[markgixer6]

Hi,

I’m looking for some advice from the community here. Long story short, I bought my dream bike from Trek this year and despite it taking 75 days to arrive instead of the quoted 40 before I handed my deposit over, it finally arrived about a month ago. I love the bike and it’s fantastic to ride and had rekindled my love for road cycling. However, there are 2 gripes I have, both concerning the Bontrager Aeolus XXX 4 wheels. The first is a relatively minor one, in that I order red decals for the rims as they match the colour of the bike, and the bike came with the plain white/cream which you can barely see. I didn’t mention this until a few days after collecting the bike as I didn’t want anything to jeopardise me getting the bike after waiting so long, and I was going back for a bike fit anyway in the coming weeks and was hoping they would simply swap them for the ones I had ordered and wanted. The Trek store manager then offered to get them painted and 3 weeks after the initial suggestion (down to him not checking with their paint bloke), has now said it would invalidate the warranty so he advises against it. He also answered my next question about getting them swapped by saying, they are made to order with the bike and do not come as a separate item, so they cannot be swapped. Not sure how they operate when a warranty replacement is needed, but anyway, that’s where I am with them now. Part of me is thinking let it lie and the other is saying email Trek’s CEO and see if they will swap the wheels.

The second issue is related and I really need to understand if I’m having the wool pulled over my eyes here as I’ve never had a set of expensive, full carbon wheels before. There is a pronounced weight imbalance on the back wheel that is very noticeable when the rear is lifted and the wheel spun around. I can’t notice it when riding though. The Trek store manager and his mechanic have assured me it’s perfectly normal for full carbon wheels to have this slight imbalance and is just part of the manufacturing process. The wheel is perfectly concentric and has no side to side alignment issue, but it almost needs a counter weight to correct the wobble. If it were a motorbike wheel, that’s exactly what it would have.

So I’m wondering whether I should push my claim on either/both counts or just live with it. I’d really like to know what others would do in my situation, and whether a £1,000 rear fully carbon wheel is normal to have a weight imbalance. All advice gratefully received, thanks in advance.

Topic

[markgixer6]

Thanks for the advice posted!

Thanks for the advice posted! My primary concern was whether the wheel was a defect from the production process but I’m confident I have nothing to worry about now. Still in 2 minds on the decals, it’s not super important and obviously will make no difference to how the bike performs, just would have been good if they had got it right first time. I don’t want to fall out with them either as they’ve been really good with everything else (except timely communication). I might just pop an email to the CEO and see if he needs some new wheels… Not the end of the world if he says no, as the bike is still brilliant to ride. Just wish I’d had all summer to ride it, gonna be a long winter on my old steel frame bike with mudguards… Thanks again.

[ChasP]

Alloy wheels are usually

Alloy wheels are usually better as the join is the heaviest part and opposite to the valve so will balance out to an extent. It’s something that will make a difference (if any) the faster you go so maybe consider balancing if you do a lot of fast decending but if it was an issue I’m sure some brands would be advertising their products as better balanced than their competitors…

[turnerjohn]

The valve in the tube could

The valve in the tube could induce a slight unbalance ….does on my Zipps on the work stand but nothing to worry about 🙂

[Mungecrundle]

Wouldn’t worry about the
Wouldn’t worry about the slight imbalance. It might look dramatic on the video but it’s a fairly light load (7Kg ish?) clamped in a less than sturdy stand.

Re the decals. Part of me says not to be so precious, but another part knows that when you spend a substantial wedge of cash such small niggles can spoil the experience. Personally I’d fix it myself and enjoy the bonding experience with the new bike. Such details are what makes the bike yours.

[pablo]

Not something I ever thought
Not something I ever thought about but all bike wheels will be out of balance purely at the valve assuming the wheel is 100% consistent which I doubt they are. I’ve seen a few posts in the past but generally the consensus its not an issue.
Are they setup tubeless? If they are they will have 40ml of sealant sloshing around which will pool at the bottom.

[njblackadder]

It’s not what you ordered, so

It’s not what you ordered, so if you are unhappy, take it back. They are in breach of contract and must give a full refund, or provide what you asked for.

[Prosper0]

stop fretting about the wheel

stop fretting about the wheel and just enjoy the bike. Lord knows you’re about 10 years behind wanting gaudy coloured wheel stickers. 

[Miller]

>  I can’t notice it when

>  I can’t notice it when riding though.

This. Every wheel I have is imbalanced when rotating freely with the bike in a stand. I can’t detect this imbalance when riding. You can put weights on the rim if this offends your OCD tendencies but that will only make your bike heavier for no benefit.

[Balthazar]

That frame’s a great colour!

That frame’s a great colour!

the video doesn’t seem to show the wheel rolling to a stop. Nonetheless, wheel balance is not an issue for bicycles, all wheels are out of balance (at least because of the valve) and it has no consequence for riding. It gets argued about periodically- there’s some definitive stuff from Jobst about it here:

https://yarchive.net/bike/wheel_balancing.html

unless there is some wild manufacturing flaw in your wheel, I think the bike shop people are right. 

Gawd knows about the decals. Personally, I’d peel them all off.

 

 

[hawkinspeter]

I don’t buy what the Trek

I don’t buy what the Trek store manager is saying. I don’t see how painting the wheels would invalidate the warranty and besides which the goods have to be fit for purpose, so an invalidated warranty doesn’t mean much – consumer rights would still be in play.

I think you should call his bluff and say that the bike supplied is not what you ordered, so either they make it right or give you a complete refund. Once you start demanding a complete refund, you’ll soon get a different reaction from the store manager.

[Spangly Shiny]

Watch this:https://www

Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcgiUcbS64c

 

[markgixer6]

https://www.dropbox.com/s

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1mlnz72uymk7m1z/20201018_105147.mp4?dl=0

[markgixer6]

Hi AfterPeak,

Hi AfterPeak,

Well there still seems to be a quite a bit of friction in the hub (I’m assuming because it’s new), and it seems to settle in different places every time I spin it because of this. I have taken a quick video of the effect on the bike when it’s spinning though and the bike hanging free. Assuming I’m not breaking any forum rules by sharing a link to it, I can post on here once it’s uploaded. Thanks for the reply.

[AfterPeak]

If you asked for red decal
If you asked for red decal then they have obviously made a mistake when they ordered it and should put it right. If it is your dream bike second best (even if barely noticeable) just isn’t going to cut it. I mean how often are you going to order such an expensive bike?

When you say imbalance do you mean that left free standing the rim would rotate to the same place? If so that is normal and the valve tends to land at the bottom.

[Author]

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