seurban

It’s been a while since I rode much, and my last bike, a 10+year old mountain bike, was stolen. So I’m looking to purchase a new hybrid bike, since I anticipate mostly riding around town on roads, but may occasionally take it on some reasonably well maintained trails in local parks. I won’t be commuting on it now (too far), but hopefully I will next time I change jobs/living accommodations.

I am currently trying to decide between the Trek 7300 and Rocky Mountain Metro 10. Both seem like good, solid bikes and are pretty much at the top of my price range (the Metro 10 being slightly cheaper). I’m going to go back for one last test ride, but before that I wanted to see if anyone has had any experience with either bike, could recommend one over the other, or even had thoughts on some of the components and how they compare. Especially on the Rocky Mountain Metro 10 - I've found (largely positive) reviews for the Trek (and comments in this forum), but very little on the Rocky Mountain.

The shifters are certainly a little different, which I’m going to re-evaluate the feel of, but it’s hard to tell the difference between most of the components (I’m a bit of a newbie).

One obvious difference is that the 7300 has an integrated front suspension (about 1.5” in the top of the fork). Does that little suspension do much? Though both bikes have seat suspensions, I decided against larger suspensions, mostly because of the weight, but if the integrated front suspension got me something tangible for little weight penalty that’d be worth considering.



Metro 10 (https://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+...ID=3&SCATID=28)
Front Suspension N/A
Hubs Alloy Sealed W/ Alloy QR Hubs (FR&RR)
Rims Alex DC19 Alloy DBL Wall CNC Side Wall 700C
Tires (RR/FR) Kenda Kwick Roller Sport 700X32C A.V.
Shifters Shimano ST-EF50 EZ Fire 8spd
Gearing (FR) Micro-Shift FD-M22 31.8mm
Gearing (RR) Shimano Acera
Cranks & Chainrings RMB RM-348 Alloy Arm 48/38/28T
Cassette Shimano HG30-8 11-32T
Head Set FSA Threadless W/15mm Alloy Top Cover
Brakes Tektro 837AL Alloy Linear Spring V-Type
Pedals VP 990S Steel Cage


Trek 7300 (https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...h/hybrid/7300/)
Front Suspension Bontrager SPA integrated, 35mm
Wheels Alloy front hub, Shimano RM60 rear hub; Bontrager 750, alloy 32-hole rims
Tires Bontrager H2 Hard-Case, 700x35c
Shifters Shimano EF60 trigger, 8 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano M191
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Crank Shimano M191 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Cassette SRAM PG830 11-32, 8 speed
Headset Aheadset Slimstak w/semi-cartridge bearings, sealed
Brakeset Tektro V w/Shimano EF60 levers
Pedals Dual density platform


Thanks for your help!

deburn

Seurban, for the riding needs you described getting a bike with a suspension would only add weight and cost while taking away from performance (less speed/more effort) at the same time.

In other words, you don't need a suspension unless you're doing offroad stuff on a regular basis, and on the road, the suspension actually causes you to work harder because a lot of your effort is going into the suspension as opposed to the pedals and the tires