I bought my Trek because I wanted to ride more, but I did not have an available means for getting to trails to mountain bike. The road bike was something I could use to step out my front door and get a few hours of riding in. The bike itself is excellent, spec'd with good Shimano components and balanced, conventional geometry.

I bought this bike a few months after getting off of cancer treatment, a time when my body could finally recover after being pushed. Another reason for the bike was to be sure that my bike wasn't outclassed by that of the girl (now girlfriend) I was riding with. I really enjoy having a road bike, and the Trek has been a great fit.

At the time I bought this bike, I wasn't very exposed to the cycling scene, so my knowledge of current bikes was limited to what I saw around town and on the internet. I had done my research, and narrowed my search down to offerings by University Bicycles and Excel Sports, the two local shops I trusted. I went to Excel first, but I was unable to ride a bike before buying it. Having never ridden a road bike before, I was unwilling to buy something without riding it first, so I ended up at University Bikes. University Bikes had three road bike lines; Trek, LeMond, and Bianchi. After giving them a test ride, I really liked the way the Trek felt. It was nimble, but not twitchy at speed, and had a solid feel to it. After sleeping on the decision overnight, I walked home with the bike the next day.

I must admit that "carbon-envy" played a part in my decision to buy this bike. Although I don't regret the decision to buy a carbon bike, I realize now that most of my motivation was flawed. The typical spin for a carbon bike was the fact that stiffness could be easily tailored, to allow for compliant seatstays and stiff chainstays, for example. After a while, however, I realized that having a "compliant" frame was kind of a moot point when it came to comfort, since even the most compliant frames are many times stiffer than some of the other parts between you and the road; the tires, saddle, handlebars, and bar tape. I realized that if I wanted a comfortable bike, it helped much more to drop tire pressure by 10psi, buy a comfy saddle, and fit the bike for a more relaxed riding position than it did to buy a high-dollar carbon bike. Yet, to this day, I still see carbon race bikes sold to older wealthy recreational riders under the auspices that they're more comfortable.

That being said, except for cost, carbon certainly didn't have any disadvantages. Properly made, carbon does not fatigue or rust, so longevity should be good, barring crashes. It is also a very good structural material, with low weight, high strength, and high stiffness, ideal for a lightweight bike. Carbon is a great bicycle material, it just took me a while to realize what its real merits were, instead of just buying the marketing of the frame manufacturers.

If you read the specs, you might realize that this bike has a triple chainring. I'm not a racer, and no longer pretend to be. There are plenty of hills around Boulder that I'm simply not strong enough to push a good cadence without that 30T chainring. I'd recommend the triple to any other recreational rider, and even most racers. I guarantee that the few grams added by the triple chainring will more than pay for themselves the times when you have to climb a hill a little too steep for a 38T ring. Swallow your pride, and savor the next time you're not mashing too big a gear up a big hill.