Trek

gareth2134

Hi peeps been away for a while with work so i not had a chance to come on here much.

1. Whats the difference from the trek 5.5 to the trek 5.5 pro. their the same price £2,800 so am presuming its nothing to do with performance.

2. Never having been a road bike person but having done lots of downhill mountain biking will i notice the difference between the trek 4.5 to the trek 5.5. see i would much prefer the 4.5 if i'm not going to feel that much difference.

any help i would be greatful of.

Thanks.

redddraggon

gareth2134 wrote:

1. Whats the difference from the trek 5.5 to the trek 5.5 pro. their the same price £2,800 so am presuming its nothing to do with performance.

The "Performance" fit has a longer headtube than the "Pro" fit

roadrider84

Reddragon is correct. If you want to ride mainly Sportives then buy the Performance fit. However, there is not much difference in the comfort levels between the Pro fit and Performance fit.

gareth2134

Yes i understand that the performance would be suitable then.

From the trek 4.5 to the 5.5 is their any major difference that a first time road biker would notice. i dont mind getting either one but would prefer to buy the 4.5 if am not going to see any majore difference.

Thanks

John.T

Yes there are some differences.
About £1100 more for the 5.5
The 5.5 has higher grade carbon.
The 5.5 has Sram Force groupset versus Shimano 105 on the 4.5.
Just how much you would notice the difference I am not sure. Personaly I would look around for a 2008 model 5.2. They are being offered for £1800 by several large shops at the moment. This bike has the same frame as the 5.5 but with Ultegra SL. I have had one for over a year and love it.
Look here.http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/compare/#/madone55,madone45,madone52

pbracing

I have a 4.5 and am really chuffed with it in every way, and don't foresee any need to change for a few years yet. That said, it cost £1,400. I believe the rrp is now £1,600 or £1,700. So if an '08 5.2 was going for £1,800 I'd try and stretch to that. Don't know why I would though :?

The C+ test of the 4.5 said it was suited to heavier riders, I'm 87kg and it rides really smooth. I ride mostly on poor road surfaces- because I live in England

Going back to op, I would go for the performance fit rather than pro- really no need unless you're a regular racer. The performance still has a racey position.
Also, although I haven't ridden a 5.5, I very much doubt that a new-to-road-bike rider will notice any meaningful difference between the 4.5 and 5.5.

As always a test ride is worth more than any words.

redddraggon

The 4.5 is a different "shaped" frame compared to the 5/6 series, and takes a normal seatpost as opposed to using a seat mast in the higher series.

I believe the 4.5 is made Taiwan, the other the US

pbracing

All the above is true. My 4.5 is a 60cm frame, and when I had it fitted the saddle/ seat post was at such a height that if it'd been an integrated one as on 5.0 upwards, I'd have run out of adjustment. A happy coincidence that I had a 'normal' seatpost.

I don't have a chip about it being made in Taiwan, but understand there might be a stigma still attached to it. My mid range Mongoose mtb is made in Taiwan and I've given that serious abuse over the last 6 years and not one thing has failed yet. If it falls apart tomorrow, it's already paid for itself.

Is it true that Giant are the only people to own (a massive) production factory in Taiwan and nearly everyone uses them to build under licence to individual spec and quality control?
IMHO it's a company's enforcement of a good quality control policy that matters.

It's Sunday, I'm still recovering from a knee op, can't ride and I'm sooo bored :P

redddraggon

pbracing wrote:

I don't have a chip about it being made in Taiwan, but understand there might be a stigma still attached to it. My mid range Mongoose mtb is made in Taiwan and I've given that serious abuse over the last 6 years and not one thing has failed yet. If it falls apart tomorrow, it's already paid for itself.

There is nothing wrong with frames from the far east. Plenty of big names, like cervelo and pinarello get there frames made there and no one has any issues with those. Most frames are made in Asia these days anyway.

gkerr4

pbracing wrote:

All the above is true. My 4.5 is a 60cm frame, and when I had it fitted the saddle/ seat post was at such a height that if it'd been an integrated one as on 5.0 upwards, I'd have run out of adjustment. A happy coincidence that I had a 'normal' seatpost.

I don't have a chip about it being made in Taiwan, but understand there might be a stigma still attached to it. My mid range Mongoose mtb is made in Taiwan and I've given that serious abuse over the last 6 years and not one thing has failed yet. If it falls apart tomorrow, it's already paid for itself.

Is it true that Giant are the only people to own (a massive) production factory in Taiwan and nearly everyone uses them to build under licence to individual spec and quality control?
IMHO it's a company's enforcement of a good quality control policy that matters.

It's Sunday, I'm still recovering from a knee op, can't ride and I'm sooo bored :P

not sure about it being just giant - I had heard that Merida were one of the biggest producers - with kinesis being up there too.

nothing wrong with taiwan produced frames imo - they probably have more experience of building quality frames than any other nation - perhaps it could be seen as a good thing even!

what was your knee op?

pbracing

Cartilage on the inside of knee cap. Missed most of last year following op on worn out femur cartilage in March, that didn't get rid of knee pain, then seperate illness from Aug on.
Had this op week before Xmas, original area of pain seems to have gone, but I'm getting some aches and pains. This after nothing for first two weeks.
I'm trying to remain really positive about this year, but it's testing.

Could I be right in thinking I'm getting pain now all the swelling has gone?
Thanks for asking

gkerr4

feel for you - had a left knee arthroscopy for cartilage tear in June of last year and the right knee done in October - so know how missing 2008 cycling feels!

try not to worry - when I had the left one done there were all sorts of aches and pains left - and in different areas as you are experiencing! - i wasn't back on the bike at this point and was avoiding exercise because the right one was still damaged. My left knee went from bad to worse and then my local GP said he felt he could feel some ACL damage - which scared the life out of me!

he referred me back to the ortho surgeon who politely said that the ACL was fine - but actually my leftt thigh was 2.5 inches thinner than my right at the same height above the kneecap (how could I not have noticed this??) - the muscle wastage and subsequent imbalance was causing havoc basically.

i'm good now - on the bike again and it all feels much better - you will soon too.

if your knee is bothering you that much - have you been signed off by the surgeon? if not you can go back to him - if so then you can either get a GP to re-refer you or try and find out if the surgeon has a private clinic - you can get 20minute appointments for around £100 with even a consultant ortho surgeon who will examine you and answer any questions you have - he can even refer you back for NHS physio treatment if that is what the issue is. Alright, it;s a £100 - but I know how you feel and it could be money well spent!

good luck - please feel free to PM me if you want to discus any further (i think people in this board are generaly sick of me whining about my knees!)

John.T

Don't worry about the seat mast thing. They make 2 sizes, 120mm and 160mm, just make sure you get the right one when you get the bike. They are rather expensive but work well. There is 100mm of adjustment with each mast so you should be able to get a fit.

pbracing

Cheers for the sentiments Gkerr. Don't want to hijack the op though.
I will say the treatment I've had has been very good. Had x rays and post op mri scan last year, but nothing showing. The surgeon only went in again this time because he couldn't figure it out. However he obviously found an issue with my knee cap, which I'll be interested to know why it didn't show up before.
I could be facing up to the fact that after years of abuse and injuries, I've got limitations as to what I can expect. Hard to swallow that.

gareth2134

Ok well i have decided am picking either the 4.7 or the 5.2 they have everything above average and reading up on the components theirs nothing realy bad to write about them. I suppose from the 4.5 upwards the major difference comes from the weight of the components and frames which is something i will upgrade on in time but for now i dont see that being a major issue.

Doing john o groats in the summer to lands end, and doing the dragon in wales to i cant wait for summer now just gives me lots of training time until then.

pbracing

Is the 4.7 now available in this country? When I was looking I thought it was a foreign market model.
Good luck with whatever you get. Test ride it first though, with an open mind. Be prepared to say 'actually, I don't like it'.
Half way from John O' Groats to Lands End isn't the time for second thoughts.

Enjoy the trip, hope it's good. I'd like to do it next year.

roadrider84

Why not go for the 2008 5.1 Double? These are now retailing at £1600 which is an absolute bargain!!

ACMadone

John.T wrote:

Don't worry about the seat mast thing. They make 2 sizes, 120mm and 160mm, just make sure you get the right one when you get the bike. They are rather expensive but work well. There is 100mm of adjustment with each mast so you should be able to get a fit.

Not sure if this is true or not but I read somewhere that they're about £120

John.T

That is about right. It pays to get the right one first time. A good LBS should ensure you get this. Mine did.