Which one has the easy out in it? The one that is not flush with the frame I would grind a slot in with a dremel cutting wheel and try a standard screwdriver to turn it. Maybe spray some pb blaster from the auto parts store and let it soak overnight.

The one on the right has the easy out broken off inside. The one on the left I am more confident in getting out.

Agree with thefever for the bolt you can reach dremeling a slot into it and using a flathead to remove is easiest.

For the one broke off deeper, probably best to take it to someone with a drill press that does machine work (google machine shops in your area if you don't know someone) Likely with a hand drill you'd only damage the post.

*just to add... you should be able to source a second gen speed concept seatpost relatively easily if all else fails... bike shop wanting to just sell you a new bike/frame is a little excessive.

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Ah, I like the idea of a machine shop. I'll call some on Monday. Thanks for that!

On Tuesday look for another LBS.

Agreed, you can't use a hand drill, but can you really do anything with a drill press? Isn't the easy-out going to be so hard that you can't do anything with it?

I had an issue once with a broken extractor in a bolt but in aluminum.

I ended up taking to a place that had a laser. They got it all out and threads looked like brand new.

Just a thought. Unsure how would be with carbon but worth calling and having a discussion.

I mean, extractor obviously wasn't that strong ;)

We've gotten some pretty ugly stuff out before with less than your average shop would have, but ymmv of course

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so they mess your frame up. and offer you to buy a new one at a discount... smfh.

fanatik in bellingham did something similar. my buddy brought his bike there to have them get the seatpost out. obviously, they had trouble and decided to whack the frame with a mallet.

guess what? they dented the frame and offered to sell him one at cost. LMFAO.

he's such a nice guy and was like, are you sure there is nothing more you can do. and just decided he wouldn't give them anymore of his money.

if that happened to me, i would have walked out with a new bike. it's shit like this why people stop supporting lbs.

your case is a tad different. bolts break. it's not like they were hammering the frame with a mallet lol

Small size, not uncommon to break.

Should I push the ship for more? Or possibly Trek corporate? I mean, I knew the bolts were tight, they did tell me they could break and need to be drilled, but seriously, what’s a consumer to do? Buy a new 10k bike for because of a broken bolt?

Another note, should I change the cheap bolts to something stonger? And what’s the recommended maintenance on a bolt? Should I be unscrewing them and greasing in a regular interval?

I don’t think anyone here can answer that question for you. It’s easy to blame bike shops, and they may be at fault here, but if those bolts (which have likely had salty sweat dripping on them, and possibly heaps of salt water if you’ve done sea based triathlons) haven’t been pulled out and regreased every few months then of course they will seize. That’s not the fault of the bike shop.
ETA
In view of the expected use of a triathlon bike taking it up with Trek that those bolts are not fit for purpose may be a different matter, and not what I am referring to above. I am merely referring to the poster who said the shop should have given you a new bike when it *may* be absolutely no fault of theirs.

With the east out breaking off I would be surprised if the slot cutting option works on the left side bolt. I’d start with the machine shops option. If no one local can do it then ship it to someone who can. They can always drill the bolt holes out oversize and use thread repair inserts like time-zert or helicoil.

From my experience with a Gen 1 derailleur hanger snap damaging the frame beyond repair I found Trek molds cast aluminum pieces into some parts of the frame. This could be the case for this seatpost clamp location. So, even with limited aluminum material there I think a carbon frame repair shop could redo these bolt holes if the machine shop over sizing took out all aluminum. Any repair will be much less costly than a frame replacement.

Trek doesn’t use cheap bolts. That is often the issue on the SC’s as the bolts surface corrode due to the use of higher strength steel (non-brittle) bolt material. Stainless steel often is not as strong and has higher potential for galvanic action. The best defense is regular greasing or using anti-seize.

I will just echo the machine shop options. These are not easy fixes.
I know people are piling on the bike shop, but in fairness this can happen really easily and the fix is also not always super easy. Sweat and corrosion etc can make it incredibly difficult to not have an issue like this yet all the blame falls on the bike shop for the bolt etc that might be seized in the frame??
I would hate to be a bike shop owner in this situation (I am just seeing both sides, I can see how it can happen negligently in some situations).

I can’t tell from the picture, but is there some kind of metal insert inside the frame?

Good Lord, it was a joke.

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The most effective option here is to find a machine shop with a tap removing EDM or some might call a pin-sinking EDM. If you were in Indy, you could come use mine, but most any decent sized machine shop will have one. It uses electricity to essentially vaporize the metal and doesn't care if it's steel, high speed steel, carbide.. all the same to the electricity.

The challenge will be the heat generated and the carbon, so it will need to be done slowly and with constant deionized water spraying or flooding so that the heat doesn't disbond the hard thread inserts in the post.

I also like the idea of slotting the fasteners, but if they're already in there hard enough to remove the heads and break an easy out, you will have to do something to break the corrosion bond at the thread interface. Something like PB blaster can work, but I'd tape the area around the head with silicone tape and use a small syringe or the like to just drop a minimal amount around the fastener, let soak, wipe, go again, maybe for a day or two to really try and loosen it up. Also, you'll generate incredible heat using a dremel to slot through that easy out, so you'll want to keep water on it the whole time. Also, slot before PB blaster as that stuff is super flammable even as a residue and the head will cause it to gas out of the thread interface.. voice of experience on that one.

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Yeah this is one where hopefully the LBS looked at it said “we’ll try to get it out but can’t be held responsible for any damage incurred “.

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Let food be thy medicine...

So it was a bit of both really. I knew the bolts were a tight, more than I was willing to give, despite regular maintenance. I gave them permission to drill them out. The broken easy out I did not anticipate. I don’t fault them. I mean, I could see how it could happen. That’s why I brought it there in the first place. I just didn’t expect to have to replace an entire frame.

You better believe I’ll be removing all bolts, greasing them, and replacing on a regular basis. Trek charger 350 for this so I may educate myself and add this to my regular maintenance tasks.

So, what was the outcome?

I took the bike to another shop which also does carbon repair. They took out the sleeve the bolt goes in, inserted a new one, and touched up the paint. It was expensive, but way cheaper than a new bike. I learned a big lesson on this one.

I was frustrated but never at the first bike shop. They were up front with me. Looking back at the whole thing, I’m mostly frustrated with myself for allowing the bolt to seize. I now have more tasks on my maintenance plan.

how much was the repair? I have a similar issue (sleeve is breaking apart from the carbon) so it should be a similar fix.

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What's your CdA?

Cost me 700 but I also had the bike paint touched up at the same time so just the repair I would imagine would be cheaper.

The problem is that most likely it was not the LBS fault. If there was not enough assembly paste used, unless they were the ones doing the maintenance on the bike for the previous years, this is a known problem with this bike. I have seen it being mentioned quite often over the years.
We always made sure to use enough assembly paste on these bolts and some others on this frame.

Jeroen

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