Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500?
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Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller | Reply |
2013-10-14 2:09 PM |
1 | Subject: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? Hello All, After a couple X-terra triathlons, I’m thinking about doing a 70.3 as my next challenge in 2014!!! So, I’m looking for my first road or triathlon bike with a limited budget around $500. My research, so far, has been mostly on used bikes (due to my budget)... and I believe I just found 2 interesting options : - a 2006 Trek Equinox 5 for $700 - a 2007 Trek 1500 with F19 aero bars for $600 Both bikes look in really good condition, with all original components and less than 500 miles. They also come with Shimano clipless pedals. I didn’t have a chance to go take a look at them yet but before I get excited trying them, I would like to get some advices from experienced people. From what I’ve seen here, the most important will be to find a bike that fits me well. I’m 6’00 and both frames are 54cm. Do you think I’ll be able to find a good and comfortable position on either bike? If the answer is yes, which one will allow me to perform the best? Then, are the bikes correctly priced? Should I negotiate? Or should I look for something else with my budget? Thanks in advance for your comments and feed-back, this forum is already a great source of information for me. |
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2013-10-14 2:21 PM in reply to: J-F |
Pro 5011 Twin Cities | Subject: RE: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? It depends...but I think they may be on the small side for you. I'm 5'9.5", inseam of 34.5" and ride a 54 trek. My husband rode a 56, and is 6", but has a shorter inseam. Again, it depends...but you should maybe try them first. |
2013-10-14 2:42 PM in reply to: J-F |
Pro 5361 | Subject: RE: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? well, whether you get a tt bike or a road bike is a whole larger conversation. Since you'll spend most of your time training (I hope), it really will depend on the kind of terrain, roads and groups you might be riding with- that will push you towards a roadie or a tri bike. It's likely that the TT bike will be faster come race day, but if you're more comfortable training on a road bike, and therefore you do more training.... then the road bike will be faster.
that said- not too many 6 footers riding 54's. In all likelihood, both those bikes are gonna' be too small for you. I'd say keep looking. |
2013-10-14 6:46 PM in reply to: morey000 |
Champion 16151 Checkin' out the podium girls | Subject: RE: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? Originally posted by morey000 well, whether you get a tt bike or a road bike is a whole larger conversation. Since you'll spend most of your time training (I hope), it really will depend on the kind of terrain, roads and groups you might be riding with- that will push you towards a roadie or a tri bike. It's likely that the TT bike will be faster come race day, but if you're more comfortable training on a road bike, and therefore you do more training.... then the road bike will be faster.
that said- not too many 6 footers riding 54's. In all likelihood, both those bikes are gonna' be too small for you. I'd say keep looking. Especially in Trek. They measure to a different convention known as Center to top. Most measure center to center. Meaning a 54 Trek is more like a 52 or 53 in another manufacturer. And that bike is likely too small for you. |
2013-10-15 6:22 AM in reply to: J-F |
Pro 5892 , New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? For a 70.3 comfort is king. It would be absolutely crazy buying a bike without knowing your fit first... yes, these are both quite inexpensive, but buying them now, selling them after they don't fit and you've been hurting for a while, buying something else, selling that one, buying a 3rd one and then hopefully getting closer to the fit you should've had in the first place... well, all of a sudden, those $250 (or whatever the going rate is in your area) doesn't look that bad, actually a pretty good financial decision at that point... In other words, get a bike fit FIRST then start looking for a bike. In the meantime, think about how you are going to use this bike. Group rides, organized rides (centuries, charity rides, etc.), then a road bike. Only tri's and training mostly alone (or maybe with other triathletes), then a tri bike may be an option. Height is a really poor indicator of fit... if you go to the extreme, most of the time you can use height as a "guestimation" that something won't fit, but not as to if it will fit. Case and point, very likely a 54cm Trek 1500 or E5 would be way too small for the average 6' person. BUT, potentially, there could be a 6' person that would fit perfect on them (although it's quite unlikely...). Factors that affect fit would be, upper leg length, flexibility, core strength, arm length, injuries/issues, terrain, types of races (length primarily), etc. etc. etc. |
2013-10-15 11:40 AM in reply to: J-F |
Veteran 706 Illinois | Subject: RE: Trek Equinox 5 or Trek 1500? Originally posted by J-F My research, so far, has been mostly on used bikes (due to my budget)... and I believe I just found 2 interesting options : - a 2006 Trek Equinox 5 for $700 - a 2007 Trek 1500 with F19 aero bars for $600 Both bikes look in really good condition, with all original components and less than 500 miles. They also come with Shimano clipless pedals. I didn’t have a chance to go take a look at them yet but before I get excited trying them, I would like to get some advices from experienced people. From what I’ve seen here, the most important will be to find a bike that fits me well. I’m 6’00 and both frames are 54cm. Do you think I’ll be able to find a good and comfortable position on either bike? They're both probably too small for you. I'm 6'2" (not an accurate standard to base sizing on, but anyway . . .) and my fitted tri bike is a 58cm, my road bike is a 60cm, and my cyclocross bike is a 56cm. The cross bike is noticeably smaller and the fit is a bit awkward for me (but I picked it up for less than $400, so I can't complain at my own stupidity). The 2007 is a 9 speed, 105-groupset bike, and 2006 is a 9 speed, 105/Tiagra groupset. Both are aluminum. If you can't find a decent, 2012 or 2013, 10-speed aluminum road bike for around $1,000, you aren't looking hard enough, especially with winter closeouts. Also, your LBS will be able to give you a much better idea of fit, even without a full-on fit. I'm also going to presume you don't know a lot about bikes, since you're asking a fit question; that means the first stop after buying one of these bikes is probably your LBS, to have it looked at and tuned-up, so you're already in it for at least another $100. Add in a $40 chain, or a cassette, or cables and bar tape, and you're very close to the new bike price point, and all for tech that's 7 or 8 years old, plus all the unknowns of maintenance and the like. The $200 difference is well worth the piece of mind to get a professional to give you at least a cursory fit on a new bike. Especially when shopping at entry level, the price savings isn't, in my mind, enough to justify the risks to the uninitiated. Personally, I think a first tri bike should be a road bike - it's almost as fast, and way more versatile, especially for group rides and the like. It's also generally going to be more comfortable initially, and if you don't like it, there is a larger resale market for road bikes than for tribikes. This year, I bought my wife a Novara Carema Pro from REI - full 105 groupset, 10 speeds, aluminum frame, carbon fork, decent wheels and tires, initial fit and adjustment include, for around $900 out the door. |
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