Originally Posted by
avaserfi
The new bike selection will be great in the bigger cities locally the options are Trek, Specialized, Giant and Jamis, but the used market (at least person to person) seems to move to fast for our ability to make it to the larger cities. If we get lucky we might find the right bike on Craigslist, but locally that isn't happening, the CL here is very slow.
Originally Posted by
avaserfi
Out of curiosity, and because it is a possibility, would there be significant benefits to moving the price range up to about $800 a bike? If we do this we wouldn't want to upgrade again in a while. No point in making the mistake of cheaping out only to upgrade a year later again, losing money in the long run.
We already have sufficient lights. The bag situation is fine for now, but my bike would probably need a rear rack and panniers for groceries sometime in the near future. Also, right now we have little plastic rear fenders that use tension to attach to the seat post, these work fine, but a more stable unit would be required for the bike with a rack due to placement. The budget it prior to these additions, but some recommendations on a well priced pannier system would be great too.
Thanks for all the help.
What sort of bike are you considering an upgrade to; road bike, "performance" hybrid, MTB, comfort bike, etc? That will really help narrow down the choices. FWIW here are some examples of some fine bikes from your specified manufacturers, all of which would make great commuters, but for different reasons:
Trek FX 7.5 WSD; a "performance" hybrid, and therefore not too far removed from what you're used to, riding-position wise. MSRP is above your new $800 budget but you may be able to find it cheaper. It's a step above the 7.3 component-wise, with a carbon fork to help smooth out those rough roads.
Specialized Crosstrail Elite; a "true" hybrid in the sense that it's built to handle both off- and on-road duties. BTW there are probably more definitions of "hybrids" than there are models on the market. This one has a suspension fork for the trail with a lock-out feature for commuting on the roads. It can also accept fenders & a rack.
Giant Transend EX W; This is a 2009 bike that's been discontinued, but you may be able to find one lurking at your Giant dealer, maybe for a steal! It's got and Alfine IGH and is already "commuterized" with fenders & a rack.
Jamis Satellite Sport Femme; an entry-level, steel-framed road bike with provisions for racks and fenders. Would make a great commuter, IMHO.
Of course all of these manufacturers have their own ideas of one another's bikes. Good luck and happy hunting!