HLZ

I would love a fast, efficient, nimble, safe, and comfortable bike to ride on local streets into town (about two miles and a combination of newly paved roads and roads that are in desperate need of some new asphalt in a town with a combination of flat and hilly terrain). I may also use the bike for longer exercise rides so I want it to be good for that too but that is not driving my purchase. I have tested 11 or 12 bikes locally and have narrowed it down to four models. They are all "fitness hybrids" as I felt that the "comfort hybrids" weren't fast or efficient enough when I tested them and the road bikes were above my current skill level (aside from the occasional holiday bike rental and ride, I haven't ridden a bike since my single speed childhood bike with foot brakes!). For reference, I am 5'4 with very long legs and a very short torso. I'll get the bike locally so it will be fitted properly.

The bikes in the running are:
Trek FX 3 (women's in either 2017 or 2018)
Liv (Giant) Alight 1
Liv Alight 2
Cannondale Quick 4

They all seem to have a pretty similar ride. I like the grips on the Trek the best as well as the color of the frame. The Liv bikes have slightly less comfortable seats and grips but since they are slightly cheaper, upgrades could be made for those parts. I spent the least amount of time on the Cannondale (road it about a mile) so I am having a harder time comparing that ride.

Thanks for the advice!

jase33

@ HLZ Welcome to the forum.

All of the bikes you listed are very good bikes and reasonably comparable. I am sure you will get an overwhelming response here for the Trek FX as they are no doubt great bikes for the riding you will be doing. The Liv bikes are another series I see many people say they enjoy as well. At the end of the day you should pick the bike that first is most comfortable to ride and second looks the best to you. If it feels good and you like it you will tend to ride it more often.

Craptacular8

No experience with Giant hybrids, but a quick look, the liv 1 would be the most comparable to the other 2 on your list. It looks like Giant focused on making the liv bikes with substantially lower stand over height if the geometries shown for the bike's is accurate. Trek's women's specific is for 2017 the same basic bike as its unisex equivalent. For 2017, the unisex is a 17.5 if you were on a medium, versus 17 for women. Get a wider saddle on the women's otherwise the same. Cannondale offer's a women's specific version of the quick 4. That said, aside from offering a size smaller than the unisex small, and a wider saddle, it's the same bike as the unisex, with the same reach. As far as I can tell, women specific design in hybrids really only means offering them in slightly lower stand over heights, and wider saddle. The industry does not shorten the top tube for example like many do on a wsd road bike, or where you might find narrower handle bars. So, I'd probably look at the unisex version too, since you do not have a fit issue for height so much as reach.

Fit can be altered by having the shop swap out the stem of whichever bike you choose. You may not be able to tell if you need that during your test ride, but it will be worth finding out from the shop you end up buying from if they will do a stem swap if you find after some longer shake down rides that you need that modification. I have the unisex version of the trek fx and have the cannondale quick 4 unisex. From my own measurements, the trek comes with a longer stem by default, but has a shorter top tub than cannondale....C'Dale has about a half inch longer top tube, but mounts a shorter stem...end result, both fit me the same. I prefer the C'Dale but that's probably only because it is a little lighter with the carbon fork...the trek I use as a commuter is the 7.2, so is a little chunkier.

I haven't found a stock saddle I like yet on a bike, so that portion of fit never enters my consideration. I would agree with you that Trek's stock grips are the nicest of the bunch, but I probably wouldn't base my purchasing decision on grips for a $600 expenditure...I'd be much more practical and base it on color, lol!

HLZ

Craptacular8: Why do you use your Trek for commuting and the Quick 4 for exercise riding? How did the 7.2 compare to the FX3?

All but the Liv 2 now have carbon forks. Would that change your feeling about the Quick over the Trek?

I am a 15 in the women's FX3 and a small in the other bikes.

The Liv 2 is $150 to $250 less than the other bikes I am considering but road fairly well. In fact, it felt lighter than the Liv 1 for some reason. I may have even liked the ride better on the 2 over the 1, but that seems odd since the 1 has the carbon fork and slightly better components. So I kept both models in the running.

TMassimo

This would be my choice

I think this is a fantastic bike for the money ($545.59), and it ticks all the boxes and more...
Cannondale Quick Speed 3 - Women's - bikeam.com

Craptacular8

I live 40 miles from my office, so I keep the trek there to commute on errands/lunch. I took the trek mostly because it was the heavier of the two, and I would notice it less on pavement than I do on gravel where I primarily ride the Quick.

The 7.2 fx has a Shimano crankset 48-38-28 versus the FSA one on the fx3, and a slightly higher end rear derailleur, but lacks the carbon fiber fork, have high 10 steel instead. It's probably a wash between the two models. Steel mitigates road vibration as well, just typically at a heavier weight penalty. At the time I specifically chose the 7.2 model for the steel fork, since at the time, the 7.3 had a aluminum fork.

Choosing between the models, if it were me, I'd probably go with any of them with the carbon fork, no preference between the brands. We have one road bike with aluminum forks, a vintage cannondale. With really good tires, there is no ride penalty from the alum forks...ours is a stiff son of a gun, but high end tires help tremendously.
Regarding your preferring the ride of the alright 2 versus 1...could have been that they had the tires of the 2 at a different pressure than they did the 1. Higher pressure can feel faster because it transmits more road feedback that we interpret as faster, even though lower tire pressure typically will actually be ridden at a faster pace because we aren't getting that rough ride, so we in fact go faster. There likely isn't much weight difference between their carbon and alum forks. I'd ride them again. There's nothing wrong with saving $$, especially if you for whatever reason actually prefer the less expensive bike.

For anything we buy, we typically swap out the saddle immediately, and we swap out the stock tires for models we prefer. These aren't necessary things everyone needs to do, I just say this, as those two particular items effect ride quality and comfort for us more than virtually anything else. Most stock tires err on the side of being durable and flat resistant...good qualities, but not for us. We prefer ride quality and low rolling resistance above all other factors, so choose tires based on our preferences. Our saddles of choice are typically heavier than stock, lol, so it all balances out!

hokiefyd 

That Quick Speed 3 does look like a nice choice! Carbon fork and 9-speed drivetrain for 550 bucks!

It looks extremely similar to the Liv Alight 1, for $600. I'd probably personally prefer the Liv due to it having a triple chainring up front vs. a double like the Quick has. The Liv will definitely have an easier low gear (26T small chainring and 34T large sprocket) compared with the Quick (34T small chainring and 30T large sprocket). They will both have a similar high gear (48T/11T on the Liv and 50T/11T on the Quick). Triple chainrings offer so much range in chain ratios. Even if the Quick had a 34T large sprocket (instead of a 30T), its smallest chainring is still a 34T (instead of a 26T like the Liv has).

HLZ

Thanks for all of the advice! That quick 3 does look great but sadly it is $869 at my LBS!

One of my LBS is willing to sell me the Trek FX3 floor model from 2017 for $599 (the 2018 is $639 I think from them with an msrp of $659) with 20% off on accessories (I'd get 20% off at this store for accessories after any bike purchase there). Should I jump on that deal? Any concern buying a floor model (they don't lend out the hybrids so it has just been tested for short rides around the bike shop) if they fully tune it up and fit it to me?

For reference the quick 4 is $710 and the Liv 1 is probably $600 (that is for the 2017 if they can get it but it might be more for the 2018 which isn't out yet). Those bikes are at a different LBS so I'd get 10% on accessories with the bike purchase.

jase33

Wow that seems priced a bit high for the FX3. My LBS has the Women's 2017 FX3 for $549 and tge 2018 for $599.And I know if I walked in with cash I could get maybe another 5-10% off.

HLZ

Wow! Good to know! I actually called Trek a half hour ago and they told me the same $549 for the suggested closeout price on the 2017! I called my LBS back to see if they would do that so they will talk to the owner (who was at lunch or stepped out) and get back to me.

prj71

Fast Hybrids:

https://www.liv-cycling.com/us/bikes-thrive-2018

https://www.liv-cycling.com/us/bikes-thrive

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/fitness/vita

HLZ

They came down to the $549 on the FX3 so I said I'll take it! Excited for my first "adult" bike! Any advice on necessary accessories? I'll be using it for yoga so I'll need to carry a yoga mat. Do I get a rack and bungee the mat bag to the rack? What is the best lock? Helmet? Anything else I need?

TMassimo

Congratz! Very nice bike. My advice would be to get a decent D-lock and not a cheap cable lock. No lock is 100% secure but a D-lock is a much bigger deterrent than a cable lock to any potential thief.
Essential:
- Decent lock (very important)
- Lights
- Pump

Additional:
- Helmet
- Chain lube
- Saddle-bag with a kit
- Mudguards
- Allen key
- Clothing

IMO

hokiefyd 

Reference the yoga mat, Liv's website has you covered!

How to carry a yoga mat on a bike

jase33

Congratz!! Glad to hear they lowered the price. My girl had a mat bag that is a back pack she uses when she rides to class. It holds her towel and other stuff and makes it easy. I will get a pic of it or find a link if you're interested.

https://www.manduka.com/go-free-s.html