WildBill

Let me start off by saying that I'm a roadie and just getting into mountain biking.

I have joined an adventure racing team which will require mountain biking portions during the competitions. I have an early 90's Miyata that I've converted to single speed. It's great for training purposes but built like a tank (I swear it's 2-3x the weight of my lightest road bike) and has no suspension. I realize that during the bushwhacking sections and certain hill climbs, I'm going to want a lighter bike, especially if I have to carry it long distances. I also realize I need at the very minimum a front suspension fork.

As I'm just getting started into this, I don't want to break the bank and go for a high end full suspension bike, I'm looking at hardtails for now. I'm also not looking for high end components, only because if I have to replace pieces do to the roughness of the races, I'd rather it be cheaper and not Deore XT or XTR stuff.

All that being said, I'm considering a Trek 4300 as a entry level bike to get the job done this season. If I like the sport and get picked up again for the team next year, I may look at a better bike down the road.

Any feedback on the 4300? I'm actually looking at the V brake version, mainly due to the paint scheme (orange & grey are my favorite colors). Can I upgrade the V brake to a disc down the road (ie are the disc mounts on the frame?). Is the frame worthy enough to upgrade pieces / parts to better componentry over time?

Thanks for any feedback...

trekkie820

Its a solid frame. I have a 4600 I converted to single speed. There are disc mounts on the frame, but the fork leaves a lot to be desired. That was the only weak point on my bike. There are many happy customers with the Trek 4300 on this board. The most annoying thing for me is the hig rise stem that they put on all of the "4000" series bikes.

WildBill

Thanks for the feedback. I wondered about the fork being too low end. I considered the 4500 but cannot get over the paint scheme on the 4300, it's just too much up my alley.

Any ideas on weight? I heard the 4500 was a lightweight frame in this months issue of Mountain Bike 2005 buyer's guide...but didn't know if it was basically the same frame on the 4300 or not?

a2psyklnut

Don't get hung up on one particular brand. Just like road bikes, each manufacturer has different geometries. Test ride as many different brands and models as you can.

The Trek is a decent bike, but there are a lot of others in the same ballpark. Since you're a Specialized fan, why not look at those? The Rockhopper and the Hardrock are great bikes.

WildBill

Being a BIG Specialized fan I am considering the Rockhopper and Hardrock lines as well. But at the same time, I feel it may be time to try a different brand out. If only Specialized had orange paint schemes...sigh...

Portis

I have two Trek 4300's. I have put nearly 4000 miles on each of them in the past 15 months. I love the bikes and have plans to keep them. I have upgraded some of the components as they wear out. The best thing you can do to that bike is upgrade the saddle to a Brooks.

That saddle that comes OEM is painful to sit on. As far as the frame goes, the 4300 and the 4500 both have the Alpha SL Aluminum frame. The biggest thing you would get would be a better fork on the 4500. THen again, a better fork is really only warranted if you plan to use it. IOW, it depends on if you are going to be doing drops etc.

I simply just ride my bike and appreciate the suspension that the OEM fork offers on the 4300. I have thought about upgrading it and then thought..."why?" I would buy the 4300 and spend the extra money on a Brooks saddle. The saddle makes WAY more difference than any other component.

Alf

I bought a 4300 about a month ago as a first new bike in ages. So far in the 150 miles I've put on it, it has been great.

My only beef with it is the tires don't seem to grip too well for steep climbs, and they don't seem to shed mud very well. Some of the stuff I'm doing is almost bottoming out the shocks, even with the dampers cranked up all the way (I'm around 175lbs and not exactly light, but nor heavy).

In the bike's defense, I'm still a bit of a noob to mountain biking. I used to ride pretty much paved trails only. I'm told the wheels (WTB Dual Duty) are great and darn near indestructible, and it has a pretty solid component set.

For my current needs it's great. I've been on a couple trails and went to Alafia State Park in Lithia, FL over the weekend. It held up quite well through some moderate terrain and a couple very difficult (red or double diamond) courses. The main frustration I had was the rear tire loosing grip on climbs, but running 50psi for some serious off road was probably much too high from what I have been reading.

The v-brake (I bought this one too) can be upgraded to disc, all of the mount points are on the shock and frame for front and back. The stock disc brake isn't the greatest thing in the world from what I have heard, and the v-brakes worked pretty well for me, even after spending some time on a flooded trail.

All in all I have been very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a solid hardtail to get started with mountain biking.

WildBill

Ranger, do you think the 4300's are under 30lbs?

As far as saddles go, I'll probably move my Selle San Marco Aspide Arrowhead Gel (say that 5 times fast...wheew!) over to the bike, or one of my Specialized BG saddles. I have also heard great things about Fizik Airone and being able to conform to your rear.

How are the shifters on your 4300's? How about the wheelset, durable?

WildBill

I'm glad to hear that, it was one of my first concerns.

In speaking with other adventure racers they said they'd rather go with V brakes than lower end disc setups anyway. I do like the simplicity of V-brakes as I'm familiar with them from an '02 Specialized Sirrus I had previously. I had upgraded to Avid Shorty canti's though and liked them even more.

So did you get the orange and charcoal '05 or an '04 model?

a2psyklnut

HEY! Another rider in my area. PM me and let's hook up for a ride!!!!!

a2psyklnut

No need to get discs with what you intend to do with your bike. Plus, I'd rather have vee's than cheap discs. If you're going to go discs, go all the way and buy hydraulic ones.

Alf

Yep, it's orange and charcoal. I originally wanted the blue one, but the LBS only had that for the disc. I'm glad though. The orange and charcoal has really grown on me, and I now like it much better.

I'm not sure on the weight, but I'd guess less than 30 lbs. I didn't want to give up on a series of whoopdedoos and carried the bike up the hill on my shoulder to get to the top, clip in, and continue on my way.

WildBill

Yup, exactly what I've been hearing as well. I figure if I want to I can upgrade to Avid Single Digit series to get even better braking over the Tektro.

That's what I'm looking for as well. I will need to be able to carry the bike on my shoulder easily thru tougher terrain, and will have my camelbak mule filled which will already be heavy enough. My current single speed conv I swear feels like it weighs in at 50lbs!

Portis

Mine arent. Then again i have a lot of stuff like a thudbuster seatpost on one, and a rear rack on the other. I am not a weight weenie. I suspect that the bike off of the showroom floor weighs around 29 lbs. Just a good guess based on lots of reading and research. I have never weighed them because like i said, i don't care.

You won't find a REAL light bike in this pricerange. Light = cost.

Raiyn

I respectfully disagree. In adventure racing you want things simple which means quick fixes are a must. If he had a set of Avid BB7 Mechanicals he'd have excellent brakes with easy "middle of nowhere" repair characteristics.

brandon14295

i got my 4300 down to 27 pounds.



ive changed the tires since then.

Gojohnnygo.

Great beater bike. I rode through the last 4 winters with mine simply unstoppable. The one thing I would upgrade would be The Bottom bracket. The stock one is junk. 2 in 1 year. I upgraded to LX and its been great for the last 3 winters.

Gojohnnygo.

Sorry to cut in Ranger

The wheel-sets and shifters seem to be good (No problems so far). 4 years and 7567 miles and just now I'm replacing the hubs. I would not do any big drops with them. This bike is made for mountain recreational use and not racing.

WildBill

I will be mainly using it for trail riding during adventure races. If there are obstacles in the trail, the easiest and quickest for me will probably be to just grab the bike and hoof it. I plan on using spd pedals (have an extra set) so I'm concerned about mud issues, but will face that if needed when the time comes.

Main thing I'm looking at is just something to get me by thru this season. I can always upgrade the fork to a Rock Shox Judy TT or better via eBay fairly cheaply. Same goes for other components..

As long as the frame and wheelset are decent, I don't have a problem putting a few upgrades into the bike, even if it doubles the original price. When you look at the 6500 you jump up over 2x the price of the 4300. That's a bit too much for my budget right now as I have other upgrades planned for my road bikes this year.

Thanks for the info on the BB. I will probably plan on having an LX on stand by then.

Portis

I have upgraded the shifters to Alivio on one bike. The other still has the Shimano EF 29's. The stock shifters (ef29's) are pretty low end. They work pretty well, but i get much more precise shifting with the Alivio's.

As far as wheels, i upgraded one bike to a set of rhynolites on LX hubs. THe stock wheels are ok and i still use all 4 of them. On pair has studded tires on it right now. I will switch them to slicks this spring. I have upgraded the BB on one bike because it failed. The other still has the original BB with 4000 miles on it. I look for it to fail but it hasn't yet.

I will replace it when i redo the entire drive train likely this summer. I replace my stuff based on wear usually. I still have the original cranksets on each bike. I have a reserve crankset sitting on the shelf for when the original goes.

Portis

I keep reading that my bike is for "recreational use." It even says it on Trek's website. With that said, i have put 4000 miles on each of my 4300's in the past 15 months or so. Maybe that is "recreational" but that doesn't imply that the bikes can't be ridden A LOT!!! I guess i always thought that recreational meant occasional.

Apparently it must mean, "as opposed to racing."???

Gojohnnygo.

You got that right. I came in 3 place during a small Mountain bike race last year, On my stock 6700 Trek low end racing bike. I say to myself I could have done that on my 4300.

Don't get me wrong Ranger. I'll take the 4300 out and depend on it. In sub zero cold and snow. It has never let me down.

That bike is a brut. I have more wonderful memories of just riding that bike thur unspeakable conditions.

The 4300 has taking me thur some mind numbing rides 30-40 below zero. I'm not to sure my 6700 would survive those temps.

it's the BB I have issues with.

D0ubleplay

Which bike would have the better derailleurs...the 04 trek 4300 or 04 spec. hardrock sport

trek 4300 has shimano C050 in the front and shimano alivio in the back

specialized HR Sport has shimano aceras in front and back

Raiyn

Toss up. The C050 sucks worse than the Acera, and the Alivio is better than the Acera. Personally I'll take the balanced system over a downspec / upspec 9 times out of 10.

WildBill

Well I think I have made up my mind on a 4300. I'll plan on upgrading a few bits here and there as I can, which is part of the fun of cycling to me.

Thanks for all the great feedback, it's good to know you can come to a place where others have ridden and/or owned the same models you are looking at buying. Things like the BB failing I would only have found out by my own luck otherwise!

Now question is, if you were going to save up for a decent fork, which would you get? Obviously I'm not looking at a $700 Maverick but something that is decent and proven w/o breaking the bank. Something like maybe a Judy TT, SID, etc? I see lots of deals on eBay right now.