Treks worth the hype?

[wdl386]

Now I dont intend to offend anyone by the title. I have talked to a few friends around my town who ride, but just not that much. They all talk about Trek Bikes. I then went to my local bike shop and he just showed me Trek bikes. I am looking for a road bike and anticipate spending no more than $1800 on the bike and accessories in March. What other brands should I be looking at? I am not against a Trek Bike and they seem nice, but are they the best buy? Or do they just market very well and charge a premium for it?

 

[rparedes]

Now I dont intend to offend anyone by the title. I have talked to a few friends around my town who ride, but just not that much. They all talk about Trek Bikes. I then went to my local bike shop and he just showed me Trek bikes. I am looking for a road bike and anticipate spending no more than $1800 on the bike and accessories in March. What other brands should I be looking at? I am not against a Trek Bike and they seem nice, but are they the best buy? Or do they just market very well and charge a premium for it?

Cannondale, Giant, Specialized, Fuji, Schwinn... many others. These days there are A LOT of good bikes out there. I would not shy away from some store brands like Scattante (Performance Bikes) or Novara (REI). IMHO Giant gives the highest value for the buck (frame, components and wheels) but I'm sure others would disagree...
Above all, make sure the bike fits

 

[oldbobcat]

IMHO Giant gives the highest value for the buck (frame, components and wheels) but I'm sure others would disagree...
Above all, make sure the bike fits

You're wrong, Felt does. Just had to get that point of disagreement in.

Just kidding. Felt and Giant both offer excellent bang at nice price points.

 

[GT Fanatic]

Now I dont intend to offend anyone by the title. I have talked to a few friends around my town who ride, but just not that much. They all talk about Trek Bikes. I then went to my local bike shop and he just showed me Trek bikes. I am looking for a road bike and anticipate spending no more than $1800 on the bike and accessories in March. What other brands should I be looking at? I am not against a Trek Bike and they seem nice, but are they the best buy? Or do they just market very well and charge a premium for it?

You can get a very good bike for well under $1800.

Giant Defy 1
Cannondale Caad9 5 (great racer but not the best for comfort)
Cannondale Synapse
Fuji ACR 2.0
Schwinn Paramount Series 7 (full carbon)
GT GTR Series 2

Also check out Kona and Jamis bikes. They're pretty good. As for bike shops, it wouldn't hurt to check out Performance Bicycle. They're a larger chain and they always have great sales going on.

Last month I bought a 2010 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 for $1199 from Performance Bicycle. The retail price was $1999. It was on sale for $1499 and I had called the store about honoring a $200 "online only" discount, and they did. The bike is full-carbon with Shimano 105 componentry. It's a great bike for the price.

 

[Bastiani]

I tend to like the dynamics of the specialized bikes the best. i tried a Trek once, and had a Jamis... by far the specialized is better bike IMO.

You can pick up a specialized Tarmac Elite, or Specialized Roubaix elite, for under 1,500, with 105 all around, and full carbon frame. For that same price Felt, still offered Tiagra in there components.

 

[TKOS]

Most bikes in that price range are pretty similar and probably all made in the same factory. I loved my Trek 1200 and rode it faithfully for years. Now I have a Devinci full Carbon which is also great.

If you want to buy from a local shop then pick your price (which you have) and shop a few shops (if there are a few shops) and see which bike fits you best and gives you the most bang for your buck.

If possible check to see if you can get a hold of a year old model. Way better deal that way. I bought the 2009 model this year and it was $500 less for essentially the same bike (and a better colour choice).

If you are racing try to aim for at least 105 or equivalent (SRAM Force I think). That allows easy future upgrades. My Trek 1200 was more of a Sunday group ride bike and wasn't easy to upgrade past Tiagra without upgrading the whole thing at once.

 

[64Paramount]

Most bikes in that price range are pretty similar and probably all made in the same factory. I loved my Trek 1200 and rode it faithfully for years. Now I have a Devinci full Carbon which is also great.

If you want to buy from a local shop then pick your price (which you have) and shop a few shops (if there are a few shops) and see which bike fits you best and gives you the most bang for your buck.

If possible check to see if you can get a hold of a year old model. Way better deal that way. I bought the 2009 model this year and it was $500 less for essentially the same bike (and a better colour choice).

If you are racing try to aim for at least 105 or equivalent (SRAM Force I think). That allows easy future upgrades. My Trek 1200 was more of a Sunday group ride bike and wasn't easy to upgrade past Tiagra without upgrading the whole thing at once.

Yep, what he said.

Plus: Even if you don't plan to race, but do plan to ride the bike for several years, try to go 105 or better on the equipment group. It will be money well invested.

 

[jflongo]

Yep, what he said.

Plus: Even if you don't plan to race, but do plan to ride the bike for several years, try to go 105 or better on the equipment group. It will be money well invested.

To give you an example, I went to my LBS, and they have a 2009 Trek 1.5 Bike that was listed at $999, but they said they would knock 15% off it, and sell it for $850, which seems like a great deal.

So you can go to a few shops and see if they have some 2009 models they haven't sold yet.

 

[tafi]

Getting hung up on any brand is a bad idea. All opinions in this regard are just that, opinions, and none of them apply to you.
It is probably better to estabish a relationship with a good shop, where you can get the bike fitted to you; which you can feel comfortable going back to if there are problems; and where you will be respected.
On-line retailers are heavily touted by many, but there are no respectful electronic relationships, nor fittings, nor particularly easy after sales service.

The only advice I can offer you apart from the above is to esure your price expectations match your usage expectations. People generally want far more out of their bikes than they have the right to expect at that price level.

 

[solecyclist65]

Now I dont intend to offend anyone by the title. I have talked to a few friends around my town who ride, but just not that much. They all talk about Trek Bikes. I then went to my local bike shop and he just showed me Trek bikes. I am looking for a road bike and anticipate spending no more than $1800 on the bike and accessories in March. What other brands should I be looking at? I am not against a Trek Bike and they seem nice, but are they the best buy? Or do they just market very well and charge a premium for it?

hi there i bought a trek 4500 in australia and though i loved the bike i had to have the rear whel replaced as it kept breaking spokes but my trusty 30 year old raleigh just keeps goin with no probs

 

[TKOS]

hi there i bought a trek 4500 in australia and though i loved the bike i had to have the rear whel replaced as it kept breaking spokes but my trusty 30 year old raleigh just keeps goin with no probs

That sounds like you got a bad wheel, which your bike shop should have taken care of or made the manufacturer replace. I have had my bontrager wheels (Trek) for 7 years with only a few minor tweaks to the truing needed after loads of racing and century rides.

That being said, Trek makes as decent a bike as Giant and Specialized etc....

 

[JM01]

Originally Posted by GT Fanatic .

Quote:
Originally Posted by wdl386 . Now I dont intend to offend anyone by the title. I have talked to a few friends around my town who ride, but just not that much. They all talk about Trek Bikes. I then went to my local bike shop and he just showed me Trek bikes. I am looking for a road bike and anticipate spending no more than $1800 on the bike and accessories in March. What other brands should I be looking at? I am not against a Trek Bike and they seem nice, but are they the best buy? Or do they just market very well and charge a premium for it?
You can get a very good bike for well under $1800.

Giant Defy 1
Cannondale Caad9 5 (great racer but not the best for comfort)
Cannondale Synapse
Fuji ACR 2.0
Schwinn Paramount Series 7 (full carbon)
GT GTR Series 2

Also check out Kona and Jamis bikes. They're pretty good. As for bike shops, it wouldn't hurt to check out Performance Bicycle. They're a larger chain and they always have great sales going on.

Last month I bought a 2010 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 for $1199 from Performance Bicycle. The retail price was $1999. It was on sale for $1499 and I had called the store about honoring a $200 "online only" discount, and they did. The bike is full-carbon with Shimano 105 componentry. It's a great bike for the price.
 
Interesting...of the brands listed, 3 are Canadian...maybe 4 if Kona still counts.
 
Good for us...except that Cannondale, Schwinn, and GT are really the same company...

 

[alma89]

In my opinion a better option would be a Fin T1 or a Matthew James RS both are just as good and the same sort of performance and price. They are made in the UK although both are very hard to get hold of. I did see an idiot had put a 2009 Fin T1 on ebay last month for $1200 and is was snapped up in less than 5 minutes!! some one was laughing but not the seller!!

 

[kdelong]

You are picking one of the worst possible times of the year to purchase any bike, not just a Trek! March is when prices are highest in anticipation of summer. The best time of the year to purchase a bike is now. Most bikes shops will bend over backwards giving you deals to get a 2010 bike off the floor before tax season rolls around, and fewer bikes tend to be sold this time of year.

When spring rolls around, the taxes have been paid and a lot more people are in the shops looking for a new summer toy. If there is a certain bike that you want but it is just out of reach of your budget, forget about it because the shop won't do much dealing with you now. If you won't buy at the asking price, there is a good chance that someone else will come in soon who will buy it for that price.

My advice is if you have an older bike, ride it through the summer and then go to buy in the fall when the season is winding down. If you don't have a bike, buy a cheap used one on eBay, use it for the summer, and then buy new in the fall.

However, get a fitting done or use one of the free online fit calculators to make sure that you are getting the right size bike. You would be surprised what a difference 3 or 4 centimeters makes in ride comfort.