Trek 4500 WSD?

[Chamelion]

Hello there,

I recently purchased myself an entry level bike (Giant Alias) for some off road fun.
I took my wife down to the gap creek try mountain biking day and she was instantly hooked.

I am considering grabbing her the afformentioned Trek 4500 WSD as she's absolutely smitten with the aesthetics of it.

Picture
http://forums.farkin.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=62614&stc=1&d=1173883838

I am a little concerned though about the price vs parts. Only $100 less than an alias and it has a Dart 1 as opposed to Dart 2. It has Deore and Alivio derailuers as opposed to SRAM X7 and Deore on the Alias. V brakes as opposed to Hayes So1e Hydraulic discs on the Alias (if the hubs were disc compatible I'd just give her my So1e and upgrade, but it doesn't and a new wheelset is out of the question.

Is this Trek 4500 WSD going to be worth the money? Should I try (in veign most likely) to steer her towards a Giant Thermo 2 instead? Unfortunately most Giant hardtails are out of the question as she mentioned she didn't feel entirely confident on my 17" Alias and I can immagine a 14" being far too small.

Any other options available under $900 that I havn't yet noticed?

Thank you in advance for any helpfull replies :)

Matt.

[arpit]

Hi Chameleon,

Girls are different in that they operate largely by 'feel', rather than by quantifiable determinants.

If something feels good to them, they'll go for it. If something feels wrong to them, they won't do it.

I suspect that to your wife, how a bike feels, and makes her feel, is a lot more important than whether it has Sram gears over Alivio gears, or Disc brakes over V brakes.

I just want to caution you not to be tempted to get a bike which has a great spec for the money, but which she hasn't fallen in love with. There is the obvious risk that it will just sit in the garage.

To be honest, most giant bikes are ugly. I think that trek is ugly too, but *shrug*.
A bike which looks like good value is the Thermo W. It actually looks good, and is almost as good value as the alias. Get her to drop by a bike shop and take a test ride.
http://www.sicbikes.com.au/en-us/pg_113.html

Like you said, it is only available in 17 and 14 inch frames, but it seems to have a shorter top tube than the alias.

You can't tell a huge amount just by looking at the size of a bike in inches. I ride a 14.5 inch bike.

Oh and another thing. It doesn't sound like she wants the latest top of the line gear to win elite races or show off to the boys in the skatepark. Keep that in mind.

[Techno Destructo]

Arpit hit it right on the head.

The most important thing here is that your wife loves the bike. And if it's the aesthetics that are the main factor here, then go with that.

You obviously know the difference between parts, and I'm sure you know what isn't acceptable for the job. Just don't fall into the trap of convincing yourself your wife needs high-end bike parts. She definitely doesn't sound like she's at that stage yet, and the bike she's smitten with seems perfectly suitable for the job.

Barring a choice that would be dangerous or totally unsuitable, get her the bike SHE wants. Let her fall in love with the bike. Get her to develop an affinity/relationship with the bike. She should feel like that is HER bike.

If she loves her bike, then she'll want to ride it a lot more than if she just has any other bike.

After you get her THE bike she wants, you can slowly change parts over time (as they wear out, break, or you simply feel like you want to up grade it for her). But don't do it right away, and do it gradually over time.

I did this with my wife, who wasn't an avid cyclist, years ago.

Actually, many many years ago, I did it the WRONG way. I put her on the bike I thought was best and generally made all the decisions for her. It didn't work out very well.

I tried again about five years ago. But this time, I let her control all the decisions, with the slightest gentle guidance from me to make sure she didn't get something that was completely suitable (such as a bike for a wrong discipline).
And over time, I changed the parts as needed. But she always felt it was HER bike.

And she's loved riding ever since!

[Chamelion]

Thank you :)

I won't disagree with either of your posts. In fact, I was hoping and expecting to get replies to that tune.

Certainly, she needs to love the bike or it won't get ridden ;)

Thanks again!

Matt.

[morto1980]

V brakes aren't that bad in the dry - my wife's bike has Avid SD7s and they have a hell of a lot of stopping power. I'd say at least as good as my Hayes HFX-9s.

The 4500 WSD is a pretty nice bike (although the colour scheme this year looks awful!). Everyone else is right though - people should buy bikes that they like, not that have the best "bits".

[Chamelion]

V brakes aren't that bad in the dry - my wife's bike has Avid SD7s and they have a hell of a lot of stopping power. I'd say at least as good as my Hayes HFX-9s.

The 4500 WSD is a pretty nice bike (although the colour scheme this year looks awful!). Everyone else is right though - people should buy bikes that they like, not that have the best "bits".

She actually prefers the 06 colour scheme. I think Gap Cycles had one on the weekend, so had made contact to find out.

I think it looks better too (though, the ones they had all had the cooler saddle as found on the 07 model if memory serves)
http://forums.farkin.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=62653&stc=1&d=1173966627

[morto1980]

Now that's a sweet looking bike.

[yakinAway]

Hi mate

I own a trek 6700wsd (has disks n better componetry) and they are mint bikes, has she also looked at the giant thermo this is a womens specific bike the chicks group I ride with here in NZ raves about them....

Beth on here has a thermo so she might give you the run down on it...

[Bethany]

hey

i have a Thermo W... got it as a first bike. I love it

[125PHIL]

hey mate, for a womens specific bike i recon check out the jamis durango 1.0 (womens)
that should be under 900 from memory, and they look the part too!
if your willing to spend a little more kona has the Lisa HT, which is also another pretty nice womens specific bike

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/07_bikes/durango1w.html
http://biketek.com/merchant/813/images/large/J07_DURANGO1_WSD.jpg

[LotteBum]

I bought a Trek 6700 in December and I can honestly say that in over 10 years of mountain biking, it's the best bike I've ever ridden, in terms of feel and geometry. It's a pity it only comes in baby pink (but I must admit that grew on me quickly).

I'll never ride a non WSD bike again. In fact, I love my Trek 6700 WSD so much that I picked up a Trek 1500 WSD (road bike) on Monday.... which I also love to bits already.

How a bike looks is up to the individual - one girl's trash is another girl's treasure :-) Put it this way, I wasn't entirely stoked with the look of my 6700 when I saw it in the shop, but it's a fantastic bike to ride.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Lotte

[Chamelion]

Thanks everyone :) Just waiting on some information from my rental agent before I go spending any money. But it looks like she'll end up with the 07 Peppermint green 4500WSD.
There has been no bike in the dozens I've shown her that has even remotely swayed her away from the afformentioned bike.

Cheers :D

Matt.

[LotteBum]

Thanks everyone :) Just waiting on some information from my rental agent before I go spending any money. But it looks like she'll end up with the 07 Peppermint green 4500WSD.
There has been no bike in the dozens I've shown her that has even remotely swayed her away from the afformentioned bike.

That's how I felt. I did some research into other womens specific models, both when I bought the 6700 and the 1500 and nothing was able to sway me away from the Treks. They're quite good value. Also, Trek have always had quite a good name in both road and xc scenes (not sure about DH - I'm scared of that).

Cheers,
Lotte

[Chamelion]

Soke to my LBS just before... They managed to locate what they claim (He's a good bloke, I've no reason to doubt his word) is the LAST 2006 Iris Blue 4500WSD. Just so happens it's the correct 16" size too. :eek:

Anyhow... I hope my wife doesn't decide to check up on me by reading my farkin posts, because it's on the way and should arrive on her Birthday.
The only drawback is it won't likely have the seat she likes (2007 model), so I'll have to try and find one!

Matt.

[LotteBum]

Anyhow... I hope my wife doesn't decide to check up on me by reading my farkin posts, because it's on the way and should arrive on her Birthday. The only drawback is it won't likely have the seat she likes (2007 model), so I'll have to try and find one!

I'm not sure why they don't all come with the same seat?? My mtb and road bike (both around the same sort of $$$) came with completely different seats - the mtb with a racy seat and the road bike with a slightly cushier seat with the centre removed to protect uh yep. Anyway, the one on the road bike is divine - I love it.

[Chamelion]

Ah, she had a bad day and needed some cheering up. That and I'm terrible at keeping anything from my wife (I'd never be a successfull adulterer :p) so I gave up the secret.

She's in a better mood now. :cool:

Matt.

[Chamelion]

Well, in spite of normal delivery times the bike came in today... So as soon as I picked Jane up from work I bullshitted about needing to buy new pedals and went right over to the bike shop.

So far she's extremely happy with it, as am I. I'm actually inclined to say that the Trek 4500WSD is of a higher quality than my Giant Alias. Certainly seems the part.

Specs are better than I had read too... I was expecting Alivio shifters, Acera from der, non disc hubs, 8 speed shifters/cassette and I expected it to be heavier than my Alias.

Instead it has Deore shifters, Alivio front der, Deore disc hubs (my alias has a noname front hub!), 9 speed shifters and 9sp SRAM cassette and it has to be well over 1KG lighter than my Alias.

At any rate... I don't feel like it was bad value at all, in spite of the fact it was $4 dearer than my Alias. ($796 alias VS $800 4500WSD)

Some pictures.

http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t1.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t2.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t3.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t4.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t5.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t6.jpg
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/t7.jpg

[Techno Destructo]

Fantastic! Looks like a great bike for the money!

Now... what we REALLY want to see is some action shots of Jane riding her new steed!:)

[raquellish]

The other thing to remember is that the geometry is different and will most likely feel better to her.

I ride the Gary Fisher Marlin and find it infinitely more comfortable to ride (mostly because my wrists arent supporting my weight so much) than boys bikes.

I just wish mine was pink.

[LotteBum]

I just wish mine was pink.

Are you serious? It took me a while to get used to mine. Fuchsia would have been - Barbie pink takes some getting used to. Also, it makes people think I'm no good at riding. Hrmf! That said, who cares? Way to go!

Lotte

[raquellish]

Yeah seriously,

I know theres that whole stigma attached to girls riding and girls bikes and all that, but fark it. I love my WSD bike, the frame suits me.
I think we should take over the notion of a 'girls bike' and pink and make it hardcore. I think its all the cooler if you turn up on a pink girls bike and then kick some arse. It'll confuse people and screw with their stereotypes.

actually, my little bro is a fairly serious DH freak, rides an Iron Horse World Cup - and he wishes his bike was pink too.....what a little legend!

[LotteBum]

actually, my little bro is a fairly serious DH freak, rides an Iron Horse World Cup - and he wishes his bike was pink too.....what a little legend!

It doesn't surprise me!

The guys at the shop I bought both my Trek WSD's from, reckon they get heaps of enquiry from blokes because of the colours. My partner and I each have a new Trek 1500 (mine being the WSD) and the colour of his sucks compared to mine. His has discovery channel sh!t all over it, where mine is just a nice, light, pearly blue. Mrow!!

[raquellish]

pearly blue is nice.

thats why im spewing my bike is white.... i mean what is gary fisher thinkin makin a mountain bike white..... i guess its to show up all the MUD I ride thru.

[sockman]

Thats great! Looks like it has a fairly solid spec too, all those brand name parts for a price like that is awesome! Tell her to ride it hard...:D