1st bike trek 05 1000! $470! crappy tires!!

I was looking for long time for decent reasonable road bike and Finally saw Trek 05 1000 in my local craiglist (Boston) for $470
Ok the guy I bought the bike was clueless about the bikes in general.Gears were all messed up and the bike was put togheter rather horribly.I took it to my local LBS and for 50 bucks they made this bike sing!!
OK all I read about Sora seems negative but my bike shifts smooth and clean and I can't complain however the original stock tires nylon were simply cheap horrible tires resulted 2 flats in 3 miles.I need solid road,street tires which are puncture resistant and so far I have not found one without spending 40+ per tire.Any suiggestions?

To some people Trek is not cool and I'll say what a pity to be so narrow minded about an image rather the bike.Get over it at 43 yrs old I care less what the stcker says but I am more concern what it does.Trek 1000 is the best entry road bike without empting your wallet.

Hey Armenian, just because there was a thread about it doesn't mean that everyone thinks that Treks are uncool. I think that they are a fine bike, as good as most of the other mass produced bikes anyway. Your bike looks nice enough and if you like it, that's all that counts. Nobody else has to ride it. Too bad you had to spend $50.00 to get it put right. As for tires, I would suggest that you talk to your LBS and make a selection based upon what they recommend. You are going to get all kinds of suggestions here. I have had good luck with a cheap pair of Continental Ultras. I only ride for recreation so I don't have to worry about weight or anything, but I have not yet had a flat on them. Come to think of it, I haven't had any flats on my Bontragers either, which is what it looks like you have.

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First you need to analyze what has caused the flats that you've gotten. Here's the choices:

1. If your innertubes are punctured on the inside circumference, you have a rim strip problem. The rim strip has to cover every little crescent of spoke hole in the rim.

2. Pin holes in the outer circumference of the inner tube are common punctures. You need to check the inside of your tire to be sure the thorn or piece of glass has been removed. Until you get it out you will be doomed to repeated punctures. I always line up the label with the valve stem when I install tires. That way, if there's a piece of wire stuck in my tire it'll show up in the same place on my inner tube.

Kevlar belted tires will minimize punctures. The more kevlar, the better protection but at the expense of greater rolling resistance and decreased ride comfort.

3. Two parallel slits in the inner tube signal an impact or "snake bite" flat. Your tire has inadequate air pressure and allowed the inner tube to get pinched between the rim and the pot hole or curb. The cure is to check your tire pressure more often. Skinnier tires need more air pressure.

4. The last is a blow out. You'd know if you had this one because it sounds like a shot gun and completely ruins the tube so that it can't be patched. The usual cause is operator error, pinching a portion of the inner tube between the tire bead and the rim, when installing the tire.

guys thanks for the comments and I did order Forte Pro DC RT and it the meanwhile here is what I did don't lough

Getto solutions
I cut out my old kavlar tire just the middle and inserted under stock tires for added protection and in the rear I bought this product Slime?It is a very strong light weight green strip resembling plastic but softer and easily bends however before installing this product I tried to peirce it wirth nail and it resisted pretty good.I had to put lot of force to puncture through so impressed I was I went and bought another one for reserve use.I am going to put this strip under my new tires when arrived for added protaction.
So I feel better now riding on Boston streets with lot of glass everywhere

I'm not laughing, more like wincing. You mustr be getting a pretty harsh ride with that extra peice of tire in the front. It makes your tire more of a semi-pnuematic tire rather than a pnuematic tire.

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Go to your local Performance shop and get a set of Vredestein Fortezza SE tires... They should be on sale for $20 or $25 (at least they are on sale most of the time...), and are the most puncture resistant tires I have ever ridden (two flats out of the last 4500 miles of riding).

Oh, and the blue color will even match the paint scheme of your bike.

FWIW, I tend not be overly impressed with Trek bikes, but they ARE decent bikes. I just wouldn't buy one for the same reason I will never own a Honda or a Toyota. Everyone has one!

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"If you don't keep turning the crank, you won't get where you're going." -Albert Kong

http://www.deitchman.net/blog/

Look 595 (with SRAM Force kit)
Bianchi San Jose (SS or Fixed)
Rock Lobster Steel CX

Another vote for the Vredstein line of tires. I've ridden the higher-end Fortezzas(175 psi rated casing) 5700 miles without a serious cut or puncture and the worst luck I've expirienced on the Fortezza SE's was two punctures in right around 2000 miles. For reference, i ride on some really rough roads with lots of sharp gravel, cracks, potholes, etc.

These seem to be some darn good tires or I've been living right. I chalk it up to good tires.

I'm not getting the best wear mileage out of the rears (2000 to 2200 and threads are showing), But the fronts seem to go forever.

I got 185K on my Camry Try that on BMW without changing the Trasmition 3k and host of other mechanical problems.When I was 25 I did care about the Image but now married,2 kids,mortgede etc and last thing I need is fancy bike with huge sticker price only to look great with fellow riders.To be honest noone cares about the image.I noticed most all percived coolness is in our minds and outside very few actually notice.
Forgat to thank you for the tire recomandation.I saw that tire but the reason I did not buy because it said nothing about flat resistance.I will check it out.

I let out few PSI down to compisate the deferance.It beats getting flat.I had to walk 3 miles twice becouse of flats and it was not fun at all.I do feel more "secure" now on the streets.

Hey dude.
Definetly go for my personal favourite Continental Gatorskins.
They are really puncture proof and come in low contact with the road.

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Little Lance
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Ride like your life is ending.
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Agreed. I did an enitre year of training (and a few races) on Gatorskins (wire bead of course) which came on a bike. In that year (averaged out at about 300km per week) I had not one single flat tyre until the tread wore down to the canvas. Of course a lot of that is probably just good luck but for the money nothing I have ridden has felt as good and been as dependable.
I reminisce on those tyres often and may buy another set soon.

I've been using one kind of tire since I've had a road bike (I'm at my 3rd set): Specialized All Condition. About 35$ CAD. They corner really well in the rain. If you don't plan on rolling in the rain, then slick tires would be better.

My Specialized seem to be getting less flats than other tires my fellow bikers ride on. I got my fair share of flats at the beginning of the season, to realize later that my tires were worn out and needed to be changed. My new set has not gotten a flat in 1000 km so far.

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Ride First, Work Later

I feel like you're overcompensating a little from your flat experience (2 in 3 miles is a HUGE pain). But including the extra strip of tire in the front and the slime strip in the back seems like overkill. Although, you've already purchased the stuff and made the changes...for next time, I would just go with one of the previously reccomended tires and simply pack a better repair kit in a zip lock in your bag. It takes little room (extra tube, patch kit, levers, pump or C02) and if you invest in a saddle bag you can just keep it there. That way, your ride quality isn't sacrificed (you also don't risk pinch flats with the lower pressure in the front...although front pinches are rare) and your bike is lighter (although weight is usually a non issue on a entry level road bike).

Yeah, you definitely need to have a repair kit with you. I use wedge bag that fits under the seat. It has enough room for a multitool, tire levers, small pair of vise grips, spare tube, patch kit, CO2 inflator, cell phone, keys, comb, and wallet. It is also expandable if I want to pack something to eat. Some folks have asked why I carry a spare tube and a patch kit. Sometimes I just don't feel like patching the old tube. Also, being over prepared is the most surefire way to ensure that I don't ever get a flat.

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One life, one chance. Don't waste it!