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I May Be in Love...

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I May Be in Love...

Old 12-01-05, 06:18 PM
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I need more cowbell.
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I returned to where it all began -- my local Trek dealer (although a different store than the first time, because I had other business in the area). My intention was to test the 1000, the 1200, and the Pilot 2.1

The sales guy suggested I take a look at something else, after chatting with me about my experience and needs. It was a bike I'd never seen before. It's a new model, the 2006 Trek 7.6 FX. He invited me to take a ride, and I did.

OMG -- I think I now really understand what people say when they advise you to try out bikes until one just feels right. This one, with a minor adjustment of the saddle, felt ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

Light. Nimble. Responsive. Affordable. I liked the 700x32 tires. I like the stock pedals (clipless on one side, platform on the other). I liked the flatbar. I think the bike is gorgeous, as well, not that that's a reason to buy it.

I'm SO tempted. Right now, they offered me the bike for $950, no sales tax, free water bottle and cage, and a year to pay with no interest charges. Plus the usual Trek lifetime free adjustments.

This bike, at least to me, was SWEET. It won't take any time to adjust to it (the handlebars felt great, the shifting was terrific, the saddle was fine. I can go clipless when I'm ready without swapping out the pedals. Carbon where you want it, and an aluminum frame otherwise.

The deal is good through the end of the month. I can't believe I'm even contemplating doing this, given I just bought the 3900 six months ago. But this bike's really, really tempting!
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Old 12-01-05, 06:34 PM
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Absolutely nothing wrong with that bike whatsoever. I have a hybrid, a Jamis, but tested out a couple of the FX series Treks and thought they were really nice. I guess I wanted steel. I regularly, well weather permitting, take the Jamis out on 20-40 mile rides and have ridden over 50-60 miles a time or two. Actually, I ride the Jamis more than my road bike. A nice hybrid can just be so comfortable to get on. So, if it floated your boat, I'd say get it. If it's like the Jamis, it's a lot closer to a road bike, than a mountain bike and, if I recall, the FX series falls into that category.

It sounds like it sent chills up your spine son. Take it for one more test ride, hem and haw a bit to see if they come down a tiny tad in price, then, if you feel all tingley, get the thing.

It must be true love at last.
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Old 12-01-05, 06:36 PM
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By the way, while I have clipless on my road bike, I don't and probably never will on my hybrid. I just like to throw myself on it and have fun!!!
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Old 12-01-05, 08:01 PM
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Poor guy....sounds like you've got it bad. But she wants you to make your honorable intentions clear before New Year's Day. Otherwise, she's gone, reluctantly, to some other guy. In the meantime, no consummation until you're holding a receipt in your hand. , make it legal/legit.....eh? And you're ready to settle down with this one?...so many bikes, so little time. What's a guy gonna do?!

I notice the MSRP was a little over $1k, and you'll be saving on tax, too. Pretty alluring. The cherry red color might just clinch it.

Seems to me, when you meet "her", you just know it in your bones (particularly sit-bones ;-). If she feels that good and natural, complements your tastes and needs, will carry you into the future of your ever-growing cycling career, and isn't a total budget buster......you have an almost obligation to jump on it and go. Allez!!

And you'd planned to deliberate over this for months....like, how real was that LOLOL.

Your ear to ear smile beams through the ether.......that's great D.G.
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Old 12-01-05, 08:41 PM
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Gary,
Nice to read that you've finally met your true love. I'd like to think that you at least bought her a drink before you tried her out ...........Does she have a sister?

aj
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Old 12-01-05, 09:32 PM
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You guys are making me laugh!

Yep, I like the bike. And she's relatively affordable -- but it's Christmas season, it's almost (dare I say it?) tax season, and I must face the cold hard reality that there are priorities. I may very well go ahead and get the bike, but there is a part of me telling me to hold off for a bit, get some other things taken care of, and THEN get the bike. Perhaps, if I'm fortunate, there'll be an after Christmas sale? Who knows?

All I know is, that bike was 100% pure fun to ride.

Meantime, my Trek 3900 still rides well, just like it did before all this wanderlust, and still gives me great exercise, so...as my mother used to say, "We'll see." God did I hate that phrase!
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Old 12-01-05, 10:48 PM
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That should ride nice. A guy in my club bought a Trek 5200, and before he left the shop it had MTB handlebars and shifters.
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Old 12-02-05, 12:03 AM
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Soooooo.....make sure to post a pic of her when you bring her home.......
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Old 12-02-05, 06:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Digital Gee
I returned to where it all began -- my local Trek dealer (although a different store than the first time, because I had other business in the area). My intention was to test the 1000, the 1200, and the Pilot 2.1

The sales guy suggested I take a look at something else, after chatting with me about my experience and needs. It was a bike I'd never seen before. It's a new model, the 2006 Trek 7.6 FX. He invited me to take a ride, and I did.

OMG -- I think I now really understand what people say when they advise you to try out bikes until one just feels right. This one, with a minor adjustment of the saddle, felt ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

Light. Nimble. Responsive. Affordable. I liked the 700x32 tires. I like the stock pedals (clipless on one side, platform on the other). I liked the flatbar. I think the bike is gorgeous, as well, not that that's a reason to buy it.

I'm SO tempted. Right now, they offered me the bike for $950, no sales tax, free water bottle and cage, and a year to pay with no interest charges. Plus the usual Trek lifetime free adjustments.

This bike, at least to me, was SWEET. It won't take any time to adjust to it (the handlebars felt great, the shifting was terrific, the saddle was fine. I can go clipless when I'm ready without swapping out the pedals. Carbon where you want it, and an aluminum frame otherwise.

The deal is good through the end of the month. I can't believe I'm even contemplating doing this, given I just bought the 3900 six months ago. But this bike's really, really tempting!
Things to consider on this fitness bike: will this be your "final bike"? or is this another transition bike from mountain to hybrid/road?? One thing I see different is the handlebars. The drop bars on a road bike can be positioned to allow you the comfort of a flipped stem. In the final analysis, a hybrid is still a hybrid. If you plan to advance in riding, you will eventually ride in a group and most will be on road type bikes going a bit faster. The wider wheels on that Trek can possibly be swaped out but why bother when a road bike already has it?
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Old 12-02-05, 07:38 AM
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Say to yourself 10 times over:

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"

"I WILL buy a real road bike"
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Old 12-02-05, 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Digital Gee
The deal is good through the end of the month. I can't believe I'm even contemplating doing this, given I just bought the 3900 six months ago. But this bike's really, really tempting!
Just when I was moving from CA to WY, I tried a bike at a dealership which spoke to me just as this one did to you. I didn't buy it because I thought it stupid to buy a bike to move it across country.

I've never found one that worked as well for me. I regret that non-sale to this day.
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Old 12-02-05, 08:51 AM
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I have been commuting this year on a Trek 7700FX with absolutely no complaints. It is really responsive on the road, but is also very forgiving and stable when I decide to ride like a dufus. It will never replace my roadie, but for everything else it is perfect. I ride with SPD mountain bike shoes and use the clipless side of the pedals most of the time. It is really nice though to be able to flip them and ride on the flats with street shoes though.
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Old 12-02-05, 09:06 AM
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Trouble is...we "need" more than one bike, as "rule" indicates he himself has, to maximize different aspects of our riding. The bike I do long weekend rides on could be a commuter no probs...but not a very good one. My converted sport tourer with 32cm, belted tires, moustache bars, big saddlebag, heavy bomb proof wheels is better for urban streets (and fire roads).

The frustration lies in trying to get one-bike-for-all. Trouble is affording a harem of bikes. Most of us accumulate bikes over the years. Its that first, getting-beyond-a-beginner-bike purchase that's the tough one. Should DG commit to a full-on road bike for those long, rolling weekenders, or go for a lighter, quicker version of what he already has? Only the rider himself can make that determination. In a few years, he'll have his bike harem, too. Like most of us.
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Old 12-02-05, 09:21 AM
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Why buy an upgraded version of what one already has?

Go for the real thing.
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Old 12-02-05, 10:19 AM
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I ride an '05 7500FX (they changed the model names from 7XXX to 7.X this year) and considered true road bikes at the time of purchase, too.

I rode a Motobecane Grand Record for many years, in recent years I began getting more neck and shoulder pain while riding in the drops. Much of my riding is commuting to my university office, down streets with many, many crosswalks (wheeled vehicles in KY are mandated to stop for peds in marked crosswalks) and many informal crosswalks - always a bit of a hassle with the position of the brakes on the Moto. I suppose one could add inline brakes but the shifters are still a reach when riding upright.

I added Shimano 324's to the 7500FX - they're like the pedals that you get stock, and a more comfortable seat - finally opted this month for a Serfas Terrazo over a Brooks Team Pro (I don't think I could get it far enough back, didn't want to spring for a seatpost with more setback). I do 15-20 miles a day excepting bad weather (not many of those days this fall) during the week and 25-30 on one or both weekend days.

No aches, pains, or discomfort, knees or elsewhere with the Trek.

My lbs has a 30 day trial policy on bikes, bring it back without damage for component swapouts or a different model or frame size, no questions asked. See if you can do something similar.

If most of your riding is in the wide open stretches, and your neck and back handle the riding posture of a drop bar road bike, you might opt for that, possibly with inline brakes on the bar; otherwise the 7.X series may be what you want, if the bike fits you.

Another factor, I didn't want to spend over $800.00 including the saddle and pedal upgrades. I looked at "comfort" or "relaxed geometry" road bikes, like the Pilot and XXXXC Treks, but thought at my price point, the 7500FX was what I wanted. I still do.
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Old 12-02-05, 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by DnvrFox
Why buy an upgraded version of what one already has?

Go for the real thing.
Because I love the bike. And maybe I'll have to upgrade in six months or a year or sometime after that. Or maybe I won't. Could it be that this bike was designed for people like me, and is all I'll ever need? Who knows?

I rode a couple of road bikes and admired them immensely but also cringed with all the little aches and pains they instantly produced. Those pains are what kept me from cycling the past twenty years.

Yes, it's possible -- even probable that most of those would diminish with more exacting fit and many miles in the saddle -- BUT -- I know me. I could tell that I would hesitate to ride "because it hurts." In other words, I'd have to keep talking myself into going through the transitional period. With this bike, there is no transition.

And, to be honest, all those threads about saddles, pedals, ball bearings, etc. go way over my head. I'm a Fred, and I'll always be a Fred. I need to know how to fix a flat and keep my chain clean. I don't even care about anything else. I don't want to become a wrench. I just like to ride.

The reason I went looking for a new bike was to be able to do everything I can do now, only faster, longer and more easily. I want to do a Century next year. Not every week or even every month, but twice (once to do it, and once to prove that wasn't a fluke). The rest of the time, I want to ride my 10-15 miles on weekdays, and my 20-40 miles on weekends. I'm pretty much doing that now, and it looks like this bike would seamlessly improve my joy-factor.

So that's why this bike.
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Old 12-02-05, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Digital Gee
Because I love the bike. And maybe I'll have to upgrade in six months or a year or sometime after that. Or maybe I won't. Could it be that this bike was designed for people like me, and is all I'll ever need? Who knows?

I rode a couple of road bikes and admired them immensely but also cringed with all the little aches and pains they instantly produced. Those pains are what kept me from cycling the past twenty years.

Yes, it's possible -- even probable that most of those would diminish with more exacting fit and many miles in the saddle -- BUT -- I know me. I could tell that I would hesitate to ride "because it hurts." In other words, I'd have to keep talking myself into going through the transitional period. With this bike, there is no transition.

And, to be honest, all those threads about saddles, pedals, ball bearings, etc. go way over my head. I'm a Fred, and I'll always be a Fred. I need to know how to fix a flat and keep my chain clean. I don't even care about anything else. I don't want to become a wrench. I just like to ride.

The reason I went looking for a new bike was to be able to do everything I can do now, only faster, longer and more easily. I want to do a Century next year. Not every week or even every month, but twice (once to do it, and once to prove that wasn't a fluke). The rest of the time, I want to ride my 10-15 miles on weekdays, and my 20-40 miles on weekends. I'm pretty much doing that now, and it looks like this bike would seamlessly improve my joy-factor.

So that's why this bike.
Okay - whatever turns you on is what you should get.

Have fun!
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Old 12-02-05, 01:14 PM
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Gary

Found the picture. The UK online catalogue doe not give me many details, Not even weight so still a lot to look into.See it comes with a half carbon fork that will take some of the road buzz out of it, so should give a respectable ride
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Old 12-02-05, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by stapfam
Gary

Found the picture. The UK online catalogue doe not give me many details, Not even weight so still a lot to look into.See it comes with a half carbon fork that will take some of the road buzz out of it, so should give a respectable ride
Stepfam...I had given a link in the first post to this thread. Here it is again -- you'll see the picture and get all the specifications! Click Here!
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Old 12-02-05, 02:00 PM
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Gary-test ride one of these but make sure you get the right size-it might just make you question your lust for miss perfect! I bet you can find an '05 model in the Fuji that would be a terrific deal.

This is you my friend!! If not right now, you'll be on one of these next year this time.....But, if you insist on miss perfect right now I'll support you 100%-I'm just trying to look after you own best interests!!!

After all you are our mascot!!

https://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike...id=1444000&f=3

https://www.fujibikes.com/2005/bikes.asp?id=10
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Old 12-02-05, 06:11 PM
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There's a natural, developmental "cycle" (sorry for pun) to entering cycling--especially these days and more especially for us stiffening, brittling 50Plussers. My first adult bike was a road bike--simply because there was so little choice. (Lord how I hated that Selle Mundialita saddle!). Now, there are so many choices...and what is seemingly more comfortable and "sensible" understandably gets first choice. At least initially.

Gary, you may or may not proceed "beyond" the need for your FX. 40 mile weekend rides are one **** of a lot longer than 98% of our age group can imagine doing. If your butt hurts and your back aches on that skinny tire wonder....you won't even want to do your 10 to 15 mile weekdays. Any bike is sweet that brings you pleasure and fulfillment.

I have an inkling that, some 1000's of miles from now, a local gruppeto is going to whiz past you and you'll have an impulse to jump with them. You may begin to wonder whatever form of intercontinental (inter-city?) human rocket you might become--just for the hell of it. In which case, you'll look for a bike that fits that style of riding. Or maybe you won't. Ultimately, who cares? Whatever gets you out on the road to joy. [We rightfully snicker at those OCP's with their low mileage, always nearly new Madones while Stapfam is out at night in mud on his old Bianchi.]

Buy the bike you want for Right Now, pile on happy miles, and let the Maybe Someday Who Knows sit patiently (tell people you're waiting for 15 speed cogsets).

Sorry DG....you're too devoted & steadfast to be a frickin' Fred.....its the Rider that we respect, not whatever contraption is under him. Period. Forget this Mascot stuff!
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Old 12-02-05, 07:12 PM
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Well, I sure appreciate all the comments and suggestions and advice. I went to another LBS today and tried a Fuji Newest. Once again, when I got on the bike, I had the same reactions I had to the Specialized Roubaix -- the bike is light, nimble, and a quantum leap from my little Trek 3900 MTB.

That said, I also had the same physical reactions: pain. My hands hurt. My butt hurt. My neck started to hurt. And my back REALLY hurt!

Then I tried a really inexensive ($400) I-suppose-it-was-a-hybrid-but-right-now-I-can't-remember-the-brand, with FLAT handlebars and narrow tires.

Had almost the same sweet feeling as when I tried the Trek 7.6. The components weren't as nice as I want, so the bike was eliminated from futher consideration, but one thing was made very clear to me: I want a road-like bike, with flatbars. If I talk myself into a classic road bike (even something like the Pilot or equivalent), I will NOT keep riding very long. Pain has a way of discouraging me.

Frankly, I'm at the point where if someone offered me a $2,000 road bike free, I'm not sure I'd take it (except to sell it). I've learned that for ME, for NOW, for the condition I'm in, and for the riding I do, it's going to be a nice, "upscale" hybrid with good components.

Now I'm going to visit a few more LBS's and see what they have that fits my description. Today's store, a Performance store by the way, could "order" a Fuji Absolute 1.0, a roughly $1,000 flatbar road bike, but not unless I actually paid for it first. They refused to have one delivered to the store unless I bought it first. Uh huh. Fat chance.

Thanks again everybody! I'll keep you posted!
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Old 12-02-05, 07:16 PM
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GrannyGear, I sent you a PM. Just so you'll notice!

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Old 12-02-05, 07:26 PM
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Gary, if you're able to track down a Jamis Coda series bike, try to do so for a test ride. You might just enjoy the feel of steel.
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Old 12-02-05, 07:26 PM
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Kona's share a great reputation.
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