Bike Envy Turning to Obsession

I stayed up looking, researching, drooling, and memorizing bike specs. I am still no where.
The LBS around me carry; Cannondale, Trek, Giant, Specialized, GTR, and Fuji. I have no knowledge about the last two-anyone?

I am looking for a reasonably priced bike (read: under $1000) that will last me thousands of miles, on road and on bike trails (rails to trails, etc.). I like hills and speed. :D

The tricky part is, finances are low. :(

A few bike brands mentioned: Kona and Jamis-I would need to travel hours to even try one out. Is it worth the drive or would I be just as satisfied with a Trek, Cannondale, or Giant? At least the LBS artound here carry those.

AUGH! Please, please help.

imho you can find a fine Trek for under 1 grand that you can ride forever.
I loved my Trek! and now my cousin (who i gave it to) loves it. She likes it so much she bought Treks for her daughters!


ps; No Raleigh dealers near you? They are selling some great Raleighs as well, under a grand.
Not sure about that flourescent paint you saw on the Cannondale though.. I saw an Orbea like
that yesterday while my husband was emptying his wallet at the LBS.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

imho you can find a fine Trek for under 1 grand that you can ride forever.
I loved my Trek! and now my cousin (who i gave it to) loves it. She likes it so much she bought Treks for her daughters!


ps; No Raleigh dealers near you? They are selling some great Raleighs as well, under a grand.
Not sure about that flourescent paint you saw on the Cannondale though.. I saw an Orbea like
that yesterday while my husband was emptying his wallet at the LBS.

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I will look more closely at Trek. I am beginning to goive myself a headache. We do have Raleigh near us as well. I had to gooogle quickly to discover that.

I've seen people say good things about the Specialized Dolce, too. Saw one of those yesterday that was pretty pretty pretty while we emptied DH's wallet in the LBS. Well, that's not quite right -- we were waiting for the installation, and time for the emptying of the wallet!

The "entry level" Dolce is only (I know, it's relative, but in the bike world, only is the word!) about $820!

Karen in Boise

I forgot to mention -- I've got the obsession thing too -- WAY too much time ogling bike stuff online! But, at least ogling is free!

Karen in Boise

My first bike was a Giant OCR3 (about $600.00). I put 6,000 miles on that puppy in a little over a year. I never had a speck of trouble with it, just the usual cable adjustments as it was broken in. I now ride a Trek Madone 5.2 and am so giddy I could pinch myself ! I don't think you could go wrong with either brand.

Just make sure it feels right :) When you're straddling it, you can't see it that well, anyway.
I put 3-4000 miles/year on my Trek 7500FX (about $700) and anotehr 3-4000 on my Giant Nutra (about $400). I do have to replace parts when they wear out, now and then but they ride and ride and ride.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Geonz

Just make sure it feels right :) When you're straddling it, you can't see it that well, anyway.
I put 3-4000 miles/year on my Trek 7500FX (about $700) and anotehr 3-4000 on my Giant Nutra (about $400). I do have to replace parts when they wear out, now and then but they ride and ride and ride.

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Hey Geonz

When do you have time to eat, sleep, drink, work, read and post on this forum :confused: 6 -8000 miles a year WOW and to think I am excited about 1100 since April :p

I bow down to you :D

Thank you for all the advice. I appreciate everyone taking the time to write. The closest bike stores were closed so we went to a bike store a neighbour recommended a few towns away. I tried several different styles and sizes of bikes on the trail and ended up buying a Trek 1000. I did try out two Trek WSD models and neither felt right for my body, so apparently I am an odd shape.:eek: To my husband's relief it was the middle priced one. I had no idea what the prices were when I chose and neither did he, which was causing him to looked a little pale, even in the heat. ;) I read numerous times many of you saying how the bike just felt right, but I never truly understood until today. My new bike just feels as though it was meant to be. I love it and do plan to ride tomorrow, we are supposed to be around 103-104 degrees with humidity, so I shall try to get out early.