Strengths: Good frame, fairly light, surprisingly durable, value for the $
Weaknesses: Crank+bb, wheels, shifter
Bottom Line:
Considering the abuse and neglect it has received in the past 10 years. I've ridden it really hard about 10% of the time (technical descents, drops, creeks, etc.) which it does quite well on considering. It will roll over steep rock fields quite well and stay stable and will take the hard drops. Although, the suspension is certainly lacking in those situations (landings hurt). When the big stuff can't be jumped the somewhat low bb/chainring will drag vs other bikes.
20% has been single track type stuff where it will haul nicely and stay stable. However, in the really twisty stuff it slows down. When riding with my friend who has a similarly sized Wahoo, I'd always fall back but easily catch him on the straights. When we switched bikes the 4500 would still fall behind in the turns. It is really easy to accelerate the 4500 as a result it is easy to climb even though the frame geometry doesn't put a lot of weight over the rear wheel.
70% has been commuting and light trail stuff where it'll move nicely (clearly the designers had the road in mind too). Even when commuting I stand up and crank hard and jump and drop anything I can find. So even when not on the trail it's abused and it's still holding up fine.
Over the bikes 10 year life and thousands of miles it has only been tuned professionally a couple of times. It's gone through plenty of tires and brakes and 2 bottom brackets and a chain, everything else is original! Even the sprockets! (Although they really do need replacing now...) The wheels do need truing after hard drops and the deraileurs do need frequent tweaking. Hence the complaints about shifting... And the front deraileur shifter now won't catch on the internal ratchet when trying to shift up because the ratchet has worn down.
The weakest part for me has definitely been the crank and BB. I've had to replace the bottom bracket twice and the square taper cranks have now rounded out... Probably could've been avoided if I would've maintained those properly and made sure the crank didn't loosen before riding. Now I'm having to replace the BB, crank, chainrings, cassette, and chain. Definitely going to get a sturdier BB and crank...
Overall great band for the buck though, quite a workhorse...
Weaknesses: FORK SUXS!! Front derailleur, shifters, front hub
Bottom Line:
Great solid bike for the money! The fork is terrible. If it's not above 25 degrees, forget it!! Front shifts are sometimes harsh. Brakes aren't bad in dry weather but in wet there useless! Rims weren't bad but they were heavy. Alivio rear isn't bad at all. Frame though is awesome. Stiff and fairly light.
Similar Products Used: Kona LavaDome, Specialized rockhopper, Rocky Cardiac
Bike Setup: Sun Ryno lites w/ deore hubs, 2001 RS psylo XC, VP clipless
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Submitted by
RaZoR
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2002
Strengths: Awesome components, super strong and light frame, Awesome looking. IT JUST ROCKS! Plus, i have never had a flat in 3 years!
Weaknesses: The front fork is ok for beginners, but after a while, u need to get a higher end shock. The stock wheels may need to be replaced, mine were kind of defective.
Bottom Line:
This bike is the best! if your a beginner dont look at anything else.. BUY TREK! this bike has givin me 3 good years of service. shoot, im out performing front and rear shock riders! the only problem was the wheels, but thats easily fixed. Go buy it now! $400 is a great price. i recomend this baby to any new beginner. if you are pro.. i would still go for a TREK. Buy it and enjoy! life doesn't get much better. once you have been on a 4500, you will never get off.
Bike Setup: 2000 Trek 4500, Marzzochi Bomber front fork, Specialized computer. the rest is stock (but its great!)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Ryan Gallimore
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Rosa CA USA
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: this bike kicks much buttocks. frame is durable as all hell, i biffed it so hard, the thing landed in a tree after skipping over rocks and it didnt mess up anything except give the bike a few character scrapes. and i cracked my helmet into 3 seperate pieces. tough ass bike. kinda light too. decent brakes, though i want to change to disc soon. i personally think the shocks work fine, i'll just use them till they break.
Weaknesses: probably the most annoying thing on this bike that has been the most reoccuring is the front derailleur being a dildo and not shifting when u want it to shift. other than that, i've used all of the stock components (i did buy a new seat & seatpost) up until recently, and now they are pretty worn, and i'm going to dump money into new crankarms, chainrings, cassette, chain and derailleur.
Bottom Line:
this bike rocks, i like it cuz it will take my 200lb self and propel me really fast downhill, and as long as i dont shift too much and get pissed at the shifter, it works pretty good on uphill too. and it seems to like mud lots. well, maybe thats me, but a great first mountain bike, and very upgradeable on a solid frame. must say the shifter does suck though.
Favorite Trail: almost anything in annadel cuz its close 2 my house
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At: daves bike sport
Bike Setup: stock minus the seatpost, seat and rubber.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
chauncey
a Cross Country Rider
from az
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2002
Strengths: the frame was awsome, perfect for begginers,
Weaknesses: the shocks sucked, i changed them fast, the shifting wasn't the best don't get me wrong though they worked just fine for me
Bottom Line:
great bike, my first bike now i have no bike cause someone jacked it from me so i am lookin for a new bike. so buy this bike it is a good first bike had a couple good crashes and only the pedal broke.
Bike Setup: stock, except for seat post, seat, and forks
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Colora, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2001
Strengths: Frame, Frame, Frame...Climbs awesome. Srong Bike.
Weaknesses: Weak chain and rear cassette
Bottom Line:
Strong frame. Wiped out bad enough to have leaves between rim and tire. Bike only received a few scratches. (Can't say the same for myself!!) Light bike for the money. Great beginner bike to see if your into biking, but good enough to let you be competitive. Buy it!!
Bike Setup: Stock except Shimano IG chain, new cassette and 545 clipless pedals.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Detroit
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2001
Strengths: Frame, tires, most of the components
Weaknesses: The rims suck balls, it's a bit heavy
Bottom Line:
This is a great beggining bike. Upgrade a lttle and it gets pretty sweet and lighter. It is very durable, i recently wiped out and broke my arm, the bike only had a scratch and the barend.I've had it for two and a half years and all it's needed was a tune up in the spring and my upgrades. Buy it if you are beginning and beat up your bikes a lot.
Bike Setup: Mavic rims, Nanoraptor tires, SPD pedals, FS 200 saddle, bar ends
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Middletown, NY
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2001
Strengths: Quality frame. I was surprised at how long the orginal components have lasted.
Weaknesses: Heavy
Bottom Line:
I am very impressed with the quality that Trek puts into their frames. I purchased this bike because I wasn't sure if I would like the sport or not, only to become addicted to the sport. I have taken this 'recreational' bike on some of the nastiest trails in NJ/NY and have never had any real problems. Sure I've taco'd a rim, scrapped a few derailers, etc. etc. But bottom line...this 500 dollar bike has allowed me to ride with my group that has 2500+ bikes.
I will be purchasing a new Trek during the offseason, but I can not begin to mention how happy I have been with this bike so far.
Bike Setup: I now have some Mustang Rims with Velociraptors, Kore handlebar, Body Geometry seat and SPD Pedals
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Submitted by
TheWeb
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
Strengths: Good Frame, able to be upgraded.
Weaknesses: Some of the components are poor.
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up post to previous ones.
I have had this bike for about a year now and continue to love riding on this bike. Over the year I have slowly broken and had to replace various bits however a couple of weeks ago I was hit by a car, luckily escaping with only very minor scraps but bike was busted. After the guy driving coughed up some cash I took the opportunity to repair the bike with a number of upgrades but in particular the front shock.
I admit a Z1 X-fly on a Trek 4500 is a bit overkill (at normal retail prices more than the bike in total is worth) but as I only had to pay $150 US after his contribution to a new fork I thought what the heck.
Well this has transformed the bike and has brought the best out of what I already thought was a good frame. It now eats things that use to cause me great concern, it steers with confidence and never feels like it is going to washout.
This simply confirms my previous thoughts, and that of many other reviewers that this bike is a great starter kit, if you get hook on riding, like I did you have not done your money, you can simply upgrade various components over time and turn this into an all round performer.
For a $400 -$500 US bike you can not go wrong. Check out the Trek website, you will see if you care to look that the frame geometry for this bike is almost identical to all the higher end hardtails in the range, only a little heavier. Not bad unless you want to race competitvely and you would not be buying this bike in that case.
I think this remains a good option for those just getting into or getting serious about riding and I expect to keep riding this bike for a long time to come.
Similar Products Used: stalker fs, trek 4300,gary fisher tassajra
Bike Setup: stock except for bar ends, panaracer fire xc 2.1 wheels,easton monkey bar handle bars.
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Submitted by
andrew pearker
a Weekend Warrior
from whitby, ontario, canada
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2001
Strengths: nice lite frame, good handlebars, nice tires, okay shocks.
Weaknesses: components. this bike would be better if it came with lx/deor components and better pedals.
Bottom Line:
this is a good strong bike that i really like riding. It is a good bike for people who wanna get into mountain biking or are looking for a strong frame. As you get more into biking you will probably want to upgrade yor components.
Submitted by
jacob bentley
a Downhiller
from midland, mi
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2001
Strengths: nice seat, good tires, nice frame, nice looking bike.
Weaknesses: reflectors on pedals came off very easily while riding. sometimes doesnt shift all the way.
Bottom Line:
good bike. im very happy with it. now that ive had it for a year though, i want something better. but, i am happy with it and it has done well. a great starter bike. overall very pleased.
Submitted by
Laure/\/s H
a Weekend Warrior
from Hoorn, NH, Holland
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2001
Strengths: Its not a verry expensive bike, but the quality is high! Its verry strong, and you can ride verry hard with it. The suspension works also verry good.
Weaknesses: I don`t know it right now.
Bottom Line:
If you are just a biginner, I think this is the right bike for you. Its really fun to ride throught the dunes in Holland.
This is a good bike for those getting into MTBiking. Great price and Trek quality. This bike is great for building riding skills and testing your ability if you are on a budget. The drivetrain could be better and shifting is not always smooth but you can upgrade the parts on this bike or sell it for $100 less then what you payed for it and get a better bike. You just cant go wrong with this bike if just getting into the sport.
I have a 2000 Trek 4500 with a Rock Shox shock that is outdated. My bike is in excellent shape with seat, stem, and handlebar upgrades that I really like. I believe that I need t Read More »
Thinking about picking up a 2000 Trek 4500 today. Guy is asking $200 I'll talk him down of course. I love the 2009 / 2008s but unfortunately can't afford anything to expensive. Read More »
Going to replace a friends square tapered BB on his 2000 model year Trek 4500 but am a little confused as to what size BB I should get.
Any recommendations are appreciated. Read More »
