Hybrid Bicycles - Trek 7.6 FX or Cannondale Quick CX1 ?

This is my first post and I'm looking for a little advice. I'm 56, weigh 260 and 5'11" tall. Obviously I've spent too much time at the office, the airport and the kitchen. I was a serious rider in my 30's and early 40's but that was a long time ago. Biking was the one form of exercise that I really enjoyed so I'm planning to start over and eat more healthy foods to help shed the fat. I'm just tired of this giant gut and I know it's a serious health risk.

I'm heading out to the two well regarded LBS this weekend. One shop features Cannondale and the other offers Trek. I had great success with both in the past, especially my Treks. Based on a casual web search, it's clear the technology has advanced considerably and the array of choices is a little overwhelming. The two models that popped out to me were the Trek 7.6 FX and Cannondale Quick CX1. The bikes seem similar but do have their differences. Although I don't plan to ride in foul weather, the Cannondale's front disc brake seems like a nice advantage. While both bikes are considered Hybrids, the Trek 7.6 FX seems to lean toward a road bike with the Cannondale seems to lean toward a mountain bike with it's fork. Both are in the same price range.

I plan to start by riding the local bike paths and then getting more involved in the casual group rides (gosh those sure were FUN events in the old days). Naturally, I'll want to test drive both bikes and I know FIT is everything but am I on the right path (no pun intended)? While I can easily afford either bike, I'm not anxious to make a $1200 buying mistake. Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!!!
Rich

The Cannondale Quick CX1 is basically a flat-bar Cyclocross bike (i.e. a road bike modified for rough terrain, which is why it has a front shock, disc brakes, lower-range gearing with a big 32T cog on the back, wider rims to accomodate wider tires). Speed on pavement is not its strong suit.

The Trek FX 7.6 has a road gearing setup (pretty tall upper-end gearing at 50T front / 11T rear, and the biggest cog is only 26T) for more emphasis on speed. Best on pavement and not really intended for rough terrain, though the 700x28c tires can handle rough pavement and perhaps some hard-packed limestone trails.

So do you want rough terrain capability or do you want pavement speed? Answer that question and you will know which bike you want.

I'm not familiar with the CAAD, but I'm in a similar situation as you. I'm 6' 1" and 230. I used to run and weigh 190 but my feet have given out on me and so I decided I needed to do more than walk. So, I bought a Trek 7.5 about 3 1/2 weeks ago tomorrow. I've been riding 6 days a week -- 132 miles so far. I've lost a pound or two, but feel better already.

I like the Trek a lot, in fact more every day. So let me encourage you to keep moving forward. When I told my wife I wanted to buy a bike she thought "sure, that will last a week" but she didn't say it out loud and she was very supportive. Now she can't believe a month later I'm still doing it 6 days a week. She knew I was really serious in the 2nd week when I bought clipless pedals and bike shoes.

The CAAD looks like a nice bike, but I'd think the Trek has better components. Also, you might look at the 7.5. The main difference between the 7.5 and 7.6 is that the 7.6 has IsoZone seat stays. This is just a thick rubber doughnut between the seat tube and the seat stays. This is supposed to remove vibration, but I didn't think it did much at all and really that's not a problem for the 7.5 at all anyway.

Just test them out.

Another bike to look at is the Specialized Sirrus Expert. I heard good things about that one around here.

LongIslandTom- excellent advice and I appreciate the inspiration from creativepart- thank you! I'm more pavement oriented so a fitness bike that favors road bike characteristics is more appealing to me.

I visited 3 stores and tested a Cannondale Quick 5, Specialized Sirrus and Trek 7.5FX. The Trek was far superior but it's not an apples-to-apples comparison as the Quick 5 and Sirrus are $500 bikes. Those stores did not stock the more expensive bikes (Quick 1 and Expert). Quite frankly, in terms of value for the dollar, the Quick 5 was especially impressive. The 7.5FX seemed like a responsive sports car. Technology certainly has made great advances in frame weight, shifting and braking from the old days. Overall, I was very impressed with the staff at all three locations- very knowledgable, helpful and patient.

I'm leaning toward the Trek based on my experiences with Treks "back in the day" and my impression of the local store. At this stage, I'm debating the advantages between the 7.6FX and the 7.5FX....both seem to be excellent choices and the cost difference is not significant. I plan to make a decision in the next couple of days and get my rear in gear.

Since I'm between Austin and San Antonio I went to "Mellow Johnies" bike shop in Austin -- owned by Lance Armstrong. They did a great job fitting the bike and setting me up. The LBS makes a big difference.