Mountain Biking - Great deal on carbon bike!

As you are all aware i am looking for a new bike, i came across this bike for an insane price.

Its an 02 Trek STP400
Heres the specs.

Frame - OCLV Carbon softail
Shock - RS Race SID
Fork - RS Race SID
Wheelset - Bontrager racelite tubeless
Tyres - Bontrager revolt super-x
Saddle/Seatpost/handlebar/stem - Bontrager racelite
Headset - Cane creek
Front derailer - Shimano XTR
Rear derailer - Shimano XTR SGS
Shifters - Shimano XTR
Brakes - AVID SD/XTR levers.

The big exciting fact is, i can get this for five hundred pounds off the retail price, making it well within my range.

Should i snap this up, its a last minunte deal, and i have the money.
Are there any downfalls to Carbon fibre i should know about? I read that it can erode easily with chain grease :eek: is this true, please tell me all you know about this bike and its components, i have read all of the info available online, and it looks like the perfect peice.

Thanks very much, and i hope you can help me with this.

Also - The retailer is situated throughout the UK, so delivery is not a problem.

carbon fibre resin's, chain grease and sunlight don't go together very well.
Also CF does not handle lifes little knocks very well. One crash and it could be the end of your bike.
Perhaps I'm just pesimistic but I think CF for MTB's is a silly idea. Great for racers who get a new bike every now and then but I would'nt hand over money to have one.

Apologies if this is not the news you wanted to hear.

I'm with TimB...and really have nothing more to add except I think they are alos limited to very light riders too. :)

Not all CF bikes are alike. I ride a CF full-suspension bike that's set up for XC/trail-riding. I've taken hard crashes without structural failures. I remember one story of someone who has the same frame as mine who had his bike up on a fork-mounting roof rack while clipping a low-hanging branch at 45MPH. The impact ripped the roof rack off the roof (with bike still attached) peeling the top of the car open like a sardine can. The bike went crashing down onto the roadway and tumbled a few times. There was damage to the brake levers and everything got all pushed out of whack but the fork, swingarm and frame which were all CF survived fine. The owner said he cleaned and inspected every square inch of the bike and found no cracks or nicks.

Wow thats weird, there is a neat little graph Trek showed alongside this bike, showed how the CF used in their bikes are stronger and more rigid than Aluminiuim or steel.

What kind of maintenence will i expect to do if i buy this bike? Wash it regularly?

I think im steering toward this, the forks, and drivechain alone are worthy within my budget, so an aftermarket frame is no problem somewhere down the line. (Kinesis maxlight)

Keep the thoughts rolling in :beer:

My opinion is that carbon will work very well for you - even in a mountain bike. Moreover, Trek certainly knows carbon frames very well.

I'd be more worried about the soft-tail configuration. Soft-tails have gone out of favor rather quickly, as FS bikes with much more travel seem to have gotten much better in terms of bob.

The bike is spec'd VERY well, and I'm sure it's light. If a soft-tail is what you're looking for, this may be the bike for you!

Good luck! :)

I pondered over Full suspension, but after my own, i doubt it they are just too heavy.

The rear shock is adjustable, and i weigh around 160lbs, so i doubt i'd have much trouble with bob. Im pretty much after a bike that can do everything, and its good i stumbled over this when i did.

The problem with Cf is not it's tensile strength. It the strength once it cracks or incurs surface blemishes.
Many other bike company's know Cf very well but few have gone into production with a CF bike.
Asl ong as the bike takes it's knocks in the direction the designer intended everythng should be fine. It's the kknocks the designer has not thought about that bothers me.
Also the STP400 is a XC race bike. It's intended purpose it not trail riding. will you be doing little drops and the like?

Originally posted by Dazza

What kind of maintenence will i expect to do if i buy this bike? Wash it regularly?


Yes, with CF, you must be religious about washing and inspecting the frame. You will also want to use a Lizard Skin or something similar to protect the left chainstay from rub.

CF is a great material but highly unsuitable for mountain bikes. One little scratch on the frame means air into the carbon weave which means total failure sooner than later. Also ...no sunlite or chemicals... it sounds like sh1t to me to have a frame which is fragile as glass... As for the crash story....luck...i wish i had such luck!!!

You will also want to use a Lizard Skin or something similar to protect the left chainstay from rub.

Sorry forgot to mention, i will be using Lizard skins from the very beginning


will you be doing little drops and the like?

More than likely.

Originally posted by math2p14
CF is a great material but highly unsuitable for mountain bikes. One little scratch on the frame means air into the carbon weave which means total failure sooner than later. Also ...no sunlite or chemicals... it sounds like sh1t to me to have a frame which is fragile as glass... As for the crash story....luck...i wish i had such luck!!!

Once again, there are different types of ways to produce a CF frame. An OCLV frame is quite different than say the thermoplastic of my main triangle which is also different than the thermoset used for my fork legs. You cannot judge one CF bike against another or against any other material without knowing the manufacturing process of that particular frame.

Wow, a lot of carbon BS here from people that don't have much experience with it IMO. I had a Trek 9.8 and beat the snot out of it for over 3 years until I sold it for a FS Sugar. It can take a lot of abuse. This is normal singletrack, granted not going off drops of any major size. This would not be the bike for that of course. Two of my friends have the Trek STP400 and have had them for at least 2 years with no problems either. One of them races. He just got a Trek Fuel 100 to add to his stable and so far that seems like a great bike too.

I miss my Trek 9.8 hardtail. It took the usual knicks and scratches assiciated with rock chips and trails and never had a problem. I have actually seen more aluminum frame damage, but there are also more aluminum frames out there.

I would be more leary of the fact that softtails are kind of out lately and FS is the trend. They should give you a great deal being that it is a 2002 and a design that is not Trek's focus on state of the art mountain biking technology like the Fuel is.

I honestly think this bike is for me!

With the components it comes with, and the weight alone, its well worth the money, and if anything happens to it within the warrenty, im sure it can be replaced, or i can always buy another frame. (I like the look of the Kinesis Maxlight, weighs about 3.5lbs, its Aluminuim and is really cheap, gets rave reviews on bikemagic too)

I suppose im still a bit scetchy on the carnon fibre aspect, but given its price (£800) ill overlook it :D

How much is the price that you ll pay dazza?

Originally posted by Dazza
I honestly think this bike is for me!

Then go ahead and pull the trigger, and post some pix soon!!! :beer:

How much is the price that you ll pay dazza?

Ill tell you as long as you don't buy it!

No its £800~$1250

Sweet ride for the price.

Ill hopefully have pics end of month!

Aluminum and other metals are just as vulnerable in terms of hard knocks on the trail. I've seen tons of frame with dings and even holes in the frame from rocks and hard hits.. its pretty easy to dent aluminum. I say go for it.. sounds like a sweet deal to me.

Thanks all for the help!

I think this bike is mine!:D