Originally Posted by
Rich Gibson
... Some other confusing features were the gear controls, gears and sprockets. ... Another question is about the derailleurs; again so many different combinations. One source says the Shimano Deore is crap and others say '105' (whatever that means) is the way to go. I read a number of reviews that the pedals are defective...really? What makes them deficient and whta should they be replaced with?
This is a confusing as digital photography!
Okay.
I've done some reading and it's beginning to make sense. One explanation I read in another site put it into place. The 'bike' manufacturers are basically (mostly) Taiwanese frame companies which hang on third party hardware to meet price points. This would explain the different models of various running gear. Doh! I picked that up from looking at Trek's spec sheet...almost every part on the bike was built by some other manufacturer. The light bulb comes on. I also see from visiting the Shimano site that on the Trek FX series uses mountain trail bike MTB running gear. So it appears that, like Nikon vs. Sigma vs. Tamron lenses there are very different opinions and passions for particular models ("Doere is for holiday riders"....."105 is for serious bikers" etc.)
So, if I bought, for example, a Trek FX 7.4 I could ultimately put on any combination of running gear (..assuming that the mounting points are standard).
Question about seats, and tires. Where do you start with seats? It looks like there is a mind boggling variety of brands/types. I don't ever plan on racing or other competitive events however we have some trails in northern VA which are gravel and small stones. Certainly I will not go though muddy bogs, but I'm looking for a tire which will avoid a jarring ride on pavement bu which can handle the occasional hard packed (dry) dirt trail
Thanks for the quick responses!