which would you buy

[atomship47]

and why?

(assuming you HAD to choose 1 of the 2)

Gary Fisher Nirvana at $470 http://www.fisherbikes.com/bikes/bike_detail.asp?series=path&bike=Nirvana

or Trek 7300 at $420 http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1324600&f=27



this post is just for funzies. don't take it too seriously.

 

[atomship47]

i'm going to call my lbs and pick. if i get the trek, i'm going to upgrade the crappy vynyl pedals for the reversible, clipless alloy. if i get the fisher, i'll just keep the stock alloy pedals. i guess it will boil down to price after upgrades.

my lbs doesn't carry the nirvana in stock. i test rode the tiburon and liked it just ever so slightly more than the 7300. i think it's only because its handlebars were flatter and less like a comfort bike's handlebars than the 7300.

since they don't carry it, does it sound like a reasonable request for me to give them a deposit and ask them to order the nirvana....with the understanding that, if it feels differently than the tiburon, i'll just go with the trek?

 

[RickF]

There is not much real difference between the two. The Trek has SRAM components, and the Fisher has Shimano, but both are good. Go with the one that feels best to you. BTW, Fisher is owned by Trek.


I would not be concerned about the composite pedals on the Trek. Wait until you are ready for clipless pedals and get shoes and pedals then. In the mean time, there is nothing wrong with the pedals that come with the 7300. The advantage of the composite pedal is that you can ware a wide range of shoes without worrying about your feet slipping off the pedal. Slick leather soles and alloy pedals are not a good combination.

 

[kokomo61]

I would not be concerned about the composite pedals on the Trek.

Hey, it also has cool little lights that flash as you pedal.....When I put my SPD's on the Trek, I moved my Trek pedals to my wife's Giant Cypress.....

 

[atomship47]

it also has cool little lights that flash as you pedal

but the stock kickstand isn't as cool as the one i bought for my diamondback.


i bought an '06 7300. got it for $389. the nirvana was very nice but it wasn't as good a value since they didn't have any '06 leftovers. Also the salesperson at the dealer really turned me off. i wouldn't have wanted to buy anything from him...not even the trek.

i upgraded the saddle and considered getting the dual-use pedals. they had some used ones in stock they would give me for 1/2 price. i asked why they were returned. he said the person used them and quickly decided he wanted the double sided clipless. he said most of his customers end up doing that. i'll probably do that this spring.

can't wait to ride it this morning!!!!!

 

[kokomo61]

but the stock kickstand isn't as cool as the one i bought for my diamondback.


i bought an '06 7300. got it for $389. the nirvana was very nice but it wasn't as good a value since they didn't have any '06 leftovers. Also the salesperson at the dealer really turned me off. i wouldn't have wanted to buy anything from him...not even the trek.

i upgraded the saddle and considered getting the dual-use pedals. they had some used ones in stock they would give me for 1/2 price. i asked why they were returned. he said the person used them and quickly decided he wanted the double sided clipless. he said most of his customers end up doing that. i'll probably do that this spring.

can't wait to ride it this morning!!!!!

I think you'll be very happy with the 7300 - I've had mine for 2 years, and it's a very decent bike, and the components seem to hold up well, except for the plastic chain guard (I kept kicking mine as I was stepping down into my clipped pedals), and eventually decided to remove it, since I never ride in anything but cycling gear.

If you get hooked, and decide to upgrade to a dedicated 'road' bike later, the 7300 can be your bike for less than decent weather or shorter rides. I think it's a win-win all the way around.....enjoy your new bike!

 

[atomship47]

so, here's a review of the 7300 from a noob's perspective;



i've got about 250 miles on my trek 7300 and the 2 of us are still in the "getting to know you" stage. i just took it in for it's 1-month tune up and it already feels like a completely different bike than the one i first bought (in a good way).

i love the 7300 except for the shifters. i hate Hate HATE the sram sx-4 twist shifters. the entry level shimano revoshifters on my d-back are much more smooth than the sram. i'm leaning towards upgrading to shimano rapid fire shifters at my next tune up. the dealer will do it for $80.

also, the bike was terrible on my cts at first. a couple of very affordable upgrades and the bike treats me well now. I went with a serfas gel seat and had them move in the shifters and add longer, contoured grips....i went on a 30+ mile ride the other day and cts hardly bothered me.

another down-side, the bike has a deore rear derailluer. supposedly it is top-of-the-line as far as affordable hybrid bikes go. my lbs can't seem to get it adjusted so that, when on the 8th cog, the chain doesn't feel like its about to jump. you can feel the vibration of the chain rubbing. its ever-so-subtle but i'm very nit-picky when it comes to these things. it was doing this on both the 7th and 8th cogs but they were able to fix the problem on the 7th cog.

also, when shifting from the center to the outer chain ring, the derailluer sometimes "grabs" the chain as it leaves the rings and sucks it up into chain as it enters the rings on top. it then "jams." the techs adjusted it and weren't able to replicate the problem. however, i was able to several times while they watched. luckily, it hasn't happened since i took the bike home.

one other shifting problem is with the 4th cog. when i shift to the 5th cog from the 4th, there is sometimes an exceptionally long delay (up to a full turn of the crank).

overall, i love the bike now. i'm just not pleased with my shifting issues. i may take it to another trek dealer to see if they can fix the problem.

 

[RickF]

The SRAM twist shifters are a love/hate thing. My wife loves them. I hate them, which is why I bought a Specialized Crossroads instead of the 7300.

As far as the Deore rear derailleur, something does not sound right. I have the Deore on my Crossroads and do not have any of the problems you mentioned. The Deore is far easier to adjust than is the Alivito on my wife's 7200; however, even with the Alivito, I am able to get my wife's bike adjusted so that it shifts smoothly and the chain does not rub - it just takes longer to get it adjusted than it does for the Deore on my bike.

Is the derailleur or the hanger bent? Do you have the correct chain? Are you sure the rub is not coming from the front derailleur? Front derailleurs are much more difficult to adjust. If they are not positioned on the seat tube correctly (correct distance above the large chainring and correct angle with respect to the chain), no amount of fiddeling with limit screws or cable tension is going to fix that. With the rear derailleur, though, unless the hanger or the derailleur cage is bent, the positioning of the derailleur should not be an issue.

 

[RickF]

One advantage of the SRAM twist shifters is that there are several trim positions for the front derailleur that are not present on the Shimano shifters. If the rub is coming from the front derailleur, using a different trim position might eliminate it.

 

[atomship47]

when i watched the tech's ride it, i thought there was more bounce in the chain than there should have been.

they were good to me. i like the techs there. they took the chain off and ran it thru an ultrasonic cleaner. they didn't rush thru the adjustments and they were willing to do it while i waited.

the mgr at the trek lbs closer to my house has quite a bit more experience with bikes. i think i'll have him take a look at it at my next tune up.

on my ride today (brrrr....26 degrees F and 20 mph wind), i could feel the vibrations when on the 7th cog again. at one point in my ride, i shifted from the 4th to the 5th cog and it took the chain about 20 seconds to change cogs. i didn't have any noticable problems with the front derailleur on this ride.

 

[RickF]

If the shop (and the bike) was at 72 degrees when the derailleur was adjusted, and you are riding at 26 degrees, that could impact the cable tension. I do not usually ride when it is below about 35 degrees, and I have never ridden my hybrid it was below about 60 degrees. I can understand having problems on the 7th and 8th cog or the 1st and 2nd cog if the cable tension is wrong, but it does not make sense to me why there would be a problem in the center of the casette. All I can say is that is not a common problem with the Deore derailleur. The LBS should be able to take care of this for you.