Madone SLR seatpost / ISOspeed HELP

It seems like this is an issue with the new generation of Madones with the reworked ISOspeed? Anyone experiencing these issues with a 2018 or older Madone? Just wondering if this is eventually going to be a future head ache for me. Glad to see Trek is at least replacing cracked frames.

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I did not have this issue on my 2017 Madone 9.9 over 6000 miles, that was a fantastic bike. 3,000 miles into my 2020 P1 and I have this issue. Tore the isospeed apart, cleaned and greased everything, and the issue was resolved in the stand. 30 seconds into my next ride the issue came back. Iā€™ve been told to replace the isospeed assembly (bolt, washers and inner bushing) and outter bushings to resolve the issue. Iā€™ll check my frame for cracks later. FYI torque spec on the isospeed bolt is 8nm.

No cracks in frame. Bike is hung up until replacement isospeed parts arrive next week.

Iā€™m now in the same boat as you guys. Iā€™ve had ,y Madone SLR8 just over a year and it was making a creaking noise. Thought it might be the bottom bracket at first and then I noticed a lot of sideways movement from the seat mast. The iso speed cover was sticking out on the drive side and thatā€™s when I noticed the Allen bolts. Tightened it slightly to get me home and then took to local Trek dealer (I havenā€™t purchased bike from them). They were helpful and torqued up the bolts. Problem sorted for about 150 miles and itā€™s now making an awful creaking noise in or out of the saddle as soon as I put any effort in. Iā€™m pulling my hair out (and I donā€™t have much to spare) as I love the bike.

I have the 2019 Madone slr8 with rim brakes. A few things about the bike bother my mind.

The first is that the bike feels somehow loose. When I push hard, it feels like the bike is giving up. Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™ll lose a lot of power somewhere.

Another thing is isospeed. What a disappointment. You canā€™t be sure when the screw will come loose next time. Maybe the slackness of the bike is due to this?

The third thing is about the rim brakes? I donā€™t know if the fault is in the frame or the wheels. When you drive standing, the brakes touch the rim.

Do others have the same problems?

Re: Brakes hitting the rim: in my experience that is a fault of flex in the wheels, not the bike. When I had XXX wheels in ~2009 I had to teach myself to not swing the bike side to side to avoid this. Didnā€™t have this issue on alloy training wheels.

Love my Madone but not enjoying the last 5 days with it hanging in the garage. Parts in hand tomorrow.

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Thank you for your message. Hopefully the fault is in the wheels and not in the frame.

Madone is a really great bike, yes, but small problems make my mind black. I am now ridden by bike in about 4500 kilometers.

Just a sequel to my torn Frame at the Iso-Speed connection. Frame has been checked by the Trek and I get a warranty frame. Unfortunately, the blue SL-frame will not be available until the end of October (2 months!).
A SLR-Frame is in stock so they given me the choice to buy a SLR-Frame (have to pay the difference).

All in all, I am happy that my Frame is being replaced, and that it is possible to choose another frame, oke, a more expensive frame, but thatā€™s mine choice (Outstanding service TREK) also fine that i can build my bike my self, else cost me about 200ā‚¬ (ex. Components) to build the bike by the Shop.

So i hope te ride next week again and that the frame remains intactā€¦

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Happy things worked out for you. Turns out my frame has a crack in it near the iso speed pivot. Itā€™s been sent off to Trek so Iā€™m just waiting to hear if they will replace the frame.

Iā€™ve got this same problem. No cracks and no really bad clicking noises but it gets loose regularly. Iā€™ve been tightening the left side up to 8Nm (was told not to turn the right / drive side) but it comes loose after 250km or so. And the 8mm socket on the left is fragile. Doesnā€™t look metallic to me, and is shallow (end of the bolt gets in the way) so the torque wrench sometimes slips unless youā€™re really careful.

They are aluminum so very soft. Red loctite and removing all the grease from the system resolved my loosening bolt issue but not the lateral rocking and noise my frame is making.

Interesting (not to mention alarming) - thanks.

When I tighten the bolt, the lateral movement stops. Iā€™m going to try to get a replacement bolt and use some loctite when I fit it. Looks like the bolt is actually on the right and this left side is just a nut with some kind of internal hex head to tighten it up.

Late on this, but Iā€™d be arguing for the SLR frame FOC; youā€™ve been inconvenienced, and 2 months is an unreasonable period of time to have to wait (though itā€™s totally understandable why, with sales going through the roof and plants being shut down). Iā€™m not sure theyā€™ll go for it, but that would be my starting position.

Mine 2020 SL6 has been ā€˜tickingā€™ for about a month now and slowly getting worse. iā€™ve changed the BB, front hub bearings and the noise is still there.

Last night I slipped the cover off and there are no obvious cracks to the frame (yet to remove the isospeed but will do at the weekend).

For some reason I thought i would see if there were issued elsewhere on the frame. When fairly gently squeezing the seat stays together I get the noise (see video) - Iā€™m no expert but this cant be right surely? Does explain why the bike still ā€˜ticksā€™ even out the saddle.

Thoughts?

That sounds to me like it might even be the dropouts. Does it do that if you donā€™t have a wheel in?

As for mine, I got the replacement bolt set today. Prompts a couple of questions. It seems to come with a different washer setup to the original. A body coloured washer and a wave washer. The bolt Iā€™ve just taken off had a flat washer and a body coloured washer, both on the drive ā€œboltā€ side. Anyone know where this new pair of washers is actually supposed to go? The hex nut on the left does all the rotating so Iā€™d assume there should be a washer on that side? Since this is where the whole isospeed pivots, I really want to get this right!

And it came with an inner sleeve, also colour matched. I think this must go inside the seatpost. But there are a couple of circlips in the way. I think I can just about see the equivalent sheath thing behind them. Not sure I even need to replace this, will probably just leave it?

And last comment - the bolt itself came with blue locking compound already applied. Is this new, an attempt to avoid these issues perhaps?

For the SLR from the NDS it goes bolt, wave washer, colored washer. No washer of any sort on the DS. The wave washer will become a flat washer after 1 install. I wouldnā€™t change the inner bushing that goes inside the seat mast. As for the loctite the main issue has been the bolt loosening and its recommended to remove the blue and apply red loctite and make sure no grease gets on the bolt threads or inside the DS threads.

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Ok well thatā€™s very interesting because my bolt was installed, and the LBS showed me a picture from Trek that supported this, the opposite way. 6mm bolt head on the drive side then wave washer and painted washer. 8mm alu head nut on the NDS with no washers.

So now Iā€™m wondering if they put it in the wrong way round. Might that be why it keeps coming loose? And I was tightening the 8mm side only which on reflection may be how I managed to chew its head up because I was told to only tighten the NDS.

I also applied some loctite threadlocker after stripping the blue stuff off. First ride after that will be in a couple of days.

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Is the red loctite recommendation from Trek? The only way to undo red is to drill it out or apply heat, so Iā€™m surprised that red would be recommended. Itā€™s basically a permanent bond if you canā€™t apply heat (which isnā€™t possible in this case).

Red loctite was a recommendation from Trek. Ultimately it didnā€™t resolve my main issue but the bolt didnā€™t come loose after 2 rides like it was previously.

In an SLR the bolt inserts from the NDS, you can see that here:

That seems crazy to me, but I guess itā€™s a lot better than the threads coming loose again. Did you get that in an official tech bulletin or some other means? Iā€™ve got iso speed on 2 bikes and always use blue, but never would have considered using red on any bike component. Having to drill stuff out to take it apart seems like a terrible approach for service.