Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from Athens, GA Date Reviewed: May 28, 2008
Favorite Trail:
ride to class
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
The Hub
Strengths:
In Order of Awesomeness Great frame- seems really strong and has mounting points for lots of accessories. All components work adequately and have shown great durability. Tires have over 1200 miles on them and still look great. Brakes are awesome! Shifters great and not a twist shift (Other bikes in the price range often times are) "Bail Out" gear great for steep hills at end of a ride. Quick release everything
Weaknesses:
In order of severity: Fork (only 'significant' deficiency IMO)- maybe 2" tops travel, rarely over 1.5", very hard Crank Set or front derailleur seems misspaced, can't tune it to shift well back and forth through all the gears without the possibility of the chain coming off either or both sides (happens to me at least once every 20 miles or so) Under heavy torque, rear shifting can be difficult and feels like a bad stick shift car driver when it finally goes Saddle is pretty hard,over 30 minutes at a time is rough Seatpost slides down after a while- i had to tighten it to the point where it was nearly impossible to lock and unlock, but now I only have to adjust it every month or so. Heavy- not too important to me because I add another 15-30 lbs of bike accessories and books/groceries/water anyway Pedals are cheap, but familiar (like the ones when I was a kid)
Similar Products Used:
Disposable box store bikes, roommates Specialized Rockhopper: if only I could trade him forks...
Bike Setup:
Stock components, rear rack, milk crate, lights front and back, mud flaps front and back, security cable, no spandex clothes or silly hats
Bottom Line:
I don't know about much trail stuff w/out heavy mods, but this is a great all purpose workhorse of a bike. I think this bike shines as a commuter/grocery getter above all else- gearing to go reasonably fast, suspension and strength to run all over curves, potholes, a little gravel, survive some throwing around and a wreck or 2 (so far). Would also be good for light trail use,an electric bike conversion, or touring (tire change). Can't beat the price without going into heavy component deficiency range.
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Submitted by
Sojourner
a Weekend Warrior
from Louisville, KY USA Date Reviewed: February 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$275.00
Purchased At:
Trek Store
Strengths:
Steel frame! Nice color, decent tires. Geometry is actually QUITE comparable to the 6000 series from Trek. Wheelset is surprisingly good, rear rack capable, overall an excellent platform to build on.
Weaknesses:
The RST fork is rather elementary, non-disc brakes and no disc brake mounting tabs.
Similar Products Used:
Trek 3700, Iron Horse Warrior (full-suspension, but XC), Transition Vagrant (hardtail, but for FR)
Bike Setup:
Completely stock.
Bottom Line:
I've ridden now for over five years, most of which was DJ/FR/urban type riding. I recently decided to leave the skateparks for the younger generation, so I sold my Transition Vagrant and went looking for a decent XC/family-ride type bike.
First off I knew I wanted to get back to steel. I'll spare you the rhetoric; just suffice it to say I prefer steel (any steel) over aluminum. The next debate was functionality- could I ride it on single-track? Could I convert it for bikepacking (backpacking with a bike along hiking/MTB trails), and could I put it to use as a commuter when the weather breaks (one less car!)? I looked into Salsa's El Mariachi, and I even looked into Surly's Karate Monkey and its big 29" hoops. Trek was honestly an after thought, considering I actively seek to avoid anything related to a man named Gary Fischer (another topic entirely...). I had some money to put down, so cost wasn't a major issue, but Salsa frames are just plain expensive, and there have been some qualms with front derailleur clearance on the Karate Monkey. The Trek on the other hand, has been around fore-ever, and COMPLETE was approximately 1/3 of one of the above mentioned frames.
As a complete, the Trek 820 has its weaknesses. The fork is moderate at best, though it does what it was intended to do. It lacks any bells or whistles, or even disc tabs, but it's painted to match the frame if that means anything to you (it didn't to me, but the wife liked it). The saddle is decent enough I suppose, not stellar but acceptable. The crankset is simply horrid, but can be replaced quite easily when it dies. The deraileurs are a little chincy, but serve their purpose. The stem, bars, grips, and shifters are all fine. The brakes work quite well, but I still prefer discs.
The point I would like to raise is quite simple. The components that accompany the 820 are in a word- functional. This is a somewhat utilitarian bicycle, and even though the parts are far from top of the line, THEY DO in fact WORK. Simply because they aren't $200 carbon cranks or X.0 shifters do not mean that they fail to function properly. They work, and work well, though their durability remains to be seen. Again, at $275 complete I can't say I'm entirely surprised. Take the money you save and buy something better if you like after they are worn out.
Now onto the star of the review, the frame! I purchased the 2008 820 in the rather interesting blue-on-blue color combo. The paint is excellent, and the matte finish is quite nice. I am 6'3" and 230lbs., and the 21" frame fits me quite well. The 19.5" frame forced me to raise the seat tube quite high, to the point I felt like endos would be impossible to avoid. The steel frame isn't heavy, at least not to me. The compliance is excellent, and proves to me time and time again why I prefer steel. I did a fair amount of research on the geometry of this frame before I bought it (something that proved useful later at the store). I compared it to the Trek 6000, a higher-end hardtail. They differed only slightly- there was a half a degree difference in the seatube angle, a whopping 1cm difference in the wheelbase, and less than 2cm difference in the top tube (comparing the "Large" 6000 to the 21" 820).
Later on when I went to purchase this bike from my local Trek store I got the standard response "You need a bike in the $900+ price range if you really want to ride single-track, the geometry is just all wrong". This was a shame, since I then blew him out of the water since I had done my research and could actually quote (verbatim) the minimal differences between the 820 and the 6000 series bike he was getting at. The bike mechanic that was listening in to our conversation almost lost it- trying so hard not to laugh out loud. Just remember that a lot of bike salespersons work on commission....$$$.
So to summarize, the 820 is an excellent buy if you are on a budget, or just looking to get your feet wet. On second thought, maybe it should only be for those of us that have ridden long enough to understand both the industry and how easy it is to swap components. A total newb might want something he/she can just buy and forget about. In that case the 820's *components* might just let them down, but not the frame. Again, I'd stress that the crankset and possibly the derailleurs are the real weak-links, not the bars/stem, shifters, or brakes. So even if you buy this bike and strip it down to the frame, you've still got a great steel frame that you've only paid $275 for, which is about what you would pay for a non-name brand frame (like those sold by Nashbar or JensonUSA), but the Trek frame has a life-time warranty. I give the 820 4 chilies, but that was for the one real nit-pick I have with this bike, and that is because it doesn't come with ISCG disc mounts already welded to the frame. Now worries, since it's going to cost me $25 to get them put on by a local weld shop. Still checking on whether that will negate my warranty...
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Submitted by
Crusty
a Weekend Warrior
from New Jersey Date Reviewed: August 19, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Hartshorne Woods
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Gift
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
Everything
Similar Products Used:
RM Slayer, Specialized Bighit 2, Kona Dawg Deluxe
Bike Setup:
Factory
Bottom Line:
I guess you get what you paid for or in my case what I didn't paid ;) Steel is very heavy. Transmission is bad, chain fell off for no reason. Fork is laughable. Saddle is only slightly more comfortable than rocks. Brakes are pretty good. Anyway, I sold it used after a few months.
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Submitted by
fish
a Cross Country Rider
from annandale, VA, USA Date Reviewed: June 16, 2007
Favorite Trail:
wakefield
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$230.00
Strengths:
Sweet ass steel frame and a trek so it's not complete trash.
crappy bike if bought stock, but for the price it is a sweet build bike. if you already have an alright bike and are looking for a nice hardtail/commuter/steel frame then the 820 is solid. upgrade the nicer bike and put all the spares on the 820. i ride it to work every day and love the thing. good deal but dont ride it hard as stock.
$ 250.00
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