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Am I out a lot of cash?

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
Ok, so this is my bike...



So, recently I noticed that the tire (which is stock) has rubbed against the swingarm and worn a groove into the aluminum. the tire is in the correct posistion and inflated to the correct pressure yet it has still worn a pretty big groove in the swingarm. So, my question is, can I send the swingarm in to Gary Fisher and get it replaced or do I have to buy a brand new swing arm?

Ill post pics of the groove tomorrow.
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
If your tire was in the 'correct position' it would not have contacted the swingarm.


My guess is one of the following:

wheel truing issue (latterally, or just very loose spokes)
incorrect dish (could also be related to spoke tension)
too big of tire for frame
wheel not correctly in the dropout
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.way way down on the list:
bent/incorrect swingarm


the only way that GF should have anything to do with paying for anything is the very odd case that the swingarm was mfg incorrectly...
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
nah man, i checked the wheel in my truing stand and its perfectly true. the tire is the right size and is the recomended size for the bike. And the wheel was place correctly in the dropout. Thats why I dont know why this is happening and its really pissing me off!
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
Heh... that's an inside joke around here. Whenever someone would post a pic of their ride the top two comments used to be: 1) Looks flexy. and 2) Does it come in Rootbeer?

OK - so the rear wheel is in true BUT is it dished correctly? This can make all the difference.
 

kuksul08

Monkey
Jun 4, 2007
240
0
You didnt know that the tire was digging a groove in the aluminum? Or you did and neglected the excessive drag on the pedaling?

I dont see how the former is possible...
 

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
Take loads of pictures before taking anything apart. Send them all to GF and see what they say.

All you can do to start with really. Start nice with them and don't be accusing...

My old Orange 223 had a similar design and similar problem.
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
From behind the bike,is the wheel in line with the seat tube? Perhaps the wheel is meant to be dished off centre in a stand. Did the wheel come with the frame? Is anything missing off the wheel?
 
Sep 20, 2007
443
0
Champaign, IL
If the wheel is properly dished it shouldn't happen. If it is a problem with the frame or swingarm and not caused completely by carelessness with the wheel itself then GF (trek) will take care of you...
 

Metal Dude

Turbo Monkey
Apr 7, 2006
1,139
0
Smackdonough, GA
Simply put, you should have a few mm clearance between tire and swingarm to begin with. If it runs too close any combination of tire wheel
swingarm etc. can flex enough to cause this issue. If the tire came spec'd with the bike and everything is stock from Trek, I would fuss til' they fixed it. I work at a Trek store, they have the best warranty dept. in the business, I know we once had a time trial frame that the rear tire had like less
than a mm clearance and they gave the guy a new frame. Best thing to do is take it to a TREK DEALER and let them deal with Trek on it!
 

wanabe

Monkey
Mar 16, 2007
177
0
Spoke tension! Go to a local Trek dealer and get them to handle it. Trek is usualy really good about problems like this. I'v seen em give spankin new frames if they were replacing something discontinued.
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
if you have done everything you said above. you should just take it to a dealer. and they can tell you what you can do.
there's no way that any of us can on here.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
My old Orange 223 had a similar design and similar problem.
What size tire were you using??? I have run 222, 223, 224 without every running into this problem, running 2.5 michelin and or Maxxis on the back. This was with 135mm rear ends on the 222, and 150mm on the 223.

Was your wheel dished wrong? Hub Loose? 2.8" tire? Forget to tighten the axle? I am seriously curious. The only sure fire way of having that happen would be a huge ass tire or a really flexy wheel.
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
What size tire were you using??? I have run 222, 223, 224 without every running into this problem, running 2.5 michelin and or Maxxis on the back. This was with 135mm rear ends on the 222, and 150mm on the 223.

Was your wheel dished wrong? Hub Loose? 2.8" tire? Forget to tighten the axle? I am seriously curious. The only sure fire way of having that happen would be a huge ass tire or a really flexy wheel.
Im running the stock Bontrager wheel and tire that came with the bike brand new. The spokes are tightened down correctly and the hub is not loose. I already checked all the suggested problems that were proposed, and none of them have been an issue. Im gonna take it into a Trek store tomorrow and see if they can help me out. Like I said too, the whole rear end of the bike is completely stock, so I dont know what could be the problem.

Thanks for the little inside info too S.K.C.!!
 

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
What size tire were you using??? I have run 222, 223, 224 without every running into this problem, running 2.5 michelin and or Maxxis on the back. This was with 135mm rear ends on the 222, and 150mm on the 223.

Was your wheel dished wrong? Hub Loose? 2.8" tire? Forget to tighten the axle? I am seriously curious. The only sure fire way of having that happen would be a huge ass tire or a really flexy wheel.
Thinking back, the rear wheel was pretty flogged, so much play in it. Obviously completely different to what kev is experiencing...

I don't have a good history of bike maintenence:redface:...

I remember ripping a rear derailleur off on a high speed descent and wrapping it in the drive side spokes before being able to stop. The damage was pretty bad, but managed to bodge a fix, enough to limp home. By the time I got there, the tyre had worn a fairly impressive grove in the swingarm of my M3...
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Thinking back, the rear wheel was pretty flogged, so much play in it. Obviously completely different to what kev is experiencing...

I don't have a good history of bike maintenence:redface:...

I remember ripping a rear derailleur off on a high speed descent and wrapping it in the drive side spokes before being able to stop. The damage was pretty bad, but managed to bodge a fix, enough to limp home. By the time I got there, the tyre had worn a fairly impressive grove in the swingarm of my M3...
Ha, well a loose wheel will certainly do it. Only other time I saw this happen some clod had a 2.8" michelin on the rear and the spokes were loose. Pretty much explained right then and there how that happenned. He wanted a warranty...
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
ya, my spokes are perfect and the tire is stock so if they gave me the wrong size its their fault right? haha Im gonna take my bike into trek tomorrow, so Ill let you guys know how things pan out
 
Sep 20, 2007
443
0
Champaign, IL
I doubt its the wrong size really. My best bet is that the wheel came out of dish or something. (Did you check it with a dishing gauge?) If that is it, depending on how old it is they will take care of you. If it is a couple years old and the wheel should have been maintained they may say otherwise. Really Trek is probably one of the best companies you could have this happen with.
 

thom9719

Turbo Monkey
Jul 25, 2005
1,104
0
In the Northwest.
I've actually warrantied 2 King Fisher swingarms from being welded incorrectly at a shop I worked at. take it to a shop and have it checked out.

Kyle,
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
I have a simple question, thjat might answer alot, what trueing stand are you using?
This one.



I work at a shop and went in today. I checked the wheel in the truing stand and it was fine. It was slightly out of dish, but I used the dishing tool to check, and i fixed it. It wasnt too far out of dish though (only a mm or 2. After I checked that, we checked to see if the frame was bent because it looked a litte funny when the wheel was in the dropouts. The result??? Bent swingarm. So Ill be heading to the Trek store in the very near future to get this taken care of.
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
img282.jpg

So, here is the gash thats on my swingarm. Sorry about the bad quality. I took it with a cell cam. Ill use my dslr tomorrow. Thought you guys might want to see. I hope they warranty this
 

BIGHITR

WINNING!
Nov 14, 2007
1,084
0
Maryland, east coast.
When you guys say the wheel is DISHED properly I take it you mean that when the wheel was built, someone may have put the offset to the rim on the wrong side? I'm not a mechanic. I just want to know so I can brag later.