Road Cycling - Trek 1000 - a good starting bike?

I have been riding a MTB for few years now and decided to buy a road bike. My finances are very short, as I can't afford more than ~1500 Eur.
Out of what I have seen, the Trek 1000 shows the best riding abilities, and the price is nice, too.
And, another thing, I ride for app. 3,5 months a years, because I don't have the bike in the place of my study, and I ride at weekends and in the summertime. Therefore I do't feel like giving 2000 Eur and it will stand for 8 months in the garage.
What do you think?

The trek 1000 is a great first rode bike. I bought one when I started riding again after a 6 year lay-off. I will warn you, after 3 months of serious riding on the 1000 you will start looking for an upgrade. One year after I bought the 1000, I stepped up to the Trek 2300.

I'll assume the European version is the same as the US.

The Trek 1000 is very popular, probably because it's Trek's cheapest road bike and because it now comes in USPS colors. It's a perfectly adequate bike that will give you many thousands of kilometers of great riding. There's absolutely nothingt bad about it.

It does have limitations, however, that you should at least be aware of. Together, they add up to a bike that should be considered a decent starter road bike but not one that is really worth planning to upgrade.

The frame is a pretty generic Taiwanese aluminum road frame. Nothing particularly "Trek" about it, other than the decals. OK ride, OK weight, nothing special.

The groupset is Shimano Sora, an 8-speed group that performs well. But the 8-speed Sora levers are differently designed from the rest of Shimano's road levers; shifting from the drops is difficult (only a problem for racers, really), and they limit the entire drivetrain to 8-speed. Expensive to upgrade, and probably not worth doing. Some of the parts (the cranks and cassette) are from SunRace, which is sort of a budget brand.

Most of the build kit are house-brand Trek parts, or no-name generic parts. The wheels, like most machine-built wheels, will probably be OK if an experienced wheelbuilder goes over them and stress-relieves, trues, and re-tensions them prior to riding.

I'm not really familiar with what's available to European cyclists in this price range. A bike spec'd with Shimano Tiagra instead of Sora is likely to be superior in other ways as well, and likely be a better candidate for future upgrades. And a steel frame with a cro-moly fork is IMO more likely to be a more comfortable ride than an aluminum frame with an aluminum fork in an inexpensive bike. (Better aluminum frames can be superior in many ways; cheap aluminum frames often aren't, IMO.)

In the US I'd be looking real hard at the Jamis Ventura is I was considering a Trek 1000. The extra $150US (roughly) buys an awful lot.

Keep an open mind and test ride as many bikes as you can. Because even more important than parts and specs is fit and comfort. No bike is a bargain if it's painful to ride.

RichC

For the cost of a Trek 1000, you can get a decent used bike (with better components) on Ebay.

I don't trust Ebay, since the sum of money it not small.
Futhermore, some people have already had trouble with payment.
And nevertheless, I still have to make a few exams in a month and a half..

About a week ago I was in the same position as you. I bought my first road bike... the Jamis Aurora. Very smooth ride. Not sure if it's a good first bike or not, since I just started riding on the road seriously. I love the bike, though :)

I'm still trying to get a bike for the summer

I want to do some serious road biking..but I don't have the cash for a good bike. Need about another $400-$1000 CDN for a Giant OCR1 :(

Guess I gotta get a job asap or something...damn damn damn

Originally posted by Tomi
I don't trust Ebay, since the sum of money it not small.
Futhermore, some people have already had trouble with payment.
And nevertheless, I still have to make a few exams in a month and a half..

Tomi, try escrow.com. It benefits both the buyer and seller. As the buyer, your payment goes to escrow.com. They hold your payment until you receive and accept your purchase. As the seller, escrow.com receives and verifies payment before you ship the goods.

:beer:

I bought a Trek 1000 about 1.5 months ago and am really happy with it. It does seem to be a good first road bike.

Now all I have to do is get used to the drops....

is the jamis aurora a good bike?

I want to do some serious road biking..but I don't have the cash for a good bike. Need about another $400-$1000 CDN for a Giant OCR1 :(


I just bought an OCR 1 last month. It is one sweet bike, especially with the mostly Ultegra drivetrain. I also like the carbon-composite fork and seatpost. The wheels are made by Giant and seem to be better than what you would expect for the price of the bike: lightweight and true from the factory. The sparse spoke pattern may present a problem for heavier riders.

Just keep saving the bucks. Pretty soon, you'll have a big smile on your face as well.

A Trek 1000 is a 500 dollar bike. for 1500 euros you could buy 3 and have money left for good shoes and a helmet. Unless i missed something.

Paul

I've been riding a Trek 1000 for about 8 months now and it's definitely a fine bike (no complaints from me), but it is true that you will be looking to upgrade once you start to get into the sport. I'd love to upgrade, but as an unemployed high school student, the money just isn't there :D The bike is really what you make it in my opinion. I could complain about the weight, shifting, etc. or I could go out and ride it for all it's worth and be happy.

I did about 25,000km on my Trek 1000, 1999 yellow one I believe. I even rode it across Australia last year. I had rebuilt the back wheel and changed chain and cluster a few times, nothing you wouldn't expect from such a long life. It was a great way to get into roadbiking.

Recently a 5200 has come to live at my place and the 1000 is now for my wife. I was glad that the 1000 got to stay as she served me really well.

A Trek 1000 is a 500 dollar bike. for 1500 euros you could buy 3 and have money left for good shoes and a helmet. Unless i missed something.

Paul

I was thinking the same thing...1500 euros is like $1800 US. I'd go ahead and buy a 1500 dollar bike and then get a really nice helmt, shoes, and pedals...

I was thinking the same thing...1500 euros is like $1800 US. I'd go ahead and buy a 1500 dollar bike and then get a really nice helmt, shoes, and pedals...


Note the date of the first post in this thread: May 20, 2002.

That's a long time ago.

I don't trust Ebay, since the sum of money it not small.
Futhermore, some people have already had trouble with payment.
And nevertheless, I still have to make a few exams in a month and a half..
I have bought FOUR bikes from ebay, and none, zero,nil, nada have had any problems. In fact two of the bikes are in PERFECT (NEW) condition and I got both bikes for 1/3 of the retail value each.
Now to your question, Tho its a Trek and not a BIANCHI, from what i have heard the 1000 is a good starter bike, but as one of your replyers stated "upgrades will be a problem or not worth it" The shimano sora is a fair groupo, but as the replyer said the shifters are not the best. You will eventually want to upgrade if you are a serious cyclist, so spend a little money now and save some money now or pay more later. If you are going to ride sti spend a few extra $$$ bucks now and get a bike with the good sti and a better groupo like shimano 105. Good Luck

My starting bike is giant wind mark-2.For the biker of developing country,it is very good. Trek is best,trek5500 It is my dreaming-bike