Trek Emonda & recurring chain suck: what are your thoughts?
#126
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I don't have a lot of experience with SRAM cranks, but my wife's Serotta came specced with an FSA Gossamer crank, and it shifted atrociously. We made two visits back to the shop, but they couldn't fix it by adjusting it. Finally they swapped it out with an Ultegra crank, and it's shifted flawlessly since.
#127
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That's all fine, but it is not exactly apples to apples. The Gossamer is close to the bottom of the FSA line while the Ultegra is close to the top of the Shimano line. Not a fair comparison. FSA SL-K Light and K-Force Light cranks have always performed excellently well for me.
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#129
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I said nothing about expectations. I said your comparison was unfair. It is therefore useless.
#130
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When I recently fitted a red yaw front derailleur, i didn't follow the instructions and set it up like an older red unit. It shifted incomprehensibly poorly. Make sure that isn't an issue.
#131
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Any new updates? Still waiting?
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#132
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Lower end cranks from Shimano should shift almost as well as the high end ones, what will be different is the finish, weight and materials used, lots of steel in the low end ones, Alu and Carbon fiber in the high end ones. STX were mid range, and pretty good BITD. For FSA Gossamer, would look at these as being spec'd on 105/Ultegra level bikes to get them to a price point, have used a couple, some have worn badly, others, just keep going
#133
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#134
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If Trek would offer me Dura Ace Di2 that'd be a no-brainer . . . I could easily justify a little over half a pound for improved reliability and confidence. But being realistic, Dura Ace Di2 is much more expensive than Red22, so I'm not even going to mention that to them because that's just unreasonable. Anyways . . . I still haven't decided if Ultegra Di2 is worth the weight penalty in my situation, assuming Trek would even be willing to swap groupsets to appease my misgivings with Sram.
#135
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I'm in the military. I've moved 4 times in the past 6 years, so though I may reside in FL, it's temporary and thus has no bearing on my desire for a light weight bike. I make frequent trips back to my home state of NC, and when there I do a lot of riding around the Blue Ridge Mountains (ever heard of Mt. Mitchell? It's the tallest peak east of the Mississippi) and in the foothills. Were I to permanently reside here in FL, I'd agree with you . . . but that's not my situation.
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That's interesting. So is it due to colder weather up north that lighter bikes are an advantage where you have to dress warmly and need to be more concerned about the bike weight, or just because of higher latitudes where you're riding in a tighter circle around the north pole and the lower weight helps reduce centrifugal force?
#137
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UPDATE 15 Dec:
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
#138
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Thanks for the update.
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Current Stable: Trek Emonda SL - Trek Top Fuel 8 - Scattante XRL - Jamis Dakar Expert - Trek 9700 -AlpineStars Al Mega
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#140
Senior Member
UPDATE 15 Dec:
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
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#141
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I have been wondering if there was something wrong with the frame that shouldn't have passed QC but did because someone was in a hurry at the end of the day. There are stories about Raleigh frames from the 70's (I know steel is different as it was actually welded, but still, people are people) about how you could tell what time it was made because, as it got closer to closing time, especially on Fridays, tubes weren't put as carefully into jigs and lots of frames came off pretty poorly aligned. Almost killed the company's reputation.
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#142
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UPDATE 15 Dec:
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
My dealer called. He installed the new replacement chain rings and FD that SRAM sent. He said that although he did not get the chain to drop, he did notice a real bad hesitation when shifting from the small to large chain ring that he really didn't like. He spent a while talking with Trek, and Trek wants the entire bike shipped to them for fault-tracing. So my bike will get shipped out to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, my dealer offered me a S4 to ride - I anticipate that bike will shift flawlessly.
I also received a call from a Trek rep shortly after taking with my dealer. At this point I'm choosing to withhold some details out of an abundance of concern to be fair to Trek. Suffice it to say, I was able to express my concern and desired resolution. At this point, Trek is following their standard protocol for situations like this, which is that they inspect my bike.
I'll post further updates as I receive them. Thanks everyone for your moral support and input throughout this ordeal.
How about a review of the S4...as in Cervelo S4?...compared to your Emonda?...aside from the shifting difference.
#143
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#144
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I'd say it's flex coming from the chainstay though.
#145
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My prediction is more subtle. Most FD hangers are held onto the frame by two bolts or rivets. I think it's a crack between the two bolt holes. Causes the FD mount to flex when shifting into the big ring.
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Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
#146
Flyin' under the radar
Thread Starter
The bike I'll be riding will be the Emonda S4 (entry-level model) with Shimano Tiagra components. No Cervelo, but I'll happily provide you with a review, lol! I'm currently out of town, so I likely won't get a ride on the S4 until the weekend.
Bringing things full circle, Jan 2nd is the date the movers demolished my '08 Madone, which precipitated the purchase of this Emonda as a replacement. So I'm almost to a year of inconsistent riding due to damaged bikes. Yippee.
#147
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#149
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I ride with a lady who has had issues with a Madone project one from a few years ago that has front shifting issues. She has Sram Force on it and I've always wondered if she had some weird frame flex going on because the groupset seems set up correctly.
#150
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And I stand corrected:
Last edited by GlennR; 12-16-14 at 11:16 AM.