Question:
Can anyone share their experiences with Trek Bikes. I am currently looking
at the 5200 as a performance road/triathlon racing bike
My concern is that it is a carbon frame... roads here in Belgium are rough
to say the least. Would I be better off with alu or steel...
but what about the weight and responsiveness - sacrificed? I obviously want the leg power
transformed into speed and not bike bend - but don't want to get off the
bike after 5 hours still shaking from the vibrations of an uncomfortable
ride.
Answer:I've been using a 5500 for both road racing/criteriums and triathlon
this year. (This is the same frame as the 5200). Without a doubt, this
is the most responsive bike I have ever ridden, and it is very
comfortable over long rides (150km+). The oclv frame is superb at
combining light weight with a very stiff bottom bracket.
The only caveat I would give is that, this is designed as a road racing
frame, and will always be a compromise in triathlon. I move my seat
forward on the rails and clip on aerobars, but this does compromise
handling a little. I can't afford a decent road race bike and a tri
bike, so I live with this compromise. I'd probably swap out the rolf
wheels that the 5200 comes with too, if you're serious about triathlon
competition. You want something much more aero. I use shamals for both
road racing and tri, but ideally I'd have some tri-spokes or Hed deeps
for tri.
In terms of rough roads, then I'd recommend just reducing the tyre
pressure a little for training rides - that will make far more
difference than frame material. Carbon has been renowned for soaking up
high frequency road buzz quite well, but I think that really applies to
slightly rough tarmac. Riding on Belgian pave would be a different
matter altogether...
Interestingly, the US Postal look like they'll be riding an all-new Trek
sources carbon time trial bike for the TT's in this year's tour, instead
of the rebadged Lightspeeds that were sued last year. The photo's I've
seen show the new bike looking kind of like an oclv, but with very flat
section tubes. Wonder how much that would retail for
