I may or may not have a deposit on a Emonda SL6 Pro Disc w/ Ultegra mechanical Cannot confirm or deny. 
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After the Roubaix photos of Chloe Hoskingās new Domane it will be interesting to see what happens with Madone/Domaneās top tube ISOspeed. On that bike it appears they removed the adjustment - not clear if that would help with the bolt issue or was done to reduce weight.
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I came across this review yesterday:
This bit is interesting:
I donāt know, mine was produced a few months before May 2021 so the story given by Trek to the reviewer doesnāt seem to add up.
It would make more sense if that erroneous āforā was meant to be read as ābeforeā rather than āfromā.
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Yes! Youāre right, I missed it completely. Makes way more sense now.
Thanks for this. Good to know and get confirmation of the known issue. Still no timeline for a replacement frame and seems like they have no idea. Although the Trek warranty is good, starting to regret going with the Madone now.
I am 6ā2" just over 200 lbs and had purchased a 2019 Madone in March of 2020. In the first year and a half of ownership I had replaced 4 IsoSpeed bolts and the cover three times. I just received a 2022 Madone SLR frame and within 250 miles the same problem has arisen. Trek has treated me well as a customer however, the shops feel slighted by Trek as theyāre not compensated for the labor to swap over parts. Thus, my two LBS refuse to swap my components to another new Madone frame. Itās sad that such a comfortable, good looking bike cannot be used by people who are over 175 lbs. I ride quite often and do know of many others who have had this exact same issue. The 2018 and prior Madone had actual bearings in the frame and starting in 2019 they got rid of that design and now it is just a bolt through the carbon. I really hope those responsible for switching this design over get reprimanded. The fact that Trek has had 4 frame years to address this issue and has not is worrying. I would not be surprised if people have taken legal action and / or a class action lawsuit.
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That is pretty standardā¦it is the consumerās responsibility to pay for the component swap usually.
You see the new 2023 Madone?
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I did see that yesterday! I have a feeling though it will be a little bit of time before available to the public. However, this looks like a step in the right direction.
I know this is an older post, but just for consistency - Iām 5ā9 160, strong but not big and I have the same issue now. My bike is 1 52 frame, thought maybe that might be an issue. But my sense is itās a design flaw and the hole for the bolt can be drilled in wrong much like a bottom bracket. Thatās why some replacement frames work and other donāt, If that hole isnāt precise it will never work.
Hi all - the attached is the Retailer Bulletin about this issue, taken from the Madone Owners Facebook group. Note it specifically mentions Loctite 263 or 2701 (high strength).
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Thanks Fobundy thatās a great help.
Iāve got the same issue with a SLR purchased 2 months ago. I bough the bike online as my local dealer didnāt have It on stock. This morning I phoned my local Trek dealer about the issue and the tech asked where I bought the bike. When I told him he said that was the issue, online retailers arenāt building the bikes correctly causing issues and that I could pop it in store and for Ā£50 they will grease all the parts that cause the bike to creak. He said itās a common issue.
Not being quite satisfied as I could grease a bike myself easily I googled and found this thread. I think Iāll phone back the dealer and ask about the service bulletin.
In the mean time Iāve tighter the pivot bolt (I donāt have loctite to hand) and test ride the bike, no noise.
One thing that is playing on my mind, the noise only happens when I pedal seated. Surely this means the iso-speed is moving in this situation and sapping the few watts from each pedal stroke?
Donāt think anyone has replied to this - itās not creaking thatās the issue, itās considerable lateral movement of the entire seatpost, And yeah I guess the Isospeed could absorb a few watts depending on technique.
Just to add to this topic: I have a Madone slr7 I bought new in Janā22 (so Iām assuming itās a 2021).
The isospeed sway and creaking started after about 500km.
Contacted the bike shop in Mtl (wonāt name but will if asked to) with the service bulletin.
They changed the isospeed washers and all.
Problem came back quickly after (had to tighten the bolt 2-3 times per 60km ride), plus, the seat mast isnāt centered relative to the frame anymore (so Iām more to the left of the bike when I pedal, my right tigh often brushing the seat-stays) and the dust cover doesnāt clip in anymore.
Contacted the shop again and was told that āit is what it isā, which really didnāt sit well with me.
Raised a bit of a stink (Iām canadian so that means I stayed calm and polite but was firmā¦ ey) and insisted that they contacted Trek again as I wasnāt about to accept these problems as ānormalā on a 12k$ (CND$) bike.
Trek ended-up saying theyād replace the whole seat-mast first and then might warranty the frame if that doesnāt fix it.
Trekās service Iām ok with but I do have a bit of a problem with the shop since I have to get firm/insitant with them in order to get them to contact Trek and do the warranty work.
Iāll also say that every visit to their shop is a 1200km round-trip for me so thatās another irritant.
Will post with more details as the situation progresses or is resolved.
edit: messed-up the years
Update: they replaced my seat-mast.
Good news: Iām not off-center anymore. Turns out I was right: there were washers missing the first time around and now theyāre present. Felt weird at firts (rode over 1300km off-center) but now itās definitely more comfortable. The dust-cap also stays in place now that the seat-post is centered.
Bad news: after two rides the system was loose again. I retightened everything and added some blue loctite. Also contacted the shop again. Hoping to hear soon from Trek. Looks like, if their wordās good, Iāll be looking at a replacement frame.
To be continuedā¦
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Thought Iād give you guys a quick update.
Trekās service has been awful. After confirmation that the replacement seat-mast didnāt fix the problem they went completely silent for over 2 months. After contacting the shop 3 times (they werenāt great at replying to me either btw) they finally reached out a couple times to Trek again and, after a while, I had an answer.
Trekās offered me two options:
1- Get a replacement of the exact same gen6 frame
2- get a replacement gen7 frame.
The ācatchā with option #2 (gen7) is that some parts (mostly the cockpit and spacers) arenāt compatible from my gen6 to the new gen7 frame so Iāll have to pay for the parts. Theyāre offering me 25% off so thereās that.
Since the isospeed system (for me) has been such a pain in the arse (both figuratively and litterally) and service has been so slow and, well, suboptimal, Iāve decided to opt for the Gen7 in order to steer away from the isospeed decoupler system and ensure not potentially having these problems in the future.
Waiting for the frame to come. Will report on how things develop from here.
2023-10-27 UPDATE
Canāt post more than 3 consecutive replies so here we are:
So, one last update for my case.
In the end, Trek ended-up covering the cost of the non-compatible parts for the Gen7 so the whole frame-swap was without charge to me, which was damn cool of them.
Didnāt take too long for the frame to come but there were some spacers missing, which delayed the process by two weeks after I dropped the bike off at the shop. I definitely want to lower the cockpit once Iām comfortable enough but the missing spacers meant that I wouldāve to drop the cockpit by more than 1.5 cm which was too much for me to get used to at the same time as a new cockpit (narrower and flared) so it was a no-go all at once.
Iām stoked on the new bike and extremely relieved that my isospeed problems are over. It must have been quite frustrating to go through this a few years ago and have no other choice than to get the same frame one more time and hope that the problems donāt occur again (which, by reading around, seemed to have re-occured quite frequently for many riders).
All in all, it was long and frustrating but at least itās over. I have a few accessories that wonāt fit the new frame/cockpit (the Garmin mount being the most expensive to replace as, as far as I know, only k-edge makes one for the Gen7 and theyāre pricey, even Trek didnāt include one with the frame) but thatās it.
Wishing all the other Madone Gen6 users with isospeed troubles the same resolution as me (but maybe faster).
Cheers!
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THanks for sharing. Have been dealing with same problem now for a while and the shop finally agreed to make a warranty claim. Lets see if I get similar offer. Tired of this recurring issueā¦
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Good looking rig.
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I know what you mean. Best of luck. From my experience, there comes a point where you have to be firm with the shop and follow-up closely.
I wonder what the numbers are for this problem during the lifecycle of the gen6 madone. It must be quite high. Quite a design failure Iām sure if you compare to any other aero bike model without that systemā¦