General Cycling Discussion - Recommendations for Trek 7.7 FX or Trek 7.9 FX?

I thought I'd advance up slowly, from my current Trek 730 to a new Trek fitness bike, before getting a road bike. So, I would like to focus on the Trek 7.7 FX and the Trek 7.9 FX models [for 2007].

I haven't seen much comment about these two bikes in the last 12 months of messages, but I did come across the following thread via google search, which provided a good argument for the 7.7 FX:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=163125

My generic question: Do any of you have personal knowledge of these two bikes, and have preferences between these two bikes?
My specific question: Would the carbon frame of the 7.9 FX be strong enough for primarily metropark rides and occasional off-road rides?

Lastly, how do you do a search function? I tried doing a search for "7.7" and for "7.9" and nothing was found by the search. How do I "Search The Forums" for the Trek 7.7 FX or the Trek 7.9 FX?

The bikes seem to be pretty close in spec, with the exception of a full carbon frame for the 7.9, and aluminum/carbon for the 7.7....If you're getting this as an intermediate step to a road bike, I'd go for the 7.7, or even take a step down to a 7.5FX, and save the difference for the roadie......

I'd go for the 7.5FX, too. The other two are really overkill and if you've got that kind of money it would be better spent on getting two bikes. My wife has the 7.5 and it's a great bike. We mostly do pavement but it handles dirt roads just fine and can do some off-roading, too. I put some barends on the there to give her some extra hand positions for longer rides. It can take fenders and racks so when you get your road bike you can use the FX as a commuter/grocery store bike.


There was a discussion of the 7.9FX on the Roadie forum a while back but the consensus was that it was too expensive for its niche.