Very specific question for any Trek Speed Concept owners (mine is the 2018/19 model). I’ve had numerous problems with the light grey coloured flat head screws that hold the cockpit together (the pads, the monobar, the stem etc) - almost without exception they get jammed and are impossible to remove, then I end up rounding off the screw holes. I’ve used a torque wrench to the correct setting and have decent Parktool allen keys to remove the screws but no luck. These screws are C**P!
Is there anyone out there who’s experienced the same? Are there other screws that I could use instead? My local Trek outfit is pretty useless.
I’ve found I need to be very careful with making sure it’s all properly clean and dry after being ridden. Also that the threads are properly greased before installing the screws. Sweat easily gets in all the nooks and crannies on the cockpit assembly and causes the screws to seize. I stripped and cleaned mine very carefully at the start of the season and have stopped using it on the trainer for this reason.
That’s a fair point, sports drink has definitely covered these bolts during races.
I did get a response from Trek - they sent me the bolt dimensions and suggested that I could maybe order some after market titanium versions. I’m going to speak to my local Trek dealer but this seems like a good option
Only twice since Sept last year, but the first time created a ton of panic as I couldn’t fit the bike into a bike box the day before a flight to a race, local bike shop to the rescue. Most recently it’s to move the pads and aero bar.
Update - I just spoke to my Trek guy and he advised against titanium bolts, instead recommended alternative stainless steel bolts
Much like AndyGajda - I disassemble twice a year - clean and grease. I pitched in the trash a $700 3T aerobar set due to a few seized bolts and some misadventures of trying to drill them out, lesson learned!
so how did you finally get the seized bolts out? I currently have the pad wing bolts stuck…unable to remove. they are only spec’d to 5.2Ncm, but it must be sweat, etc that has caused them to seize.
First rule of stuck fasteners is patience. Which is easy to say and harder to do as frustration builds.
Step 1 is to liberally apply a penetrating oil and let it work for several days. Give it sufficient time such that the oil really gets in there and frees things up.
Step 2 If the Allen heads are rounded over, a solution is to take an appropriate size Torx tool instead of hex head tool. The Torx tool will “bite” and provide good chance to remove the bolt.
I typically use grease on the bolt threads. I will also fill the hex heads with grease to somewhat protect the wrench interface. I do that on small fasteners which see a lot of sweat or which are hidden under pads and won’t dry out well.
Every bolt on a bike gets nasty, especially tri bikes. I always install all of these with antiseize from the first day. Surely some engineer will chime in and say this alters torque specs and whatnot, but it seems to work just fine in reality. Stems and seat posts should be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled periodically or else things become hopeless.
Those bolts on the Trek cockpit aren’t necessarily soft (at least on mine), but no way I’d use a ball end or low quality tool on them. They are very shallow pockets for the wrench and even slight off center torque will make them slip out.
update…finally got the seized bolts out. I’m a dentist, so was able to utilize a dental handpiece/drill with a thin carbide bur to create a significantly deep channel. used a flat head screwdriver to remove bolts.
regarding anti-seize compound prior to reassembly…the bolts from Trek have blue loctite on them. Seems this is for a reason. Is it really a good idea to utilize anti-seize on these bolts?
I mean…mathematically, don’t they cancel each other out?
Pick your poison of sorts. They need to be checked periodically. I have had them come loose after reassembly before. Loctite is probably ideally there, but these thing corrode so quickly, I’m willing to deal with it even if it means a bit more diligence after the first couple uses after putting it together.