Trek vs. Giant Hybrid

BWally

I'm trying to evaluate buying a Trek 7.3 FX versus a Giant FCR 3; they're similiarly priced (the Giant about $50 less). The FCR 3 has chromoly forks and the rest is aluminum I believe; the Trek is all aluminum. The Giant has Shimao R443/SRAM SX 5 with FSA forged crankset, teh Trek's rear derailleur is a Shimano Deore with a Shimano M341 crank. The Giant's wheels are Formula sealed bearing hubs and alloy rim, while the Trek has an alloy front and Shimano RM60 rear hub and Bonfrager Camino rims. I think the tires on the FCR 3 are 28mm and the Trek 32mm.

The Giant shop will tune it annually for free, but the shop is pretty far from my home; the Trek shop is nearby, but the only adjust it for one year.

I plan on using it for sprint triathlons (I'm a 50 year old rookie and don't want to buy more than I'll need).

Thanks!

alentric

I am looking at the same bikes now. What did you end up buying and are you happy with your purchase?

BWally

The Giant FCR3, and it's a really good and comfortable bike; only had to upgrade the seat. I liked the geometry better than the Trek, but mostly I bought it because I liked the bike shop better. The tires are a little thick to have good speed, but that's one of the reasons it's comfortable.

I may upgrade to a Giant road bike as I did a couple of sprint triathlons and the bike probably wasn't totally appropriate. But if I wasn't going to continue with the triathlons, I wouldn't upgrade for the 50 miles per week I'm riding. However, my bike shop is suggesting I just put thinner wheels on this bike until I decide I really need/want to upgrade.