Budget upgrades to Trek 1000?

I got my Trek 1000 a few days ago. It's my first road bike, and what can I say when I compare it to my $99 hybrid? It's a complete night and day difference! I've put around 40km, and I'm already thinking of upgrading the pedals to Shimano A520 because I feel I can't put all my power onto the pedals. The front derailleur needs adjustment. The brakes (or brake pads) are really bad at stopping, worst than the brakes on my hybrid. I think I'm going to have to get new brake pads for now. If the wheels break or the tires flat out, then I'll consider upgrading those as well. In the long run I may also get a Shimano 105 groupset. I don't want to have a souped up bike that I can't fully take advantage of, since I still have lots of room for my physical side to improve. What are some of the budget/value upgrades? For example, would a $200 wheel do me a budget but significant upgrade performance wise? Thanks very much

$200 on the wheels would be well spent. I would recommend the Easton Vista SL's, which can be found for around that number.

Get the wheels, but I think it would be cheaper to buy a whole new bike in 1-2 years time (when your fitter) if you want to upgrade to 105.

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2004 Trek 1000
2005 Giant Elwood
ACE Folding Bicycle

I'd certainly upgrade the pedals, and maybe the saddle. Other than that, suggest you run the wheels and everything else until they fail on you. Upgrades are only worth it when you need to replace stuff.

Likely nothing is wrong with your brake pads. Road bike brakes are designed to take a good amount of grip to stop you, in order to avoid skids on rough or wet roads. If your hybrid has those grabby v-brakes, you'll need a little transition to "real" caliper road brakes. Practice some hard brake applications gradually to get the feel of things so you know how to grab a big double handful without skidding.

Spending money on good road shoes and a couple of fitted bib shorts and jerseys will do a lot to help your comfort and performance; I'd invest in those next.

Thanks again. What kind of wheels/tires should i get if they do fail, I would think they fail first. Also, how helpful are jerseys compared to regular clothing?

Its going to take awhile to get the wheels to fail. As long as you keep up on maintnence those wheels should last a few years.

Jersey are comfortable, moisture wicking, and have convenient pockets on the back. It won't directly make you perform better, but it will keep you motivated to ride more since they're comfortable, and therefore will indirectly make you ride better.

I don't know what wheels come stock on his bike, but would a new $200 -grade wheel really be an "upgrade" worth the cost? Sure if he needs to replace them, but until that time, I would bet the stock wheels on that bike are not significantly worse (or better) than a $200 wheelset, and they're probably just fine.

To OP: do not hesitate to explore saddles if the stock one is not comfortable that should be your first priority. Pedals - get a clipless pedal/MTB shoe combo on sale. In my experience, various grades of SPD-type pedals have pretty insignificant differences to casual riders..
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One upgrade that may be worthwhile is tires. When the rear tire wears down (maybe 1500 miles?) or if you get your first cut/puncture that requires a tire replacement, you could upgrade to some expensive "race" tires for better grip and ride quality, and lower rolling resistance. If you ride on relatively clean roads, and don't mind the cost, tires like Michelin ProRace2, or Conti GP4000s could be a noticeable upgrade over the OEM tires on your Trek 1000.

The wheels are a cheap alex rim laced to a generic alloy hub. The hub is basically a tiagra clone, though. They are very tough wheels, due to the high spoke count. I started riding road bikes on a 1000 about a year and a half ago, and never had any problems with the wheels. I'm not light either. I was 215 pounds when I got that bike and got down to about 190 when I bought my fuji. I sold the 1000 to my friend and hes still riding it with no problems at all. I put around 2500 miles on it, not sure how many my friend has done since hes been riding it.


There will not be much difference going to a $200 wheelset. Something like the easton vistas would give you more aerodynamics, but are heavier.

I got myself new pedals, the Shimano M520, along with a pair of Specialized shoes. I notice a slight improvement in pedalling efficiency, as I can better exert pushing force on the pedal and also pulling force on the upswing. I'm not sure if it's a right technique but it helps alot on hills. I'm relatively light, 160lbs, so I suppose the stock wheels can take my weight better. I also don't think that further reduction in weight, for exponential costs, will make me go any faster. I'm just getting some advice in case my wheels do break and I need a replacement immediately. Thanks again.

I had a Trek 1000 for years and the brakes always worked fine for me. Are you sure they're adjusted correctly? If it's still new, you may want to bring it back to the shop and have them adjust your front derailleur and brakes. Buying new brake pads for a bike that you've ridden 40km over a few days seems a little extreme to me. Your mileage maybe different, however.
Good luck with the new bike. Keefe.