Trek 7300/7700 - Opinions

"Saint" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking at buying one of these 2 great bikes but cannot decide which one

to

Quoted message said:

go for. Need something that's light and comfortable for leisure/touring.

Can anyone offer opinions/experience of either?

Thanks,

Saint.

Hi

Have not had personal experience of either bike, but it just seems to be an odd comparison to make
as the 7300 is almost exactly half the price of the 7700. If the bike is going to be used quite a
lot then in my experience it is always worth paying extra as you will appreciate the better quality
components in the longer term, if it's only for occasional use then why spend all that extra money?
Either way they both seem to be more than adequate for the puposes you describe.

Cheers

Jo B.

X-No-Archive: yes

Saint said:

Looking at buying one of these 2 great bikes but cannot decide which one to go for. Need something
that's light and comfortable for leisure/touring.

Can anyone offer opinions/experience of either?

If touring is more your seen then dawes do some cycles that might meet your spec more. IF touring
with out a car you need to check how well the bike will cope with mudguards and panniers.

Peter

"Jo B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Saint" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking at buying one of these 2 great bikes but cannot decide which one

to

Quoted message said:

go for. Need something that's light and comfortable for

leisure/touring.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone offer opinions/experience of either?

Thanks,

Saint.

Hi

Have not had personal experience of either bike, but it just seems to be

an

Quoted message said:

odd comparison to make as the 7300 is almost exactly half the price of the 7700. If the bike is
going to be used quite a lot then in my experience it is always worth paying extra as you will
appreciate the better quality components in the longer term, if it's only for occasional use then
why spend all that extra money? Either way they both seem to be more than adequate for the puposes
you describe.

Cheers

Jo B.

Hi Jo

Observation acepted. I guess I am lucky that I have enough budget for either - my question was
therefore intended to ask whether the 7700 was indeed worth the extra dosh over the 7300. More than
anything I need comfort from a bike and am prepared to pay for it , having suffered from not doing
so in the past.

Bike will be used quite a lot (>50mls per week and perhaps more once I get my fitness).

Saint

In message <[email hidden]>, Saint <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Either way they both seem to be more than
adequate for the puposes you describe.

Cheers

Jo B.

Hi Jo

Observation acepted. I guess I am lucky that I have enough budget for either - my question was
therefore intended to ask whether the 7700 was indeed worth the extra dosh over the 7300. More than
anything I need comfort from a bike and am prepared to pay for it , having suffered from not doing
so in the past.

Bike will be used quite a lot (>50mls per week and perhaps more once I get my fitness).

Saint

I agree with Jo B. that both these bikes are more than adequate for the 50 miles per week you
suggest. However, I think you'll soon find that you can do much more than this and day tours of 30+
miles will be no problem.

There's another thread entitled "Saracen any good?" which is discussing a similar type of bike to
these although at a lower price. It contains a rather heated debate on the pros and cons of front
suspension for this type of machine.

It's interesting that the 7300FX has front suspension as an option but the 7700FX doesn't (according
to the Trek UK website). Unless you think you might do a lot of riding on very rough tracks I don't
think the suspension is necessary. There are plenty of people doing tours of over 50 miles per day
(mostly on roads) and they wouldn't dream of having suspension. They would argue that the extra
weight isn't countered by an appreciable increase in comfort.

Comparing both bikes without suspension forks I don't think there'll be any noticeable difference in
comfort. The Trek website doesn't give weight details but the 7700 is likely to be lighter - you can
check this in the shop.

The most important factor in determining your comfort is getting a bike that fits you properly. I
strongly recommend you go to a dealer who has a fitting system of some kind and will make the
necessary changes to the bike afterwards. My wife and I have both done this recently and our new
bikes have not been in the least bit uncomfortable. The dealer credited the cost of the fitting
against the price of the bikes.

A possible alternative to these Treks is a Giant FSR2. My wife is perfectly happy with hers.
Price was £600.

In your original post you mentioned the possibility of touring. If you mean a tour where you need to
carry luggage (or even a picnic) then you should ask about the ease of adding a rack to these bikes.
You might want to ask about mudguards, too.
--
Michael MacClancy

In message <[email hidden]>, Michael MacClancy
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

A possible alternative to these Treks is a Giant FSR2. My wife is perfectly happy with hers. Price
was £600.

That was an FCR2.
--
Michael MacClancy

Quoted message said:

I agree with Jo B. that both these bikes are more than adequate for the 50 miles per week you
suggest. However, I think you'll soon find that you can do much more than this and day tours of
30+ miles will be no problem.

There's another thread entitled "Saracen any good?" which is discussing a similar type of bike to
these although at a lower price. It contains a rather heated debate on the pros and cons of front
suspension for this type of machine.

It's interesting that the 7300FX has front suspension as an option but the 7700FX doesn't
(according to the Trek UK website). Unless you think you might do a lot of riding on very rough
tracks I don't think the suspension is necessary. There are plenty of people doing tours of over
50 miles per day (mostly on roads) and they wouldn't dream of having suspension. They would argue
that the extra weight isn't countered by an appreciable increase in comfort.

Comparing both bikes without suspension forks I don't think there'll be any noticeable difference
in comfort. The Trek website doesn't give weight details but the 7700 is likely to be lighter -
you can check this in the shop.

The most important factor in determining your comfort is getting a bike that fits you properly. I
strongly recommend you go to a dealer who has a fitting system of some kind and will make the
necessary changes to the bike afterwards. My wife and I have both done this recently and our new
bikes have not been in the least bit uncomfortable. The dealer credited the cost of the fitting
against the price of the bikes.

A possible alternative to these Treks is a Giant FSR2. My wife is perfectly happy with hers. Price
was £600.

In your original post you mentioned the possibility of touring. If you mean a tour where you need
to carry luggage (or even a picnic) then you should ask about the ease of adding a rack to these
bikes. You might want to ask about mudguards, too.
--
Michael MacClancy

Michael,

Thanks for your excellent comments - much appreciated. Over the course of the past day or so I've
been doing quite a bit of research and, in a nutshell, want to buy a quality bike which will last me
some time. I fully accept your point about suspension but it's something I am going to go for as I
have ridden a bike without it and, when on the road, quite frankly it shook me to bits.

Being new to cycling I'm not entirely sure what, if any, brand of hybrid can be classed as superior
to another. The brands I have looked at are:

Trek Scott Specialised

and I propose to look at Giant also. The most helpful shop I went into were Trek dealers and as such
were naturally promoting their product. The best deal I was offered however was on a Scott bike at
another shop.

Trouble is I have no knowledge of how they stack up against one another. My only criteria is that it
must be reliable, good quality, reasonably comfortable and doesn't rattle after 100 miles. Other
than that I'm happy (given the suspension).

Decisions decisions!

Saint.

In message <[email hidden]>, Saint <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Michael,

Thanks for your excellent comments - much appreciated. Over the course of the past day or so I've
been doing quite a bit of research and, in a nutshell, want to buy a quality bike which will last
me some time. I fully accept your point about suspension but it's something I am going to go for as
I have ridden a bike without it and, when on the road, quite frankly it shook me to bits.

Being new to cycling I'm not entirely sure what, if any, brand of hybrid can be classed as superior
to another. The brands I have looked at are:

Trek Scott Specialised

and I propose to look at Giant also. The most helpful shop I went into were Trek dealers and as
such were naturally promoting their product. The best deal I was offered however was on a Scott
bike at another shop.

Trouble is I have no knowledge of how they stack up against one another. My only criteria is that
it must be reliable, good quality, reasonably comfortable and doesn't rattle after 100 miles. Other
than that I'm happy (given the suspension).

Decisions decisions!

Saint.

You're not going to go wrong with any of the brands you mention above. All the frames are probably
made in the same factory in Taiwan! There may be differences in the geometry of the frames which
could make one more comfortable than another but I haven't heard of any of these brands departing
markedly from the norm (not like Lemond road frames). Generally speaking, the more you pay the
better components you get and the lighter the bike. Beyond that it's a question of image (Lance
Armstrong rides a Trek) and aesthetics. I think that a good relationship with a bike shop which
ensures a good fit and sets the bike up properly is more important than the make of the bike.

You didn't mention colour. The single most important factor when choosing a bike is it's colour. At
least, that's what my wife says. :-)
--
Michael MacClancy