28 accessory mounts

03/07/24 22:30 Filed in: Gear

The second generation Trek Checkpoint SL is ready for many things. And bike packing is definitely one of those things. I'm not personally interested in the bike packing experience - if I were going camping from my bike I think I'd get a BOB trailer and put everything in it. But there is no harm done in the frame having numerous options.
Three mounts down each side of the fork, plus one at the crown and one at each dropout, two on the top tube for a bag, three under the top tube for a larger bag (or a tool mount - though the Bontrager tool fits in the bracket under the door that resides behind the main water bottle mount), water bottle mounts on the down tube (3 on top, 1 underneath) and the seat tube (only the 1) and then various rack and mudguard mount points - 28 in total.
When the bike is delivered each of these is filled with a black plastic plug. The plugs keep the threads clean and the hole closed, but with time they start to pop out of the holes in places. And the black plastic disc on each one is not the best look to my eyes.
So I succumbed to temptation and purchased a bunch of oil slick anodised titanium water bottle bolts. I discovered that a few of the threads were dirty - they had glue or other detritus from production in the threads so they had to be cleaned up before the bolt when in. Other than that the only other anomaly was that the fork bolts don't go in to flush, they stick out proud. I thought it might just be me, but I read that this happens to other owners so I guess it is just how they are. The suggestion is to run a presta valve nut underneath so it tightens down completely and doesn't leave a gap under the bolt head. I might try this.
I didn't replace all the locations with Ti bolts - where the water bottle cage was already mounted I left it (one of the bolts is quite long due to the shape of the storage compartment door). Where the fenders and rack were mounted, I also left the stainless bolts in place. I don't think these small Ti bolts are up to much more than a water bottle. Wow the bolts look much nicer in the frame than did the black plugs. The oil slick ano looks green at extreme angles of light, and more purple at more direct angles. The change is the nicest part - you never know what colours you'll get. I also left the two water bottle mount plugs under the down tube as they aren't really visible under there and just get covered in crud while riding.

I found a motorcycle shop here in Australia that does oil slick ano Ti bolts for motorbike fairings and the like - correct thread pitch and length for a water bottle cage. But at $12 each, 28 of them carries a big price tag (yes, I didn't actually require 28 since I didn't use a couple of them). I ended up with some specifically for water bottle cage mounting bolts from the US. They only ship within the US so you can go to Amazon if you want them here in Australia, for example. But the shipping is pricey. And the exchange mechanism built into Amazon seems aggressively pricey too. I ended up having the maker ship them to my sister and she reshipped them to Australia. Total cost was below $150 for 3 dozen bolts. I have enough left over to mount water bottles with bling bolts for years.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

28 accessory mounts