2004 Trek 4500
February 11th, 2005 by CarlMy first experience with buying a bike was certainly not the best one. I walked into a department store one day, two benjamins stuffed in my pocket, ready to buy that shiny new “name brand” bike. I’m not going to tell you what store this was, or what “name brand” the bike was, but it sucked.
It sucked bad. After my first ride (on the road, no less) every single cable needed to be adjusted. “Fine”, I told myself, “Just needs a little breaking in.” So, wisely, I decided to take it to a nice piece of singletrack near my school to make sure everything worked right. That was a disaster. To make a long story short, I gave this bike away after riding it maybe 5 times. Oh yea, and the guy I gave it to left it unused outside of his dorm for so long that the campus police snapped the lock and took it for good. Bye-bye, crappy bike. Good riddance.
I bought my Trek 4500 within 12 seconds of receiving a refund from one of my school loans. Literally, the exact second the money was in my account, I was out the door. It was a glorious day for my MasterCard.
I paid about $420 for this beast, and it’s the best money I’ve ever spent. My Trek has been dropped, thrown, smashed, bashed, crashed, and gnashed. It still works perfectly and I love it.
The frame of the 4500 is probably the first of Trek’s frames that would be worth upgrading. It’s made of ASL (Alpha Super Light) Aluminum, so if you ever want to replace various components, you still have a lightweight spine to put them on.
The front fork included is a RockShox Judy TT. I like this fork, as it’s adjustable and doesn’t seem too firm or too plush at either extreme setting. I’m itching for an air fork already; however, for a novice rider like me the Judy is more than enough. I’m not even going to tell you the travel of my last “fork.” Ok I will. Maybe an inch. Can you guess why I’m happy?
Components of the bike are adequate as well. I’ve had a few complaints (somehow two teeth broke off the smallest cog on the cassette) but all and all, they are very sturdy.
Shimano’s Deore derailleur is included as part of the drivetrain, and Shimano also provides the crankset. With adequate lube and care, I honestly believe these parts would last forever. My largest chainring has bitten more logs than a starving beaver, and somehow shifting is still seamless.
The remaining parts of the bike are pretty much standard. Tires included are Bontrager Jones ACX’s (26*2.2in), although I’ve upgraded since then. The Bontrager’s lasted surprisingly long however, and even though Tim and I had many “longest skid” competitions, I still squeezed a year of life out of them. Promax V-brakes and levers provide stopping power, and with the exception of some very muddy days, they perform quite admirably.
Overall, this bike gets my stamp of approval. For a sub-30 pound ride, this monster leaves very little to desire from a basic hardtail. If my dreams come true and one day I have a dozen bikes, there is no doubt in my mind this Trek will adorn the wall of my garage. Why, you ask? Because it’s rough, tough, and won’t stay down for the count.
My final word: save $400 or so, stay away from department stores, and go buy a Trek. You won’t regret it.
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You know, it’s refreshing to see a review of a sub $1000 dollar bike once in awhile. Tis a shame that the major rags don’t get it. More people would come into the sport if they didn’t think they had to spend 1500 clams to be “cool”. You can have tons of fun on a bike like your 4500, have cash left over, and still “be cool”! Righteous! Rage on!
I like the review. I have a Trek 4600 which is the same only with a full SRam X-7 drivetrain and Bontrager crank. It is nine speed. I fully agree with the toughness of this frame. It’s too bad Trek no longer offers the 4600 but I guess it was a fill in while Shimano was having supply problems.Let’s see more cheap bike reviews.
Ive got a 4500 too. Its 3 yrs old and I am 200 pounds and it has never missed a beat.
I just got me a Trek 4500, women`s frame..!
Reason being my short spine.
Last bike within a chance of comparison, was a stiff old Miyata alu-frame with steel-forks. They both are marvelous, for my bodytype!
The 4500 adds all that comfort, so long sought for! Doing trick-jumps with ease, ewenthough being injured in my neck years ago.. It is so easy to handle! One just forgets…. Nice to see the pricetag as well!
You’ll love it. I’m amazed that mine acutally still works…. all it ever needs are tune-ups, brake pads and chain lube from time to time. Pricetag was definitely what sold me on the bike…. I paid around $440. Some forks cost that much so it was a great deal for an entire bike!
I saved my trek 4500 from a pawn shop. I’ve been looking for a new mountainbike, I also own a GT avalanche 3.0. I saw they wanted 239.99 for it so i offered them 200 + tax. It was sold. I brought it home and discovered that everything was out of wack on it. I had the bike shop do some work to it and for 70.25 @ the bike shop. IT RIDES like a DREAM. I love it. The shifters work awesome. Havent hit the trails yet but rode it through my ditches near my house with ease. I’m also happy i saved this beauty from the pawn shop and got her all fixed up like new again. She’s my baby.
I also bought a 4500 last summer (05) It is an awesome bike. The only thing i dont like about it is the rear cassete. I have pretty much torn the thing to peices. And,other than that they hold up awesome. I bought the bike for $445. i got cat-eye wireless computer, and some time attack pedals. Its deffinately one of the most forgiving bikes also. there were sometimes when i thought i was going to kill myself … well the bike pulled me right out of those situations. (cliffs, narrow bridges, etc…) the best bike you can buy for the money
I purchased a Trek 4500 from the local dealer over 3 years ago, and it still performs like new even though I haven’t been able to have it professionaly tuned since I bought it. The most I have ever needed to do has been to degrease and lube the chain. Excellent value.
I bought 2 trek 4500’s. one for my wife and one for me. Best money I’ve ever spent. the bike is easy to handle for someone over 6′3″. My wife shreds and does a good job keeping up. Wish I had more teeth on the smallest front sproket for hill climbing. Other than that It performs great! Had a walmart special fully suspended to start with and collasped the front springs bad! Glad I saved the cash to get the 4500.
I own a 4500 and love this machine. I bought this bike as a beginner this past year and the bike has done everything i’ve asked it to do. If your looking for a strong entry level bike this is the one for you……….
I bought a Trek 4500 for $50 a couple years ago, and had it running perfectly for another $85, (cables, tires, derailler). it was my first Real bike, i did the department store thing too (sucks), but the trek is still the best bike ive ever ridden, even compared to my comperable specialized and gary fisher. the only thing that ever went wrong was the bottom bracket after a 4ft drop off some stairs. but somone stole the bike from my garage while i was out of state. Amazing bike, good review!
I had a Trek 4500 bought in July 2004. In red with R/Shock Pilot SLs. Entered a few races over the South East of England & rodeall day epics in Wales etc. Rode really well and got the weight down to 27.5lbs with xt hubs/X117 rims,Hope mini brakes etc. Unfortunately early summer ‘05 the frame developed a stress fracture on the chainstay just behind the bottom bracket on the driveside (not damage causal).
Trek were excellent & through my retailer changed the frame under warranty with an upgraded 6700 (slr custom butted tubing). I now ride a silver & blue 6700 everyday to work & it’s excellent although I do miss the red paint job..
I bought my Trek 4500 Coor’s Light Logo model at a garage sale. It looked as though someone just brought it out of the showroom and marked it down for a quick sale. Except for one paint smear and a scratch on the seat it was like new. Anyway for $150 I could not complain. I have a Coor’s light hat to match. Now where is that trail? Thanks for the other comments about how good the bike is.
Thanks for the reviews. I pick up my used one tomorrow for a buck and a half, so it sounds like I am buying a good bike at a great price.
thanks