TREK 4300 vs 4500
 

I am about to buy a bike, I like the TREKs, which one would you rec. for a beginning rider....and why? I live in Dallas, TX, so there will not be anything too crazy going on, not a lot of mountains here, just some hills here and there...

I have a 4300 disk version and love it. I"ve upgraded the forks, tires, pedals and grips and soon the front brakes.

The 4500 has a few more bells and whistles too it than the 4300, so go with it if you have the money.

Actually neither have bells nor whistles. ;)

You will get better components on the 4500. To upgrade a 4300 to the level of components the 4500 has would cost much more than the current price difference between the two bikes. So if you intend to ride a lot, go ahead and get the 4500.

Or you can upgrade as the other poster and myself has done. I have over 12,000 miles on my two Trek 4300's and have only upgraded the crankset, shifters, derailleur, wheels, saddle. It really depends on your budget mainly.

For example, if you don't have enough money to buy the 4500 and upgrade the saddle, then stick with the 4300. That crappy, painful saddle will cause you FAR more problems than any of the components ever could. Get a Brooks with the saved money if you can.

The saddle was the single biggest and best upgrade that i made. If i had to try and ride all of those miles on the OEM saddle i probably would have long ago quit.

Also i might mention that both frames on those bikes are identical. Again, you are mainly paying for a slightly better set of wheels, fork, crankset, shifter, derailleur. The differences are pretty slight in most areas except for the fork. The 4500 has a considerably better fork if you plan to do any serious trail riding. Otherwise the fork on the 4300 is fine.

ACCESSORIES:

Factor in the fact that you will need to buy things like: helmet, tubes, tire levers, multitool, seatpack, jersey, shorts, shoes, pedals, rear racks, trunk bags, car racks, sunglasses, goo, pumps, etc. If you don't have the $$$ for accessories, dont buy the 4500. You will bet more bang for the buck with accessories than you will with the gains of going with the better components on the 4500.