Originally Posted by
ZenValo
Wow! A lot more replies than I expected! Thanks everybody! I'm mostly leaning towards the Trek line out of all the options people have mentioned. I haven't really found much for reviews are even talk in general about the Raleigh. The price is what mostly caught my attention being it would be my first "real" bike.
When I started my pre-research, I read everything I could and laboriously narrowed the field down to 4 models; a Cannondale Badboy, a Cannondale Quick, a Specialized Crosstrail, and a Trek DS 8.3 (in that order). After test riding all of them at two different LBSs, I went with the Trek DS.
I never expected my "least favorite" to really be the best one *for me*.
So, what I'm really saying, is test riding is going to be a far better gauge than reading, comparing components or internet advice.
Regarding components, I couldn't have told from riding which bikes had what. Weight made very little difference as well. They were all good; braked well, shifted well, etc. The difference was the fit, the way I felt on the bike. And, for me it was the DS.