rdt 2372493403

Newbie here. Asking about mediocre bikes. But they're what I've got and I'm okay with that for now.

I bought a 2008 Giant Rincon new. A year or two ago I took apart the headset without any clue what I was doing (we were moving). I tried to put it back together without success. Just recently, I decided to buy a new-to-me bike and picked up a 2007 Trek SU-200 on craigslist for a good deal.

Just now, I found a schematic for the headset on the Giant and found that I had put one piece on upside down, and that was the only problem. Now the Giant is working just fine.

And now I have to choose which to keep.

Basically, the Trek has better components. Several of the Giant components are generic. The Trek is in probably not in quite as nice shape as the Giant, though. And, although it's very low end, the Giant has front end suspension and the Trek does not. I took the Trek out for a ride and it was significantly more bumpy than I am used to.

I live in Chicago where it is flat, so my riding consists of roads (with lots of potholes), and flat trails. I'm a big guy, so I prefer riding a bike that is hefty enough to last. That's why I had a mountain bike. The Trek is technically a commuter, but it has 1.95 tires on it, and is pretty much the same thing as the Giant, but with better components and no suspension.

Help me decide. Keep the Giant or keep the Trek?

no1mad 

If the frame on the Giant is in better shape (and a better fit), I'd keep it and replace/upgrade parts as needed over time.

wahoonc

Flip a quarter. Personally I prefer Giant products to Trek. I currently own 4 or 5 Giant or Giant built bikes (Schwinn). Parts can always be upgraded as they wear out.

Or keep both so you have a backup if something happens to the first one. Remember the first rule of bike ownership... "The perfect number of bikes is N+1, where N equals the number of bikes you currently own"

Aaron