Trek 1220 opinions?
Gordon A. Allen
My bike dealer has recommended a Trek 1220 to replace my 20 year old
Raleigh road bike. What do people think of this bike? Thanks, Gordon
Byron Rieper
Riding friend got one in September: bottom bracket blew out after 22
miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano. Rim tape is really, really
bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape. Matrix rims are
the worst I have ever seen... we were truing both front and back tires
every 15 miles before the dealer replaced them with better rims and
nipples (this after both of us called TREK and complained and they
pressured the dealer to do something). Bike now has about 500 miles
on it and ten returns to the bike shop. My friend has shut down for
the winter so we dont know if all problems have gone away. The bottom
line is he had more down time than ride time and I am not impressed.
Reminds me of Schwin about 10 years ago when the accountants took over
and they started to use cheap components
James S. McMillan
>Riding friend got one in September: bottom bracket blew out after 22
>miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano. Rim tape is really, really
>bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape. Matrix rims are
>the worst I have ever seen... we were truing both front and back tires
>every 15 miles before the dealer replaced them with better rims and
>nipples. Bike now has about 500 miles
>on it and ten returns to the bike shop
I think this is one of those isolated incedents and can be attributed
to the quality of the shop.
Aside from the BB which could occur on any bike. The first flat tire
is when the rim strip should have been looked at. The rims going out
of true could be affected by the person who was trueing them, or your
riding style. I have ridden well built wheel that are flimsier than
the matrix rims for a long time (alkor rim 28 hole) without any
problems.
Oh and I'm sure low quality nipples will greatly affect how true the
wheels stay....
Mark
John Everett
In article <346e30d...@news.primary.net>, rie...@kc-primary.net says...
>
>On Thu, 13 Nov 1997 13:17:44 -0500, "Gordon A. Allen"
><all...@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu> wrote:
>
>>My bike dealer has recommended a Trek 1220 to replace my 20 year old
>>Raleigh road bike. What do people think of this bike? Thanks, Gordon
>>
>miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano. Rim tape is really, really
>bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape. Matrix rims are
>the worst I have ever seen... we were truing both front and back tires
>every 15 miles before the dealer replaced them with better rims and
>pressured the dealer to do something). Bike now has about 500 miles
>on it and ten returns to the bike shop. My friend has shut down for
>the winter so we dont know if all problems have gone away. The bottom
>line is he had more down time than ride time and I am not impressed.
>Reminds me of Schwin about 10 years ago when the accountants took over
>and they started to use cheap components
My first "serious" bike was a Trek 1400, purchased in 1990. It has the same
frame as the 1220. It came with Matrix rims. Seven years later I'm still
riding on that bike and those rims. In 1992 I had a bike built for me. Since
I had experienced no problem with the Matrix rims on the Trek I spec'ed them
for the new bike (they were also the lighest generally available clincher
rims at that time). I've put over 21,000 miles on that wheelset, again with
no problems other than an occasional retruing. They still have the original
Velox rim strips.
I'm not convinced Matrix rims are the highest quality available, in fact I'm
planning on rebuilding the 21,000 mile wheels with Mavic Reflex rims this
winter. What I am saying is that in my experience they've proven adequate.
Over the years I've ridden with many friends who have Trek bikes and Matrix
rims, and have heard no "horror stories" about the rims (or the 1200 series
bikes, for that matter).
--
jeve...@wwa.DEFEAT.UCE.BOTS.com (John Everett) http://www.wwa.com/~jeverett
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Things have gotten so bad I feel the need to disguise my email address.
And I don't like this explanation because I just hate long signatures.
Matt O'Toole
James S. McMillan wrote in message
<64ld0e$s...@dfw-ixnews10.ix.netcom.com>...
>>Riding friend got one in September: bottom bracket blew out after 22
>>miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano. Rim tape is really, really
>>bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape. Matrix rims are
>>the worst I have ever seen... we were truing both front and back tires
>>every 15 miles before the dealer replaced them with better rims and
>>nipples. Bike now has about 500 miles
>>on it and ten returns to the bike shop
>I think this is one of those isolated incedents and can be attributed
>to the quality of the shop.
I don't think it's the shop's fault.
The wheels that came with my Klein were really atrocious. So were a lot of
the wheels I saw while checking out other Trek products at some local shops.
I was curious to see if my bike was an anomaly. It wasn't. Trek apparantly
has had a spate of really sloppy wheelbuilding. I wrote to a Trek person
about it, and he was quite concerned and apologetic; admitting that while
they do try, there can be lapses in quality control occasionally. He
promised to check into their wheel deparment, and offered me a free rim,
even though the bike was already several months old. To Trek's further
credit, they also promptly gave me a new wheel when only my hub bearings
failed, no questions asked. The replacement wheel was perfect, and has
never needed truing.
I think if you really do have a problem, you should have no trouble getting
it fixed. They do care, and do stand behind their products. If your shop
doesn't act on your behalf, then it is the shop's fault. Most likely, Trek
will come through if asked.
The rim tape Trek uses really sucks. It's too narrow, it creeps, and it
isn't strong enough to keep from sagging and breaking out into the rim
holes.
>Aside from the BB which could occur on any bike. The first flat tire
>is when the rim strip should have been looked at. The rims going out
>of true could be affected by the person who was trueing them, or your
>riding style. I have ridden well built wheel that are flimsier than
>the matrix rims for a long time (alkor rim 28 hole) without any
>problems.
>
>Oh and I'm sure low quality nipples will greatly affect how true the
>wheels stay....
Not really. It's mostly in the build. Poorly built wheels are common on
production bikes, even expensive ones. The spokes are often too loose, and
unevenly tensioned.
Matt O.
Anthony D. Thomas
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IMHO, this is an OK bike for the money. Most other bikes in this price range
will have basically the same components, so the main differences will be in
the frame.
The RSX rear derailleur on mine started to get sloppy around 1500 miles, but
all the other components seem to be holding up well at 4000 miles.
The frame has a chattery ride, typical of aluminum, but is not as harsh as
something like a C-Dale. OTOH, the bottom bracket area is not very stiff.
I'm 5"6', 130 lbs., and I can get the front derailleur to rub with no problem
:-(
Overall, I suppose it depends on what you want from this bike. If you are a
casual rider looking to do some tours along with a little fast paced riding,
then the Trek 1220 is a pretty good choice. If you plan to put on some
serious miles, I would suggest getting a bike with higher quality components,
at least Shimano 105 or Campy Veloce.
> Riding friend got one in September: bottom bracket blew out after 22
> miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano.
My bottom bracket lasted 1500 miles, at which point it felt like the spindle
was turning in a box of rocks. Trek seems to really "cheap-out" with their
bottom brackets :-(
> Rim tape is really, really
> bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape.
Yep, replace the rim tape with Velox, or another high quality tape, right
away.
> Matrix rims are
> the worst I have ever seen...
I have not had any problems with mine in 4000 miles. I tend to believe the
other responses in this thread that Trek may go through fits of quality
control with their wheel building.
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<HTML>
<TT>IMHO, this is an OK bike for the money. Most other bikes in this
price range will have basically the same components, so the main differences
will be in the frame.</TT><TT></TT>
<P><TT>The RSX rear derailleur on mine started to get sloppy around 1500
miles, but all the other components seem to be holding up well at 4000
miles.</TT><TT></TT>
<P><TT>The frame has a chattery ride, typical of aluminum, but is not as
harsh as something like a C-Dale. OTOH, the bottom bracket area is
not very stiff. I'm 5"6', 130 lbs., and I can get the front derailleur
to rub with no problem :-(</TT><TT></TT>
<P><TT>Overall, I suppose it depends on what you want from this bike.
If you are a casual rider looking to do some tours along with a little
fast paced riding, then the Trek 1220 is a pretty good choice. If
you plan to put on some serious miles, I would suggest getting a bike with
higher quality components, at least Shimano 105 or Campy Veloce.</TT>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE><TT>Riding friend got one in September: bottom bracket
blew out after 22</TT>
<BR><TT>miles; dealer replaced it with a Shimano.</TT></BLOCKQUOTE>
My bottom bracket lasted 1500 miles, at which point it felt like the spindle
was turning in a box of rocks. Trek seems to really "cheap-out" with
their bottom brackets :-(
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE><TT>Rim tape is really, really</TT>
<BR><TT>bad; 4 flats in two days before we replaced the tape.</TT></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yep, replace the rim tape with Velox, or another high quality tape,
right away.
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE><TT> Matrix rims are</TT>
<BR><TT>the worst I have ever seen...</TT></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have not had any problems with mine in 4000 miles. I tend to believe
the other responses in this thread that Trek may go through fits of quality
control with their wheel building.<TT> </TT></HTML>
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