Commuting - trek 1000 possible commuter

Well... i'm starting to think about my first road/commuter bike. Right now i'm leaning towards the Trek 1000. It seems like a good choice. $550 at a local dealership, and I should be able to take a test ride in a little while as soon as some roads clear up a little. Any opinions on this bike? Can it handle panniers? I'm a big guy- 6'3.

Being a big guy shouldn't worry the bike too much. However, on the panniers aspect, make sure the frame allows you to mount a rack. A frame mounted rack will last a lot longer than a seatpost rack and has the advantage of not breaking your seatpost.

You may be kinda tough on the wheels, but there is no helping that. Just watch that they don't go out of true.

Of course, I'm a big fella myself and just broke a wheel on my Trek 520, so I'm a bit paranoid in that area. Any bike is potential commuter.

You may want to look at entry level 'cross bikes if they fit your budget. They tend to be rugged, but with cheaper components (since crossers tend to have to replace things a lot) so they can be easy on the budget.

You may have heel-clearance issues with this bike's short chainstays and panniers, assuming it even has rack mounts. And without fail if you buy this bike you'll want to ascertain that the shop has a competent wheelbuilder who will properly tension and stress-relieve the spokes of these machine-built wheels. Otherwise, I can promise you'll have never-ending wheel problems.

Personally, I wouldn't want a bike like this as an all-season commuter; I'd want sturdier wheels that can take wider tires; I'd want clearance and mounts for fenders.

The suggestion of looking at a cyclocross bike is a good one -- something like a Surly Crosscheck, a Jamis Nova, a Trek XO1. Or a touring bike: Trek 520, Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee. There are lots of others.

The 1000 is an OK entry-level road bike, but I think it's overpriced and has little to offer aside from the brand name over other entry-level road bikes with Far East-made frames that cost less. Look at Jamis, Fuji, or Giant for examples of competing models.

RichC

I have had a Trek 1100 for well over 10 years, and it looks and rides like new. I would recommend the 1000

What kind of tyres do you want to run, do you need to use fenders?
An all-weather commuter bike should probably be running 28mm rubber with fenders, and this may be a tight fit in the Trek 1000.
A cyclo-cross style bike or a light touring bike like the Jamis Aurora ( which uses caliper brakes with a longer drop) should give more clearance.
A big guy should really be using 36 spoke wheels, at least on the rear, for commuting use. You can use well built 32 spoke ones, but 36 are easier to keep going should a spoke break.
If you do get a CX bike, you can swap the knobbly off-road tyres for tough touring one like Specialized Armadillos.

Well... I already have a bike for the Minnesota winter, but these seem to be good suggestions. How much do those bikes cost? I don't want to spend too much on a new ride incase I eventually start to dislike roadbiking. Also I think I worded "big guy" wrong. I'm more tall than I am big.

i have a trek 1000, and yes there are mounts for a rear rack on it.

I haven't put a rack on it yet, so I don't know about heel clearance with panniers.

I run it with 700x25 tires, and it looks like it could easily handle 700x28s.

The wheels have 32, 15-gauge spokes on Alex AT450(?) rims. I only ride the 1000 on weekends and commute on an MTB with 1.5" tires.

I wanted to follow-up on some comments I made earlier.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by bradw
i have a trek 1000, and yes there are mounts for a rear rack on it.

Yes, but using them is another thing. My Trek came with a plastic zip tie running through one of the eyelets on the rear dropout. It's purpose seemd to be to hold the derailleur cable in place, which held the derailleur at the right position over the cogs.
Also, the rear brake calipers and cable block access to one of the eyelets at the top of the seat stay.

I know because I tried to attach a standard Blackburn rack to my 1000. I took the bike and rack back to the shop. They removed the zip tie and fixed the derailleur. They then tried to attach the rack I purchased, and found they couldn't. So they switched to another Blackburn that allowed a single strut from the rack to be attached to the rear brake bridge instead of the eyelets on the top of the seat stays.

BTW, the guys at the bike shop I go to (South Side Cyclery, in St. Louis, MO) are great to deal with. No arguments about exchanging items, correcting problems with a new bike, etc.

I haven't put a rack on it yet, so I don't know about heel clearance with panniers.

I'm only using small panniers ( small day-trip panniers) but there's enough clearance for them.


I run it with 700x25 tires, and it looks like it could easily handle 700x28s.

After removing and re-installing the wheels with fully inflated tires (700x25s) several times, I'd think it might be hard to squeeze an inflated 700x28 through the open brakes.

Probably not a bad bike, but go ahead and spend what you need to on a touring bike.

I have last year's model of the 1000. It has a Chro-Moly fork. The 2003 model has an aluminum fork, which might be a much rougher ride. I've been riding my old Trek 420 steel bike with down tube shifters to work, and just got a suspension seat post to put on the alumi-numb 1000 for quick STI down shifting at traffic lights. If the roads in your area are a bit rough, you might consider a steel frame. The large tubes on my 1000 let my rear end know of ANYTHING I went over with my tires, no matter how small. I love the Campy type Sora thumb shifter on the 1000 when I'm wearing thick gloves on cold mornings. I also noticed my rack wouldn't fit on my 1000, so was thinking about one that clamps on the seat post.

I have had a Trek 1000 for about 10 months now, I didn't have panniers but I am enjoying it as a bike. I commuted (again without panniers) 30km each way 3 days a week last summer and I have no complaints.

Put the suspension seatpost on the Trek 1000 this afternoon. When I took it out for a test ride, it felt a very nice going over the type of bumps I hit on my commute. Now I have STI shifting for quick gear changes in traffic. I had to work very hard to get the Specialized Armadillos to mount properly on the 1000's wheels, but I finally got it. Had trouble with the beads. Now I'm thinking of a taller stem for a more touring position. I think my 1000 will be great for commuting.

:Now I'm thinking of a taller stem for a more touring position

I wanted the same thing and found that you can just flip the stem over and it will raise the handlebars quite a bit.

For the price of the 1000 you can have a very good hybrid made by trek, like my 7100 I love this bike for a commuter and am starting to do longer distance rides as well. it is a basic hybrid no fork shocks or anything uses 700x38c tires has eyelets for a rack (1 set). with the correct bolts you can get fenders and a rack on the back. The bike is a bit heavy, but it is stronger i think for say going off the occasional curb.

I have a Trek 1000 that I've been using for 2 yrs for commuting. No problems with the rear rack. I change the seat post to carbon and that seems to smooth out the bumps. Tha sora shifters on the 2004 aren't the greastest, but for the price and the fact that I"m not a racer they're more than adequate. I really just want to keep in shape. Do not use this bike for long distance touring as it is not built for this purpose.

cptips.com (www.cptips.com)

please post with how it works - i ride a hybrid but am looking to get a Trek 1200 for commuting. would do a 1500 but they can't put rack on it, and 1200 seems to fit all my needs, i've gone for a few test rides and am getting used to the road bike style.