Jeep101

Hello everyone. I was at Costco today and seen a northrock xc27 mountain bike and really liked it. Last year we dusted off our bikes and rode them mainly camp ground and in the neighborhood. but this year I’m looking to maybe hit the trails solo or find a local bike club. I’m 31 6’1 200#s the trek 4500 I’ve had since I was a kid and Ive maintained it pretty well for a bike that’s 20yrs old. The question is and this is what brought me here. Should I buy a new MT bike? Or maybe try and upgrade some parts on the trek? If I were to buy new bike I’d like to stay under $500. If I did buy a new bike I would keep the trek as I put street tires on it bc I mainly ride it around on sidewalk and paved trail. If I got a new MT bike it would be my first time since Being a teenager I would be riding on non paved trails. There are afew as I’m in NW burbs of Chicago their is walking/bike trails everywhere mostly paved. Or I guess I could get a new hybrid bike for under 500 and sell the trek for 100 prolly. Idk what do you guys think. I know very little about bikes and would love to get into the community as I’m starting to get into fitness as well. Thank you in advance for your comments!!

RH Clark

I would fix my old bike just as little as needed to get riding a lot. Then when the bike is limiting what you want to do, it will be time for a new bike.

Rogerogeroge

Is there anything about your 4500 you don't like or doesn't work right?

Keep the bike, maybe get a tune-up. Save the bike for a better rainy day. $500 now is probably worth less than the initial investment you made on your 4500. With your budget, you're looking at a Marlin 5. You still have a triple crank, and the one advantage is that the Marlin has 29 inch wheels. I say keep your $500, make it grow to a bigger upgrade. Maybe spend a bit to make your present life easier - a tuneup, a new pair of shorts, hydration pack. Be careful not to dig too deep into that fund tho.

PoorInRichfield

Normally I'd say that you should scour Craigslist for a $500 used mountain bike that's a few years old. However, there will probably be slim pickin' on Craigslist right now because it's Spring an everyone is buying a bike as something to do during COVID lock-down.

So in the mean-time, fix-up your existing bike and ride it until it dies.

biker128pedal

My wife has a 4500 WSD. Get new tires a wider and fix anything else. Ride it. Even if you need new wheels.

Russ Roth

Basically there aren't many 500 MTBs that will be a serious improvement over what you have and the only reason to go new would be the improvement of 29" wheels over 26". From what I've seen to get a real trail worthy bike is more in the 800-1000.00 range which sorta leaves you with riding what you have and saving for something better.

cyccommute 

Keep the current bike. The Northrock doesn’t even compare. It’s got far too many warts. The major one is the freewheel rear wheel. It’s prone to breaking. A $500 mountain is a slight step down as well. Your 4500 may only have 26” wheels but many of us have ridden thousands of miles on 26” wheels. Some of us even ride 26” wheels now. No, your bike doesn’t have discs but, again, many of us have ridden thousands of miles without discs.

Your bike can be upgraded and give you many more miles of excellent service even as a “serious” mountain bike. Look into a better fork. An air/oil fork would be a very good addition. Look for Fox, Manitou or Rock Shox (in that order, in my opinion). The Fox is going to be more expensive than the other two. Whatever you look for, make sure the fork has a lockout.

Any of this forks should be able to accept a disc on the front. It’s not a bad way of going if you really think you need a disc. I have disc front/linear rear on my bike and can’t really tell a difference.

Maelochs

https://www.mtbr.com/product/bikes/bike-hardtail/trek/2000-4500.html
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bi...k-4500-review/
https://forums.mtbr.com/26er-bikes/h...a-1016980.html

Seems that what everyone here says is accurate: the Trek is a much better bike than you could get for comparable money right now and if it is in anything like good shape, you should just ride it a ton.

Particularly since you aren’t planning to do crazy shredding big-air/big drop high-abuse riding, the Trek should provide everything you need. (One owner suggests replacing the suspension fork with a rigid form for the kind of riding you do.)

As others mention, if at some point down the road you decide you are making a serious time- and energy investment in cycling and want to make a more serious financial investment as well, you would need to spend about $1000 to get anything better than what you have with the Trek (assuming it is still running.)

Jeep101

Thank you for all your replies. Im glad to see people telling me to keep it and that its still a solid bike after 20 years. I got it out today and only issue i had it doesn't want to shift into 7th other then that it was a great short ride. I could use a new seat as mines ripped and not that comfy other then cosmetic damage its a solid bike and 100% ride able. I will put the $500 in an envelope and save up to $1,000 at the end of the season ill revisit the idea.

biker128pedal

Shifters could be gunked up from age. I'd spray some WD-40 into the mechanism to clean it out. Soak the derailleurs too. Then lube the derailleurs and chain. While at it lube the cables. Shift to slacken the cables. Slide cable housing out of the stops. Clean them off. Lube if you want. Some don't if the cable housing are lined with Teflon sleeves.

Thomas15

I have a 16 year old Trek 4500. The only thing I have replaced is the seat and I put clipless pedals on it. I run with 2" wide street tires. I have new shift cables to put on, will do that in a week or two.

Two weeks ago I started what I call my "Weekly W to W and Back" rail trail ride. It is a total of 62 miles that I do non-stop on my Trek 4500. I have completed this ride twice to date. My outside riding season has finally kicked off and I have in 2 weeks almost 150 miles on this bike which I consider my secondary bike. If I were a serious mountain biker then I would upgrade but it would be a complete new bike and not one that costs less than $1500 While the Trek wasn't designed to do long distance rides as a main course I think I have proven that it is possible. This bike is literally bulletproof.

As others have said keep the Trek. What you are considering is not an upgrade imo.

Jeep101

I’m just gonna ride it for the summer as it is. Maybe over the winter I’ll research some parts to make improvements. It’s good to hear ppl are still rockin the older treks!

tkamd73 

$500 doesn’t get you squat in a new bike these days. Nothing I’d ride anyway. Update your Trek, better then anything new you’d be able to get, with just $500.
Tim

Cyclist7485

If it was me (worked in bike industry for nearly 40 years) I’d spend the bare minimum to get that trek working properly and ride it as stock as is possible until the new bicycle shortage has ended.

In the meantime, start saving up for something much nicer. For what you’re doing, a dual-sport hybrid with wide 700c wheels and tires or a gravel road bike would be perfect. Should you opt for a new mountain bike, there are going to be some new 29er hardtails in the $500-900 range that will blow your mind at how much better they ride, shift, and handle than your old 4500. I sold those bikes back then, btw so I am familiar with that particular machine.

I would avoid any bicycle sold by Costco or any mass merchant. Stick with the bike shop brands. The bike names spend the most on r&d, and the long-term user experiences typically are better.

blakcloud

Glad to hear you made a decision. I know you said you were going to put the money in an envelope but may I suggest you take $150 or so and get an overhaul. The bike is over a decade old and hasn't had the cables replaced or the hubs/bottom bracket/headset overhauled and now may be the time. Even if you purchase something new at the end of the year, you will have this Trek as a back up bike. Bikes do needs some type of investment to keep them going and running in top shape.

Happy cycling.

Jeep101

Went out this morning with my neighbor, great ride. I agree with y’all after looking around I think I’ll need at least $1000. I’ve now got about $1600 saved up not sure what I’ll end up doing. I do like the idea of a hybrid style bike because all the trails by me are paved or gravel so it would be silly for me to get a real mountain bike and not have the trails to ride it. Not sure what will happen but I’m definitely gonna wait and get a new bike later on down the road. The trek is solid and works great! I just need to find more ppl to ride with it’s so much more enjoyable!