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Trek 6000 Review

March 28, 2023

‍ Key Takeaways

• The Trek 6000 is a great budget mountain bike that offers features that punch above it’s price.
• It is built on a sturdy aluminum frame with forged dropouts w/ rack/fender mounts.
• The Trek 6000 went out of production after 2012, but you can still find a good used one.
• For a modern alternative to the Trek 6000, check out the Trek Marlin 4 .

This article may contain affiliate links where we earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

‍ If you’re looking for an affordable mountain bike, there are dozens of options to choose from. This review will help you decide if the Trek 6000 is for you.

Overall, the Trek 6000 mountain bike is a solid, affordable choice if you need a general-use bike for casual riding or commuting. It has a lot of features you’ll find in higher-end mountain bikes like disc brakes and a suspension fork. It definitely isn’t designed for hardcore riding though.

I’ve ridden hardtail mountain bikes my entire life, and my first bike was a budget model from Trek. For this review I’ve dug into all the specs, components, and details on this bike to give you the information you need.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

‍ Trek 6000 Performance

If you’re looking for a capable all-around bike that’s equally happy on your commute, neighborhood bike paths, and flowy singletrack trails, the Trek 6000 is a great choice.

This isn’t an all-out trail shredding machine by any means, but it is plenty capable for most recreational riders wanting to get out on some singletrack and have fun. And it still maintains plenty of practicality for everyday use.

If you are planning to tackle highly technical, rocky descents, you’ll probably be better served by a more aggressive bike. With it’s fairly traditional geometry, 26 inch wheels, and limited suspension travel, the Trek 6000 just isn’t cut out for hardcore riding.

On steep, rough trails, you’ll pretty quickly find yourself out of your element and clinging on for dear life.

Where this bike shines, though, is on gentler, flowy singletrack. The cross-country-oriented geometry, small wheels, and hardtail handling make this bike feel very playful and responsive on smoother trails.

The Shimano 3x10 drivetrain gets you plenty of low gear range, especially when you take the 26” wheels into consideration. The lowest gear gives you a 24-tooth chainring in the front to a 36-tooth cog in the back, which is great for winching your way up steep hills.

This bike is also fairly lightweight for an entry-level bike, and it’s cross-country geometry puts you in a very efficient climbing position.

The smaller 26-inch wheels on the Trek 6000 may not roll over obstacles as well as bigger 29-inch wheels, but they do make this bike feel very maneuverable when climbing.

If you’re looking for an older entry-level mountain bike like this, you probably are wanting something versatile that can be your only bike for everything. I commute to work every day on my hardtail mountain bike, so I’ll be the first to tell you that you can definitely use a mountain bike for more than trails.

The Trek 6000 is a perfectly capable bike for commuting or just cruising around town. It has built-in fender mounts and mounting points for a rack to carry your gear.

Trek 6000 Frame and Geometry

The Trek 6000 mountain bike is built around a fairly basic, but well-made alluminum frame.

This frame has plenty of modern features built-in like a formed top tube, monostay seatstay, forged dropouts w/ rack mounts, a threaded bottom bracket shell, and disc brake post mounts.

Specs and Components

The Trek 6000 comes equipped with a Shimano Deore drivetrain with a triple chainring up front and a 10-speed cassette in the back. This drivetrain has plenty of range for everything from cruising on the road to winching your way up technical climbs.

The Shimano Deore XT m780 Shadow rear derailleur offers very smooth and crisp shifting performance. This is a reliable drivetrain that you can rely on to get your power to the ground no matter the conditions.

As a hardtail, the Trek 6000 has no rear suspension. This makes it much more efficient for pedaling uphill or on flat sections, but also means you’ll feel more trail chatter than a full suspension bike.

In the front you get a Suntour XCR-RL coil spring suspension fork with a remote lockout. The 100mm of travel isn’t a ton, but for the type of riding you’ll do with this bike, it’s more than enough.

This fork isn’t the lightest weight on the market, but it offers surprisingly good performance for a budget fork. It is smooth throughout it’s travel and does a good job at smoothing out rocks and roots in the trail.

The remote lockout is an awesome feature that lets you quickly switch between modes for variable riding.

This bike comes equipped with Shimano m446 hydraulic disc brakes that provide ample stopping power and decent modulation. It’s really awesome to see Trek packing in performance-oriented components like this at an entry-level price.

Brakes are definitely an undervalued component of any bicycle, but they are massively important for riding, especially on trails. Having powerful brakes will give you more confidence and control to ride faster on the descents.

If you are coming from mechanical disc brakes or rim brakes, you’ll be blown away by how much better these hydraulic brakes are.

The Trek 6000 rides on a pair of Bontrager hubs laced to Shimano M435 alloy hubs. Overall this wheelset is about what you’d expect in an older budget bike. These wheels are plenty sturdy, but a bit on the heavy side.

The biggest thing to note here is that you’re stuck with old-school 26-inch wheels. The mountain bike industry as a whole has shifted to 29-inch or 27.5-inch wheels, so this bicycle is definitely showing it’s age here.

For casual riding, the smaller wheels won’t be a problem, but 29-inch wheels definitely are smoother and faster on the trail.

Those 26-inch wheels are wrapped with some pretty basic Bontrager XR1 wire bead tires in a 2.2-inch width. These should be adequate for most casual trail riding, but you may find yourself short on grip through loose sections of trail.

Other Components

Other component highlights include the Bontrager race lite step and grips, the surprisingly comfortable saddle, and the low rise handlebar that puts you in a great balanced position.

Overall, this is a quite comfortable bike for all sorts of riding.

Competition for the Trek 6000

The Trek 6000 is no longer in production, so you may be interested in looking at some more modern alternatives that are still available on the market. Here are a few bikes that are pretty comparable to the Trek 6000.

Trek 6000 vs Trek Marlin 4

The Trek Marlin 4 is probably the most similar ride you’ll be able to find to the Trek 6000. It has a Shimano 3x drivetrain, a Suntour suspension fork, and a basic but fairly lightweight aluminum frame

The Trek 6000 actually has some advantages over the Marlin 4, which only has a 7-speed cassette and mechanical disc brakes.

Where the Marlin 4 shows it’s advantage is in the more modern wheel size choices. You can get either 27.5 or 29-inch wheels, which makes for a much smoother more capable ride overall.

With the Marlin 4, Trek has started following the trend of matching wheel size to frame size. On the smaller sizes you get 27.5-inch wheels, while larger sizes are equipped with 29ers.

Trek 6000 vs Canyon Grand Canyon

Canyon is a modern direct-to-consumer manufacturer that uses their business model to offer capable bikes at impressively low prices. The Grand Canyon is their entry-level mountain bike model that packs in an impressive range of performance and features at a low price.

If you’re looking for a capable modern mountain bike on a budget, the Canyon Grand Canyon may offer the best price-to-performance ratio on the market. Seriously, it’s incredible that they were able to deliver so much at this price.

The Grand Canyon has fairly aggressive modern geometry with a slack head tube angle and steep seat tube angle. It will definitely feel much more confident on trails than the Trek 6000.

You also get a very well-spec’d component selection. You get Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes for fantastic stopping power, a smooth-shifting Shimano 12-speed drivetrain, a Suntour XCR coil suspension fork, and larger wheel sizes for smooth-rolling performance.

Trek 6000 vs Specialized Rockhopper Sport 29

The Rockhopper is Specialized’s entry-level hardtail mountain bike, and it’s one of the most popular mountain bikes out there.

The Specialized Rockhopper Sport 29 is the second lowest bike in the Rockhopper range. It has a Microshift 2 by 9 speed drivetrain, a Suntour XCM coil suspension fork, Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes, and an aluminum frame with cross-country-inspired geometry.

Overall, you can expect fairly similar performance from the Specialized Rockhopper Sport 29 and the Trek 6000. The big difference again is going to be in wheel size. There is a reason you don’t see modern mountain bikes with 26-inch wheels.

Just having the larger wheels makes the Specialized Rockhopper feel more fun and capable on most trail riding. It rolls faster and smoother and is easier to keep in control.

Where to Buy the Trek 6000

Unfortunately, the Trek 6000 went out of production in 2012, so it is no longer available from Trek. You can still find a good used one near you or online. BikeExchange is a great online marketplace where you can shop for used bikes.

Bicycle Blue Book lists the fair value of the 2012 model of the Trek 6000 at around $300, so there are definitely good deals to be had. If you can find one used, you’ll be getting a lot of bike for your money.

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About THE AUTHOR

Jakob Thygerson

I love mountain biking and live in Salt Lake City: a central hub for the MTB community. I started biking four years ago when a series of injuries put me out of commission for trail running. While biking started as cross-training, I fell in love with the sport. I mainly enjoy using my bike as a tool for exploration, I've done 50-mile all-day epic rides in the mountains and have been to some amazing places on my bike.

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Trek 6000 weight

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Does anyone know what the weights are for the 6000/6500 and 6700? This would be for a medium size.  

27.6Lbs factory weght. I lost a bunch from that replacing the forks, tires and a few more  

The mtbr review claims 31 pounds for what they call large (18.5). They don't say what year the bike is and have pictures of '09's and '10's with the article. http://reviews.mtbr.com/trek-6000-review I like the sound of 28 lbs better.  

Zachariah said: Medium 6000 is close to 29lbs stock. Go Cannondale F4 with Headshok...it can be built into a 20lb hill crusher like mine - for a few bux more: Click to expand...

Thanks for all the input everyone. I went to my LBS today and checked out a few bikes. I like the 6500 over the 6000. The 6500 did not really feel heavy, I would say that 28 lbs is pretty close. I have never owned anything but Specialized, but between the Rockhopper and the 6500, I think the 6500 has it beat on components. I could be wrong on this, but I think better components outweigh the 1 or 2 pounds of weight savings I would get with a Rockhopper.  

I checked my hardtail Trek 6000 19.5 (Tora fork, SLX brakes, Easton stem, Easton handlebar, Specialized Eskar tires) and the bike weighs 15 kilograms which is around 33 pounds.  

My 2008 Medium 6000 weighed in at 30.8 lbs with pedals. That was with BB5, and full bontrager package.  

Not sure if it matters but my 6000 is a 2010 medium frame.  

PatrickK said: I checked my hardtail Trek 6000 19.5 (Tora fork, SLX brakes, Easton stem, Easton handlebar, Specialized Eskar tires) and the bike weighs 15 kilograms which is around 33 pounds. Click to expand...

S_Trek said: 33? Wow thought only FS bikes were in that range. Click to expand...

PatrickK said: I never paid attention to weight. When I hit 50 then I am going to get a lighter bike.:thumbsup: I think my Pitch feels lighter then my Trek 6000. Click to expand...

S_Trek said: 50? I just turned 51 Click to expand...

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I'm 58....will be 59 in March. Maybe it's because I'm a gym rat, but the day I start fretting over shaving a few ounces off my bike is the day I take up stamp collecting. I can understand it if someone is into racing, but I don't go to the gym looking for ways to make my workout easier.  

I just weighed mine this afternoon and it was 30.6 pounds sans reflectors and with Shimano spd's in place of the platforms (M515's I think) and everything else stock. It is an18.5 inch frame. My Giant Yukon rigid weighed 28.4 pounds, which makes sense given that it doesn't have suspension fork, disk brakes, and a 7 speed vs. 9 speed casset.  

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2009 Trek 6000

• Thread starter Starscream
• Start date Dec 29, 2008

• Dec 29, 2008

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• Rider Notes

2011 Trek 6000

A 26″ aluminum frame crosscountry bike with mid-range components. Compare the full range

For This Bike

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A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

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Last updated June 29 Not listed for 2,501 days

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Trek 1999 6000 Hardtail Bike

1999 Trek 6000, mountain bike, front suspension, Mountain Mix components, Rock Shox Jett T2, 2.5" travel fork

• USER REVIEWS

Solid frame and good paiintjob that held up over 16 years now. Good rims - never bent one yet, and I'm a big guy and abusive to bikes. Seriously, though, I've ridden this thing on the beach and in the ocean, and even salt water can't hurt that frame. It has held up well, under a lot of abuse.

Riveted chain-ring that wore out. Seats wore out and not comfortable. Good street/trail bike, but not a serious mountain bike for hard core folks. Shifters will lock up with age, as the grease turns to rock. Just spray with WD-40, lots of it. Probably not a good choice for a cruiser bike, or hard-core off road.

We bought two of these new in 1999 on the recommendation of a friend who works at a bike shop. I think they were $498.75 each (we got hosed a bit, although they retailed for $899.99 according to Bikeopedia). They worked well for 10 years, mostly street and light trail riding. I used them to commute to work along the Potomac bike trail and occasional biking in the blue ridge. Not hard core mountain biking. The shifters stopped working and I took one apart. The grease in them hardens over time and stops the mechanism from working. It is an intricate clockwork mechanism and if you take it apart, springs will fly everywhere. I'll save you a lot of time - there is a small hole in the case, just put WD-40 into it (a LOT) until it softens the grease, and it will shift fine after that. Once I figured this out with the first shifter, fixing the the other three was easy - just keep spraying WD-40. Like a whole can of it. The grease hardens into rock, I had to replace the front chainring on mine when the teeth wore out. I realized this is a cheap bike at that point, as the chainrings are rivieted together. I ended up buying a whole new chainring and crankset, as after 12 years, the cranks were welded to the shaft, and the parts were cheap on eBay. I also bought new chains for both bikes, and new pedals. The orginal plastic toe clips were crap. No rear cassette - yet, but after 15 years, the teeth are starting to round on mine. Derailleurs have held up well! The seats finally died (literally broke off) and I replaced them with a neoprene gel set (BIkemanforU) - not too cushy, but firm. Works better than new. Also replaced shifter cables (they started to come apart from rust), tires and tubes (the latter many times). The wheels have held up really well - no bends or wobbles, which is amazing given the abuse I've handed to them. I removed the presta valves and drilled them out for schrader. Who am I kidding? I'm a paved trail rider and want to be able to use the local gas station air hose. I just don't get the point of having exotic tire valves on a bike like this. A good bike for the commuter or causal trail rider. The handlebar position is uncomfortable for those looking for more of a "cruiser" kind of bike, though. It has held up well, though! 16 years! I kind of would hate to buy a new bike, as I think I would be disappointed in the quality of bikes these days.

Built to last, good components, low maintenance and a pleasure to ride.

Nothing to mention.

I bought this bike brand new in 1999. At the time I lived in Dallas, TX, which has a fairly good variety of paved and off-road biking trails around the metro. I rode this bike almost every day for years. In the evenings I would ride on the roads around my neighborhood or on one of the many paved biking trails. Generally on Saturdays I would venture off for a 15 or 20-mile ride on one of the many off-road trails, some of which were somewhat technical and likely above my skill level but I'm confident the bike could have handled the challenge if only I were able (or willing). Overall I rode between 75 and 150 miles per week. Sundays were dedicated to my road bike but the rest of the week I generally rode my Trek 6000. Around 2002 I moved to the North side of the Kansas City metro area where biking trails are almost non-existent. After a couple years of riding through the neighborhoods I finally lost interest and put my bikes in storage for almost 8-years. We have since moved to an area South of the KC metro where access to bike trails is much more convenient so I have started riding again almost every evening. Getting on this Trek again feels like reuniting with a long lost friend. With exception to one of the shifters giving me a little problem, the bike looks great (except for a few well-deserved scratches) and rides like the day I bought it. I recently took this bike to the local Trek shop for some basic maintenance and a tire swap. When I walked through the door the mechanic commented when he seen the bike. He said the 6000 was a great bike and value-for-money, probably one of the best bikes Trek made. This bike is nearly perfect for normal all-around riding and you'll find nothing better at this price range - as I'm sure you can get these for a steal today. If you're wanting to do some serious mountain biking or puting on a lot of road miles then I would suggest looking at something designed specifically for that purpose.

withstands almost anything that you can dish out to it.

when I bought the bike it had a faulty valve in it.

This bike is great for going in a trail in the forest or up in the mountains. my favorite place to go with it is the Barr trail. It was totally up for the challenge. I am taking it back to Colorado in a few weeks and I am going to do some tougher trails.

Gears, Components, braking, fork, frame

high speed handling, the steering can sometimes have a mind of its own if you hit a really big obstacle (root/rock)

I love this bike! I have abused it worse then anyone else probably has, often riding down steep hills at around 35MPH on sidewalks in my suburban area. The shocks work great, and this bike can handle anything. I have only gotten one flat, and have put about 1500 very hard miles on it and the tires are still in good shape, in addition to the brakes. Front brakes are slightly more worn then back brakes, but both work great. I have done a lot of hard stops with the front brakes, since I am into doing front wheelies, and still have almost a year left on the pads. The biuld quality is excellent, with all name-brand components. The alumninum frame is surprisingly light and gives a fairly good ride on the rear end. The bike handles well, but not great. Upwards of 25MPH if your going to do a quick turn be ready to wrench the handle bars and pray, high speed handling isnt great. However, the handling isn't great, but for some unknown weird reason this bike is funner to drive then any other hardtail Ive ever been on. The handling is tight, and its very easy to lean into curves or do fast slaloms. In Addition, I love the wide gearing especially for such an old bike.

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another hardtail from specialized

Can withstand a lot of abuse. Shifters and rear deurailler are awesome. No problems with brakes.

MAD chainsuck, caused by a crappy front deurailler and the crankset.

For 550 bucks, I must say that I am totally satisfied with this bike. I can ride it for hours on end and it holds up to any abuse I can dish out on it. If you already know that you are really into off-road riding, you may as well spend more money for a better bike, but if you are just starting out in the sport (like I was when I bought the 6000), then this is definitely a good place to start. You can pretty much take it on any cross-country trails you can think of, and you can ride it nice and hard too.

*frame *rear derailleur *lightness *rear cassette *rapid fire shifters *bontrager jones tires

*bottom bracket *rock shox jett t2 *grips (when wet) *pedals *rear part is a little heavy *crank

I like the frame, and I think that any beginner who wants to start mountain biking should consider the Trek 6000. I have a lot of fun with this bike, but I had to replace the bottome bracket and the crank because I bent them both. I only weigh 150, but I was doing some big drops for a xc bike. I will soon replace the front suspension.

Norco Charger Rocky Mountain Vertex Trek 6500 Trek 7000

i like the pretty red it goes well with my biking shorts the seat smells good also

the smell of the seat after my little sis rides it the tires are to big and the seat is to big id like a bigger rear deraleur and stem to heavy but i still managed to win nationals (thanks mom!!)

if u want to be like me buy it and email me i need friends those chilis look more like flammin cocks to me but thats just me

ccm heat mbx 1000 and all kinds of 100 dollar bikes

Great Price Shocks are amazing for $520 Alluminum frame is super light for trails

rear der grips

Great bike, and great price at $520! The 2k Trek 6000 is great for off-roading and ok for on-road. The shifting is smooth. Only extra thing you need is some new grips. The frame is super light too. The shocks (Manitou Magnum) are really soft and great for off-roading! GREAT BIKE!!!!!!

GT Cannondale

Great price, LX Rear Derailer, good no name brakes, Bontrager wheels and tires. TOUGH BIKE!

This bike falls down a lot. Honest, it's not my fault.

This is one tough bike. I've only been riding for about a month now and this bike has taken the worst falls, endos and other punishmnet I've dished out. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone on a budget or as a starter bike.

Gary Fisher Tassajara Schwinn Mesa GSX

Great, Lightweight bike. Nice change from the Roc Shock to the Manitou this year.

Standard toe clips - are a deathtrap. Take them off! Brakes squeal like a pig. Rapid Fire and rear LX derailer are a little quirky - Seat is a little hard on the posterior.

I would recommend this bike- highly. I love it. Mind you, I've had it for a week only. Sure, it has its quirks - but what bike doesn't? I did a hell of a lot of research. This is a nice bike for an intermediate rider who doesn't want to break the bank. I paid $509. If you're in Tidewater VA - check out Mike @ East Coast. Going from a rigid Schwinn (pre shocks), it's like an Escort to a Cadilac! Trek has done a good job. And I had been warned to stay away from the conglomerants (Kelin Fisher Trek, et. al.) And, I too have taken a few spills - although I blame it on going from a 12 year old, 73lb, cro-mo Schwinn to a new Aluminum.

Schwinn Mesa Specialized Higher end Treks Gary Fisher GT

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