Hybrid Bicycles - Looking At Roughly 3-4 Different Bikes. Opinions?

First off(my first post as well), a little about me. I'm 5'6" stocky build. Somewhat athletic. I use to ride BMX bikes in the 80's and even tried a few competitions as a young kid(to many mogul face plants stopped that lol). I'm now going to be 33 in a few weeks, and haven't rode much in the last 10 years or so. I have 2 crappy Mountain bikes 7-10 years old(one of which is the wife's that I use) that are from the big box stores(Next brand). Both have Full suspension, weigh a ton, blah, blah. I feel I would be in to riding more if I bought a nicer quality bike better fitted to me. Frame size etc.. A 17.5" (43cm?) seems to be a good fit for me. It maybe slightly high for me while resting my feet on the ground, but not to bad. 17.5" seems to vary from one manufacturer to the other as far as fit goes I noticed.

I'm looking to mainly ride on paved surfaces, but I do want to be able to go on packed dirt etc if needed. As the wife and I do take weekend trips out to the country(back home/where I grew up), and other outings that would require being on packed dirt or even some gravel roads possibly.

My budget is around $400-600. Used is fine with me. The Cannondale(below) is past what I'd like to be in price range, but if it is truly a good deal the wife(boss) might let that slide, as well as me. She is big in to getting quality gear etc (more than me), so it's not as much of a persuasion as it might be for others. Last year she went to a local shoe store just to get fitted for running shoes even.

The first bike is an 09' Cannondale Street 1 Cross bike. I can get for $699. The other bike is an 11' Trek FX 7.2 for $500. I rode both bikes(Cannondale for good 15 min), and seem to like them both. Though, the Cannondale Street 1 I really liked the handling and the suspension lockout, not to mention how light it was, and still made in the USA even. Not really a fan of the paint job, but that's of lesser concern.

The other bike I am interested in is the Trek DS 8.2 or 8.3. The Kaitai seems interesting as well. After riding the Cannondale for a while, I really liked having the suspension lockout. I believe the DS 8.2 does not have that though.

Trying to research the Cannondale Street 1 bike seems to come up blank, so am wondering how good of a bike it is?

Link to Cannondale: http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/09-Street-1-Cross-Bike/PR3C5285/Product

The trek I looked at is a current model(11'), so it really shouldn't need a link. The Trek is also at a small local bike shop that my family has purchased bikes at in (many) years past, so i like to support them if possible, but they do not carry the DS series. Friday, we will go to another LBS and see what they have for selection and price.

Thanks for any help, opinions etc:thumb:

That Cannondale is a good bike. It has a headshok, which will make it a few pounds lighter than any similarly-priced front suspension bike. That bike morphed into the Quick CX Ultra in 2010 and now is called the Quick CX 1.

To get New Old Stock for $699 is one hell of a deal. I would jump on it.

I would not go for a new one. Hybrids are the bikes that people buy very offen impulsively. Hoping that they will go biking to start a new lifestyle but it is not always works. They just keep them in the garage for couple of years and then post on craiglist, hoping to hget at least something..
This is how I bought this year Cannondale Bad Boy 2009 and Trek 7200FX 2005 .
Believe it or not both of them were in great shape like 30 minutes ago from the store.
I paid $300 and $200 respectevely.

If you have a budget of $600 then you can spent the rest of the money on upgrades and get the new bike that would worth $900-1000 in the store.
This is what I've done to both of them - converted to 9 speed, upgraded drivetrain - road cassetess, derailleurs, shifters, cranks to at least Deore level, etc...

Well, I definitely don't want to blow up load97's budget. It's his money and if he can't afford/justify the Cannondale that's completely fine.

But it's a new, factory warrantied $1200 bike for $699. It is by far the best bike he is considering. If he can splurge for it and other bikes are list price.. no contest at all.

Well, I definitely don't want to blow up load97's budget. It's his money and if he can't afford/justify the Cannondale that's completely fine.

But it's a new, factory warrantied $1200 bike for $699. It is by far the best bike he is considering. If he can splurge for it and other bikes are list price.. no contest at all.

Yes, this particular Cannondale is a very good deal.
And I agree - if it is a real deal than it is better for now than 300 used + 300 in upgrades.

I would take it.

Thanks guys. Just got back from another local bike ship. Checked out an 8.3 DS, I never rode it though. Rode a 2010 7.3 FX new from the same place. Thought it rode pretty good though I felt like to much of my upper body was pushing on my arms, wrists. Could be because the seat was pretty horrible and that I wasn't allowing myself to sit on it subconciously. The slaeman did say we could switch out the bar to something 1-2" higher and see if that helps. Along with swapping out to a more aggressive tire as well. So far I think the Cannondale rode the nicest and was pretty light even with the suspension. My wife and I really like the salesman at the bike shop that was selling Treks though. Were going to look more later today and tomorrow. Might go check out the Cannondale again.

For fun we weighed the DS and the FX and there was 7lbs difference between the two. That's why I decided to take the FX for a ride and not the DS.

Weighed the 09' Cannondale Street. 27lbs. The Trek FX 7.3 was 25lbs. The Trek DS 8.3 was 32lbs.

I wanted to get the weights to get a rough idea where each one standed considering the Cannondale is located at a different bike shop than the other two. I'm pretty impressed with the weight and quality of the Cannondale. Decisions, decisions LOL.

I'd vote for going used and for something your feet can't touch the ground while you're seated, but that's just me.

Sounds right on the Cannondale. Mine weighs 27.6 pounds. The Trek DS is a mountainbike with dual-sport tires, not the least bit surprised to see it over 30 pounds.

*SNIP* My wife and I really like the salesman at the bike shop that was selling Treks though.*SNIP*

After the sale you'll never see him again. Remember, it's the bike you're after!

After the sale you'll never see him again. Remember, it's the bike you're after!

I actually look for places that I feel I will deal with the same person again(low turnover rate). I know what your saying, but if I buy another bike soon for the wife I'll be back again. Plus parts, acc, and future bikes etc. I like to buid a rapport with places I spend a decent amount of money at. But still, it will just come down to the bike I like. The only places that sell Cannondale in the Twin Cities(MN) is the Erics Bike Shop chain. Which kind of bothers me a bit. Have Cannondales gone downhill since 09' or so with overseas manufacturing etc?

Here in my part of NJ it's kinda hard to find Cannondale dealers, too. There are a few more Trek, but not in abundance. They both make very good bikes for their price points. I have (only) two bikes, and after trying a gazzillion bikes I bought a Trek and a Cannondale. I don't think you can go wrong with either brand, as long as you have the right bike for your riding style. The specific model that's right for you will depend on the geometry/fit to your body and the type of riding you're interested in doing.

I liked the Trek 7.3 FX, but for me I liked the Cannondale Quick 3 better. It felt more nimble. I have to say that Cannondale Street 1 sounds really interesting.

I do love leftover models, prices are great!

Weighed the 09' Cannondale Street. 27lbs. The Trek FX 7.3 was 25lbs. The Trek DS 8.3 was 32lbs.

I wanted to get the weights to get a rough idea where each one standed considering the Cannondale is located at a different bike shop than the other two. I'm pretty impressed with the weight and quality of the Cannondale. Decisions, decisions LOL.

If you are so serious about weights then you have to buy the used one and invest into mid-level components. This is how I shaved 2 lbs from used Cannondale and Trek.
Bad Boy is now 23.4 and trek 7200FX is 24 with pedals, bar ends.
And if i will decide to spend another $150 to go for carbon fork then it will be one pound less. And still not more then 699 plus tax of super sale price of that Cannondale. :) ;)

Ahh, none are used. Also, not "that" serious about weight, but 7lbs is a difference. Mainly just thought the different weights were "interesting".

I think we are going to look at a few more places today in between slow cooking ribs on the bbq. I think I might even check out the Trek 7300, 7500 as well.

Took a 2012 DS 8.4 for a ride today since it was in my size next to us and the door. It felt much closer to the previously mentioned Cannondale(heavier albeit), and further away from the FX series I rode the day before. I'm not sure if I can swing it for the 8.4, but pretty sure the 8.3 if that's what I decide. I really enjoyed the ride on it. The handlebars could maybe go up an inch higher and I would be happier. I'd like to maybe change out the tires to a flat top with knobby side tires(I know, probably not the right terminology) like I've seen on other peoples bikes in the forum. I liked the hydraulic brakes as well. I didn't even realize they were until after I brought the bike back up to the shop, I thought it was just a different feel because of being disc. I'm hoping to maybe pull the trigger on a bike in the next 7-10 days.

Sounds like you prefer the Trek dealership and are sorting out which model to buy from them. I will just interject once more that the Cannondale is the best bike and best value. :D

Are the components better in the Street1 than the DS series?

Drivetrain on the Street 1 looks roughly equivalent to the DS 8.4, not quite the equal of the Montare. (SLX rear derailleur.)

Street 1 has the best brakes-- a little better than the Montare, a lot better than the DS 8.4

No contest on the forks. Even though it's only 50mm travel, the Street 1's magura headshok is a lot lighter, more tuneable and easier to lockout (on top of the stem).

The comparison is worse if you're looking cheaper than the DS 8.4. Don't let me steer you towards the Cannondale if you genuinely dislike the bike after riding it. But I definitely *wouldn't* buy one of the Treks if your main reason is liking the bike shop better. I frequent my LBSs a lot, and really like the service at one of them. My family has known the owners for decades. But the brands they carry... I just won't buy.

I've never told them this, but I think they get the idea when I buy parts from them and have them service all my bikes.

Are people able to get most bikes for less than MSRP? Is there room for negotiating, such as with cars? From the research I've done on Treks website, seems to be what LBS are asking. I've kind of mentioned if they will go lower on price at one place, but I didn't really get anywhere.

Drivetrain on the Street 1 looks roughly equivalent to the DS 8.4, not quite the equal of the Montare. (SLX rear derailleur.)

Street 1 has the best brakes-- a little better than the Montare, a lot better than the DS 8.4

No contest on the forks. Even though it's only 50mm travel, the Street 1's magura headshok is a lot lighter, more tuneable and easier to lockout (on top of the stem).

The comparison is worse if you're looking cheaper than the DS 8.4. Don't let me steer you towards the Cannondale if you genuinely dislike the bike after riding it. But I definitely *wouldn't* buy one of the Treks if your main reason is liking the bike shop better. I frequent my LBSs a lot, and really like the service at one of them. My family has known the owners for decades. But the brands they carry... I just won't buy.

I've never told them this, but I think they get the idea when I buy parts from them and have them service all my bikes.

The street 1 was very light I thought. Only 2lbs heavier than the FX with no shock & 5lbs lighter than the DS. I've tried looking up components on Shimano's website, and google, but for a noob it's not that easy to compare. I'm not really sure what I need to look for when comparing components such as the derailleur(I know bearings is one thing) etc. Especially when one bike is an 09' model with little info out there. I didn't get anywhere on Cannondales site just trying to do some comparisions. Your saying the Street 1 brakes are better? They are both disc, but the DS 8.4 has hydraulic. Whether I will ever stree the brakes to need hydraulic is another story. They sure felt good though. I'm getting up a bit early so the wife and I can go together to check out the Street 1 again, and take another test drive. I like the $700 price tag of it as well compared to the DS 8.4.
Thanks for the help btw.

Glad to help! And Shimano model numbers are a total pain, it's not at all that you're just a noob.

Shimano's component groups go:
Acera -> Altus -> Alivio -> Deore XT -> SLX -> Deore XTR
And the fun part is that some of the components don't have series names on them, just model numbers like M486. Great!!

SRAM is a lot easier to read:
X3 -> X4 (incomplete/partial group) -> X5 -> X7 -> X9 -> X0 -> XX

The rear derailleur is highly critical. What you will often see is that the factory doesn't use a complete group, they typically put a better rear derailleur that the rest of the components. In your price range x5, Deore XT, x7 and SLX are what you should be seeing on the rear derailleur.


The Avid BB5 brake is a fairly decent mechanical caliper. It's better than Tektro mechanical discs you often see on entry-level bikes. I've used Hayes hydraulic brakes before and wasn't a big fan.. hard to modulate and overly powerful. I probably wouldn't let the brakes alone stop me from buying the DS 8.4 if I thought that was the best bike. (But it's not! :D)

Thanks for the info.

Shimano group goes a little different -
Tourney - Altus - Acera- Alivio- Deore - Deore LX(which is also trekking not MTB now) - SLX - XT - XTR

Are people able to get most bikes for less than MSRP? Is there room for negotiating, such as with cars? From the research I've done on Treks website, seems to be what LBS are asking. I've kind of mentioned if they will go lower on price at one place, but I didn't really get anywhere.

Yes, you can definitely get a bike for less than MSRP. My Cannondale 2011 Quick 3 lists in the $1000 range, I paid $799. Another shop was willing to do $770.
Not that price is the end all/be all, but that Street 1 is a great price if it's the right bike for your riding needs. You mention about not being thrilled to buy from Erik's bikes (?). I've only bought from them online, but their service was very good the several time I ordered. Plus, they seem to have older stock that's hard to find (like that Cannondale... ;) ).

Re MSRP: I think it depends on where you are and how much competition there is. There is no BS in my town. In another town, there is only one, and they charge MORE than the MSRP! In another town, there are two, but as far as I could tell, they both charge MSRP even on last year's models. (This on their lower-end models; not sure about the more expensive ones, but I'm guessing it's the same for those, too.) Good luck!

The bike size I test rode for the Cannondale is gone now lol. There is a size smaller & a size larger, but I don't think that will work. Hmm, I might have to look at the Trek DS series a bit more.

Dang! I'm not very surprised though. In fact BF is high on Google's relevance logic, so someone stumbling in to the LBS and then researching that bike online probably saw us talking about it here.

LOL, that crossed my mind!

No worries though. You've learned a lot, and now you'll be able to identify the better components and decide how much bike to buy, what if anything to change down the road, etc.

Did you ask them if they have any more? Sometimes there is boxed stock.

Also, a 17.5 does sound about right for your height, but your feet should definitely not be on the ground. You should at least be on tippy toes when seated. It may seem strange at first, but your knees will be cramped when riding if you're too low.

^You are correct. On a side note, I may go look at a 2011 Cannondale Bad Boy solo headshok tomorrow. Tires are more on road than off, but I'm sure that can get swapped to something more aggressive. I've almost doubled my original budget(which was to make the wife happy mostly), but now sh'e insisting I get something that I will want to keep for a few years. If that requires going a bit higher she said okay. So that's something I might think about. She's been wanting to buy her photogragher friends spare DSLR, and I think she's trying to entrap me with guilt LOL.

Well, looks (just called) like there is only one left in my size, so I will have to go look at it tomorrow if i can.

the trek 7.2 is a great bike and the FX series is the only one i have personal experience with. I bought a 7.3 back in 07 and it is my baby. my girlfriend just got a 7.2 recently mainly because it was in her price range. and it is exactly the same as the 7.3 except the derailur isn't as good.

but for a fast versatile bike the trek 7.2 i think is the best, in my un-educated opinion knowing nothing of the other bikes :thumb:

Looked at the Bad Boy Solo Headshock and the Montare tonight. Like them both, but the Montare seemed to be a better fit for me. I put the Montare on hold and shipped to the store by our house.

The Montare is a very good bike. You will be happy. :)

I have it shipping to the store by our house from downtown so I can get an additional $50 off for buying(layawaying wifes) 2 bikes at the same time that other location store manager said he would do. Tomorrow I can go about getting a speedo put on and any other accessories. Montare is $929 while the Bad Boy was $1199. So the price difference helped as well. I didn't like how I couldn't adjust the dampening of the Bad Boy front shock. Also, when standing the seat tip jabbed my tailbone enough, where the Montare isn't quite as bad. Bikes are specked almost identical aside from tires. Wonder if I should get a candance meter, not sure,how much those are and if I would find enough of a use for them.

I had to cut my other post short as I have to help the wife navigate out of downtown. We decided to eat at a Greek restaurant right next store.

I think you are buying the right bike, but I would have thought that the Bad Boy's headshok can be adjusted with air. There should be a small schrader valve in the crown of the fork (the top U shape) covered by a black plastic cap. They did make some lowend unadjustable headshoks for the Adventure bike, however...

I looked around on it and at the top of the shock was I think a plastic icon on it. I asked the girl there that wanted to help me, but she knew nothing of the bike. Bikes for that matter it seemed. Polite girl at least. I had to explain what dampening is to her among a few other things.

1. Thanks ColinL for all the help. Especially breaking down deraileurs etc!
2. For the rest(Bunnicula (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php/234169-Bunnicula)) of the people that replied with good info!

We decided to get 2 bikes. Mines the Montare. Threw the wife's on layaway with 20% down. Doing so we got an additional 5% of each bike price to use as a store credit. So about $85 total between two bikes. The wife's bike is a 2012 Neko SL. Pretty nice bike as well.

I love the remote lockout on my bike. Better than Cannondales headshock lockout as I can flick my thumb to lock out. It was a bit of a tough decision between this and the Bad Boy, but I feel I did the right decision. I feel the service as well as the price (bike price, discounts, multi bike discount) I got at Penn Cycle was definitely worth it. The accessories I had them put on at time of purchase are: 1. combination of seat post bag & tools to change a flat on the fly. 2. The Bontrager Node 2(includes HBS), and wireless speedo sensor. Along with an upgraded gel seat(kept stocker). I did modify seat post tonight, by using my pipe cutter to cut it down a little over an inch. Now I have a light bend to the knee's and can just barely tough the ground while sitting. Funny, as the wife and I are the same height, yet she sits on the bike and has about a third of her foot touching the ground. She has pretty long legs where I am pretty stubby, but a long torso. We both kinda laugh about it. Here's 2 quick pic's.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0146.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0143.jpg

I will have to relocate the rear reflector when I have time. The seat bag covers it up to much.

Looks nice, sleek but comfortable. Trek makes a good bike. I'd prefer Ergon grips,though, more comfy for longer rides. You will find thiose beefier tires very good on gravel and dirt paths - very stable. The bike shop could/should have cut down that seat post if needed, as well as moving the reflector down. No biggie, though.
Ain't it great to be a grown up and be able to buy a quality bike? ;)

FWIW, women often have proportionally longer legs than men of the same height. That's one of the male/female geometry considerations.

Nice bikes! You're welcome, I was glad to be able to help. The Montare is a very good do-everything bike.

I'm glad you got your wife a bike too. Riding together is awesome. Expect sore butts for a while, but don't change too much too soon.. your butt will get used to riding.

I see Trek has a kickstand listed on their website here: http://store.trekbikes.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1461&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C4%2C15%2C426&iProductID=1461

Anyone know if it will fit, or of another kickstand that will work? I'm done trying to find something for the bike to lean against lol. TIA.

I bought the Trek Bontrager kick stand. $28 shipped. I like it and it fits well in case anyone was wondering about issues with Disc brakes. I also modified the water bottle cage to better fit the bike. It sits lower & makes it much easier to pull & put back in place than before. Here's a few pic's.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0142.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0144.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0147.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0152.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/load97/IMAG0149.jpg

Nice! Are you and wifey enjoying rides?

BTW you bought the bike and are sticking around BF, right? -- open new topics! :D

LOL, I think so.