ankush

hi

i just bought the trek 6500 and i thought i would leave a little note on how i feel about the bike, just so people in the bike market right now can have a little idea.

i think mine is the 2006 model because the trek website shows lower specs on the 6500 and im thinking maybe they still have the 2005 stuff on. i dont know. the specs i had were :

aluminium SLR frame
9 speed drivetrain
XT rear derailliuer
Deore Front
Deore shifters
Tektro V brake
manitou axel elite 80 fork
bontrager camino rims
bontrager acx jones 2.2" tyres
shimano crankset
wellgo alloy platform pedals (phrrak, very heavy and feel like crud)
bontrager select stem, seatpost and saddle too i think
shimano hubs
etc etc, if anybody wants to know a specification not mentioned let me know, ill check

i paid for this bike the thai baht equivalent of 520 US dollars.

first of all, this bike is purely crosscountry. one hundred percent. that disappointed me a little bit (once i realised that after riding it for a few hours) because i just saw these biking videos online and the 'cow trail' that is right next to my house is not all that chicken**** like i was thinking it is earlier. its pretty nice. its short though, perhaps 2-3 kilometer so you have to do it over and over but compared to all those extreme videos i saw, its not right up there in difficulty but i think its pretty alright. it has short but v steep descents and ascents and this one steep ascent that i need to step off my bike and wheel it up cuz the soil is all eroded there and it has deep ravine like thingies so my damn wheel gets stuck every time so i need to stop and its not possible to start pedalling in the middle there because its really steep. its navigable when im going down it tho.

anyway. this bike is light and fast. i dont know. i have not had any other bike before except the trek 3900. so thats all i have to compare this to. so keep that in mind i guess. but i think this bike is pretty fast. it is very very nimble. which is what makes it slight tricky on the more, for me anyway, 'technical?' stuff. i would prefer something a little beefier on those descents. i saw these norco company bikes online and wow those seem beautiful. the bikeshop i went to had nothing else but trek and some GT and a gary fisher. also some giant stuff. i chose the trek because it was the best deal i was getting for my money. and tho i am a little disappointed with its pure crosscountry like feel i am also very happy with the way it shoots off when im on normal dirt trails. i also need to ride my bike on the paved road a lot, either the fifteen kilometers to the market everyday or some evenings when my wife and i go out for a ride. and i dont mind pounding the 2.2" tyres on the road. it doesnt feel tough to pedal, its fast.

basically the bike i feel is very good. its my first 'real' bike and im happy with it. im a little anxious as far as outside validation is concerned because nobody seems to like trek so much. and also im a little disappointed because this bike is too nimble for rough descents. sometimes it feels like its going out of my hand. maybe thats just my poor riding skills though. i have no clue. i am sure it is. but i would have liked something that felt to me more able to do some technical stuff but maybe a change in fork would make this bike alright for stuff like that too. you think? ah, maybe the bike is not too nimble for descents but too nimble for my skills or the descents in question are too rough for my skills. i hope so. because skills change.

that manitou fork is lousy. it is really soft. (i weigh 75 kilos). i was wondering if it were possible to change the oil in the fork? like put in a thicker oil, would that make this a little stiffer you think? it has a lockout feature that i use sometimes when im on the road but well the fork sinks a little even then if i brake hard.

all in all it is a nice bike. if you like to simply go crosscountry and have a low budget i think this is a really beautiful deal. you can change that fork later if you want, who cares. the frame is good. i think its better to buy something with ****ty components and a decent frame. and i think this frame is more than decent. its really nice. all i have to do with this bike i think is put in a beefier fork and put in disc brakes at some point and i think it would steer well on the descents too. and well it has an xt rear, dont forget that. it shifts real nice. the front deore sticks sometimes tho.

change those pedals if you buy this one. i need to. but im all broke now. i would prefer platforms to those clipless ones but these platforms suck.

some people might question the saddle but come on, it is attested by history that caucasians have sensitive buttocks. so dont fault the bike.

oh by the way, the bottom bracket creaks. and the bike does not have much clearance, for me anyway. too bad!

does anybody else here have this bike? it would be nice to hear some stuff about it or to get some tips on how to handle it better during those times when it feels too nimble for my hairy bum. thanks.