1996 Trek 930
I wrote this review about two months after I bought the bike in mid 1996.
After two years, I still feel the same about the bike.
Good Points:
The 1996 Trek 930 is built with a good steel frame, using the same geometry as Trek's
best.
The mid-range Shimano STX drive parts are OK. Everything is at least kinda sealed.
So the drive-train and brakes still
work after a day of dust and sand.
That's good enough for here in San Diego, where we don't see much rain.
With a full set of Rack eyelets and braze-ons this bike is built to carry a load.
The 930, like most bikes from Trek, is well constructed. The components
and the frame blend together into a smoothly functioning machine.
I test-rode dozens of bikes including about six 930's before I bought mine.
All of the bikes from Trek were solidly built and none had
frame or mechanical
problems. All of the Treks also had excelent paint jobs with no runs, chips
or orange peel. This is in sharp contrast to my Bianchi which must have cost
at least twice as much as the 930 when it was new, but has a ho-hum paint job.
Someone at Trek is paying attention to quality control.
Neutral Points:
The Alivio brakes are from Shimano's lower end. On a scale of 1 to 10, I
give them a 5 when dry and a 4 when wet. I've since replaced
them.
Bad Points:
Most of the parts are, well, ho-hum. Can't really expect
better at this price.
The stock Tioga Psycho Tires don't work well off road. Buy better ones when you wear them out.
The Rims are heavy.
Somehow my 930 ended up without the R 050 silent clutch freehub.
I don't care for Grip Shifts; my local dealer exchanged mine for STX-RC Rapid fire.
All of this adds up to a bike that is stable, strong, fun to ride
and climbs well but is a little heavy and a little slow.
That's just fine with me. I have a road bike for going fast.
Update
In the last two years, I've made quite a few changes to the bike. I'll be
posting a few pictures along with descriptions of the changes.
Untill then, here's a quick list of the changes in chronological order:
- Swap Grip Shifts for STX-RC Rapid Fire Shifters ($20 at time of
purchase)
- Swap for Bontrager 10 Saddle (free at time of purchase)
- Scott AT2 Handle Bar
- Avid Rollamajig
- Shimano PDM-323 Clipless Pedals
- LX Brakes in the back and XT Brakes in the front
- Blackburn MT-1 Rear Rack
- Synchros Bottom Bracket
- Second set of wheels with street tires
Updated March 10, 1999
© 1998-1999 Andrew Fischer (except for the catalog photo; I snagged that from
the Trek web site in 1996)
