Hybrid Bicycles - Why so much Trek love around here?

Perusing the thread titles, a bunch seem centered around various 7.x FX models. And a bunch of the "help me pick/which bike for me" threads seem to point to the FX line-up as well.

I think that part of the reason is that Trek is one of the "Big Three"- meaning that no matter where one person is at, there should be at least one LBS that carries Trek within a reasonable distance. Of the 11 LBS's in the area here, 7 have Trek/Giant/Specialized as their primary offerings.

I just happen to like my FX personally & it the only bike I know. I have nothing good or bad to say about any other Bike so the only thing I can comment on is my FX

They are a big company, therefor are able to move more bikes do to marketing (having Lance as a poster boy helps too), and they just make a good bike. :) I like my 4300. The FX bikes look practical and well made, can't argue there.

I have a 7.5FX and really like it and therefore recommend it as a good hybrid (in many cases, although not all). When I bought that bike I chose it over competitive Specialized and Cannondale models.

However, my tri bike is a Felt S22. I do not believe I have a brand bias...I could have easily and at less cost got a Trek TTX but the Felt was better for me.

In short, I do not blindly recommend Trek, but for a hybrid it seemed to be good for me.

From the very beginning of the Hybrid forum it has been kind of dominated by the Trek. Panthers007 & Myself were the driving force behind the hybrid forum as well as others. We are both Trek FX owners and many of the original postings are based from the view of the Trek hybrids. I have no idea if that set the trend for Trek domination of if the bike is just a great value in the production hybrid environment these days. Never the less I see very little negative opinions on the Trek hybrid. I will however say I have seen some very killer hybrids in this forum as well as some great modifications regardless of what brand it is.

I did not like the fx when I rode it nore am I a huge Trek fan but they are all nice bike. I bought the FCR from Giant and could not be happier. It looks nice, rides nicer and I am pretty sure cost me like 165 less than the comparable trek.

I should add, because of this bike I am totally into the sport, recreation and fitness of cycling. I have since upgraded the bike and bought other road bikes, however I would have never even bothered if I did not love my Giant so much. Plus it helped that the giant dealer is easily the best bike shop in the area as far as customer service, prices and all around great shop. If the shop sucked, I may have bought something different, who knows.

Treks are a good company that makes good bikes. It helps that they're huge. A lot of folks here own one, and the bikes work for them. Therefore, they recommend them.

Personally, I just stick to what works. I've owned two Raleighs, one Novara, one Trek, a Specialized (the girl has a Specialized too), a Nishiki, and all sorts of other bikes. The Trek I owned was a great bike along with the rest.

I just bought a Trek 7.5 fx today, should have it in a few days. I honestly think that they have made a good solid bike with the FX series and it makes a good hybrid. I was surprised that I can mount a rear rack to it without strapping it on with tie wraps or something.

Trek really dominates my local market, as the biggest and closest bike store to my town has Trek as its main product. The shop never pushed me into buying a Trek and they didn't need to as the product sold itself to me.

RJM, enjoy your new 7.5. I swung my leg over one the other day in one of my LBS's and it seemed rather nice (I unfortunately didn't take it for a ride due to weather). It was a leftover from 2008. Does anyone know offhand if there are major changes from then to now? It was going for a little over 600. Any thoughts on that for a price? Thanks in advance!

I like Trek for a few reasons. One, they make great bikes. Of course, lots of people make great bikes, but none better or worse than Trek. They make bikes of all levels.

What I really like, however, is my local bike shop. They used to be called Peachtree City Cycles or something like that, and for years they sold several brands. I bought three Treks through them (a 7100, a Navigator, and a Soho--highly recommend the Soho by the way). And yesterday I picked up a Pure (I like them better than the Navigator) from the local shop. They're now called Trek (Peachtree City, Georgia) and the provide exceptional service.

They are always helpful, and what I like best: No bike snobs. These guys treat everyone as important.

The other bike shop in town? Not so much. They look down their noses, so I don't go there anymore and never purchased from them. My wife bought my daughter a bike there once, but we haven't been back. They just didn't seem all that interested in our business.

So we buy from the Trek store. Great store, great products, and great service.

RJM, enjoy your new 7.5. I swung my leg over one the other day in one of my LBS's and it seemed rather nice (I unfortunately didn't take it for a ride due to weather). It was a leftover from 2008. Does anyone know offhand if there are major changes from then to now? It was going for a little over 600. Any thoughts on that for a price? Thanks in advance!

Hey Matt - you will likely get a better bike for less money with an 08. Reason - most manufacturers have downgraded componentry, as a means of controlling cost, and staying competitive.

Plus, you should get a nice discount on a two year old model.

MHO

Funny thing about Hybrids - they are all the same; but, they are all different.

When I bought my Crosstrail, I rode every "Hybrid" I could find. Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Giant, etc. In both Performance and "normal" configurations. This Specialized Crosstrail has been the absolute perfect do it all bike, for me! Grocery getter, errands, MUP riding, and can still go fast on the road. Can I do 35 MPH, comfortably, on the road? Nope! But it will do 20-25 easily, occasionally 27-30, at comfort, which ain't bad for an old guy!

Personally, I found the "comfort" oriented Hybrids, attrocious to ride. They all felt very slow, cumbersome, energy sapping, and "comfortable."

I really liked the Treks, (especially the FX series,) and thought that the Giants gave the best bang for the buck, and really liked the looks of the Cannondales.

But, the more performance they were oriented, the less comfortable they were, due to my physical problems. (I really needed a bike with front suspension to get rid of shock.) That ruled out the FX and the Sirrus types. Even though I loved them.

On the other side - One ride was all it took to fall in love with my Crosstrail - a performance oriented Hybrid, with suspension and fatter tires. It's beeen a wonderful bike for me, and I was really sorry to see them change the geometry in '09, making it more of a "normal" to "comfort" type. It did make me exceedingly happy that I bought the '08 a year earlier.

Also, I would have liked to have the FX, or several of the Giants; but, the Specialized Crosstrail was the best, for me, that I could find.

Next time around, I might just try something along the FX or Sirrus types, if they can be fitted with wide enough tires to be good shock absorbers for me ( which appear to be a minimum of 35mm on the front, and a 40 or 45mm on the back.) Also, I would have to try to figure a way to isolate front wheel shock from my shoulders and back. Along with fatter tire capability, they would also have to have enough room for fenders, and a rack... I have also experimented with tire pressure, and have settled on 85# to be the best for handling, at a slight decline in ride. I just didn't like the "vague" feeling of less pressure. Possibly due to so many years on skinny tired roadies.

Keep in mind, that I came off a road bike, which I rode for decades before ............ LOL

Also, if looking at front suspended bikes, look for easy, lock out capability. It's really nice to be able to lock it (the suspension) out when you want, (like for climbing hills, or on nice smooth pavement) and, have it bouncing away, as it soaks up bumps and shocks.

Best advice - ride as many as you can, and one will surely rise to the top, as the best one for you. For me, that's what happened - the Crosstrail was immediate love, even though I thought I would like something different. After that first ride, I compared all other bikes to it. Your choice will probably be different, but don't close your eyes to others, until you've ridden them.

See, they are all different, but they are all the same. You just have to find the best one for you. There's a lot to consider, when you are looking at "Hybrids."

I've had my Trek 750 since Lance still had training wheels :D
I was giving up my road bike because of my back, and of the bikes I tested I liked the Trek best.
If I replace the 750, I'll probably test the FX, but I'm not tied to it.

I got an '07 Trek 7.2fx back in spring 2008 because it was recommended to me by the owner of the LBS (that place has since closed). He threw a helmet at me and told me to take it for a spin. I liked everything about it and bought it a week later. I also liked it because of the brand's reputation. Good warranty and known for making quality bikes. When I was shopping for a roadbike this winter I looked at a few treks at another LBS but I didn't feel like I was getting enough bang for my buck. After some research and talk with a friend who has been building and working on bikes longer than I've been alive, I decided on my Rocky Mountain Prestige. I love my Trek hybrid and would have loved to get another one, but I got a bike with better components for cheaper than the Trek.

I think there's so much Trek love because of their size and branding.

Of course - the tone of "Trek Love" here could change. If some folks come in talking up their Giant or Specialized or Raleigh. As has been done - and very well received. So I wouldn't say we are 'Trek-Centric' here. But people seem to like Trek. Please go buy/build something other than a Trek - and come make a 'splash' in the pool!

Happy Trails!

This WAS a Trek 7.5 FX:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp323/nagognog/IMG_0481.jpg

Sounds like the reasons for the excess of Trek talk are historical, the people who worked to get a separate hybrid forum were largely Trek owners. The possible pitfall to all the Trek talk is that it can become a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Owners of other brands could feel unwelcome on the forum and just look elsewhere for comradery. I belong to a telescope forum where one brand is owned by the majority of members but another brand is the most frequent topic of discussion and the most often recommended to people looking for scopes. Occasionally an owner of the majority brand will complain that it is not "featured" more but it is really up to the individual owners to post about the things they love and make recommendations when they are solicited. You see a few similar comments here. People who have a passion for nurturing the forum might take some extra care to be as brand neutral as possible but obviously you can only relate experiences with products you have actually owned.

I started hanging out here when I started looking a hybrids. The Trek talk did not put me off nor did it particularly sway me. I have the opposite situation from one of the other posters on this thread. My local Trek dealer is a shop I have tried to like but just find impossible to deal with. So while there are Trek models that looked interesting, I wrote them off relatively early. Fuji's on the other hand are sold locally by a delightful little shop and in the end I went with a 2009 Absolute 1.0 he had on sale. I just picked it up this week and took my first real ride with it today after the rain stopped and the roads dried. I wished when I was trying to decide that it was as simple as picking a model from the "big three". There is no big three, there is a big dozen, or two, brands that are well worth considering and each has several models that could fit any individual's needs. The advice to take a long ride on the models you are considering is good. If the shop owner had sent me on the ride I took today the first day he showed me the bike, he'd have sold it that day instead of two weeks later! It is more road oriented than what I started out looking for and nearly all the local riders I talked to said that is what I wanted for the bike paths in this area. Today's ride proved them right. I need to do some work on the handlebars and I might want slightly wider tires. After a winter of nothing but trainer riding and only about half of what I thought I was going to do of that the Fuji had me zooming along comfortably at speeds I did not think I could realistically aspire to. It was an eye opener and while test rides around the Metra parking lot by the shop gave glimpses of that they did not prepare me for the feel of the bike on the trails. It's a sweet ride and if you ever want a testimonial for Fuji, you can count on me!

Ken

Congrats on the Absolute Ken. You are right in that there are a number of really good bike companies out there. Unfortunately, depending on where you live, one has little to no access to trying out first hand most of them. I would love to see a LBS around where I live carry something other than Trek, Giant, and Specialized.

Go for it!! I'm sick & tired of talking about how I tore my Trek into pieces and created a Frakenbike! Please! Go for it!

I bought my 7.3 FX used, and I love it. My Felt X City is my favorite (current avatar pic), but the Trek is a sweet bike. It is a very fast hybrid, with everything you need for mounting fenders and a rack. It's really a great bike.

They are great bikes - good frame engineering and they back their warranty.

There are no Crescents in the US... www.crescent.com (http://www.crescent.com)

I've had two Trek hybrids: an old 7xxx that I got at a garage sale and a '09 FX 7.1. They have both been excellent bike that have performed better and survived more abuse in-tact than I expected. From the way some people talk about them, low-end (less than $500) Trek bikes will fall apart under minimal stress, but I have gone on multi-day fully-loaded bike trips with both of mine and never had a single concern about the condition of the bike (just the condition of the rider).

I think Trek makes great bikes. Plus they are a Wisconsin company, which I like!

There are no Crescents in the US... www.crescent.com (http://www.crescent.com)

I'm not sure that link is what you meant it to be.

There are no Crescents in the US... www.crescent.com (http://www.crescent.com)
Since this BF'er ^is from Sweden

I'm not sure that link is what you meant it to be.
I think the correct link is here (http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Sweden/Crescent.htm).

Since this BF'er ^is from Sweden

I think the correct link is here (http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Sweden/Crescent.htm).

Sorry guys - www.crescent.se (http://www.crescent.se) A collection of fine swedish bikes!

Trek love......hmm

In my city there seems to be a lot of Specialized love in the air. Lots.

I really had my eye on a Trek 1.9 (2009) but got a hybrid instead. They do make lovely bikes. I can see why there's a lot off Trek love in general.

As an occasional lurker I can't say how the forum here leans, but I just picked up a Trek 7100 after looking at several brands and models at a couple of LBS' in my area. I was hoping NOT to like the Trek quite honestly, but the 7100 just felt right to me. Even within the Trek family I see many opinions on which model is "best", but it's all just personal preference and what works best for each individual. I would hope everyone out there looks at several options before purchasing.

On a related note, the biggest "gripe" I have around here is any advice on what bike/components to buy always ends up busting my budget! Good advice that points towards quality rather than cost.