So… i had an employee of a Trek store contact me about Carbon repairs around 3 months a go, their customer was fairly desperate for a repair before an upcoming triathlon. I was sent pictures of the bullhorn of the basebar which had snapped on a new Speed Concept. Although the obvious advice would be replace the bars the reality is not so simple as we know and so i agreed to repairing them. Upon inspection of the item it was quite obvious the weakness was the location of the cable port close to the 90 degree corner and that the long bull horn provides a lot of leverage to this area. It would appear that despite it being packed in the new Tri bike box alan it was not sufficient to prevent damage in transit by the airline baggage handlers. Said customer has since completed more events on the bike.
So… i had an employee of a Trek store contact me about Carbon repairs around 3 months a go, their customer was fairly desperate for a repair before an upcoming triathlon. I was sent pictures of the bullhorn of the basebar which had snapped on a new Speed Concept. Although the obvious advice would be replace the bars the reality is not so simple as we know and so i agreed to repairing them. Upon inspection of the item it was quite obvious the weakness was the location of the cable port close to the 90 degree corner and that the long bull horn provides a lot of leverage to this area. It would appear that despite it being packed in the new Tri bike box alan it was not sufficient to prevent damage in transit by the airline baggage handlers. Said customer has since completed more events on the bike.
So the bike was damaged in transit via flight and not while riding?
Every pic I see it seems no one cuts the bar ends of these bikes, they always look really long ? My second gen looks stubby in comparison
It’s my understanding that there wasn’t visible damage to the case because the damage to the bike wasn’t discovered until unpacking. I don’t know how close the bars sit to the inner walls of the case. I haven’t seen any other pictures of the bars failing to compare failure modes. The bars were trimmed according to the dealer.
Thanks for sharing this. I can confirm through my LBS that this is indeed the case (although they are still waiting for an official announcement from Trek before telling owners - which seems horrible to me and opening them up to some lawsuits if someone gets hurt/killed in between when they knew and when they actually tell people who don’t just happen to go into the LBS). I was told the announcement would be yesterday - but it didn’t happen and I got on the Trek chat today and asked what was going on and what they would be doing for people who missed races, had hotels/flights and other expenses - and they confirmed the issue, and said they had to wait until it went through safety commissions and legal etc. Sounds like there will be some sort of compensation for those of us who will be out of $ for missed races (like myself who probably won’t race San Diego International this weekend now but can’t cancel the race hotel charge at this late of date - plus race entry etc). So glad there is a community out there to share this type of info!
Thanks for sharing this. I can confirm through my LBS that this is indeed the case (although they are still waiting for an official announcement from Trek before telling owners - which seems horrible to me and opening them up to some lawsuits if someone gets hurt/killed in between when they knew and when they actually tell people who don’t just happen to go into the LBS). I was told the announcement would be yesterday - but it didn’t happen and I got on the Trek chat today and asked what was going on and what they would be doing for people who missed races, had hotels/flights and other expenses - and they confirmed the issue, and said they had to wait until it went through safety commissions and legal etc. Sounds like there will be some sort of compensation for those of us who will be out of $ for missed races (like myself who probably won’t race San Diego International this weekend now but can’t cancel the race hotel charge at this late of date - plus race entry etc). So glad there is a community out there to share this type of info!
Huge fan of Trek. Currently own 3. Would doubt that they would reimburse anyone in this case since they’re a bike manufacturer and not an insurance provider. Would love to hear that I’m wrong. Please let us know.
With shipping this box is over $800!
Anyone else recommend hard cases for aero bikes, especially that would fit the new SC comfortably. Preferably closer to $500?
Thanks
FWIW I just inspected for cracks, found none and just raced on it. Will do the swap when available of course.
Just heard from my Trek shop confirming the recall (which apparently affects the Emonda as well). Trek is working on the recall details with the CPSC, so for now, the shop is just putting together a list of people they know with the affected bikes.
Apologies for not chiming in on this sooner, but we have been awaiting further development before making this go live. Currently, Trek is working with the CPSC and other governing authorities to investigate an issue related to the carbon handlebars found on the Speed Concept SLR. We plan to release complete details soon and provide a solution for all riders so they can get back to riding the bike they love - this is in the works now, so I don’t have complete details to provide, but when I do, I’ll be sure to share that with you all here. I do appreciate the patience with this and the understanding regarding the dealings with the CPSC.
Thanks Mitch,
What do you mean get back to riding? Are we not supposed to be riding them now? I have Mont Tremblant 70.3 this weekend and this is the only Tri bike that I have.
Since we are in talks with the CPSC (which is leading to a recall announcement), we are advising that the affected product isn’t used until we have a solution.
Respectfully, you certainly didn’t make that clear the first time. Why are you all being so quiet about it? If it shouldn’t be ridden, make the announcement loud and clear!
Since we are working with the CPSC, we have strict guidelines to follow and don’t want to make an announcement until we have complete details and a solution that meets all the requirements.
TLDR: Government.
From what I’ve seen, the break is happening on the basebar where the hole is for the shifters to go through. Avoid yanking on the bar or your hands on the very end of the bar for big bumps and I’m sure you’ll do just fine in your race. Of course you assume the risk…but if it was me I wouldn’t be the least bit worried. Stay aero like you should and you should have no issues.
“Mitch@Trek has left the conversationâ€
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Good incentive to stay aero 😀
What a horrible PR fiasco this is going to be. My LBS still hasn’t mentioned anything to me. So if someone isn’t on Slowtwitch they’d have no clue about this. Ridiculous.
And I either ride what I have, arrange for a different bike somehow or cancel my family’s vacation. Awesome.
I believe retailers were given the go ahead to notify their existing customers today, with additional notification on the Emonda handlebar issues also. I got notification and I’m in Australia, which is usually behind you guys. I have a feeling the resolution isn’t going to be very fast.
I’m in aus and it’s pushed back the bike delivery a month as a result. I have talked to some non sponsored pro’s on treks and other Insta folk who have no idea.
My shop was finally informed yesterday. He said 30-45 days (per his conference call) for a resolution…about when my race is…bummer.