Fifty Plus (50+) - Trek 1000 question

I'm looking at a Trek 1000 on CL listed for $400. I've been searching for a bike and think I want something more upright as I'm not sure my arms and shoulders will take the roadie posture. The bike is my size, however, and I'm having trouble finding something large (58 cm) and I'm thinking of trying it. My question is if I find the posture too aggressive what would it cost to make the riding a little more upright? Would simply a longer stem help much? I'm 6'2", 230 lb. I'm kind of a noob right now but I'm thinking down the road I'm going to want a comfort bike for riding with the wife and a road bike for organized rides.

I'm looking at a Trek 1000 on CL listed for $400. I've been searching for a bike and think I want something more upright as I'm not sure my arms and shoulders will take the roadie posture. The bike is my size, however, and I'm having trouble finding something large (58 cm) and I'm thinking of trying it. My question is if I find the posture too aggressive what would it cost to make the riding a little more upright? Would simply a longer stem help much? I'm 6'2", 230 lb. I'm kind of a noob right now but I'm thinking down the road I'm going to want a comfort bike for riding with the wife and a road bike for organized rides.

Part of your answer depends on the year of the Trek 1000. As early as 2000, the Trek 1000 had a 1" steerer tube on the fork and a "quill" type stem. I don't know what year the changeover occured, but later models have a carbon fork and a 1 1/8 steerer tube. These later models will be much easier to change the stem on than the earlier. You could use an adjustable stem to bring the handlebars up closer to the height of the saddle.

Part of your answer depends on the year of the Trek 1000. As early as 2000, the Trek 1000 had a 1" steerer tube on the fork and a "quill" type stem.

True. I own just such a beast--the 2000 model year, in a 58cm, coincidentally.

But assuming the one you're looking at is newer, swapping the stem is your only choice. They can be cheap or dearly expensive depending on your taste. Instead of longer, you'll probably want shorter with a higher rise--something that puts the bars closer and higher. Seven degrees is typical, 17° ones are also common.

On the other hand, you may find the aggressive position of the 1000 to be kinda fun. I like mine a lot. It's a blast to sprint around town on. But for rides over 50 miles or so, I need to be on my other bike.

True. I own just such a beast--the 2000 model year, in a 58cm, coincidentally.

But assuming the one you're looking at is newer, swapping the stem is your only choice. They can be cheap or dearly expensive depending on your taste. Instead of longer, you'll probably want shorter with a higher rise--something that puts the bars closer and higher. Seven degrees is typical, 17° ones are also common.

On the other hand, you may find the aggressive position of the 1000 to be kinda fun. I like mine a lot. It's a blast to sprint around town on. But for rides over 50 miles or so, I need to be on my other bike.

It's a 2006 model with the 17 deg stem.

Is the stem up or down (they usually are down)? You can gain a lot by flipping it to the up position. Thats what I did with mine.

But if you want an upright, flat bar bike, you should just get one. Flat bar/upright bikes are usually significantly cheaper than road/drop bar bikes. And if you are looking for a bike to just ride around the neighborhood, then an older rigid frame mountain bike is a good option. Nice ones can be had for about $100, which is much less than the cost of converting a drop bar bike to flat bars.

By the way, I have a 2005 Trek 1000, along with a 1992 Trek 950 (old rigid mountain bike), and several other bikes as well.

I would consider the Trek 1000 to be a good, entry level, brifter bike. Many people think they want a flat bar bike, but once they start riding regularly, quickly want a drop bar bike.

You may want to hold out for a larger bike so it will be easier to get the bars up higher. Have you tried a 60cm bike?

[QUOTE=BluesDawg;8463944]You may want to hold out for a larger bike so it will be easier to get the bars up higher. Have you tried a 60cm bike?[/QUOTE

+1

I'm a bit taller than the OP (by one-half inch), and I wouldn't own a 58cm. I could ride one for a day, but it would be too small for me to grow attached to.

I am also the World's Least Flexible Person, so I have to be careful, but still a 58cm seems a bit small.

I had a 2005 Trek 1000 and raised the bar 3 inches with a stem extension. I did run into a problem with the cables being too short to fully raise the bar...particularly the front brake. However I eventually went with a flat bar.

but still a 58cm seems a bit small.

Agreed.

But I can relate to the OP's frustration regarding the difficulty in finding larger-sized bikes used. It all depends on the local market, of course, but around here on CL, if I see anything 58 or larger, it's a red-letter day. 52, 54, 56 are a dime a dozen. Anything larger is like hen's teeth.

And now it makes sense that he's considering a longer stem. A setback seatpost could help too.

I had a 2005 Trek 1000 and raised the bar 3 inches with a stem extension. I did run into a problem with the cables being too short to fully raise the bar...particularly the front brake.

Easily fixed by replacing with longer cables and housing.

It has also been my observation that Trek 1000's are small for their stated size. Ie: if you would normally ride a 58 then you would feel normal on a 60. This observation is based on 1000's from 2005 or earlier. It may still be the same, but I have no knowledge of that.

I think the OP would find the 58 too small. I am also 6'2" tall and weigh 235 pounds. All the 58 CM bikes I have tried have been too small. The 60 CM is a good fit.
An odd one is my Surly LHT. At 58 CM it is a very good fit. Just a different build.
I tried changing out the stem (twice) on a 58 CM road bike to get a better fit. I never got comfortable with the changes. The bike was just too small. I tried riding my brother's 58 CM Trek 5000 with the same results.
Possibly the OP should at least test ride a 60 CM road bike before making a purchase?

At the four to five hundred dollar mark you're starting to get into the lower end comfort bike range. These are decent bikes like the Trek 7200. They're new and can be bought in the right size. Nothing against the Trek 1000, just that you can go and test ride all the comfort/hybrid bikes in your price range and get a better idea of what you want.

My son and I each have a Trek 1.2 (a descendant of the 1000). He's 6'2" and 180lbs. and he rides a 61. I'm 6'3" and 230 and ride a 62 both of which fit very well. I just built up an 08 Madone 6.5 which is a 62 and it also fits well. I agree with BikeArkansas that the 58 seems small. However it might be approprate for dveenhuis to go to a good LBS and be properly fitted. Even if the 58 is the right overall size then the variables such as post offset, stem length and angle, etc. can be determined without a lot of trouble - such as buying parts that don't fit.

To the OP, raising the bars is no big deal. Any good bike mechanic can help you achieve this goal. Here is a 2006 Giant OCR-C. Notice the stem. It is an adjustable Ritchey stem that is raised to the max. It lifted the bars about 3 to 4 inches. This is an example of a raising the bars on a newer bike with threadless steertube.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/roccobike_2008/GiantOCR.jpg
Here is another bike I ride. A 1993 Bianchi. It has the older style 1 inch, threaded head mentioned before. I've inserted a converter that allow threadless stems to be attached to a threaded head. The entire conversion costs about $45, is easy to install and raises the bars about 3 inches.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/roccobike_2008/BianchiCampione004.jpg
There are other options not shown here such as installing a hybrid adjustable stem or Techmatic stem designed to lift the bars about 4 inches. So to answer your question, yes you can lift the bars to relax some of the road bikes aggressive geometry.

I'm looking at a Trek 1000 on CL listed for $400. I've been searching for a bike and think I want something more upright as I'm not sure my arms and shoulders will take the roadie posture. The bike is my size, however, and I'm having trouble finding something large (58 cm) and I'm thinking of trying it. My question is if I find the posture too aggressive what would it cost to make the riding a little more upright? Would simply a longer stem help much? I'm 6'2", 230 lb. I'm kind of a noob right now but I'm thinking down the road I'm going to want a comfort bike for riding with the wife and a road bike for organized rides.

Go to a shop to at least check out what is comfortable for you, both in size and style. Mabe you really to be looking for a hybrid instead. Just because a bike is your size doesn't mean it is the one you want.

I've heard that it's easier to make a slightly small frame fit than the reverse. The 58 might work for you, though it does sound like it might be a bit small.

You mention that your arms and shoulders might not be able to take the roadie posture. I felt the same way when I switched from my hybrid to my road bike. I'm actually quite comfortable on my road bike, but it is different. Could be a problem, though, if there are physical limitations you're dealing with.

BTW, I will say that my properly-fitted road bike is generally more comfortable than my too-small hybrid. I was constantly dealing with wrist pain and hand numbness. Also, the upright position put a lot of weight on my sit-bones. Both problems were instantly resolved with the road bike, but could have been due to a poor fit on the hybrid.

Good luck!

For years I suffered with whatever stems came on my bikes. Then I did some self-education via the internet, and now I'm much happier. I had a quill stem on my old touring bike that had me leaning over too much, and I ended up with numbness in my left hand that didn't go away for almost a month after the tour was over. Then I found Nitto Technomic stems and cured that problem. With my LHT I bought the wrong stem first - it was too long and didn't rise enough. I found a second one that brought my bars up a couple of inches and back towards me. I took a 2-week tour on that and was comfortable the whole time. On my new "fast" bike (a Specialized Allez) I found a different stem that was similar to the one on my LHT but could accomodate oversize bars. Now it fits great.

Do some research. The threadless stems I found were all reasonable. Even when it took a couple of tries to find the stem that was right, it was worth it.