I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture inside. I just took out my bottom bracket and found a bunch of "feta cheese" like crud surrounding the sealed cartridge. Likewise, I inspected my headset and found the bottom has showed signs of rust and moisture build-up.
I'm guessing the moisture is either coming through the seat post tube and/or the headset (the latter is tougher to accept because the seal seems so tight). I've had a lizard skin on the head set for about a year and it looks as though that hasn't helped.
I have an Icon seat post. (that was stock before Trek started using Bontrager components.) The seat post itself has started to get pitted below the point where the clamp is on the seat post tube. Very often, it seizes up and it's tough to pull the seat post out of the tube (I extend it to put the bike in a work stand).
Has anyone else had similar experiences? Should I also try a lizard skin around the seat post clamp?
Does anyone know if Lennard Zinn has a FAQ or open forum somewhere?
"FLBiker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture
<<snip..>>
Quoted message said:
Has anyone else had similar experiences? Should I also try a lizard skin around the seat post clamp?
Does anyone know if Lennard Zinn has a FAQ or open forum somewhere?
John
I don't think Lizard Skins will keep out your moisture..they just don't seal that well. Moisture in frames is, in my experience, fairly common. I've disassembled bikes and had water literally pour out of the BB shell. I'm not sure sealing the frame is an option for a number of reasons. I think if you're riding in wet conditions a lot, your best bet is to keep your seatpost and handlebar stem greased liberally and disasseble your BB and HS a few times a year. It's nice when you have a BB cable guide..the hole lets the water drain!
I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture inside. I just took out my bottom bracket and found a bunch of "Feta cheese" like crud surrounding the sealed cartridge. Likewise, I inspected my headset and found the bottom has showed signs of rust and moisture build-up.
Quoted message said:
I'm guessing the moisture is either coming through the seat post tube and/or the headset (the latter is tougher to accept because the seal seems so tight). I've had a lizard skin on the head set for about a year and it looks as though that hasn't helped.
Quoted message said:
I have an Icon seat post. (that was stock before Trek started using Bontrager components.) The seat post itself has started to get pitted below the point where the clamp is on the seat post tube. Very often, it seizes up and it's tough to pull the seat post out of the tube (I extend it to put the bike in a work stand).
Most water in the frame enters through the seat post clamp slot. It may not look like a leak but even slightly weeping will suffice to put damaging amounts of water down the seat tube. The simplest method I have found is to insert the well greased seat post into the well greased seat tube and then apply grease to the slot after tightening.
Use a fairly stiff grease, it doesn't have to have any mystical qualities and additives. It's only a soft water barrier, not a lubricant. Most other things tend to harden and crack or run away. RTV won't stick because this joint should have grease in it and that is a release agent for RTV.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Michael John Kelso said:
I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture inside. I just took out my bottom bracket and found a bunch of "Feta cheese" like crud surrounding the sealed cartridge. Likewise, I inspected my headset and found the bottom has showed signs of rust and moisture build-up.
Quoted message said:
I'm guessing the moisture is either coming through the seat post tube and/or the headset (the latter is tougher to accept because the seal seems so tight). I've had a lizard skin on the head set for about a year and it looks as though that hasn't helped.
Quoted message said:
I have an Icon seat post. (that was stock before Trek started using Bontrager components.) The seat post itself has started to get pitted below the point where the clamp is on the seat post tube. Very often, it seizes up and it's tough to pull the seat post out of the tube (I extend it to put the bike in a work stand).
Most water in the frame enters through the seat post clamp slot. It may not look like a leak but even slightly weeping will suffice to put damaging amounts of water down the seat tube. The simplest method I have found is to insert the well greased seat post into the well greased seat tube and then apply grease to the slot after tightening.
Use a fairly stiff grease, it doesn't have to have any mystical qualities and additives. It's only a soft water barrier, not a lubricant. Most other things tend to harden and crack or run away. RTV won't stick because this joint should have grease in it and that is a release agent for RTV.
Despite efforts based on your advice I still get alot of water in my frame. A 50 mile ride in the rain this last Sunday produced a good 50cc out the chainstay vent holes.
I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture
<<snip..>>
I think if
Quoted message said:
you're riding in wet conditions a lot, your best bet is to keep your seatpost and handlebar stem greased liberally and disasseble your BB and HS a few times a year. It's nice when you have a BB cable guide..the hole lets the water drain!
Thanks for the tips - I'll be making disassembly a more routine maintenance. The only thing that's a problem is that with the OCLV frame, you're not supposed to grease the seat post. At least that's what I've heard from a couple of dealers.
Most water in the frame enters through the seat post clamp slot. It may not look like a leak but even slightly weeping will suffice to put damaging amounts of water down the seat tube. The simplest method I have found is to insert the well greased seat post into the well greased seat tube and then apply grease to the slot after tightening.
Use a fairly stiff grease, it doesn't have to have any mystical qualities and additives. It's only a soft water barrier, not a lubricant. Most other things tend to harden and crack or run away. RTV won't stick because this joint should have grease in it and that is a release agent for RTV.
You are correct about how water gets into the frame, but grease and the OCLV frame do *not* mix. There's a special coating on the inside of the seat tube that will get eaten away by something in grease (no, I don't know what that "something" is, but I assume it's a petroleum product of some sort).
Despite efforts based on your advice I still get alot of water in my frame. A 50 mile ride in the rain this last Sunday produced a good 50cc out the chainstay vent holes.
Quoted message said:
My seatpost fits my frame nicely.
OK, you must have some idea where the water can get in. I can't see your bicycle but the entrance must be gravitationally above the BB so where is it?
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
You are correct about how water gets into the frame, but grease and the OCLV frame do *not* mix. There's a special coating on the inside of the seat tube that will get eaten away by something in grease (no, I don't know what that "something" is, but I assume it's a petroleum product of some sort).
Don't know if it's OCLV compatible, but pork fat is a good water- resistant grease substitute, works well on marine equipment, but I haven't tried it on carbon fiber.
"Joshua Putnam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:MPG.19c1d26c9363094d989700@localhost...
Quoted message said:
Don't know if it's OCLV compatible, but pork fat is a good water- resistant grease substitute, works well on marine equipment, but I haven't tried it on carbon fiber.
Add a little road salt, and that's some good eatin'!
Trek OCLVs are notorious for collecting water. As a mechanic in Hawaii where there are lots of OCLVs and where it rains all the time I am constantly emptying out frames. You can hear it sloshing around. Usually just a few ounces but once I removed almost a full small water bottle's worth. Lower headset bearings in particular are often corroded from the moisture.
It's hard to see how so much water can get in the frame. I once dipped one in a pool to see where it was getting in and the only place bubbles came out was from the seat post although very very slowly. It must be because of the no grease thing. I always pull the post out after long rain rides now.
I have a 2001 Trek OCLV frame that seems to get a build up of moisture
<<snip..>>
I think if
Quoted message said:
you're riding in wet conditions a lot, your best bet is to keep your seatpost and handlebar stem greased liberally and disasseble your BB and HS a few times a year. It's nice when you have a BB cable guide..the hole lets the water drain!
Thanks for the tips - I'll be making disassembly a more routine maintenance. The only thing that's a problem is that with the OCLV frame, you're not supposed to grease the seat post. At least that's what I've heard from a couple of dealers.
John
It's funny you should mention this. At a TTT I participated in recently, conditions were very wet for the first part of the ride. At the end, one member of the local Trek/VW team took his frame, turned it up, and an unbelieveable amount of water poured out of the frame drains in the chainstay or seat stay. Just guessing, I'd say something like 100-200 ml or more.
Is there some entry on OCLV frames that is particularly suceptible to water intake?
-- Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club
"RAYMOND BRUST" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... Trek OCLVs are notorious for collecting water. As a mechanic in Hawaii where there are lots of OCLVs and where it rains all the time I am constantly emptying out frames. You can hear it sloshing around. Usually just a few ounces but once I removed almost a full small water bottle's worth. Lower headset bearings in particular are often corroded from the moisture.
It's hard to see how so much water can get in the frame. I once dipped one in a pool to see where it was getting in and the only place bubbles came out was from the seat post although very very slowly. It must be because of the no grease thing. I always pull the post out after long rain rides now.
RB
I've got a good fix for this: cut a ten centimetre length of old inner tube (of appropriate size) and stretch over the junction of post and seat tube. I actually tape this top and bottom also.
I discovered this trying to stop grit and water entering my Cannondale MTB frame where it was collecting at the junction of seat tube and BB in the Cannondale slot and tab weld sytem. Creak solved.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Robin Hubert said:
Despite efforts based on your advice I still get alot of water in my frame. A 50 mile ride in the rain this last Sunday produced a good 50cc out the chainstay vent holes.
Quoted message said:
My seatpost fits my frame nicely.
OK, you must have some idea where the water can get in. I can't see your bicycle but the entrance must be gravitationally above the BB so where is it?
I figured it had to be the seatpost/seat tube junction. The only other openings in the frame anywhere that water can get to the bb area is the chainstay vent holes. I think it's improbable that water is coming in the same way I'm draining it.
The way it is now, I can't see more grease being an improvement. Perhaps I just don't understand how to fill a gap with grease? Or maybe the Phil Wood "waterproof" (ha-ha!) grease isn't cutting it. Or maybe the water *is* cutting it ....
"Or maybe the Phil Wood "waterproof" (ha-ha!) grease isn't cutting it."
Don't think that is the problem..............I think the steal the stuff from ducks! 🙂 Never seen anything repel water so well.
"Robin Hubert" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Robin Hubert said:
Despite efforts based on your advice I still get alot of water in my frame. A 50 mile ride in the rain this last Sunday produced a good 50cc out the chainstay vent holes.
Quoted message said:
My seatpost fits my frame nicely.
OK, you must have some idea where the water can get in. I can't see your bicycle but the entrance must be gravitationally above the BB so where is it?
I figured it had to be the seatpost/seat tube junction. The only other openings in the frame anywhere that water can get to the bb area is the chainstay vent holes. I think it's improbable that water is coming in the same way I'm draining it.
The way it is now, I can't see more grease being an improvement. Perhaps
I
Quoted message said:
just don't understand how to fill a gap with grease? Or maybe the Phil
Wood
Quoted message said:
"waterproof" (ha-ha!) grease isn't cutting it. Or maybe the water *is* cutting it ....
Despite efforts based on your advice I still get alot of water in my frame. A 50 mile ride in the rain this last Sunday produced a good 50cc out the chainstay vent holes.
Quoted message said:
My seatpost fits my frame nicely.
OK, you must have some idea where the water can get in. I can't see your bicycle but the entrance must be gravitationally above the BB so where is it?
Jobst Brandt [email hidden]
Try the water bottle bosses. Our C'dale tandem contained some 100 ml of water in the boom tube after five years of use. The only *possible* location were the water bottle bosses since the seat tube is closed at the bottom!
