Trek 7700 FX - Really $400 of difference between 04 and 05?

[Austin Newbie]

I'm in the process of trying to find a new bike and I'm settled on a road bike with flat handle bars. I rode a '05 Trek 7700 FX and find it very light and responsive. It has very decent components and the carbon forks make for good feel without too much bite.

My real problem with the bike is that the '04 has an MSRP of around $1049 (US) and the '05 has moved up to around $1469 (US).

I know the price of shipping, metals, and plastics have all gone up, and most bike prices have escalated some, but a 35% increase seems a bit much. I'd like to think there is some scaling up somewhere in performance too. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[PSUcycling]

To start, i'm a trek dealer in ks...
that being said, the upgrades from '04 to '05 are!

-OCLV carbon seat stays
-satalite carbon fork (04' was an aluminum fork)
-This year is basically a full XT bike (04's had some nexave)
-casette is XT not sram like last year
-lighter Bontrager Race stem
-Shifters are the XT dual control STI levers (04' just xt brake lever)

Over all this bike is going to be lighter and ride much nicer with all of the carbon..I would say thats at least a $400 difference, its up to you whether you want/need a $400 upgrade.

john

 

[Austin Newbie]

John,

Thanks for the info. Sorry not to get back to you sooner.

I agree with you and I've gone ahead with the 05 7700 fx and I'm very happy so far. I do a good combination of road and gravel path and the carbon is lively, not too stiff, but with good road feel. I like the componentry upgrades and though I may not need a bike this nice, I'm confident I won't outgrow it in a year like I did my last one.

Thanks again!

Susanne