Trek 4500

...myself a brand spanking new Trek 4500 2004 edition as a foot into the door of mountain biking. Since purchasing the bike I been out on regular offroad expeditions (some of which have punished the bike quite hard, in the lakes & peaks) and my 4500 has stood up very nicely. The groupset is all good quality stuff, deore rear mech & shifters, Alivio front mech - all Mega 9 drivetrain (i.e. 27 gears). The brakes are competent, ok promax affairs however ...
...Judy TT is a spring/elastomer fork and whilst its fine for tow path riding and light mountain-biking it really does lack on technical downhill sections. The pre-load adjuster does next to nothing and travel is sticky and unpredictable. However it is better than no fork at all and you can always upgrade! Pretty much all bikes in this price range have bad forks so don't let this put you off. A Bontrager stem, tyres, saddle and seatpost are all part ...

k_shirtcliffe 28.05.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Trek 4500

...direct replacement for my trusty Trek 4300,which,due to upgrading to disks,proved too much of a temptation,and was stolen just before Christmas. My 4500 has subsequently recieved little use,but I can say that the front fork is almost immpossible to depress,unless your a desperate dan lookalike.It is a likely candidate for upgrade ASAP. Otherwise,however the components are well put together and the frame is light and very strong.Thank goodness they ...
...the rear. I have already ordered disks to effect a brake upgrade,although strictly speeaking,the Avid single digit V brakes are more than adequate The Deore shifters are very light,and make gear changes a pleasure.I'll also need to change the tyres as they are for off road stuff,and at present,it's the daily commute to work,resulting in excessive tyre noise. ...

ADVENTUSER 06.01.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Trek 4500