av8or830

Hey all -

I'm new to the forums and I am looking for some advice from knowledgeable people other than the local bike shop salesman trying to sell me a bike. I want to buy some entry level bikes for my girlfriend and I to do some bike path riding. I prefer the Hybrids and am considering purchasing the 2007 Trek 7000 for her and I. I don't want to buy a Target/Walmart bike even though the price is tempting. I would like a solid, well constructed bike without paying a fortune. Is this a good bike for riding a few times a week? At the very most, we might do 25 mile rides as we get better throughout the summer.

I'm not really interested in the higher priced Trek, mainly because of the price and the suspension fork.

Is the Trek 7000 hybrid a good buy or should I consider another model for us?

Thanks in advance!

slk

My wife has an '06 Trek 7000 hybrid, for similar reasons.

The components are REALLY cheap; they're better than those on a wal-mart bike, but not by an awful lot. Some of them are probably held in common with the higher end of the wal-mart bikes. The frame is good though. (we've replaced the crankset, shifters, and a few other things)

For a light rider not putting a lot of miles on the bike, it's probably fine. However, it might also turn your girlfriend off from riding with balky shifting, boat-anchor crank, etc.

Otherwise, the frame is great, but the extra $100-$120 for a 7.2FX would be money very well spent.

You get click-shifters instead of the awful grip-shifters that came with the 7000, you get a wheel with a freehub instead of a freewheel, and other minor upgrades. Going up the 7000 series doesn't make sense, because then you get bikes with a suspension fork (not useful unless you're doing real offroad, lots of extra maintenance, and it slows you down)

biketony

My wife has the next step up, the Trek 7100 (with the 'U' frame). She isn't a road warrior, just likes riding her bike sometimes. She's been very happy with this bike, and it hasn't had any component troubles. She had our LBS install a big Topeak front basket that can make the bike a bit 'twitchy' when loaded, but that seems to be the only negative. Oh, and when we bought it we also had fenders and a rear rack installed. It really is a stylish bike! Now, the bike with the add-ons is a cool errand/short commute bike for her but I wouldn't recommend long hauls on it.

av8or830

Now I have to ask, when you say that these bikes have components similar to high end wal-mart bikes, should I just go buy a walmart bike to make sure this is a sport that we will definitely enjoy...or should I spend $375 a piece for 7.2fx bikes for us to go riding on the weekends.

Since we are novice riders and not familiar with all of the advancements, will we really know the difference? Grip vs. click shifters...or freehub vs. freewheel...we haven't gone into the sport far enough to know what we need and what we don't need. Is the Trek 7000 really that bad of a bike that I would be better of buying the cheaper bike? ... Or is it good enough for our purposes? I don't want to waste my money on something that it considered to have cheap components.

I guess I just wanted to get us decent bikes but not crap department store bikes that would fall apart the day we buy them. If we really really get into it I could get great bikes further down the road, but to start of with a $375-$400 bike...is that the norm nowadays?

Tom Bombadil

I agree that the Trek 7000 is a nice step up from typical department store bikes. Also that it still has low-end components (but better than what you will find on a W-M bike). The 7100 is worth the extra cost if you can afford it. If you can find a 2006 7100, it will cost less than a 2007 7000. My local Trek store has all remaining 2006's on a 15% discount. I've seen 2006 7100's selling for around $279 each.

Even with lower-end components, the 7000 should last a long time. Especially if taken care of and ridden on the easy side.

You could also check out Schwinn's Voyageur lines. The standard Voyageur isn't much, but the Voyageur Sport is okay, and the Voyageur GS model is better yet. The GS has better components than the Trek 7100 for about the same price. One of my LBS's uses the Schwinns for their bike path rental fleet and does very well by them.

You can also find the occasional solid deal on a Diamondback bike from places like Dick's Sporting Goods. But you have to know what to look for. If you want to use a single part as an indicator of the quality of the bike, take a look at the rear derailleur. A sign of it being a bit above the low end is to have a SRAM ESP3.0 or Shimano Altus. Better yet for it to be a SRAM ESP 4.0 or Shimano Alivio. But if it is just a Shimano Tourney or just says Shimano or SRAM, then it is a lower end part. Usually if they have a SRAM 4.0 or Shimano Alivio, then the rest of the parts are a little better too.

Tom Bombadil

You don't want to go to the Trek FX line unless you really check them out closely. They have a more aggressive / forward leaning riding position. It is still considered to be relatively upright, and very much so by a road cyclist, but a lot of casual riders find them somewhat uncomfortable. They are nice bikes and you can put some serious miles on them, but if you aren't comfortable, then you won't want to ride them.

Some people start out on standard hybrids, like the 7000/7100/7200 or even the Trek Navigator series, which is even more relaxed / upright, ride themselves into better condition. Start finding their hybrids to be a bit slow, and then move up to more aggressive designs like the FX line or an equivalent from Giant or Specialized or whomever.

If you are in good shape right now and think you'll start riding a lot soon, then the FX line is worth checking out.

Tom Bombadil

If you can find one, the Raleigh Passage 3.5 is a nice, fixed fork hybrid. Quite comfy.

https://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=7&itemid=329

But I don't discount the 7000 as being a bad choice for you. Good company, good solid frame, parts that can be repaired & replaced easily (unlike a LOT of the W-M bikes).

dynodonn 

I started out on a Trek 7100, it's definitely better than a Wally bike, when I bought my second 7100 I gave my older 7100 to the wife so we could start riding together, she immediately fell in love with it and remarked on how much easier it was to pedal versus the Wally bikes she used to buy. The first thing you may want to do if you buy any of the Trek 7000 series is to replace the original seat with a gel/lycra version for more added comfort.

av8or830

Any other good suggestions for a cheap but not so cheap hybrid if the 7000 isn't the bike of choice?
Thanks ya'll!

Tom Bombadil

I listed some alternatives in post #5.

There aren't a lot of choices in that price range - unless you can catch a closeout special. And those are around this time of the year. Several at my local LBSs. They have 2006 Trek 7100s at $275.

In the end if you really like the 7000, then get it. Or check out the Giant Cypress ST, which is very similar to the Trek 7000. Also a rigid fork. But I wouldn't say it was any better than the 7000.

lason

i got my 7000 on march 2 and so far i've put 60 miles on it. i switched out the grip shifters for triggers (personal preference) and had the rear derailleur upgraded to a shimano acera after the tourney broke on me. i really like it. i ride it to work every day and aside from a flat tire, i've had no complaints. i wanted a bike with a rigid fork and trigger shifters and that one was the only one in my price range. it's a big step up from my target mountain bike. i figure i can always upgrade components along the way but for now it's a fine bike.

sknhgy 

I got the Raleigh about a month ago and I love it. My other bike is a Trek 820 mtb. I use it for gravel road riding.