Mountain Bike Trek 4500 Review

Pros
Solid frame. Takes the urban and rural rocking well. Carries a big load nicely.

Cons
A little heavy for road use. Retrofit with your chosen components.

The Bottom Line
I recommend Trek to everyone without reservation. They know frames. Everything else you can do yourself. This is good entry-level bike that can be easily accessorized for multiple uses.

Recommended Use: Daily Rides

The Trek 4500 is a wonderful bike for the price of about $400. It manages to do everything well, on and off road. I have had the Trek 4500 for just about a year and have put on 3,200 miles. I have had minimal problems and the 4500 bike still acts as if it's brand new.

Ride

The stock tires are not for serious off roading, but they will tackle all but the knarliest trails with ease. Since the Trek 4500 doesn't have huge knobs on them, the ride on road is quite comfortable. I have ridden the 4500 for 6 hours on end, and I was never banged around. It handles bumps in the road with ease, not quite like a car, but it's not harsh.

Handling

Handling is really the Trek 4500 strong suit. It is very confidence inspiring and practically encourages you to take tight corners on the road at well over 20 mph. Turning on trails is easy as well, but I usually don't fly down trails because trails are harder to negotiate than regular roads. In doing a mini slalom, the Trek 4500 leans in well, answering to your every move, and the bike stays planted in the corner until you let up. I have had bikes before that are too tippy and don't like to go around corners, but Trek 4500 loves to turn. The handlebars are the perfect length, too, for maximum control.

Gears

The Trek 4500 has 24 well spaced gears, like a mountain bike should. All the way down in first gear is great for off roading and is so low that you can actually ride straight up a sledding hill without stopping and walking up. I have done that before, and it's a workout, but the gear is low enough to make the most of your pedalling. When you get up to 24th gear, you can get up quite some speed. I have a speedometer on my 4500, and so far, I have gotten up to 35 mph (and without going down a hill since there aren't any where I live). Between 1 and 24, there is always a perfect gear for every situation. I always make the most of the gears that I have so I can accellerate as quickly as possible and keep it up at speed. The shifter is a trigger shifter and is very easy to use. I don't have to move my right hand at all when I want to shift; I just push the button in and it shifts. When you upshift, you can only go up one gear at a time, but when you downshift, you can go down as many as three gears at once. That comes in handy sometimes when you have to slam on the brakes to watch out for a car and then need to get into a lower gear again to get moving on the Trek 4500.

Brakes

The brakes are very powerful and stop the Trek 4500 with authority. I have had many close calls with cars, but I haven't gotten hit yet mostly becuase of these brakes. Over the 3,200 miles that I have put on this bike, however, I have noticed some brake fade on the 4500.

Seat

The seat on the Trek 4500 is somewhat narrow, but it is very comfortable nonetheless. I can sit on it for hours on end and not complain. It is adjusted through a hand flip lever so you can adjust it while on the road (of course you have to stop and get off first). The padding is also quite sufficient.

Other

I have noticed that the gears are uncovered, which means that my pantlegs and shoelaces have taken quite a beating- they get caught on those gears. My shoelaces have ripped, and my pants have gotten caught. If they don't get caught on the cogs, then they will get smeared with grease from the chain. I advise you to rubberband your pantlegs or fold them into your socks and also to tuck your shoelaces into your shoes to prevent any of those catching on the gears, but I don't know how to keep my pant legs free from grease from rubbing against that chain.

Overall, the Trek 4500 is a great bike for those who like to do a lot of on road riding and like to throw in a little off roading here and there. This bike doesn't beg you to stay on the road or stay on the trail, but it is happy either way and never lets you down.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 400
Recommended Use: The Trek 4500 is most suitable for daily rides