Submitted by
Recoil007
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2011
Strengths: Decent Frame, Durable Tires, good v-brakes,
Weaknesses: Drivetrain, fork, heavy single walled
Bottom Line:
Solid, decently lightweight frame - if you come accross the frame it makes for a fun upgrade project that won't let you down. You have to shop around, but I found that upgrading the parts was cheaper than purchasing a new Trek, Scott, Canondale or Specialized with similiar components.
The original setup was adequate for an entry level bike, but will leave you unsatisfied if you truly enjoy riding trails. You'll be coveting the better bikes on the trails. 3 chilis for value and upgrade-ability.
Bike Setup: Reba Race Fork, FSA Wheels, Trutative Handle Bar, X7 rear derailur, X7 crank, deore front derailur, X5 shifters, Forte Mech disc brakes, OEM disc brake adaptor, cane creek grips
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dave Corey
a Racer
from Wallingford, PA
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2008
Strengths: great lightweight stiff agile frame. pretty good brakes. throw everything else away.
Weaknesses: the components are absolutely horrible, until you get a job. then you can upgrade every part of the bike down to the brake cables. then it can turn out to be an awesome hardtail you can go on to win the MA superseries on. try it its fun.
Bottom Line:
this bike is an underestated frame that has so much potential its amazing. having replaced everything i got it down to about 23.5 lbs. i love it. its my only mtb and i race on it. god i love brand loyalty.
post script: im giving it a low value rating because all i really use now is the frame.
Good bike for the money. shocks are stiff, i went through the stock tubes in about 1 week with minimal trail riding, deraileur seems to operate only half the time, and the saddle gets uncomfortable after about 3 miles. im getting a new cannondale f5 in september. good bike for beginners or experimenting with different setups.
Submitted by
Casey Callanan
a Weekend Warrior
from MI, USA
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2007
Strengths: Reliability, durable, strong frame
Weaknesses: Front fork
Bottom Line:
This is the first and only bike Ive owned for mountain biking, so I dont have much to compare it to. Even so, after reading all complaints about bikes that cost 7 or 8 times as much, I can appreciate the simplicity of this bike. I ridden this bike for 4 years on the best trails that Michigan has to offer and I have never broken down on the trail, never been stranded, never had any problems. Dont get me wrong, the front fork is obviously not great (its a $300 bike!) but Ive been pretty hard on this bike and it has never let me down. I have no trouble hanging with my friends riding Stumpys and Konas (I should say they have no trouble riding with me), overall a great bike to introduce you to the sport. Remember its 90% rider, so dont be a techno-weenie.
Submitted by
Loren Hutchins
a
from Parker, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2006
Strengths: Great Frame, Durable Paint, Strong drivechain
Weaknesses: Stock forks (I Upgraded), Ride Height, Tires, Derailur
Bottom Line:
This is a great Hardtail and is durable for any trail. I may not be a huge mountain biker, but any bike that holds to geter on the trail, i can ride. The suspention really needs to be changed out, it is actually a hazard to have suspension that stiff.
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Burlington, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2006
Strengths: Tough frame, never dented or bent
Weaknesses: Fork is crap, i broke the derailer twice.. but i think it was user error. rims are crappy too, bent those off a 1 foot jump
Bottom Line:
good bike for the price if your new to the sport and only ride XC.. this was my first bike and i used it for DJ'ing which is probably why its so messed up
Similar Products Used: P.2, Stump Jumper, Hardrock Pro/Comp
Bike Setup: stock except for a used Judy TT fork
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from vancouver, bc, canada
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2006
Strengths: Super light. Nice saddle.
Weaknesses: Cheap components. The wheels are crap and will need to be trued. The brakes are horrible. Other than that, there's nothing really bad, but the componentry is just cheap.
Bottom Line:
This bike is great for road riding. The suspension is pretty stiff, so you don't lose a lot of power while riding in the city. It's super light and the tires are knobby enough that it's pretty good for light trails. If you're looking to get into mountain biking, though, grab a more expensive hardtail.
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Catharines
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2005
Strengths: Great frame, relatively light weight, comfortable cockpit, handles well, good brakes, awesome seat
Weaknesses: Cheap components add to weight, pedals suck, tires need upgrading if you're going to ride extensively off road, and you should think about replacing the rims too, noisy but who cares, shifting rough and sloppy, the front forks are adequate but do bottom out on rough terrain,
Bottom Line:
A great starter bike, and being an older model you can probably pick one up on sale or used. If you're just getting into mountain biking I would highly recommend this bike. If you're thinking of racing or doing any serious off-road riding, definitely spend the money on a better bike.
Submitted by
Zachary O'Hare
a Cross Country Rider
from Monterey,CA USA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2005
Strengths: Sweet sturdy frame,good shifting but its only a 7spd and its like bittom of the line shimano(acera)good paint double butted frame,like saddle good bar shape,good seatpost,Cranks?,brakes RULE!(the best v-brake I've ever used)Awesome cables.they are still in new condition and I've ridden this for a yr.
Weaknesses: Fork is a ...how do I say this...a piece of poo.It bottoms out on a wheelie and i weigh 93 lbs!It has no adjustment.It supposedly has 70mm of travel but I think it to be more like 30mm.All the components must be heavy because the frame is light and the bike(total) weighs almost 32lbs out of the box.tires are super heavy.Let me put it this way...they seem like hybrid tires although they do good in dry stuff.
Favorite Trail: anything that drops fast and climbs.(what doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: LBS
Bike Setup: stock except tires and grips and pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steven Chua
a Cross Country Rider
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2005
Strengths: Not too stiff and not too plush forks... quite solid.. smooth shifting..
Weaknesses: Heavy
Bottom Line:
i ride on the streets... use the sidewalks... but i ride most in villages... Am an asphalt rider... doing some trails this weekend.. keep you posted... "burn rubber not your soul..."
Bike Setup: Manitou Super Luxe fork Hutchinson Scorpion Grips Shimano XT gruppo deore mechanical discs 475 deore hubs Hg-93Chain Ritchey Stem and Rizer Bar WTB Speed V saddle Salsa seat clamp Trelock Speedometer
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Xingjian Su
a Weekend Warrior
from Uppsala Sweden
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2005
Strengths: Darm good dubbel butted frame, nice color and a comfortable saddle...
Weaknesses: The components is not the best one, aspecially the "megarange" witch gives leaves to a huge differens between the first gear and the second and lastley the fork is quite heavy, and it only has an effective travel of about 30mm(I weight about 120 lb and nomather how hard i push it only goes 30cm)...
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike when on my 14th birthday, I´ve driven this bike quite hard and have desided to buy the 6500.. Althougt I´ve only ridden this beast for about 6 months, I have some experience and knowledge of this "avarage joe" bike...It has a very nice frame, it will tolarate some bashing, but if you wanna take it to the next level of biking, you shall consider some better components...
Similar Products Used: Trek 4500, Trek 6700,Crescent Imagine 500, and Scott YZ 4
Bike Setup: Only swithed to shimano Spd 520 instead of nylonplattforms...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ally
a Cross Country Rider
from Glasgow
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2004
Strengths: VERY good frame. nice geometry, can do trials and some jumpin with it.
Weaknesses: Poor components.
Bottom Line:
Bloody good bike. Light frame (lighter than my dad's $600 bike!) But the poor components add to the weight and the wheels are - put bluntly - crap. Buy this bike and upgrade it - you wont regret it. Anyone who is a beginner or serious amateur on a budget should get this bike. However i have the 2002 model which i prefer greatly to the new model in looks.
I bought a Trek 4100 when I was in school, rode to campus during the week and rode trails on the weekends. Figured if I took up trail riding I'd just buy a new bike or parts or wh Read More »
but for the rest of you.
[url]http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/Wicked_Lights-74-0.html[/url]
Oh and btw, any of us could build something similar... its just a 100W-12V car Read More »
I am going to look at a used Trek 4100 and the attached is the spec that they gave me on the bike. I do not know a lot about mountain bikes and will be using this for paved paths a Read More »
hi yall, new to mtn biking and LOVING it!
i bought a used '04 trek 4100... very entry level and after searching here, i see that it isnt really worth upgrading.
but i wanted yo Read More »
So i have a used Trek 4100 sitting around that i am having a hard time selling. i have a geared bike already so i figured, why not make the trek into a ss and try out the ss thin Read More »
