-------------- Original message --------------
At 09:04 AM 10/25/2004, Harry Varnas wrote:

>Welcome to the group gentlemen,
>
>Yes the thin crack is normal for the y. You will have to look at the old
>posts as the subject has been covered in great detail.
>
>At different club rides and triathalons, I take a look at each y foil.
>Guess what...all the frames have the thin crack.
>Each owner has aknowledged that its there. It has something to do with
>where the metal BB housing meets at the carbon frame.

Actually, it is a joint where there is an internal carbon lug from the BB 'shell' glued to the inside of the main body 'tube'; not really related to the (cylindrical) metal sleeve for the BB that is encapsulated in the CF matrix of the BB shell. That joint is painted over, but the CF moves enough as you ride it that the paint, which is not as elastic as the CF matrix, cracks. You can see similar, if finer, cracks on a lot of 5000, 5200, 5500, and 5900 frames from the same era. The cracks are cosmetic, do not affect the ride or safety.

>Some riders in the past have had them replaced by Trek. But since the frame
>is out of production, I doubt that any such replacements are available.

I doubt Trek would to a replace for these cracks without some evidence that it is more than surface and cosmetic. They tend to be conservative, and I bet if an LBS presses the issue (Trek will not deal with individuals, just dealers) then Trek will ask for the frame back for a look, which takes 3-6 weeks, mostly due to UPS transit times to Wisconsin. If one is the original owner (remember, Trek has a lifetime warranty, but for the original owner, only) and Trek decides it needs replacing then I would expect that one would receive a 5200 or something similar (the new Pilot52, for example) and not a Y Foil frame.

My advice; ride it but check the crack often. If it appears to be getting larger and is more than a fine circumferential crack then find a nice place for your wall art.

- rick