designed with a finite bore bottom like the carbon shell Trek which would be cheaper to make but having a snap ring as a positive stop is better for any fluid...grease or Loctite to not cant a bearing in the bore as they bed. This insures more co-axial bore centers.

As it turns out, the BB is perhaps the biggest maintenance issue an owner can have on a bicycle. It can really make or break the riding experience as many have attested to on forums like this. Reality with Trek when compared to other press fit systems out there, Trek is among the worse because it doesn't use precisely machined alloy bore surfaces to interface with the bearings. A metal to metal bore to bearing surface if using press fit is far and away a more reliable connection and the predicate for BB30 for example. BB30 isn't cheap to manufacture because of insert molding the alloy cylinder with bores machined to tight tolerances to control the press of BB30 bearings.

FeltF2Tarmac

I was facing this very problem but Specialized just replaced the entire bike. I now have a Diverge and the wheelset was pure crap but I wouldn't trust the lbs to true up the wheels properly, they didn't even have the bike tuned correctly when I bought it. Thinking I may be done with the Big S. Mike Sinyard can keep the crap he pumps out and calls industry leading, big fail.
I never had an issue with Trek but the big S was every bike I have owned from them(strike three there out). I would not take that bike back with the fix described above. It's either worn beyond repair or it isn't. Every indication to the op was its shot. Sounds like the wrench should get a solid answer from Trek.

Campag4life

Agree, based upon what you wrote, you are a perfect candidate for a Trek.

danomac52

I just had the same problem last month with my 2008 Madone 5.2 Pro. Trek gave me a 2018 Emonda SL. Just got it last weekend after 6 weeks.

TobinHatesYou

I guess that's the good thing about "standards" like BB90 having issues. Since there's no way to stopgap fix a loose BB90 shell with a conversion BB or adapter, Trek just gives you a new bike...

Campag4life

A home mechanic can stopgap a sloppy Trek BB90 without sending the frame off for weeks and left to the gods whether they will honor any warranty.

But for many it maybe considered a kluge. But considering the whole BB90 is a kluge of sorts to begin with, using epoxy to fill in a worn BB shell or account for sloppy BB shell ID tolerances is an effective fix.

Specialized with their high warranty on their narrow version of PF-30 which is a similar design to BB90 with crappy carbon bore to bearing interface...all while performing their beta testing on their customers which is a beyond sad business practice...as they constantly morphed their procedure because they couldn't quiet this poor BB design...they eventually spec'ed two part epoxy to bond the bearing cups into the carbon BB shell. Same will work effectively for Trek. Difference between Specialized and Trek is of course...Specialized finally two years ago after having too much warranty fallout finally discontinued their version of narrow PF30 and now all their top bikes are BB30 which have alloy bearing bore seats which is more reliable and robust.

Here is a good thread on what owners consider with press fit. Btw, Scott has had similar issues and many a Foil owner have returned their sloppy BB Foil's...while others have used epoxy and rode on.

Epoxy the BB?!? Plastic or Aluminum PF30 for carbon S-Works?- Mtbr.com

zacharycat

2015 Emonda BB failed and damaged the frame, evidently beyond repair. All Trek would offer is 20% off on a new bike. Hope u do better but I am done with trek.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Nice first post...Are you the original owner of the bike? If not, Trek's warranty policy is pretty clear...If you are, contact Trek directly and they will surely take care of you.

zacharycat

Only the shop where I bought it contacted Trek so far, and that was their answer (assuming the store is playing straight with me). Really hope something works out as I invested in new wheels this spring and was really liking the ride, and can't swing a new bike right now even with a discount.

FWIW I think I have been a good customer for Trek, this is my 4th (2300, Madone, Cronus and Emonda). The latter two have both had issues with the BB90.

Cyclist0108

Yeah, that sounds like a crash replacement policy. I would definitely pursue this with Trek, and let them deal with the bike store.

The most compelling reason to buy Treks is their warranty. If they get a bad reputation for that, it isn't good marketing.

robbyville

I had a 2013 Domane that had a similar problem. Tried going the Loctite route, worked for a while and then not. Trek is a great company, in my case due to the age of the bike they opted to reface the B.B. shell. Worked perfectly although I was inwardly hoping for a new frame! They did take care of everything including labor

carlos danger

I have noticed that some companies are actually reverting back to regular BSA treaded. go figure. I wonder why that might be? could it possibly be the warranties costing too much? i think so...

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Which of the major manufacturers are reverting? It seems, for the most part, that the industry is trending the other way...

colnago62

Trek might be. There have been some rumors that they might switch a T-xx bb.