I broke the water bottle holder inserts off my handle. not very happy.
the story goes:
i went to freemount the beast. i got up and looked down and saw that my water bottle still in cage was laying on the ground as it had fallen off mid-mount. By this time i started riding forwards so i rode straight over the bottle in the cage and water spurted out of the bottle and the cage was severly mangled. I then proceeded to fall off, was not hurt in any way.
Upon futher inspection, it is clear that the threaded inserts which are in the handle have been ripped out from the handle. It appears that they were just tac welded into the holes, and that the tac welds have failed. I dont think i whacked or put the water bottle insert threads under any heavy strain whilst mounting or through general riding, however.
Heres a picture of it, you can see that the little inserts are still screwed to the bottle cage, and the holes in the handle. I think i’ll just tac weld them back on with a MIG. Anybody got any other better options or tips?
I just thought i should post this here incase anybody has this problem in the future. Up to this point i was really enjoying my T7 handle, it really is fantastic for distance riding. But dont get me wrong after a few tac welds she’ll be sweet to go again :D, very happy i got it! Thanks!
This is unfortunately a known defect with the T7 handles that i understand roger is in the process of fixing. The easiest solution is to use a rivnut in the hole, would take about 3 seconds per hole but the tool is sometimes expensive if you have to buy it. Might be worth going to your local auto shop and seeing if they have one and will pop two new threads in for a few bucks. If you MIG weld them in it might be worth putting a bolt in the thread first to stop them from distorting out of shape, I’m not sure if this would be a problem or not, given how short the heating period is with a MIG welder, but seems like a sensible precaution.
I had the same problem; Roger is going to put rivnuts in as new bosses - hopefully they’ll also be stronger.
Bizarrely, I had also gone to my local bike shops and ask them if they could do the job… One of the shops basically wouldn’t believe that rivnuts existed - weird. But they do
I thoroughly despise the t7 handle. It was a hassal to get the handle mounted to the seatpost, and even more of a hassal to get the seat mounted after that. After about 2 days of riding with the handle, I crashed at 15 mph and it immediately bent down. The waste of 67$ is now collecting dust, never to be used again
That sounds pretty bad. Did you try sending it back to UDC after it bent? It might be worth talking to them about it; maybe you got one with a manufacturing defect or something? Mine is intact after several > 15mph crashes, and a number of other crazy mishaps.
If you install the seat on the handle first, and then mount the whole lot on the post it’s much easier. I also have crashed mine at 15 mph many times, infact twice this afternoon, with no damage whatsoever (except to the rubber grips I put on), sounds like you’ve been unlucky.
my right handle prong is bent down about an inch lower than how my left prong is. that is the result of a few very fast accidents. i should bend it back sometime.
I bent the rails on my T7 handle today during a UPD. Sometimes I like my T7 and other times I’m not so sure. When I ride my 36’er with 150mm cranks the T7 is wonderful. However, when I ride with my 114mm cranks I run into problems. Due to the decrease in pedal leverage with the 114’s I find I can control my uni much better holding the seat handle. When I try to ride the 114’s holding the T7, for some reason, I experience more UPD’s. Personally I’m getting tired of doing the stop, drop and roll tango.
Another problem I’ve had with my T7 is when I do experience a UPD the blunt edge of the base of the prong catches my thigh. I’ve experienced this several times. With each occurance I’ve sustained a nasty gash in my thigh.
Now that the rails are bent I’m considering removing it.
I bent the rails on my T7 handle today during a UPD. Sometimes I like my T7 and other times I’m not so sure. When I ride my 36’er with 150mm cranks the T7 is wonderful. However, when I ride with my 114mm cranks I run into problems. Due to the decrease in pedal leverage with the 114’s I find I can control my uni much better holding the seat handle. When I try to ride the 114’s holding the T7, for some reason, I experience more UPD’s. Personally I’m getting tired of doing the stop, drop and roll tango.
Another problem I’ve had with my T7 is when I do experience a UPD the blunt edge of the base of the prong catches my thigh. I’ve experienced this several times. With each occurance I’ve sustained a nasty gash in my thigh.
Now that the rails are bent I’m considering removing it.
haha i thought they looked bent. I wouldn’t worry about it. Nicks trials uni’s rails are S shaped and they still function. I still say give it a few more rides.
What I did was tighten the screw through the holder into the loose bushing. Mount the holder with the one good threaded bushing, then nylon tie wrap the holder to the T7 bar, around at each screw. This way the loose bushing in the hole at least keeps the holder from moving/twisting. Maybe I’m just lucky since I have one threaded bushing still welded into the T7, but the bottle seems secure.
Just use a 1/4" drill bit, drill the holes through the tubing, and use a 1 1/2" 1/4x20 bolt and locknut. Trim the bolt down so the threads barely come through the nut.
I just did this fix before the LBI Unithon, and no problems since.
