ab30494

Once I get my tax return in Feb or march, I am planning on getting me a bike. Mainly for exercise. Riding on trails,mostly concrete trails.

What would be a good bike to get. Prob in the $400 range. Thank you

It has been a few years since i have ridden, and have a crappy hybrid from Target. Wanting to get a better, high quality bike, that i will want to use.

missinglink

I was shopping in the same price range as you are. You might check out Marin's bikes. Decent quality. Affordable prices.

Marin Bikes | Bikes | Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, and City/Commuter Bicycles | us

I'm sure other, more experienced members, will have some ideas also.

Best of luck....

quicktrigger

I would suggest you look into a Giant Escape 3. Solid basic bike. With any bike though sizing and tuning are key. If it's not well tuned, then you wont be happy with it.

Escape 3 (2014) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Escape 3 (2015) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Wanderer

IZf you have a Performance Bike shop near you, also ck out the Absolute lines of Fuji.... They have some really good sale prices. And their "club" gets you between 10-30 percent back.

ab30494

Thanks for the advise.

I am leaning toward the Trek 7.2FX what do you thik if the 7.2[h=1][/h]

tbo

I have a 2008 7.2FX that I use for just about everything. Love it. Use it just about every day for running errands around town to 30+ mile rides. I highly recommend that this bike be on your ride it to try it list. Like any bike, it may not be the perfect fit, but it is certainly worth investigating. If a Giant or Specialized or Fuji or Trek fits you better in the same price range, then go for the best fit in any of those brands. Though I do love my Trek.

Regardless of your choice, leave a little bit in your budget for:

• Headlight and Taillights
• Storage - either backpack or rear rack and bag. I use the Topeak Explorer rack with a Topeak MTX bag with foldaway panniers.
• optional but fun - Cheap bike computer (CatsEye Velo 9 is only $20). I prefer wired vs wireless just because it is cheaper and always works for me.
• Possibly a new seat later on. Some people do great with the original seat, but if you have *any* pain in your nether regions, replace it FAST. $25 to $50 is reasonable, but some people like really expensive saddles. Google "Bicycle Seat Neuropathy" for more details.
• Helmet (of course)
• U-Lock

altondavis2

I$400 will get you a nice Giant Escape 2 or a Trek FX 7.1 ..............
I'm familiar with those 2 brands and I also own a Specialized Sirrus which I really like, but its above $400.
Just go to your local LBS and ride the Giant or Trek or both. Go with the LBS that gives you the best support.
Good advice from TBO regarding lights, bell, air pump and a lock.

Wanderer

Don't scoff at Giant or Fuji - as they are nice bikes, and usually very good value. But you gotta buy the one you like the best, and fits you well.

picco007

Great reading this forum, a lot of good info here. I am in the same boat, thinking of getting a hybrid bicycle. This will be my first bicycle in many years. Now that my children are a little older I want something that i can do with them and don't really want to be a full onroad or full mountain bike person. I have looked at giant anyroad bikes even in carbon and Trek fx series with disc. I have ridden the FX 3.5 non disc and it was smooth but anxious to hear what others are thinking before making my purchase. I want disk breaks, I want to have a lighter bike and decent to good components. Let me know your thoughts.

a1penguin

Yes, Fuji and Giant make good bikes. You just don't pay extra for the brand name so you get more value for your $. Lots of people on this forum have the Escape and are very happy with it. Search and read the reviews.

practical

I think a Trek 7.2 is a fine bike. I think you'll like it well enough to ride it a lot and you'll enjoy riding. Then I think in two years you'll be asking about a new bike - which is fine - because you'll want something a little faster or a little lighter or better at climbing or whatever. That is the unavoidable fate of biking. Depending on how you ride and where you ride, you might want to put different tires on it. If you ride almost exclusively on pavement, then you'll want to put 28's on it - it will improve the performance quite a bit. But if you ride a lot on dirt and trails, then keep the 35's. Good luck.

decotriumph 

I have been riding a Cannondale Quick 4, size XL, for the past 18 months and it has served me well. It lists for more than your $400 but a used one can go for that. In fact, right after Christmas when everyone is making their New Years resolutions to lose weight, I plan to put mine on Nashville CL for that amount. I have a new bike that will replace it in my stable.

Wanderer

Buy the most bike you can afford, with the most stuff on it, to make it last for you, and to enhance resale if that happens. 9 spd or better, room for wide tires and fenders, disc brakes are the future, etc.

You will thank me later.

rumrunn6

wifey and adult kids are very fond of their Trek FX bikes. plenty of god used ones out there, just be sure to get the correct size for you

ab30494

Is there any bikes that have disk brakes, in the $400 - $500 range.

Or will it be better to just add them on later?

altondavis2

I have 3 bikes, none have disc brakes.
Recently tested a Trek FX 7.2 with discs. It was nice, not easy to feather
the brakes in turns, because normal pressure would cause them to grip.

Any special reason that you require disc brakes ???

Wanderer

Yes, discs should be available in the 500 range, and you should buy them on the new bike - you will never get a better price, and it's not that easy to change to them.

quicktrigger

As for disc brake in this price range, I know three possible options.

Buy an older bike they have left over and want to get ride of to make space.

A Giant but is not a hybrid, it's a mountain bike.
ATX 27.5 2 (2015) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Or buy online (i.e. Bikes Direct)and finish assemble yourself. This is not hard, but plenty of people are not comfortable with this option. Some people love this option, others hate it.

QT

MRT2

It is going to be tough to find a hybrid with disc brakes in the $400 range, at least at full retail. Here is a quick rundown of performance oriented hybrids with disc brakes and retail prices. A Trek Fx 7.2 will cost you $600. A Kona Dew plus goes for $679. Giant Seek 3 retails for $600. Specialized Sirrus Sport disc sells for $700. Jamis Coda Elite retails for over $900.

So, if you want disc brakes, you either need to consider a discount option, like finding one on sale, or used. I will say this. While there is some advantage to hydraulic disc brakes, there is nothing wrong with V brakes. They work well, are easily adjustible, and are inexpensive. And they are simpler and lighter than disc brakes.

Greggster

I bought a used 25" Trek 7.2 FX, and though it's faster and lighter than my old steel cross bikes, I didn't find it to be any "funner." The fit is great but the ride is stiff and jarring - a web-spring seat, Ergon grips, Kenda Kwest 40C tires and adult-sized flat pedals were needed right away. As far as trail use, fuhgeddaboudit – it's a road bike with flat bars. I like it finally. It's my favorite for paved mileage.

Kingpcgeek

I have a 2015 FX 7.2 and its a great bike. But I was out for a ride and tried to go off road on a desert trail and turned around after 20 feet. There is no way a FX can handle off road

ab30494

something that i find odd.

The Trek 7.2FX 2015 model is cheaper then the 2014 model,

At one LBS website

2014 is $539.99
2015 is $489.99

The same on the local Trek store website.

Isn't the older one suppose to be cheaper?

Wanderer

Trek dropped their prices to try to get more competitive.

Gus90

All great choices above. My advice is if you start getting back into cycling, you're probably going to want to upgrade sooner rather than later so be reasonable with this purchase to make sure you're going to stick with it and leave some room for some accessories that you're going to want. Not sure how you feel about the need for any front suspension but if you're going to be riding some mixed trails it may be useful. That said, assuming you want to stick with a flat bar vs a drop bar, some additional choices to consider could be...

The Specialized Crosstrail Disc can be had for around $600 or less if you can find a store giving a decent discount.
Specialized Bicycle Components

Another consideration might be a Cannondale Quick CX 5 but you don't get the disc brakes
Quick CX 5 - QUICK CX - FITNESS - FITNESS & URBAN - BIKES - 2015

Or for a little more, the Cannondale Bad Boy 4 offers a lot of versatility and disc brakes. And a lot of stealthy matte black awesomeness
Bad Boy 4 - BAD BOY - URBAN - FITNESS & URBAN - BIKES - 2015

If you buy from a LBS, they may offer a free bike fitting. If so, get it. I can't over emphasize the importance of having your bike set up properly for you. Solves a lot of potential soreness and problems down the road that will make you not enjoy spending a lot of time in the saddle.

ab30494

I will look into those thanks.

I am starting to like the Specialized cross trail. I don't think i need think i will need the suspension. I saw the sirrus, which looks nice, which is better of the 2 sirrus or cross trail.
The one downside is to get one locally i have to drive 2 hours, for a dealer, i will have to see if any local LBS's have them, the 3 that have websites dosnt have them i will have to look around