# Trek 6000 upgrades?



## Lawn-dart (Apr 1, 2011)

Ok, so my newbie question is: How far would you go upgrading a 2011Trek 6000?



I haven't been riding long and this is not to make a shopping list for next week. I'm thinking more long term. So far I've done tires, pedals, and grips. The tires in particular made a measurable difference in my speed on the trail. But how far to go with these upgrades in the quest to go faster? If I bought wheels, and a few drive train parts I could spend as much for upgrades as I did on the bike. Is this bike a worthy platform for such things or would it be better to save that money for the next bike. Again, think long term plan.

And I know my own skills and fitness and more important than what bike I'm riding. I'm working on that part too.


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## Squash (Jul 20, 2003)

Lawn-dart said:


> Ok, so my newbie question is: How far would you go upgrading a 2011Trek 6000?
> 
> I haven't been riding long and this is not to make a shopping list for next week. I'm thinking more long term. So far I've done tires, pedals, and grips. The tires in particular made a measurable difference in my speed on the trail. But how far to go with these upgrades in the quest to go faster? If I bought wheels, and a few drive train parts I could spend as much for upgrades as I did on the bike. Is this bike a worthy platform for such things or would it be better to save that money for the next bike. Again, think long term plan.
> 
> And I know my own skills and fitness and more important than what bike I'm riding. I'm working on that part too.


The Trek 6000 has a solid quality frame that is worthy of some upgrades. The thing you have to think about is, how long are you actually going to have this bike? The average is 3 to 5 years on an aluminum hardtail MTB frame. That's a bike that gets ridden more than just on the weekends. After that the frame is pretty tired. But usually the rider ends up upgrading to a better bike anyway. So keep that in mind. An MTB does have a limited life span.

With that said, the two next most efficient upgrades would be the fork and wheelset. The Tora TK, your stock fork weighs in at 4.85lbs. A basic Reba RLT weighs in at 3.5lbs. That would shave a pound off total bike weight and would be a bit better performer as well. The stock wheelset on the 6000 is about 2000g (4.5lbs) or so. You could easily shave another 1/2 to 1 lb off of that weight with a wheel upgrade. However it ain't cheap. You've already done the cheapest performance upgrade with the tires. The Reba RLT would run you about $570, and a good lighter wheelset would likely run in the $500 to $600 range. So you'd be right in the neighborhood of the original cost of the bike. As far as the drive train goes, the X5 system you've got now is solid. Bumping up to an X9 or something won't make you any faster.

My suggestion would be to not look to far into the future and try to "plan" upgrades. Ride what ya got till it breaks then replace it with upgraded part(s) when needed if you want. So ride the piss out of it, have fun, maintain it, and replace what you need to. You'll likely end up wanting to upgrade to a different bike before you wear it out anyway. :thumbsup:

Good Dirt


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## emsky80 (Jul 2, 2011)

Train your fitness, it will make a much bigger difference than anything you could change on your bike and save you lots of money!


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## Lawn-dart (Apr 1, 2011)

Squash - Thanks for the info. I had trouble finding the weight of the stock wheels. Wheels and fork are kinda what I was thinking. And by long term, I mean a year or two. How much difference does shaving a pound of the wheels make?

emsky80 - I know. I'm working on it. But, I like new toys too.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Now that you already have a bike, replacing functioning parts with other functioning parts usually won't make that much of a difference. Drivetrain upgrades, for example, are expensive and unless the previous drivetrain parts are worn out or incredibly crappy, it won't make much of a difference. Redoing the cables, either with a nice aftermarket set, or with the generic bulk stuff at your LBS but really taking your time over finishing the ends, will improve your shifting quite a lot for little expenditure. A lot of people advocate redoing cables every year. I haven't been, but would probably benefit from it myself. 

New wheels can be a pretty good purchase. You can probably save quite a lot of weight with lighter rims, tires and tubes, and a bit more with lighter spokes, and weight that sits far away from the hub has a pretty big effect on handling. You won't get magically faster overnight, but it'll make the bike handle quicker, and that facilitates learning to be a more efficient rider. It's also fun. 

I'm not sure what's supposed to happen to aluminum frames over time. IME, they're either fine or they're broken. I guess user errors like damaged bottom bracket shells, or subtler structural damage, like an ovalized head tube can make them a real pain to keep rolling too, but those are more of a single incident thing. I think most people replace their frames because they want something new or want a rear disc brake without a funky adapter or a longer-travel fork than what the bike shipped with. For a weight weenie, it can also be one of the better grams/dollar places to lighten a bike. My local racing series has all the usual bling bikes at the starting line, of course, but there are also a lot of younger riders, guys whose bling bikes are down with mechanical problems, guys on a budget, guys who don't want to pay the weight penalty of a rear disc brake, etc. on some pretty old rides. There are a few thirty-year-old aluminum frames still rolling, and most of these older frames, if they do stop being safe to ride, become unsafe because they were manufactured using chemical bonds and the glue wears out.

For most of us, it's probably somewhat unrealistic to expect that we'll be riding today's bikes in ten years, at least as contemporary mountain bikes, because technology is still changing a little, even for hardtails. Ten years ago, 100mm was a DH fork and nobody put disc brakes on a hardtail. Maybe there will be some big differences by 2021 that improve the ride enough, or make sourcing parts hard enough, that an '11 frame will have some real disadvantages. A lot of '91 bikes are still rolling, though, as people's 'B' bikes, as commuters, etc. So that would be a likely prediction for this year's hardtails. I think FS bikes will end up on people's walls or in the dump.

EDIT: Oops. Meant '01 bikes. Although there are some '91 MTBs still going too - just pretty rare off-road.


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## marcus10 (Jan 18, 2013)

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. I'm coming back to biking after 10+ Years. I have a 2000 trek 6000 mountain bike that has shifting issues. I've been considering changing the parts, but i don't know what to change to (part numbers). It is possible that it needs new shifting lever and new cables. It also doesn't allow me to pedal backwards, the chain gets stuck. Does it mean new derailleurs? What kind? For the parts replacement, I would like to replace with something that is at least as the same quality as the original parts. No need to upgrade from that since this is an old bike and I'm in a budget. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


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## sfb12 (Dec 27, 2012)

marcus10 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm new to this forum. I'm coming back to biking after 10+ Years. I have a 2000 trek 6000 mountain bike that has shifting issues. I've been considering changing the parts, but i don't know what to change to (part numbers). It is possible that it needs new shifting lever and new cables. It also doesn't allow me to pedal backwards, the chain gets stuck. Does it mean new derailleurs? What kind? For the parts replacement, I would like to replace with something that is at least as the same quality as the original parts. No need to upgrade from that since this is an old bike and I'm in a budget. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


First before anything else i'd try to grease the chains and adjust the derailleurs. If this doesn't work than you could buy new parts that are compatible with the old ones to stay in a lower cost range.I personally think it all depends on what is currently on your bike to what you can change to.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

You could do a lot worse than an older 6000 as a bike to rehab. However, these projects do have the potential to really blow up, and you also should thing about your longer-term plans. If you're thinking of getting a new bike this summer, say, just go and get one now, before you spend money on your Trek.

Since you already know that you can't just pump up the tires and go, with this bike, if I were in your shoes, I'd do a complete tuneup. Last time I did that on one of my own bikes, I used this as a checklist, to make sure I didn't miss something.
Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » New Bike Assembly

You don't necessarily need to remove and reinstall everything, but at least inspect it. Most of the steps are also links to articles on how to work on that part. I'd try to go through the list once and just inventory what I thought I'd need to replace before buying anything, but I wouldn't be too surprised if this project comes in well under $100.

Assessing what's not working is going to be a big part of figuring out what you need to replace, fix, or can leave alone. IME, the most common problems with drivetrains are gunked up cables, worn or dirty chains, and gunked up derailleur pivots. The good news here is that chains, cables and housings are pretty cheap, so if that's all your problem is, it's not going to cost you much or require a lot of parts replacement to bring back.

After ten years and bad storage, I'd maybe recable just as a matter of course, but it would be a pity to recable only to find out that you needed to replace some other stuff too.

You'll probably also need new brake pads. Also pretty cheap. Tires? Maybe. Since pricing on tires runs all over the map and the nicer ones tend to be a bit expensive, I'd wait until I could test-ride on trails before deciding my tires were done, unless they're obviously falling apart. Not just a little damage to the rubber coating on the sidewall, either, but tread damage or damaged fabric in the carcass.

Not being able to pedal backwards doesn't necessarily mean anything at all. Bicycles aren't made to do that. Where does the chain get stuck?

For replacement parts, 8- or 9-speed Shimano components will work great. 10-speed is a no-go, so make sure you don't accidentally order something for that system. Going to other brands is fine for the cassette but not the derailleurs and only some non-Shimano shifters work in Shimano drivetrains.

The levels in Shimano haven't changed much. LX is called SLX now. Personally, I think there's a nice jump in longevity and function from Alivio and Acera to Deore, so if it were my bike, I'd probably standardize my new parts purchases on Deore or SLX.

Anyway, check out the Park Tool link and their articles, and let us know if there's something you're not sure how to assess, or if you're not sure about some equipment compatibility stuff around something you need to replace.


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## Ben.land101 (Dec 25, 2012)

I've been riding a 6000 for about 4 years now. So far, I've replaced the cables and housings, new brakes, and just recently a Reba RLT. Drive-train is still good and solid. Next I'll most likely get a new wheelset. It's an awesome frame, and I couldn't be more happy with it.


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## cobba (Apr 5, 2007)

marcus10 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm new to this forum. I'm coming back to biking after 10+ Years. I have a 2000 trek 6000 mountain bike that has shifting issues. I've been considering changing the parts, but i don't know what to change to (part numbers). It is possible that it needs new shifting lever and new cables. It also doesn't allow me to pedal backwards, the chain gets stuck. Does it mean new derailleurs? What kind? For the parts replacement, I would like to replace with something that is at least as the same quality as the original parts. No need to upgrade from that since this is an old bike and I'm in a budget. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


The chain would be the first thing to look at.
What condition is it in, is it rusty, dirty or dry ?

Do the gears change aright when you pedal forward ?

Does this problem happen in all gear combinations or only some ?

Some photos might be useful.


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