I know what conventional wisdom says about bikes from dicks, but....

[HunterST]

I'm looking at buying a bike just to use occasionally for cross training. I'm mostly a runner. The two bikes I'm looking at are the trek fx 7.0 ($380)and the Nishiki Manitoba from ****'s sporting goods ($350).

Now, at first I though it was a no brainer. 30 bucks more for a respected brand. However, as I look at the specs, I just can't see where the difference would be. They both have shimano shifters. They weigh almost exactly the same. They're both aluminum frames.

I'm starting to wonder if it's really worth it to pay extra for the trek, especially since I'll have to go to a specialty bike shop and have it ordered. The Nishiki I can just go pick up and have it that day. They even seem to cut similar corners like having plastic pedals.

I admit I'm not very knowledgable about bikes, so I could be missing something. What do you think? What's the best choice for someone who wants a nice bike but isn't focused I cycling?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

It IS a no brainer. Go with the TREK. Dealer warranty and service. You'll get better product support from a TREK dealer than ****'s. I have nothing against ****'s and shop there for guns, ammunition, hunting items, backpacks, etc. For a bike...go to a bike shop.

$30 is absolutely nothing over the life of a sub-$500 bike. Your training flats probably run you around $75-$100. Amiright?

The above assumes you can find your fit/size from both ****'s and the local TREK dealers.

 

[lightspeed84]

Go with the Trek. A bicycle is an investment and quality holds it's value.

 

[Froze]

I disagree, Dicks sells Diamondback bikes and those are fine bikes, Diamondback even makes professional racing bikes like Trek. Dicks has no problems with warranty issues; a person on another forum bought a Diamondback and decided he wanted an upgrade to the next one up a few days later, took it back to Dicks and Dicks exchanged the bike, most bike shops will not do that. And the Nishiki you're looking at comes with the better Acera derailleurs which is two levels higher (Altus being in between the two) than the cheaper quality Tourney found on the Trek. I think in the long run the Nishiki will hold up better due to the slightly higher grade of components, frame wise it's a wash, and both bikes got high reviews.

I know someone will bring up the argument that Dicks mechanics are not any good vs a bike shop, not true. A bike shop hires college age kids and trains them to work on bikes, Dicks hires college age kids and trains them to work on bikes...notice any difference there? Of course not, there is none! Except in the pay department, Dicks pays about about a dollar an hour less than a bike shop on average. Both will fit the bike to you as well, so no worries there.

Warranty wise, both Dicks and bike stores handle it the same way, they have to contact the manufacture of the bike to get approval to do any warranty
work and get any needed parts sent. I've heard of people crying about a bike shop not warranting an issue, so just because it's a bike shop doesn't mean you will never have an issue, that's just living in fantasyland as some people here do.

Speaking of Dicks you may want to look at the Diamondback line and see if something there grabs your attention, but I think those will cost you a bit more money but check them out to make sure.

Yes Nishiki is made in China, but so is that Trek model.

Either way you go you need to ride the bikes and get the one that you think works the best, fits the best, and rides the best for you.

By the way, resale value, on low end bikes like those two if you sell either bike in 10 years you might get $150 for the Trek and $125 for the Nishiki (with no regard to inflation by then). I doubt the $20 to $25 dollars is going to make or break the deal for you come 10 years later if you sell whichever one you get. What will make or break the deal is what the bikes offer new, one has better components than the other, for me that's the deal breaker...without riding either, just based on specs. I would rather have a bit more trouble free components if I had the choice between two bikes that have essentially the same frame.