i am new to this forum and the spirit of triathlon, but your
post troubles me cause my girlfriend just bought me a trek 1200 for christmas
is there something wrong with the bike that i should know about?

Let your heart not be troubled. Trek makes a solid product. If it fits her well I see no reason why she won't get tons of fun out of it. She is safe and well equipped.

I bring this up because like high school some poeple have issues with fashion. Since Trek is big and Lance has splashed thier name all over the place some people think the company has "sold out". My point is why does the brand of bike even measure on the radar screen of our minds? It's about the ride not the bike.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

the bike is for me
oddly enough, as the Trek is my first road bike
the fact that lance uses the brand, it made me feel more comfortable about it
if this makes me a sell out or a loser
so be it

i ride a 2300. i like it. only had it for half a season, but it's got some spunk to it. it won't say no to a little offroading (but it won't let me ride it through a stream). it'll get a little hurt and yell at me until i make it better. if i don't treat it right, it will throw me down.

it's got a little somethin' in it. i like it. i think you need to find some connection with a bike - if a bike can make you want to ride it, it is much better than any other bike, no matter what aero, weight, etc.

(so i guess i agree/disagree with you - i like trek, and think bikes should have a little soul to em)

(my bike is also on a rack directly above the foot of my bed, taking about half the space of the room)

The Trek OCLV bike is an extremely well designed, very well made bike with excellent ride quality, very good stiffness and is very light. It also has acceptable long-term durability for a high performance, ultra light road bike.

Trek has done a very, very impressive job with that bike and, more so, with the evolution of the other OCLV bikes. Trek is absolutely NOT a souless company. Our outside sales rep for Trek (Fisher/LeMond) is a fine man who has worked tirelessly for us despite the fact that I can be awrnrey to work with.

You are right Tibbs, the OCLV bikes are good- really great actually, and the the company is good too. They take some hits because of a perception that dealers feel their sales programs are heavy handed, but a dealer's best weapon is the word "no". If dealer's allow Trek brands to front-end load them with inventory then find out Trek really owns their store since their inventory is so heavily leveraged, well, shame on the dealer, not Trek. Trek is a sophisticated company. Most bicycle retailers (myself including) are not all that sophisticated from a business perspective. That's why we pay cash for damn near everything. Rather than worry about paying people I can worry about the important stuff like whether your bike is right for you.

Now, Trek hasn't gotten the triathlon thing figured out. Since triathloon has probably hit its peak and is likely to contract over the next 5 years they would be wise to step out of it and give it back to the the smaller guys.

As far as road bikes go, show me something better than a "Lance" bike. There are bikes as good, but nothing better.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I've owned OCLV's since 1996. I currently have a 2003 5500 that I ride for my main road bike. I also have a 2001 Trek 2500 that I use for road races. Love them and would not consider not owning an OCLV. Sad to say, I recently sold my (er, wife's) TCR composite because I can't justify it since I like the OCLV so much.

It is much easier to defend Trek on a roadie site instead of a tri site however . . .

I would have to agree with Mr. T, Trek oclv bikes are simply awesome. Is it wrong that we ride the same bike of the man that has inspired thousands to get off their asses and ride a bike? Does anyone complain about Oprah inspiring millions of heavy women to lose weight? The answer is a resounding 'no'. Would anyone ever say anything about someone owning a Dodge Viper only to get groceries twice a week? Many would think it would be silly, but ultimately it is their choice and money. If wealthier individuals want to spend money on hig-end Treks, but don't spend the effort improving the motor, ultimately it is their problem. The Trek Oclv bikes are a superior product in an industry riddled with other Trek wannabe's that are pushing poor quality products in an effort to capitalize on Trek's success. To little to late for them. However, I do have a beef with the LBS owners that are set to rape the consumers with the enormous mark-up on these bikes. I think you would be able to sell more if they were sold at $2000 like I paid for my 5200, rather than $2800.

forgive my ignorance
but what exactly is OCLV?

"OCLV is short for Optimized Compaction, Low Void," Jim explains. "Basically, we compress carbon fiber and epoxy into a new composite that's stronger and lighter than carbon alone. Aerospace standards call for a 60/40 compaction ratio. The Trek OCLV process exceeds even that."


From Trek's website.



Chris

I have a Trek 5500 and, I also admit to a Cervelo P3. Kind of makes me the ultimite mindless groupie (Not that those that refuse to consider such a bike because Lance, or lots of fat rich people ride the same, are any better). I really do not give a damn. I do not have the Trek because that is what Lance pushes and although I first became introduced to the P3 on this forum, I did not buy it from the brainwash experience this forum can be. Conversely, I did not refuse to buy the bikes because they are the thing to have. I own both of them because I believe that they are great bikes and they both work for me (although I did just blast the battleship grey off of my Cervelo and replace it with a cool, albeit somewhat gaudy, black-holographic powdercoat). Perhaps I have entered the ranks of the conformist in my maturity, but for the first time in 30 years of buying bikes, I have no real bike envy (at least none I am likely to act upon).

it's funny how the masses now veiw cervelo. Even 3 years ago no one new wtf a cervelo was. Now they are starting to enter the ranks of "posuerdome."

crazy.

"(so i guess i agree/disagree with you - i like trek, and think bikes should have a little soul to em)"



Let me clear my point. It is we who put the soul in a bike, not the brand.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

"I have no real bike envy (at least none I am likely to act upon)."



A Trek 5500 and a P3 with a "gaudy, black-holographic powdercoat"! Brother you can't have bike envy since you are bike envy. Way to go!

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

wow--the fact that we even have to talk about this scares me. i'm a huge lance fan. got the bike (the 2001 5500, almost replica except saddle and pedals), got the clothes, even the shoes:-) the only other jersey i have that's not USPS is a TdF polka-dot. i never get any flak for it around here in Manila but i'm thinking of moving to NY soon. round these parts i place in my AG but i'm pretty sure i'll be MOP over there.

was just saving up for the grey retro kit but if i'm gonna be riding around Central Park, do i need to get a new cycling wardrobe?!!

Mr. Tibbs--congrats on the new ride! tried to sell you my Kestrel a while back. it finally went for a little over $500 on ebay.

Kim

The Trek OCLV was/is one of the very finest road bikes ever made. Who cares if Lance rides it; he could make fast on a rusty old Murray bike and make everyone search all yard sales for one.

I owned an OCLV from 1995-1999. I loved that bike. One of my biggest regrets was selling it. I had to have that stupid Cannondale aero bike. I ended up getting rid of it in a year.

The only way I would have called the OCLV "soulless" was that it gave no reaction to the road. I would feel nothing on that bike. That being said, I would recommend that bike to anyone doing a century, a multiple century, or even RAAM. Please note that I have never done RAAM. I rode a seven hundred mile week on it and I was not beat up at all. I can't say that about other bikes.

The only troubles I had with it were the following:

1) old nude clear coat chipped like crazy. This was unfixable, and (because of the virtually raw tubes) it could not be repainted without filler, which would have added about three ounces to the frame weight. It got to look really ugly by the end of my time with it, but thankfully, they don't use that clear coat process anymore.

2) front mech hanger screws were stripped. That was fixable with a little epoxy.

3) the cable guides, etc., were non-coated (and maybe not even anodised) aluminium, which started to look ugly from the salt dripping on the top tube. I also did not like the fact that they did not do cable stops for the brakes. Maybe they do, these days.

Would I recommend this bike to any potential punters? Hell, yeah!

I guess it pays to be old, sometimes. I bought my Trek 5000 years ago when Lance was in his hospital bed. I bought my P3 four years ago when no one had ever heard of them.

I haven't bought a new bike in years, but I have been lusting over the Trek 5900 of late. Looks like a super bike. Very light, and strong enough for Lance. Is there any reason at all I shouldn't buy one of those puppies one of these days? I have lost weight. Why shouldn't my bike?

"Since triathloon has probably hit its peak and is likely to contract over the next 5 years "

Tom, you figure?? That's a surprise. I thought tri was still growing.

I think bikes are like golf clubs. There are hackers out there who buy Nike clubs thinking it'll truly help their swing when practice is what they need. I think for the vast majority of bikers, a decent ($1000) is all they truly need. I just can't believe that most of the stuff we pay big bucks for is responsible for much time savings. I think the elites benefit the most from top-notch equipment because there all in great shape but most age groupers would do better through training as opposed to the bike they buy. My point being, I can't imagine a Trek 5300 or even Trek 1000 is a bad bike. I rode with a guy once on my mountain bike, he had a litespeed, and let's just it was a long wait at the top of the hills for him. You know what they say, it's the engine not the chasis. Saying that, I just bought a Trek 2300 but have only been on it once due to weather.