Bike advice?

[skinimini]

Hi softie, I'm not as experienced as most of the people on this forum, but I'll toss in my two cents. I think something like a Trek 7.5 sounds great for your situation. I actually have a 7.5 WSD that I've just started using as an errand bike. It was my primary bike until just a couple of weeks ago, and has served me well. I'm short and have a small bone structure so a WSD is perfect for me; my daugter is 5'6" with a medium body frame and the regular bike frames work well for her. Even though I am currently doing most of my bicycling on a road bike, I still love the Trek 7.5. It is simply a great bicycle. My daughter has a Trek 7.2 at college and it is perfect for her needs.

Good luck!

[badgercat]

I think you will find several fans of the Trek FX series here. I ride a 7.2 WSD myself, and it's a joy and has gotten me more into cycling than I ever thought I'd be. I ride it mostly on roads but it handles nicely on gravel. No suspension or anything like that--my former ride was a cheapo old mountain bike with a front suspension, but I haven't missed it.

You mentioned Marin so I just want to mention that my boyfriend had Marin hybrid for a couple years. I believe it was an '05 model, towards the low end of their price range ($300-$400 USD). He weighs about what you do, and he had a fair amount of trouble with the wheels (thrown spokes on at least 3 occasions) and I seem to recall that the brakes didn't exactly inspire confidence. That was just one person's experience with one model a few years ago, so I'm not trying to sway you against Marin, but just to point out that the low end of their hybrid spectrum might not be ideal for your build.

As far as security, just invest in a good u-lock or two, make sure they're big enough to go through the frame and a wheel. You can also make your bike less desirable to thieves by adding stickers, paint, etc, anything to make it more identifiable and look less new. Check and see if your city has a bicycle registration program, which can sometimes be a deterrent and/or aid in recovery if it does ever get snatched. (i don't have any statistics on that sort of thing, but I know I've registered my bikes in the last 2 places I've lived and it at least makes me feel better )

That's about all I can offer... Welcome to TE, good luck and happy shopping!

[Zen]

I'm a happy owner of TWO FX's.
one is a 7.2 WSD that I bought to beat the hail out of on the canal towpath, the other is the 7.6 that I bought to replace my Pilot. I intend to use that as a 'go-fast' (for me, anyway) road bike.

I know the 7.5 looks nice but for your needs I would say go for the 7.3. or 7.2.
Why? Because it's sturdier (32 spokes vs.20) and because it's well within your budget. It leaves you some discretionary funds for, well you know, stuff. Stuff adds up
Just my humble opinion.

I wonder why there's not a 7.4?

I just noticed your $1000 is Canadian. I just can't do that math right now

[zeWoo]

I had this same discussion a little over a week ago -- deciding is a chore... I know.

I'm going to say exactly what you don't want to hear from someone replying to your 'which bike should I buy' thread ... I know absolutely nothing about bikes, I'm 'bike dumb...'

But when did that ever stop me from inserting my opinion?

How's bout that Specialized Globe ...? I saw that in one of the LBS's, that looked like a bike that could take a beating and kinda had a cool thing happening... well, I liked it's looks anyway, I don't recall hearing anything stellar about the ride, maybe you can try it and report back...

As for the Trek, I was all sold on the FX series, which I'm certain is great and all, probably the bike I would have bought no doubt, but circumstances led me back around to the GT Transeo(now I just wait for the slow boat from China to bring it in so I can ride it)... seemed to be a bit more bike for the money, when I started really looking at the bottom line compared to the Trek -- excellent reviews and quite upgradable -- that said, if all goes south with the Transeo, I might take a second look at the Trek FX 7.2 ...

That said, that Trek 7.2 has the coveted 'doubled sided rims'(you can read about them in my thread) they're apparently the bee knees of rims, if not just tops -- and since I think Badgercats boyfriend's issues probably had more to do with the wheels rather than the brand of bike(according to my brief bike education), so maybe the Marins are OK too... I suspect you'll need to take special care in building up that rear wheel, of course me and you will only have to worry about that for a bit, because those bowls of hot and sour soup are going to fly off the thighs, once we get goin, eh?

Anyway, as for theft -- maybe you can pay a couple of guys 10 bucks, to go rough up your brand new Trek, so it looks like a beater and no one wants to steal it.... I have come up with more clever ideas, really... I have.

Anyway, my plan is to see how it goes with the factory wheel set first, and just see if my guy can do some abracadabra bike mystic magic stuff to make the wheel stronger, if not... ah well -- then at the first sign of trouble, I'll just invest in the proper wheel, but why make an issue of it -- before anything happens, I was losing sleep over this two weeks ago, but I've finally got a grip... I just needed to chill and go with the flow...that's the best advice.

Anyway, good luck.....

[badgercat]

since I think Badgercats boyfriend's issues probably had more to do with the wheels rather than the brand of bike(according to my brief bike education), so maybe the Marins are OK too...

I definitely didn't mean to knock Marin in general, so I hope it didn't come off that way... Yeah, the wheels were certainly a major problem and he probably would have done well to replace them with something sturdier. I actually asked him about it later today, though, and he claims that he was actually able to (if he, for example stopped at an intersection in too hard of a gear) basically significantly tilt the crankset by just pedaling hard . Perhaps that was a fluke since he has sort of ridiculous leg strength (he can leg-press several hundred pounds), but it clearly wasn't the right bike all-around for someone of his size and strength. I guess the point I was trying to make was just that their lower-end bikes maybe didn't have ideal parts for a bigger rider, at least not at that time--he said he would certainly consider buying a Marin again, he'd just take a closer look at what it was made out of first.

[zeWoo]

I definitely didn't mean to knock Marin in general, so I hope it didn't come off that way... Yeah, the wheels were certainly a major problem and he probably would have done well to replace them with something sturdier. I actually asked him about it later today, though, and he claims that he was actually able to (if he, for example stopped at an intersection in too hard of a gear) basically significantly tilt the crankset by just pedaling hard . Perhaps that was a fluke since he has sort of ridiculous leg strength (he can leg-press several hundred pounds), but it clearly wasn't the right bike all-around for someone of his size and strength. I guess the point I was trying to make was just that their lower-end bikes maybe didn't have ideal parts for a bigger rider, at least not at that time--he said he would certainly consider buying a Marin again, he'd just take a closer look at what it was made out of first.

Just remember two words when it come to me... BIKE DUMB

I was just trying to emphasize the point that the wheel thingy seems to be a major pain in the rear, if you're heavier, no matter what brand of the bike you're riding -- for all I know(not much, I tell you), Marin could be the crappiest bike shaped object on the road(no offense to people that own Marins, I bet your bike is AWESOME)... I guess you just have to try them out and see how it goes ...

[Softie]

Thanks for all the great info. I'm getting so excited about having a bike again that I think I might crack one day soon, and end up coming home with a new bike (it happened with my puppy and I haven't regretted it...most days ).

As a noob who doesn't quite understand some quality issues, what are the differences between a 7.2, 7.3, and 7.5? I've looked at the specs online, but I'm not sure what it means in terms of what exactly it *means* functionally (quality, durability, longevity of components, weight, etc). The 7.2 is about $559; 7.3 is $719; 7.5 at $919 (Canadian $ as new - but I keep an eye out for used). I'd like to get the best for my buck, but any money saved means bigger budget for locks, panniers, etc.