Give me feedback on Trek Speed Concept

GAndrew Gordon

LBS is offering 10% of sale price back in form of store credit for accessories or Trek Care Plus and covering sales tax on the purchase of a Trek Project One bike (e.g., Speed Concept 7 or 9) if bought by 12/31/13.  I've been looking into at tri bike upgrade and usually research like crazy, but time is short in this case so I would love your feedback on the SC.  Good, bad, comparisions -- all input is welcome!

GMAN 19030

I have a 2011 and a new 2014 Trek Speed Concept. What do you want to know? Ask away!

Gaudir8

what size are you?

GAndrew Gordon

@Ray:  The bike would probably be a medium.  My physical size is 5ft 10in between 170-175lbs.

@Bob:  Buying the updated model after riding your 1st says alot already.  My main questions are the bike's durability and maintenance.  I'm handy and can do most of the basics and some of the advanced (with the help of youtube) but the cable routing and hidden away brakes are intimidating.  I haven't done any travel that would require me to take the bike apart but I can see that coming, so that concerns me as well.  I've scanned the forums for past discussions on the bike so I've picked up a bunch of information (some of it yours) already.

Gaudir8

I have a beautiful Pinarello Graal frame in a 53 and an FM1 Montello (never built up) that I would give you an awesome price on for either.

John Withrow

Gerry- are they offering that on a new 2014 version or on a close out 2013? If it a 2013, your LBS should be offering it at 30-35% off! not 10%. They can likely do better than 10% discount on the 2014 as well and in actual price reduction and not just in store credit. These are incredibly expensive bikes and they have several thousand dollars of margin on them, even if it is a hot and brand new model. One other thing, that offer from your LBS will not expire on Dec 31. If you walked in on January 15th and asked to talk to the sales manager and told him you would like to buy a brand new 2014 Trek SC with whatever specs you desire (I strongly recommend di2) and you are willing to pay $X where "X" is 10-15% off he list price, I'd be very surprised if he says no. Just make sure to talk to him in private, not on the main floor, preferably in his office. And be very polite and offer to put one of his bike store's stickers on the frame and maybe even offer to leave it on the LBS floor built as a showpiece for a few weeks before you take it home. LBS managers are generally nice and smart people. But they don't want everybody in the world to know that you can negotiate the price, especially on their highest end, highest priced and highest margin bikes.

Now to the bike. The original Trek SC is an awesome Superbike. And I understand that the new 2014 version is even awesomer (if that's a word). There are a ton of great super bikes out there and each has their own nuances as far as speed or P.I.T.A. Quotient. To make them so slippery to the wind, they are generally slightly harder to setup initially and are a bit more difficult to work on. But if you are handy with a wrench, and know how to use youtube, then it's unlikely that there is anything on the bike you can't handle maintenance wise if you are patient the first couple of times.

There are plenty of decent reviews if you google it, but here are a couple of simple ones:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/07/gear-tech/trek-reveals-all-new-speed-concept_79866
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/07/photos/photos-treks-new-speed-concept-9-series_80677
http://aerogeeks.com/2013/07/15/2014-trek-speed-concept-first-look/

John Withrow

Or you take Ray up on his offer and build your own Superbike even cheaper...

GMAN 19030

Posted By Gerry Gordon on 18 Dec 2013 03:50 PM

@Bob:  Buying the updated model after riding your 1st says alot already.  My main questions are the bike's durability and maintenance.  I'm handy and can do most of the basics and some of the advanced (with the help of youtube) but the cable routing and hidden away brakes are intimidating.  I haven't done any travel that would require me to take the bike apart but I can see that coming, so that concerns me as well.  I've scanned the forums for past discussions on the bike so I've picked up a bunch of information (some of it yours) already.

The '14 bike is a lot easier to wrench/adjust/maintain than the '11-'13 bike.

Cable routing in the Gen 1 SC was difficult.  I found it to be easier with the new bike.  Cables just guided better.  I only have brake cables to reference as both bikes are Di2 so the Di2 wires were already installed and I never had to fiddle with those.  So I can't really comment on routing FD or RD cables.

The rear brake is more or less the same but the improvement came in the form of ease of adjustability.  There's a little slit in the new rear brake cover that allows you to adjust the width of the brakes without having to take the brake cover off and messing with spacers and all that.

I traveled with my old SC on the plane once and it wasn't too much of a hassle.  You just have to drop the bars to the side which obviously involves removing the base bar from the stem and pulling out the front brake cable to give the requisite slack to allow the bars to turn to the side.  Not a lot of effort there.  10 minutes tops.

GAndrew Gordon

Thanks for the offer, and those are beautiful frames, but I'm not sure I have the time, energy or interest in building my own.  I'll keep it in mind though and give you a shout if that changes. 

GAndrew Gordon

Thanks for the feedback.  In light of everything else I've read, I don't see any insurmountable negatives or reasons not to try to get an SC into my garage.

GAndrew Gordon

Thanks for weighing in.  You make some excellent points -- I'll definitely see if the sticker price is open to negotiation.  If not at LBS 1, then maybe at one of their competitors in the area.  Pretty sure its a 2014 model, but that will have to enter into the horsetrading mix if not.  I don't really know much about the di2, is it really worth the investment?

John Withrow

Di2 is one of those things that you didn't know you needed until you have it, then you won't ever go back to not having it.

As yourself the following questions about your car:
1) do you have a radio? ipod doc maybe?
2) do you have air conditioning?
3) do you have power windows?
4) do you have power door locks?
5) do you have a built in Navigation Screen?
6) Do you have Satellite Radio?
7) do you have heated (or air conditioned) seats?

There were certainly times when none of these things were even options in a car, let alone standard. And probably times when they were options that you didn't think you needed. But once you have them and get used to them, it'd be really hard to give them up. I have used Di2 now for over a yr and it would be painful for me to go back to not having it. I think it is a game changer for tri bikes especially (maybe a little less so for road bikes). It is awesome to have perfect shifts every time. And more awesome to not need to move your hands or change your position at all to shift. And it is very nice to be able to downshift as you come to a stop sign or intersection (from the bullhorns) while training. And it is nice to be able to shift from the bullhorns while climbing. Personally, if it were me, I'd have a cheaper frame AND Di2 instead of the latest and greatest frame and mechanical shifting. The difference in time from aerodynamics between any of the really great frames out there is almost negligible. The difference in ease of shifting in all conditions the whole time you are riding is very noticeable. I find I shift almost 2x as much with Di2 since it is effortless. It is expensive. But IMHO worth it. And if $$ is a big consideration, then I'd personally buy a used bike on eBay with Di2 over a new bike at the LBS with mechanical shifting. But then we're really talking about a thread drift into a whole another philosophical discussion...

Jenniferlyn Kryvicky

I have a SC 7.0 and LOVE it! In fact, I have two of them - one in each State that I live in if that says anything. :-D Mine are both 2011's and I have to say that I had some issues, but my understanding is that the cabling, seat post, shifting etc. topics were all fixed in the new models. Since Trek took care of all of mine on warranty, I have not had one additional problem. The bike is amazing!

SLICKARCH

Gerry
Sent you a PM today. Agree with most. I do not have D12. I'm in that old category of shifting. I tried it and liked it but I played the slots $$ on upgraded wheels etc. Withrow is so strong he just needs one gear. My older version 2010 9.8 had a few minor issues but got corrected quickly. My LBS wants our business plus within warranty etc no charges. I stated in my message you really need to get fit on that puppy and tweak it. One other point, I can do basic mechanically work but I trust the LBS mechanic to do the other.

mancona

Posted By Gerry Gordon on 18 Dec 2013 12:20 PM


LBS is offering 10% of sale price back in form of store credit for accessories or Trek Care Plus and covering sales tax on the purchase of a Trek Project One bike (e.g., Speed Concept 7 or 9) if bought by 12/31/13.  I've been looking into at tri bike upgrade and usually research like crazy, but time is short in this case so I would love your feedback on the SC.  Good, bad, comparisions -- all input is welcome!

Good: a very aero bike with a huge following for a good reason.  v2 has fixed a number of the issue/complaints of v1.  Lots of Trek dealers to get support if needed.  Trek has a good track record making things right if you run into an issue.  For a super bike the fit is pretty flexible.

Bad: it's a fully integrated super bike.  This means it is harder to work on and harder to travel with.  Not impossible by any means but you just have to be aware that you need to allow more time to do things than a traditional TT bike.  Also you are stuck with Trek bars, extensions, stems, brakes, etc, so make sure you like the full package.

Overall, I think it is a great bike and most people love them.  It's not the bike for me as I want to be able to easily do everyone on my bikes myself and I like to have the flexibility to use any bars, stem, etc I want.  Personally, I think the 1st gen speed concept 7.x is awesome, and a perfect mix of the best of a tradition TT bike with new "super bike like" aero features.  That just my opinion though.

If you are going to do the Speed Concept 9 series or new 7 series my advice is to make sure you are in the middle of fit range for the size/stem you go with so you have flexibility in either direction.  They have a very good (possibly the best) fit guide available so read it and start measuring to make sure the bike will work for you.  Fit trumps everything, period.

Regarding DI2, is it awesome? Yes.  Do you need it? No.  If it interests you, by all means go for it, but it wont make you any faster.  If/when I can get it at the same price as mechanical, I will be all about it.  Until then, I can't justify the extra cost.  But I am also a guy that has SRAM red, force, rival and apex....and in my opinion they all work exactly the same but just look and weight different. 

GAndrew Gordon

Thanks to everyone for their input.  I pulled the trigger on the bike earlier today.  Looking forward to building it out and then figuring out how to ride the thing!

mrslice

Posted By John Withrow on 19 Dec 2013 08:56 AM


Di2 is one of those things that you didn't know you needed until you have it, then you won't ever go back to not having it.



As yourself the following questions about your car:

1) do you have a radio? ipod doc maybe?

2) do you have air conditioning?

3) do you have power windows?

4) do you have power door locks?

5) do you have a built in Navigation Screen?

6) Do you have Satellite Radio?

7) do you have heated (or air conditioned) seats?



There were certainly times when none of these things were even options in a car, let alone standard. And probably times when they were options that you didn't think you needed. But once you have them and get used to them, it'd be really hard to give them up. I have used Di2 now for over a yr and it would be painful for me to go back to not having it. I think it is a game changer for tri bikes especially (maybe a little less so for road bikes). It is awesome to have perfect shifts every time. And more awesome to not need to move your hands or change your position at all to shift. And it is very nice to be able to downshift as you come to a stop sign or intersection (from the bullhorns) while training. And it is nice to be able to shift from the bullhorns while climbing. Personally, if it were me, I'd have a cheaper frame AND Di2 instead of the latest and greatest frame and mechanical shifting. The difference in time from aerodynamics between any of the really great frames out there is almost negligible. The difference in ease of shifting in all conditions the whole time you are riding is very noticeable. I find I shift almost 2x as much with Di2 since it is effortless. It is expensive. But IMHO worth it. And if $$ is a big consideration, then I'd personally buy a used bike on eBay with Di2 over a new bike at the LBS with mechanical shifting. But then we're really talking about a thread drift into a whole another philosophical discussion...

Awesome advice on the Di2.  It's the one thing I really want, but just can't justify the cost.  I have a SC 2011 model 7.0 I named her Zoey.  an awesome bike, though Trek cheaped on the hardware a little.  I love the integrated Cadence sensor, streamline skewers, rear storage box and all the custom accessories you can buy for it.