Raleigh makes excellent value bikes. They do tend to be slightly heavier than some other offerings, but not all. Weight is of course not the standard by which to judge all frames, either. That being said, Raleigh has made efforts to lighten their bikes up this year. Both bikes are made overseas so that's not an issue. Right now I don't have the exact specs in front of me but if I remember to do so tomorrow I'll compare them on Bike-a-log.