Trek Pilot

[Cyclesome]

I have been researching road bikes and am strongly considering the Trek Pilot. Does anyone ride a Trek Pilot or a Trek Pilot wsd? I haven't seen the new 2007 Trek catalog as of yet. The LBS in my area carries Cannondale, Giant, Trek, and Specialized. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hi - I find it helpful to have a point of comparison....

Are you already riding a bike?

[tygab]

I have a WSD Pilot and I love it. This is my first road bike though. What 'trim level' are you considering? I will say that my bike has been very steady and reliable and I really have no complaints at this point. It shifts smoothly and I am pretty satisfied with all my components. Bike has ~700 something miles on it now. It has even been packed and flown. I should probably clean the chain and I had a free tune up in July that came with the bike w/no issues reported.

[Bikingmomof3]

I almost purchased a Trek Pilot, but preferred the Trek 1000. My suggestio nwould be to try out various bikes at your LBS, they sound as though they carry a nice range. For me the Trek 1000 was perfect, the Trek Pilot was close, and I disliked the Trek 1500 WSD. But that was me. Everyone is so different.

[esther231]

I have the Trek Pilot 1.2 WSD. I honestly like this bike. It's probably the first bike I ever owned that fit me well. I love how upright I can get on it or can bend to the hoods or drops.

I think it all depends on fit in the end. Try a bunch and one will end up calling out to you.

[Cyclesome]

I now ride a Cannondale Adventure 400, a hybrid. I have the handlebars down/forward as far as they will go and the seat pushed back to the max. I have over 700 miles on this bike and am itching to find a road bike which would be lighter, faster, hopefully a better fit, and an easy transition from a hybrid to the road bike. I have tried out a Specialized Allez but would like to try other bikes as well.

[esther231]

Go for lots of test rides. It's fun and exciting to find the bike that's right for you and it's the only way to a get a sense of what fits you best.

My only rule was that I stayed within my price range on test rides. I knew the higher end bikes would likely feel better and I didn't want to end up falling in love with something I couldn't afford. Unrequited love is just not my thing.

[susan.wells]

I bought one just this summer. I purchased the Pilot 5.2 s.p.a. WSD. The LBS ordered her in (her name is Ariel) for me to try and much to my surprise I really liked her. I had previously owned a Trek 1500 WSD and did not like this bike & its road feel at all. In 2004 I had purchased an Airborne WASP (hence my avatar) and put over 4000 miles on it last year. I went with a friend to look at bikes back in the spring and he was looking at a Pilot. I really liked what I saw and finally by June I had convinced myself to give one a try ... and the rest is history. This bike is the first road bike that I can comfortably ride in the drops for extended periods of time.

[beckt]

I bought a trek pilot 5.0 - not WSD. Had some components changed around to make the bike fit me better...quite happy with the bike. If you are thinking of going carbon then you may want to buy soon.... rumor mill says that price of carbon s going to go up... thanks to boeing.

[Cyclesome]

I have 3 LBS's within one hour distance. The LBS 10 minutes away is the least helpful. Right now finding a road bike close to my size to try out is slim as all three LBS's are awaiting the new 2007 models. All of the LBS's I have gone do not take measurements etc. They use standover space between you and the bike. The one that is most helpful has looked at the horizonal top tube length with me as well as spent time discussing different models. When I asked the three LBS's how they fit people for a road bike they looked at me like I was an alien. Do you have to go to large cities to have this done?

I was leaning toward the Trek Pilot because of its more upright position. Mainly low end road bikes are sold in my area so LBS's aren't at ease ordering anything but lower end bikes for you to try out. How many different bikes in my size do I ask them to order just so I can try them out?

[love2bike]

My DH and I both bought Pilot 2.1's last month. I got the WSD, and I'm glad I did. This was my first road bike and I'm in love with it.

Our bike store was great about sizing and fitting the bikes for us. But, we travel over 40 miles to get to our favorite bike store (The Trek Store in St. Louis), there are 6 LBS's that are closer in distance, but they don't compare to the service that this one gives.

You are talking about spending alot of money, it may be worth your while to travel further and find a store with a large inventory of bikes so that you can try many different sizes and styles.

[GLC1968]

My husband has the Trek Pilot 5.0 and he loves it. He upgraded to it from the Trek 1200 because he wanted carbon and a more upright stance for long distance riding comfort. So far, it's been a great bike for him (he's had it 3 months or so).

When I was ready to upgrade from my starter bike, I had some difficulty finding one to try because I have very short legs. I am 5'4" so bike shop employees look at me and then hand me 50 - 52 cm bikes to ride. I don't even bother to stand over them because I know they'll be too big. I had to hit a few LBS's to find ones with bikes in my size range...just to test ride. I rode a base model 2005 Specialized Dolce in a 44 cm for size...then I ordered the 2006 Dolce Comp without ever having ridden it. Luckily, it was perfect for me! My shop would not order a bike until I'd paid for it. Apparently, they'll only do that for men's bikes...not women's.

[Steph_in_TX]

Here's a link I found elsewhere...I've been searching out 2007 models as DH is REALLY wanting to me to get another bike. Terrible position to be in, I know.

http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/2007_preview.html

[HappyAnika]

I just wanted to plug Trek in general. I bought the 1500 WSD in April and I absolutely love it. . Two of my girlfriends have specialized bikes (Dolce and Elite) and I was sure I would just love the Elite, but I didn't. The Trek just felt so much better for me. Everyone is different in how they fit on the bikes and what feels best to them. But my plug for Trek stems from the fact that for the money, it came with much better components than any of the other bikes I looked at. Since they own Bontrager and get those parts for cheap, they can spend more on the Shimano parts so you get the higher end components. Even as a beginner, I could tell a difference between the "entry level" and the higher up components just on my test rides.

[Bikingmomof3]

I have 3 LBS's within one hour distance. The LBS 10 minutes away is the least helpful. Right now finding a road bike close to my size to try out is slim as all three LBS's are awaiting the new 2007 models.

How important is it to you to have a 2007 model verses a 2006 model? Also, do any of the stores carry your size in the 2006 or even 2005 models for you to try and then you could order a 2007? Sorry if you already covered this. What size are you trying? I was fortunate as the store I finally bought from had many 50cm Trek bikes in.