Weaknesses: While the carbon fork and stays soften the ride, it's not as comfortable a ride as my old steel bike. However, it's much more maneuverable and, of course, lighter.
Bottom Line:
This was a gift from my brother-in-law, who upgraded to a carbon bike. This has been a great bike for me -- 6'2", 250 -- as I work on getting back in shape. It's quick, comfortable, and strong. Not built for the Tour de France, but a great training/recreational bike for the above-average cyclist.
Weaknesses: compact gearing can spin out going downhill, standard seat, wheels and brakes not that great.
Bottom Line:
Trek 2.3, carbon stays, compact gearing, really has been a fantastic bike. Very stable, nice geometry, light and fast. Waited 2 yrs and 2K+ miles to review it. This is a great training bike. I have ridden a CAAD9 and this is similar, but w/a better ride.
Bike Setup: standard 105 components, upgraded no-name brakes to 105, upgraded wheels to Mavic Aksium, changed seat to Specialized BG Avatar, lots of Bontrager stuff. Bike rides great. Original Bontrager tires now have 2.5K miles on them, wearing very well.
Strengths: Geometry balances comfort, stability, and handling well
Pretty
Reliable (I hope, anyway, because this bike will need to last several years!)
Price-Past this price point, it's diminishing returns from any brand. For a noticeably better bike, you'd have to spend $700-1000 more, which in my household was better spent on a double Chariot trailer.
Weaknesses: Look closely - seat & tires will need replacing. If you race at all, you might add wheels & brakes to the upgrade list. I know that's hypocritical after extolling the price, though.
Bumpy roads=bumpy ride
Not aero or ultralight or super flashy, so if you ride with dentists & trust fund babies, you'll need to swallow your pride.
Bottom Line:
With 1000 km on the bike, we're starting to get to know eachother. Nice light bike for rec riding at a good price. Stiff, solid comfortable ride feel. The lowish BB height, tall head tube & medium wheelbase make it easy to stay upright and moving forward, comfortable at any location on the handlebar, but you are aware of the bumps in the road. All components reliable so far, no loss in performance in the rain. Brakes could use centering adjustment screw but have decent power, seat brought back memories of the plastic bmx seat I had 25 years ago (not a good thing!), tires are low quality and 25mm, not 23mm, but work fine for now. I know the B-brand "race" wheels aren't the sexiest, but work well and I feel faster with bladed spokes. LOVING compact cranks, for all the quirks that go with them. Often requires simultaneous front and rear shifting to get into the right gear, but it's nice to have such a huge range w/o the trim issues of a triple. Impressed so far with 105 components.
Strengths: The aluminum frame with the carbon fork and stays seems to absorb vibration. It rides solid. Shifting is very smooth. The 105 shifters work very well with the ultegra derailer. You can move through the gears quickly without missing a beat. I previously had a 105 derailer and it constantly needed adjusted and the chain would hop off a lot. Not this set up. Climbing is a breeze with the compact cassette. The gearing seems to go down lower than the triple I had previously. The crankset is very quiet. I love the bike.
Weaknesses: Bontrager seat is not a soft ride. I will probably upgrade at some point. The white handlebar tape will have to go.
I have only had the bike going on two months so I want to see how the Bontrager race lite tires do over time.
Going down large hills, pedaling with the high gears does not keep up at high speeds like the triple did. The name Bontrager is seen on the bike a lot more than the Trek name.
Bottom Line:
I moved up from the Trek 1200, triple , to a 2008 Trek 2.3. I absolutely love it. I have a compact cassette and have left all other stock components on for now. The bike is very smooth on the road. Shifting with the 105 shifters and the Ultegra derailer are very clean. You do have to watch for the front wheel overlap on slow, sharp turns with clipless pedals. It handles steady going down hills. I have had it to about 33 mph and it has been solid. It has been a gem going up steep hills. It climbs very well. I have been riding for 20 years and this is probably your best bet before jumping into all carbon, racing bicycles.
Bike Setup: 2008 Black/Red Alpha Aluminum frame with carbon forks and seat stays. Shimano 105 shifters with Ultegra derailer. Everything else stock from the dealer.
This is my first true road bike, so it's hard to compare this to another brand, but I can say that after a year I'm very happy with the bike. I originally wanted a cheaper bike (since this was just an excercise thing for me), but luckily I was talked into this one. I think this bike is the bare minimum in terms of road bikes that you won't quickly outgrow. If you go a level down you'll end up with thumb shifters and other lame components. If you go a level up, the bike and components just get lighter and stiffer, but no more functional.
As far as the price goes, since I bought this I've seen other brands with similar components for a little less money (Giant, Novarro, etc..) but I still don't feel ripped off by any means. Supposedly the way Trek forms the frame tubes adds to the cost, and they do a lot of R&D on the frame angles and such, but it's hard for me to say whether that's worth the brand premium. I can say that my bike hardly ever needs a tuneup and feels as solid as the day I bought it.
Claimed weight on these tubeless wheelsets is at a surprisingly low 1198g! The hub design is pretty interesting
[url=http://twohubs.com/p-425-c-4-usl-23-tubeless-wheelset.aspx# Read More »
A couple demo events with our friends at Giant Bicycles coming up, Feb 25 at Walnut Creek for the Regular Demo Truck.
[url]http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/giant-b...mo-event-2012/[ Read More »
