Is this a good deal?

[MRS HORSEPOWER]

WOW, Thanks for all the input!!! Irulan, Thanks for postng up the specs!
So Rock shox are no good? good to know.
Not opposed to a full suspension bike, I'm taking whatever advice I can get. I race BMX now and thats ZERO suspension so My body will be in shock with just a front suspension...lol!!!And my back does find just riding anything it was the falling hard to the ground after crashing that beat me up: heres a video of said crash that did me in I'm in the lead in the blue and white: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0S_53AuGTw

The guys at the bike shop are really good I have known the one that was going over everything with me for awhile and there was no pressure to buy..He said That this Bike had really good "parts" on it meaning Shimano over SRAM I think thats what he said???... When I hopped on the Trek WSD bike It felt like the top tube was shorter and he said that the tweaks they could make to this bike would be to put a shorter stem on it and less wider bars to bring it to a more womens specific feel.

Keep the info coming ...Thanks again!!

[Irulan]

Rx Shx aren't necessarily "no good"; They are "ok".

Shimamo over SRAM is totally a personal preference thing - they both make good stuff and people tend to get all worked up about their favorite.

As for the whole WSD thing...(I don't want to sound condescending here) do you know what it is, isn't? Primarily it is a geometry things, for "typical" female proportions that would be long legs with short torso. Many women ride men's bikes just fine ( I have three mens, one wsd mountain bike) Overall fit is most important - stem should be tweaked for best fit, not just to make it wsd. Unless of course shorted top tube feels better. I just freak out about this stuff, I know too many people on the wrong frames that some well meaning shop has tried to make fit with a stem change, when really the bike is overall the wrong size.

The thinking on handlebars is changing too - wider can be more stable.

Sounds like you have a good shop you are working with.

[MRS HORSEPOWER]

I see, hmmmm lets see the bike is the: 15.5
I am 5' 3" I wear a 30" length pant so I'm guessing My inseam is 29" does that help anything?..lol
When I race BMX (which is completely different than MTB) I tend to run a shorter top tube with a more up right position....
how do you figure out what size to get? or is just ride one and see how you feel on it?
I went through that before, 3 frames before I found My perfect BMX bike
Thanks for the help

[DirtDiva]

Well, I'd ride that bike, and I'm the same height with a similar inseam measurement. Of course, what I like might not be what you like. That bike is definitely a good place to start and the price is definitely good for that spec. It looks good too.

WRT the Rockshox/Fox thing: it's more that Rockshox provide a range of forks to suit a range of budgets, where as Fox pretty much just makes the top of the line ones to suit larger budgets. The REBA on that bike is the second to top of the range of about 5 that could have been specced on a hardtail like that one, and you'd not be likely to find a SID (the top of the range XC race fork) on anything other than a dedicated race bike costing megabucks.

[MRS HORSEPOWER]

Thanks Dirt Diva, I like how explained you the forks.

[emily_in_nc]

Do you have any idea of the virtual top tube length? I ride a Unisex Titus Racer X in size XS, which I believe is a 15" so probably not much smaller than the Trek you're considering. I am about 5'1-1/2" with a 28.5" inseam, and the bike fits me great. I have always ridden WSD road bikes as mens bikes have too long a top tube for me. The Titus has a short top tube so is WSDish in geometry, despite being "unisex"; I didn't even have to change out the 10 cm stem!j

That Trek is a beautiful bike! If it fits you, I'd say go for it!

[Running Mommy]

again, just my .02, but I think you could do better. My husband and housemate both avid mtn bikers and think it's not worth it- at all. As my hubby said "there is prolly a good reason it's still there.."

I do think the bike is beautiful, but I just hate to see you spend so much money when there are so many other bikes out there.
OTH- it's your cash, so spend as you please. I just warn because I've gotten caught in the bike lust trap before- and had my judgement clouded.

As for the rockshox warranty thing... It was the Tora that we had a lot of trouble with, not the Reba, so should be good there.

[DirtDiva]

Do you have any idea of the virtual top tube length?

According to Trek's website, it has an effective TT length of 55.5cm/21.9inches.

The spec of this bike is the same as the 2009 bike. The only components that have undergone significant development in the interim are the shifters and front mech; Shimano replaced the LX groupset with the SLX groupset in the mtb world (I believe LX has been redeveloped for touring bikes). If I were tossing up between the '08 bike and the '09 bike I would certainly go for the '08 and save some $$.

Are there any other bikes you are considering? Try and ride a few, for real on dirt if possible.