trek 1.5 - thoughts 4 months after purchase

glasgowpete

hello all,

ive been a lurker at this forum for quite a while. decided just at the start of the summer to ditch the hybrid and get a road bike. I decided to go for the trek 1.5 09 model. Having nothing to compare it against as its my first road bike (although ive been cycling for yearrrs, heres my thoughts. .. .

its a dream to ride, really noticing the difference in speed and agility from the old hybrid. superb for getting around and commuting quicly. i can make the 7 miles to work much faster than public transport and my old bike...

I have recently changed the tyres to panaracer Ribmo tyres, i wasnt impressed with the tyres that it came with and this makes a hell of a difference. ive read on here and other forums about issues with the wheels/spokes. . tho (touching wood) i havent had any problems at all!

the brakes arent the greatest, i still feel that they could be much more efficient and its one part that i will be looking at upgrading in the future for my own peace of mind, a nippy bike with soft brakes.. doesnt feel secure as they could be.

ive read issues with te seat, tho im quite happy with it. seems to be a personal thing.. ive taken it out for 50 mile rides and feels good enough. a bit of adjusting to get the position im happy with.

the bike looked briliant at first look, nice gleaming white (and the green).. tho after a few weeks of having it (definately after a few months!), i wondered why they bothered with teh white tape on handles... they are now a dirty black! im going to get the tape changed soon to a darker colour.

all in all its a grood bike and really comfortable to ride.. i looked at the trek 1.2 before i went for the 1.5... what changed my mind from the 1.2 was that i could see the weld marks on the frame where as the 1.5, you couldnt make uot the joins and the frame looked a whole lot smoother..

aye so in short, im really happy with it.. only things that i felt could have been better was the tyres, brakes and ditch the white tape on the bars! heres to beating the traffic...

cheers

STEFANOS4784

I think i've seen your vid on youtube, can't link it here but do you have one?

glasgowpete

i have a few vids on youtube, none are cycling related tho

STEFANOS4784

Oh, some other scottish fella with a new-ish trek then ............

Wallace1492

Hi Pete, sounds great. What side of the fair city is your commute? I am up and down Maryhill Road.

CiB

glasgowpete wrote:

<snip>they are now a dirty black! im going to get the tape changed soon to a darker colour.</snip>

Unless it's a turn of phrase that means you will do it yourself, can I suggest you do this yourself? Changing bar tape is a dead easy job, it's the sort of thing that anyone can and should learn to do, and it's a good in for learning more & more about the mysteries of your bike, most of which turn out not to be so mysterious after all, just plain & simple application & thought.

Looking after your own bike is a pretty satisfying part of cycling.

shoulder_of_orion

I have the 2009 1.5 as well. Overall I'm really happy with it. However, the Sora shifters really pis me off.

If I had my time over I would go for something with 105 kit, indeed am considering upgrading shortly.

I also have the bar tape issue and will also be changing to a dark colour. I might upgrade the saddle at the same time, but how does one decide upon a new saddle?

glasgowpete

Wallace1492 wrote:

Hi Pete, sounds great. What side of the fair city is your commute? I am up and down Maryhill Road.

im in the south side for work commute.. tho im up and down maryhill road frequently.. as it leads out west to the great country side!

regarding the tape, i do most of the work on my bikes myself, this will be no different.(my grammer in my last comment didnt make this clear, i see that now).

Totally agree that you should be taking your time and doing work yourself to learn. part of the pleasure of loving your bike aint it! for work i dont know how to do, i have a website in my favourites (i wont link it as i am unaware of the rules of linking on this forum).. that shows videos of how to do most work. watching these and taking your time, i find that most work can be done just by doing it slowly. . .

in fact im off down my lbs now to see what tape they have in store... wwwooooosh!

fatblokefromwarwick

Still really chuffed with mine after 2 & abit weeks of commuting, and I still haven't rode it in the rain <amazing> so the bar tape still looks fresh, but I only lean on the shifters really.
So far fitted koolstop pads & Michelin tyres. Had the original seat swapped for a 7mm wider one during the sizing up on the trainer (made a huge difference) so all in all a bunny.
Whats peeing you off with the Sora shifters, Shoulder Of Lamb?

fungus_the_muffin_man

really enjoy my Trek 1.5. Had it since March and its been a real godsend. I've upgraded since then and got a carbon frame bike, but I use the Trek as my commuting and bad weather bike now. The only thing I've changed as the tyres for some green stelvios. I don't find the sora shifters a problem at all. In fact I was that used to them that when on the new bike I kept going to use my thumb to shift only to find nothing there :oops:
The saddle is fine Once i'd done some miles I never had a problem with it and still find it rather comfy.

My lil green and white speed demon is a great little bike. Without it I wouldn't have got into road cycling so it'll always be a special bike in my eyes.

andrewJohnson

I have a Trek 1.5 2009 aswell, truly a lovely bike and my first roady. I've managed to scratch mine somehow but it's only small.

I'm thinking of changing the bar tape, the white stuff gets really dirty quickly.

The only problem I have is with some gears when they make a sound but I could sort that out myself fairly easily.

themightyw

I have the Trek 1.5 2008 version (the sexy red one) and love it. I have recently upgraded to a Madone 4.5, but the 1.5 still holds its own remarkably well. If you're riding one and you're not a speed demon it's a cracking wee bike. I upgraded the wheels on the 1.5 for Aksiums with GP4000s, and switched to a slightly different saddle, but it's beautiful bike that's perfect for most people's purposes.

On a 20 mileish hilly ride i'm only about 4-5 minutes faster on the Madone (though since I've only had it for a couple of weeks and gone from a triple to a compact the gear selection isn't yet instinctive).

I'll be continuing to use the 1.5 through the winter, and for general hacking about. You made a very good choice.

iGlaswegian

glasgowpete wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Totally agree that you should be taking your time and doing work yourself to learn. part of the pleasure of loving your bike aint it! for work i dont know how to do, i have a website in my favourites (i wont link it as i am unaware of the rules of linking on this forum).. that shows videos of how to do most work. watching these and taking your time, i find that most work can be done just by doing it slowly. . .

i've recently turned to 'biketube' on youtube, they do a pretty good job of explaining this with humor added into it.

the only thing i can't seem to understand is, how often should you clean the chain? does it depend on mileage? does it depend on the weather (glasgow is rather uncertain when it comes to weather). and i presume, in the winter times... when theres grit on the roads, you should clean it each time after the ride.

shoulder_of_orion

fatblokefromwarwick wrote:

Whats peeing you off with the Sora shifters, Shoulder Of Lamb?

The main problem is shifting while down on the drops. Basically not possible. So the technique is to ride a funny right hand on the hoods, left hand on the drops style. Major Pain in the Ars after a while.

What is the point of selling a drop handle bar bike when you cannot change gear when down on the drops? (this is 2009 not 1979).

Garz

iGlaswegian wrote:

the only thing i can't seem to understand is, how often should you clean the chain? does it depend on mileage? does it depend on the weather (glasgow is rather uncertain when it comes to weather). and i presume, in the winter times... when theres grit on the roads, you should clean it each time after the ride.

As often as you think it needs.

Long mileage? always good to inspect it thoroughly, dont want it snapping mid-ride.

weather? Yes especially after wet/damp conditions, looks gritty/dirty then wipe clean.