Greetings, I have read through some of the posts here, so my question may be a little 'low-end', but what the heck; I haven't been able to get much feedback from anyone else
I am in the market for two Comfort Bikes (MTB / Road Hybrids). The ones I am looking at are the Avanti Pioneer, or the Trek 7300 FX. They are in the $700 - $800 RRP range, although I wouldn't pay retail price for them.
Now, the goal in buying the bikes is to get our (my wife and I) fitness up another notch, and to see some of the State (WA) and world from the back of a bike. The thing that is confusing me is that there is nowhere that I have really been able to find that compares different models directly. I understand about the quality of shifters, Derailleur's, etc, but does anyone have any recommendations for me? Nowhere, for example, can tell me that a Shimano Deore rear is better than the Altus with any real emperical data.
Currently my thoughts are aiming me towards the Avanti Pioneer, as it seems to be one of the entry level 'Serious' bikes, and should hold up to what we want to do without falling apart. Ultimately, we want to to the Lands End - John 'O Groats ride next year in the UK (1,900 Km or so)
The trouble is that every shop (LBS, I guess?) that I go into has its own recommendation. I have been into 5 of them, and got recommendations for Trek, Avanti, Giant, GT and Raleigh. I am sure that all of the guys behind the counters are very sincere about their choices, but the reasons they give all seem to blend into "because I have one and it is, umm, good"
Any Advice? I will be purchasing rear Panniers, etc, for it for some of the tours that we want to achieve locally, working our way up to a fitness level to hit the UK and Europe next year.
Andrew Campbell.
p.s. here is the Pioneer spec
http://www.avantibikes.com/bikes_detail.asp?id=175&t=5
I am in the market for two Comfort Bikes (MTB / Road Hybrids). The ones I am looking at are the Avanti Pioneer, or the Trek 7300 FX. They are in the $700 - $800 RRP range, although I wouldn't pay retail price for them.
Now, the goal in buying the bikes is to get our (my wife and I) fitness up another notch, and to see some of the State (WA) and world from the back of a bike. The thing that is confusing me is that there is nowhere that I have really been able to find that compares different models directly. I understand about the quality of shifters, Derailleur's, etc, but does anyone have any recommendations for me? Nowhere, for example, can tell me that a Shimano Deore rear is better than the Altus with any real emperical data.
Currently my thoughts are aiming me towards the Avanti Pioneer, as it seems to be one of the entry level 'Serious' bikes, and should hold up to what we want to do without falling apart. Ultimately, we want to to the Lands End - John 'O Groats ride next year in the UK (1,900 Km or so)
The trouble is that every shop (LBS, I guess?) that I go into has its own recommendation. I have been into 5 of them, and got recommendations for Trek, Avanti, Giant, GT and Raleigh. I am sure that all of the guys behind the counters are very sincere about their choices, but the reasons they give all seem to blend into "because I have one and it is, umm, good"
Any Advice? I will be purchasing rear Panniers, etc, for it for some of the tours that we want to achieve locally, working our way up to a fitness level to hit the UK and Europe next year.
Andrew Campbell.
p.s. here is the Pioneer spec
http://www.avantibikes.com/bikes_detail.asp?id=175&t=5