maahinberi

Having only ridden mountain bikes, I've always wanted to try a road bike, but was never able to get myself to put down money to buy one.
Found a well maintained Trek 1200 on craigslist for $150 and decided to buy it.
I plan to mostly use it as a daily commuter (2 mile commute) and for 15-20 mile rides on weekends.

maahinberi

The yellow with black splash paint job is super bright and definitely stands out, wherever you park the bike

maahinberi

Right off the bat, my first impressions are that the brakes are too weak (or maybe I'm not used to braking from the hoods) and the reach seems a bit long for me.
The frame is a 58 size with a 57cm top tube and 120mm stem. I am 5'10"
Don't know if the frame is one size too big for me, or is it only the fact that I'm not used to the road bike position.

CliffordK

Wow, you've had an account forever... and have made as many posts today as you've done since starting your account.
@maahinberi's Album:
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/188476
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/15660878

maahinberi

The bike has a full Shimano RX-100 groupset. 2x7 gears. With 52/42 chain rings and a 12/32 cassette.
Somewhere down the path it was upgraded to integrated shifters or Brifters, but other than that all parts seem original

CliffordK

BTW: You're limited to 5 posts a day until you hit 10 posts.

I think your bike is decent enough for your $150 investment. Brifters too. Do they shift ok?

Is your seat adjusted so you can put your heel on the pedals just forward of straight down with a straight leg, or nearly so?

maahinberi

Hahaha, I've been silently watching the discussions. Thought that this would be a good opportunity to start a thread.
I don't have 10 posts, so can't post pictures yet though

Will probably edit the above posts with images once I reach the 10 post limit

CliffordK

As far as the brakes, I've been very impressed with the new Shimano 6800 brake calipers. I'm not sure if pull varied slightly on different brake models. In some cases, new pads might also help.

Classtime 

Cool bike. I had a 1400 that rode nicely but was a bit small for me. Regarding the brakes, new cables and housings along with new pads will help some and while you are doing that , try a shorter stem. Your body can adapt to a wide range of positions. Check out some videos of road pros and you will notice that there is no ideal. Many of us have gone high low long short and back again.

ryansu

+1 on trying a shorter stem and for brake adjustment you might check out the park tool

rccardr 

Definitely a shorter stem, my guess would be a 90mm one given your height (same as mine) and the top tube length.
General rule of thumb is when you are riding in your 'natural' position the handlebar should completely obscure the front axle.
If the axle is in front of the bars, get a longer stem.
If the axle is behind the bars, get a shorter stem.
Make fine adjustments by moving the saddle fore and aft.

Speaking of saddles, yours is too low for your leg length and tilted too far forward.

Chr0m0ly 

I'm your height and I ride a size larger. I'm a "shortback" and my height is in my legs. With a 34" PBH bringing the saddle to correct height for my legs gives me a drop of about an inch and a half to the bars, and for me that's too much! :-D

To get my saddle in the right place, I adjust it so I can reach the peddles with my heals if I lock my knees. Then I level the saddle so if I peddle without touching the handlebar, I don't slide forward or back. I adjust the for and aft by bending to the drops and again letting go of the bars. If I can support my torso in the aero position without using my hands, then (for me) the saddle is far back enough.

If you're more typical in proportion a 90mm stem is a good place to start. When I use the taller frame to suit my leg length I end up with a 65mm stem, because the top tube is longer on a 60ish cm frame.

Basically your height is an important part of frame sizing but other factors can come into play.

At any rate it sounds like you have a good sized frame and a bit of tweaking will get you sorted.

maahinberi

The brifters seem to work pretty well. They lack clickiness, but overall, the shifting seems to be smoother on this than the Shimano Tourney on my brand new mountain bike.

maahinberi

As for the seat, the saddle can probably be a tad bit higher, however, since most of my riding is only commuting right now, I like my saddle at a point where I can tiptoe on both feet or put down one foot firmly on the ground without dismounting from the saddle.

maahinberi

I've had the bike for a week now and the bars don't seem as much of a stretch as when I first got the bike.
I've noticed that holding the bars just in front of the curve, but behind the hoods seems to be pretty comfortable.
I also read that vintage bars stretch forward longer before curving down compared to modern ergonomic bars and that's why the hoods of integrated shifters don't work too well with vintage bars.

Considering all of this, I am planning on getting a quill to threadless stem adapter, with a 110mm stem (which seems standard) and modern ergo bars.
This should move the hoods back by about 4-5cm. I am worried about getting too short a stem as people say that it makes the handling twitchy.
Will also make it look a bit more modern with a black anodized stem and bar.

I'm torn doing this or keeping the vintage look with the quill stem.

maahinberi

Upgraded the brake pads to a set of Kool Stop dual compound pads and it has made a huge difference to the braking. I now have the confidence to go down descents faster than on my mountain bike.
Also had to lower the stem a little bit as the front brake cable did not have any slack in the previous position.
Twisted the bars slightly back to make up for lowering the stem.
Also changed the pedals to some flat pedals as the toe straps were a pain to slip into and out of while coming to a halt at traffic lights (Never used toe straps before). I usually ride with the center of my foot on the pedals unless I'm putting down a lot of power and always having the balls of my feet on the pedals was causing my feet to hurt.

Robert1985

I love my Raleigh Merit 1 Road Bike , though I can't give my bike image for 10 post limit . Its frame and height make my ride easy and comfortable.

maahinberi

Reached 10 posts
Updated the above posts with images

maahinberi

Can someone help me identify the model/series of these brifters?

dddd

Roll up the rubber lever hood a bit to see the part number molded into the plastic lever body. ST-3304 or similar is my guess.

squirtdad

a) nice bike

b) +1 on shorter stem

c) seat is too low, you just need to get used to sliding off the seat at stops when commuting. good rule of thumb for for initial set up is to size with heel on pedal and leg fully extended (locked) that will get you very close to where you need with the ball of your foot centered on the pedal axle.....you want so hips don't rock (go up and down) when you pedal and so you leg is is not fully extended

d) dual pivots are great as noted check adjustments and put new pads on

Like the color

mstateglfr 

sweet color.

if that saddle is proper height for when you ride(meaning your legs are almost fully extended at the bottom of the stroke), then that frame seems too big. Thats a really small amount of seatpost showing for a level top tube bike.

No idea why a 3x7 STI set is paired to a 2x7 drivetrain. Do the left shifter and front derailleur work well together, or are they wonky?

UKFan4Sure

I have that same bike in the 1500 from 1990, which only meant a little better components (for that particular year). It has Shimano 600 Ultegra.

maahinberi

Any inputs on the quill stem vs modern bar and stem?

UKFan4Sure

There certainly are advantages. It makes removing the bars a snap, adds versatility and adds ease to selecting a stem, especially when you want to raise the bars.