shahk007

i apologize if this topic has been posted somewhere before but I couldnt find it.

My wife and I are looking to get into cycling. Her brother wants me to start with a specialized allez road bike but Im not ready for that kind of commitment yet. The performance hybrids seem like a good start. I was interested in the 7.5FX but the lighter frame on the 7.6FX has me interested too.

My wife will be going with the 7.2 mainly bc she likes the thicker tires for grip and stability.

The 7.6 is about $400 more expensive however and im not sure if its justified in my situation. Im 6' 170lbs, and mainly looking for fitness, something fun to do, and eventually getting on the roads.

Also, used vs new? I found a great deal on a 7.6FX '08 used at $800 with the right frame size. Would I still need to get it fitted for a performance hybrid or is that only for road bikes?

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, feels like theres so much I have to learn..

andrelam

I would seriously llook at the FX7.3. That is a great bike with very nice components without getting into the very high price catagory (they go for right around $600). The FX7.6 lists for nearly double the cost of the FX7.3. If you are prepared to spend that much money, still get the 7.3 and put the difference in a CD and let the money grow slowly. The FX 7.3 is a very nice step up from the 7.2 with Deore rear derailer and nice tires (the tires alone would cost you $80 to upgrade from the 7.2).

Go out and start enjoying the ride. I still realy like riding my hybrid, and once you add some fenders and a rear rack you will find that it is an extreamly tought an pratical bike. you can ride 20 to 30 miles easily, yet you can still take it to the store and load up with a bunch of groceries. If in a year you decide you want to get into serious road riding, then add a road bike. For those not so nice days you can then take out your $600 and not feel bad. For the nice days and the long rides you take our the road bike.

Road bikes are like sport cars... they are a blast to ride and certainly make riding long distances a lot easier as you can ride much faster. As with Sports cars, Road bikes come with much more expensive drive trains. Road bike wheels are also narrow with high pressure tires that definitely don't like rought roads. I could replace my very descent quality chain, sprocket, crank, shifters and derailers on my hybrid a few times over for the cost of the admittedly nicer equipement on my road bike.

I now ride year around and there is NO WAY I'd take my road bike out with all the sloppy salty road grit that gets on the roads here during the winter. For that I am willing the "sacifice" the lower grade bike. My Gary Fisher Nirvanna is still a very nice bike, but not nearly as dear as the road bike. As stated above, I can replace any components that take a beating from the salt and grit for a a lot less money. So far the front derailer takes some of the worst of the corrosion, but it made it through the 1st Winter OK. The rear derailer looks like it took less of a "hit." Either way I can replace both for around $70. My Ultegra components on the road bike would set me back closer to $200. Sure the Ultegra is a bit more effient, but the Deore is still realy quite a good derailer.

I know that looking at potentially buying 2 bikes is more expensive than buying one, but spending over $1000 on a bike with straight handlebars just doesn't make sense to me. Those bars work great around town and on shorter rides, but once you want to ride a Centry you are going to with for drop bars. Sure you can add drop bars to an FX7.6 or any other hybrid, but be prepared to spend some serious money on the brakes and shifters (my Ultegra Brifters would cost nearly $400 to replace). Upgrading bikes can get crazy expensive. You get a MUCH better deal when get a component group on a new bike.

Happy riding,
André

dnslater

If you think there is a good chance that you will really enjoy cycling, i would go with one of your cheaper options as you may end up spending money on a road bike soon. I recently made the transition to road biking from years of mountain biking and I bought a 7.5FX in March as I didn't think I was ready for a road bike. I enjoyed it so much that by July I spent much more on a real road bike and regret not going straight to the road bike and saving some cash. The drop bar position scared me a bit, but It is actually far more comfy than riser bars.

The nice think about the Trek however is that you can put fender, paniers, etc... on it an commute with it.

shahk007

thanks for the replies. I have yet another option available and that is to just skip to the road bike. My brother in law says i have an addictive personality and that I will want to upgrade by my second ride as he did. He recommends I get the Specialized Allez Elite. I didnt want to spend this much, especially considering how much the helmet, shoes, pedals, apparel all run, but am starting to come around to the idea of it. Plus the bike shops in my area are all out of the FX series I wanted and wont get any for another couple months, just long enough to miss the fall.

bikinpolitico

It looks like the 7.6 is about 0.1 better.

shahk007

Ended up going with the specialized allez elite '09. Spent more than I wanted to but I doubt I'll regret it. Thanks again everyone.

memorex88

This might be a bit late (I only just read this thread) but congrats on the new wheels!