Trade in value

First question, does your LBS take "trade-ins?" Most don't. If so,
expect less than 1/2 of what you paid, even if its in "really good
shape."

Sorry, but used bikes are not worth much. Do a search on ebay to see
the going rate. Good Luck!

Depends on the market, here in Nashville you'd get more for it, than
say, in Madison Wisconsin.

What's 2,700 bucks worth of bike gonna do that the 1200 doesn't already
do? Only reason I can see for the average rider to get one is object
lust.

Now the 5200 does have nicer componentry, but for a couple hundred
bucks, you can swap out some bits on the 1200, to make it both shift
better and weigh less. Better tires, rear mech, seatpost, etc can make
a lot of difference and not break the bank. Heck, you could have some
ultralight wheels built up in addition to some bike tweaks that are
*better* than the fashion victim stuff on the 5200 and still spend less
than a grand.

/devil's advocate

I 2nd this motion. If the 1200 fits, keep it and upgrade as needed.

Spend that passion on training, not on getting new gear. Rather than
going back to the Trek website 50 times a day to lust after the 5200,
memorizing the components' weights in grams, spend that time doing some
intervals. Lust after raising your VO2Max 🙂

If you ever get to the point that the 1200 is actually preventing you
from advancing in the sport, replace it.

-Mike

Yup,

That's just what I decided to do. I got a free pair of wheels for one
of the guys I work with, so that was my first "upgrade". As far as
upgrading any other parts, everything seems to shift nice and smooth so
unless upgrading to Ulterga components will make a world of difference
I'm not sure if it's worth the money. I plan on riding until December
2006 or longer if weather allows so I think I'll invest in some cold
weather gear.

Very good idea. The Spring Sales at the LBSs over the next few weeks
will likely have some decent deals on winter wear...

I think my desire is due to cabin fever... I'm sick of being on my
trainer and want to get out on the road again.

Javier said:

I think my desire is due to cabin fever... I'm sick of being on my
trainer and want to get out on the road again.

amen to that.

Javier said:

I think my desire is due to cabin fever... I'm sick of being on my
trainer and want to get out on the road again.

He he, so you've been stuck in front of the monitor drooling instead.
😄 Been there.

One thing that you might want to thing about is getting or putting
together a nice utility bike, so you can at least go out in some
regular winter street clothes and do a few laps around the block.

I spent 2 years without one, and now that I've got something a bit more
practical, I probably ride 10+ miles per day just doing small errands.
Not that I'm doing intervals or anything, but every little bit helps,
especially when you're getting the "fever".

Yeah, back when I lived in Denver, when the weather got bad I still
stayed on the bike. I can't stand trainers or rollers. Way too boring.
Feels too much like exercise. Yuck.

If it was icy, I'd get on my mountain bike, ride to the local soccer
field/park and do intervals in the snow. Sometimes I'd just practice
crashing. Pretty fun. The cold never really bothered me. If I get three
or four layers on, intervals will keep me warm.

I'm pretty goofy though... in high school I left my basement bedroom
window open all year. Sometimes I'd wake up with a dusting of snow on
my bed.

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

Javier

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

Javier

For that temp range I'd get some thick tights or wind pants. I'm
personally warm blooded and do plain tights over shorts when it's over
freezing.

tops: a layer or two + a shell of some sort.

shoes: thin wool socks, or thick if you have a wide pair of shoes.
Neoprene covers.

hands: lobster gloves are great in the brutal cold. I like cx ski
gloves when it's a bit warmer, as the palm offers more control

hat: again, I like a thin wool Swix ski hat.

Face: you can get one of those neoprene jobbers or just use a plain
scarf. I used to use a middle eastern keffeyah when I rode in Chicago
winters, but it's a little too "freedom-fighter" looking for the
current American political climate.

Keep your hands, feet, and head warm, and you'll be surprised on how
little you need inbetween.

I agree with all this. Sometimes, in the low 20's, depending on the
humidity, the bridge of my nose would get fiercely cold from the wind.
I started wearing ski goggles, and that fixed me right up.

I don't really wear hats, but thin polypro headbands keep the ears
warm, and sometimes a cycling cap over that to keep the wind off my
scalp.

I don't like wind pants or wind breaker coats because for some reason I
always need to be wearing something breathable (same goes for heavy
rain -- no poncho for me). For this reason, I will wear a SS jersey,
arm warmers, then throw 1-3 LS jerseys over this as needed. I've never
needed more than 4 layers, and that was for 5F weather.

For my legs it's shorts, leg warmers, and one or two pairs of unpadded
tights over that. If it's not too cold, just shorts and tights.

Booties are really helpful, as are two pairs of cycling socks with less
shoe tension.

You have to embrace the weather, no matter what it is. I now live in
Austin TX, and ride at lunchtime year-round. I'm the only one out there
when it's 25F, and the only one out there when it's 105F. Either is
enjoyable if you're prepared and know your limits.

-Mike

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

Javier

Check out icebike.com

Quoted message said:

What's 2,700 bucks worth of bike gonna do that the 1200 doesn't already
do? Only reason I can see for the average rider to get one is object
lust.

There's likely nothing about a 1200 vs 5200 that would make it much more
likely you'd complete a century on one bike than the other. That *might* be
true (although I'd make a case for the 5200 riding differently enough that
you will notice, especially on longer rides, a reduction in road buzz coming
through the seat and handlebars, enough that, for some of us, it's a
meaningful difference).

Quoted message said:

Now the 5200 does have nicer componentry, but for a couple hundred
bucks, you can swap out some bits on the 1200, to make it both shift
better and weigh less. Better tires, rear mech, seatpost, etc can make
a lot of difference and not break the bank. Heck, you could have some
ultralight wheels built up in addition to some bike tweaks that are
*better* than the fashion victim stuff on the 5200 and still spend less
than a grand.

The best bet is to ride one and see. Some will be blown away by the
differences in the frame, and others will not. Make sure, if you ride one,
that it's set up exactly the same as the bike you're on now (same seat
height, stem length, difference in height between seat & bars, seat setback
relative to bottom bracket). The 1200 and the 5200 share similar geometries,
so this shouldn't be difficult to do.

But is it worth it? Different people will have different answers. You can
fly from the San Francisco to Paris, an 11 hour flight, for as little as
$600 and as much as $9000, depending up whether you're in coach or first
(although first class can generally be had for about $4500). Either way you
end up at the exact same place, at the exact same time. Is it worth it to
spend the extra money for first class? For me, no. For others, yes.
Ironically, some of those who are willing to spend the extra money for 11
hours in first class won't spend more than the absolute minimum on a bike.
Different priorities.

But to pass off the differences as being minimal or simply not worthwhile is
either untrue, or a personal judgement, or both. The 5200 and 1200 are
substantially different bikes, with substantially different rides.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"landotter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depends on the market, here in Nashville you'd get more for it, than
say, in Madison Wisconsin.

What's 2,700 bucks worth of bike gonna do that the 1200 doesn't already
do? Only reason I can see for the average rider to get one is object
lust.

Now the 5200 does have nicer componentry, but for a couple hundred
bucks, you can swap out some bits on the 1200, to make it both shift
better and weigh less. Better tires, rear mech, seatpost, etc can make
a lot of difference and not break the bank. Heck, you could have some
ultralight wheels built up in addition to some bike tweaks that are
*better* than the fashion victim stuff on the 5200 and still spend less
than a grand.

/devil's advocate

Mike,

Thanks as usual for the insight. I'd rather spend 500 bucks on my bike
than on a care repair. The only thing that kills me about my 1200 is
the road buzz I get after about 50 miles. Wonder if Trek sells just the
5200 frame and fork? I can swap out the rest of the parts.

"Javier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike,

The only thing that kills me about my 1200 is
the road buzz I get after about 50 miles. >

What size tires are you using? Before you go and invest in a new frameset,
why not try something like a 700x25 or even 28mm wide tires pumped up to
100psi. That will probably gie you more "comfort" and less "road buzz" than
a new frameset....

Quoted message said:

Mike,

Thanks as usual for the insight. I'd rather spend 500 bucks on my bike
than on a care repair. The only thing that kills me about my 1200 is
the road buzz I get after about 50 miles. Wonder if Trek sells just the
5200 frame and fork? I can swap out the rest of the parts.

Trek does sell framesets separately, but it's a much better deal to get the
complete bike (I believe the 5200 frameset goes for around $1700, vs $2400
for the complete bike). I wouldn't get the 5200 just for the reduction in
road buzz though; there's alot more to it than that.

But for road buzz alone, as bfd mentioned, larger tires will make a
substantial improvement, especially if you use high-quality (typically very
light) ones. If you're using 23c now, definitely consider 25. I doubt you'll
notice much difference at all in rolling resistance. Going to a 28c I do
notice things feel a bit slower, but it's a great size in the rain (or for
heavier riders).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

I'm using 23C's right now, usually at 100-110PSI. Unfortuantly while my
area has some nice long roads but there is also a tendancy to get lots
of flats around here (very urban, lots of junk on the side of the road)
and the only tires that have held up are the Bontrager Hardcase
Racelites.

You might try lowering your tire pressure to 90 in the rear and 85 in
the front. If you go with bigger tires, you can even take it lower than
that. The increase in rolling resistance is pretty minimal, and if you
are riding long miles with other riders, then drafting will minimize it
even more.

At any rate, I'd always recommend front tire pressure be lower than
rear by 5-10 psi.

-Mike