CommuntingSwede

I'm looking to get a nice, light bike for my commute.
I can get a 2006 Giant FCR2 (good: price okay, carbon fork. bad: not sure about the service offered by the seller) for $599 or the Trek FX 7.5 (good: components, carbon fork, excellent service program the seller. bad: a little pricy) for $729. Another alternative is the Trek FX 7.3 for $480 (good: price, excellent service program the seller. bad: no carbon fork).

Is the FX 7.5 worth $250 extra compared to the 7.3?
Is the FX 7.5 worth the $130 extra compared to the FCR2?

(and in the back of my head I still have the Novara Big Buzz for $560, but it's not at the top of my 'want' list)

JeffS

Sorry to sidetrack, but if I were buying a REI bike it would be the Fusion. The Transfer if you needed something cheaper.

kokomo61

One way to look at it - the Trek is only $130 more than the Giant. If the Trek dealer is offering a better fitting setup, free adjustments, etc....it doesn't take long to make up that difference. The Giant has SRAM components, so I don't know how those compare to the Tiagra/Deore setup on the Trek, but I have a Giant Cypress LX (my wife's), and a Trek 7300 (mine) and the Giant had better components at a lower price point than the Trek.....

CommuntingSwede

Thanks for you reply. Both the FCR2 and the 7.5 LiveStrong I'm considering use Tiagra in the rear (at least according to the specs I found, but maybe the FCR2 specs changed between '06 and '07?) and the FCR uses the R443 up front while the 7.5 uses the Deore. I can't tell which one is supposed to to be better.

As for the service, the Trek dealer is known for its good service and is highly recommended by everyone I've talked to. The Giant dealer doesn't have a written 'free service' policy but told me that they would fix regular wear issues (not crash related), but who knows if they would keep their promise in the future?

rule

I bought a 7.5 Livestrong for my brother at Christmas. He loves it.

My boss bought one earlier this month. He loves it.

I don't know of anybody who complains about whether or not the bike was worth the money after they start riding it. I have a 7.6FX that I commute with, and I know I sure don't. Both bikes are light, fast, responsive and reliable. They are psychotically forgiving in terms of handling too. I can't crash mine no matter how hard I try...which I often do.

I also have a Novara Buzz that I use with fenders as my rain bike and townie. I love it too, but it is about twice as heavy as my Trek. That makes it great for when I am just tooling around, or are on wet roads and shouldn't be pushing things too much anyway.

And FYI, I just found a local bike shop that actually caters to the customer. My brother and I have been in there twice now with little questions or tweaks that he was needing for his bike. What a difference it makes when you find a real bike shop.

mostatebears

I did not think the 7.5 was the better bike for me so I went with the 7.3.

I put on full fenders with mudflap, trekking bars, brooks saddle and bar tape and I got the disc model so weight is not an issue for me.

I commute about 4,000 miles per year and pull a trailer for maybe 1/3 of that so the 7.5 would not of held up as well. I definetely did not need carbon on my ride.

CommuntingSwede

The plot thickens...

I have four candidates (ruled out the Giant since the bike shop is kind of shady while the Trek dealer is top notch):

1. 7.5 FX Livestrong (carbon fork, cantilever brakes): $730
2. 7.5 FX Disc (aluminum fork, disc brakes): $700
3. 7.3 FX (aluminum fork, cantilever brakes): $480
4. 7.3 FX Disc (aluminum fork, disc brakes): $570

Since I'd rather have the disc brakes than the carbon fork, I'm leaning towards the 7.5 FX Disc since the components seem better than the 7.3 Disc and there's only $130 difference.

Thanks for your input so far and please keep commenting. With the current weather around here I won't need a bike for a couple of days so there's plenty of time for you to comment

bdinger

I have a 7.3 and love it. Were my butt not gigantic, I would have pulled the trigger on a 7.5. I loved the way both rode, the step up component wise on the 7.5 is debatable, but definitely good. I just didn't feel the wheels would serve me as a commuter, and as the way I ride. For a "normal" sized person, I'd imagine they are just fine.

Anyway, the 7.3 is great. I echo what others have said, the FX line is a great line of bikes. Try them out and see which one you like the best, and go for it.

Remember, we can tell you what worked for us, but you are the one who will be riding it.

Bill Kapaun

You might look at this link-
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/274640-sora-flightdeck-problem.html

mostatebears

Exactly my thoughts...

While my weight is normal the loads that i pull on my 8' bikes at work trailer are not so while the 7.5 is "racier" it would not of held up as well.

My advice would be to pick the shop with the best mechanics since I assume they are offering you free lifetime labor.

I would get the 7.3 disc and use the extra 130 bucks to put a nice brooks saddle on it and get some thicker tires.

Good luck and post some pictures of it!