is this the right bike for me & my needs? complete newbie :)

[Chicken Little]

I agree with Zen, the 7.2 would probably suit you longer and have a little better resale when you are ready to move up.

But I know nothing.

[mimitabby]

welcome to TE!
Big seats like that feel good at first but after a few miles they get old...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you have 30 days to make up your mind, why not go to the bike store and try their other bikes too? It's usually not the best idea to have someone else pick a bike for you.
That's a cute cruiser/comfort bike and it's fine for flat riding just to the corner store, etc, but if you want to put in more miles and meaningful regular exercise, it might be too heavy and not have enough gears to get you riding a lot.

I can envision you on a women's hybrid bike- it would be able to do all kinds of riding and you wouldn't outgrow it as fast when/if you start riding more. Hybrids are quite comfortable as well, but more versatile than this comfort cruiser.
That puffy saddle might get painful on rides over 5 miles. Hard to believe, but less padding is actually more comfortable if you're sitting on it for more than an hour.
Very sweet of your BF to do that for you.
Go to the LBS with your BF and try out some of the OTHER bikes there- especially the 'hybrids' I'd say.

On the other hand- if you are happy with short trips around town and no hills to speak of, then this might be just the right bike for you to enjoy.

[dex]

One of my friends bought last year's model of that bike, and has loved it. She went from not having ridden a bike since grade school to doing 20-30 mile rides on it by the end of last summer.

I also saw someone doing a 2-day, 200-mile ride on the same bike last year. I first saw her early in the first day, and then I saw her roll into Portland at the end of the second day.

*I* wouldn't attempt something like that, but apparently it's doable. (With a smile even, as she was grinning ear-to-ear when she made her way across the finish.)

I agree that you should go to the shop and try out some other types of bikes, and then decide what you feel like fits your needs best. It could be this bike, or it could be something else entirely. You won't know unless you check out what else is out there.

Good luck!

[queenridingbee]

I have the 7000 model purchased from my LBS in late-March of this year. 2 wks ago I bought a road bike. That bike was fine but I quickly realized that I wanted to ride longer and faster than what the hybrid comfortably allowed. I do know folks who do long, even century, rides on hybrids but anything more then 24 miles was a drag (literally) and not very fun anymore.
I suggest riding it as much as you can for the 30 days and then making up your mind. It took me a little bit to realized that I enjoyed riding and wanted to go for longer distances. I hadn't ridden in 10+ yrs before I started this spring.

HTH,
Q

[ridingmybike]

thanks so much everyone!
yes i'll def be going to the bike store to try some other bikes out.
BF has the 7.3fx i believe, and i sat on it, oh man it goes fast easily, scared me a little, haha.
there are SO many more aspects to picking the right bike, than i could have ever imagined! it's making me feel a bit obsessive compulsive lol.

BleeckerSt_Gir I thought that the 7300 was a hybrid? or am i mistaken?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

BleeckerSt_Gir I thought that the 7300 was a hybrid? or am i mistaken?

I don't know how Trek is labeling these bikes, and perhaps because it has a triple ring they are calling it a hybrid. It just doesn't 'look' like a hybrid bikes to me- it looks like a women's comfort/cruiser bike. When I think of a hybrid bike, I think of something that looks more like this:
some hybrid bikes
I didn't expect to see a hybrid with that retro swooping downtube like the old women's cruiser beach bikes. Maybe I'm just out of the loop?