Trek vs Specialized vs Scott
 

Hi! I'm looking for a affordable bike, around 500.
I'm looking at
Specialized Sirrus: 500
Trek 7.1 FX: 470
Scott Sub(X)=?
X=40,30,20,10
or even a Trek 7.3 FX Possibly.
I'm looking for the pros and cons.
I'm not sure what to be looking for in a bike, i'm new to all of this.
I know you guys will probably say go try it out but I wanna really hear your opinions about this.
I will be riding on streets and a little bit of trails but mostly streets.

What do you intend to use it for?

just just 5-6mile rides but every once in a while 15 mile rides. Just recreation, no competition or anything but I would like it to go fast.

I looked at the Trek 7.1, 7.3 and the Specilized Sirrus and Specilized Sirrus Sport. I ended up going with the Specilized Sirrus Sport. It's main use is to commute to work but I've done some recreational riding and use it for things like going to Starbucks and the book store on the weekends. The Treks were nice too though. I say test ride them both if you can and see what feels better and buy it. I put on a rear rack, fenders, and lights and I am real happy with my choice.

The main reason I went with the Sirrus Sport over the Trek(s) was my cousin-in-law is huge into road and mountain biking and used to ride Treks and he switched to Specialized -- not that it means anything (besides that I can blame him if something goes wrong). Also, I think there are more Treks here so the Specilized is a little different.

ayookr, I was where you're at about 2 years ago. I bought a Specialized Crosstrail Sport because of the several miles of crushed-lime trails in my area. The Crosstrail is definitely faster and more nimble than the old 26" mountain bike I used to have. I would imagine the Sirrus is even more so. However, I found that the only thing that satisfied my need for speed was adding a true road bike (Specialized Roubaix) to the stable. Of course, with your current bike budget, a road bike would have to wait.

My wife and I now each have a Roubaix and a hybrid, and we enjoy riding much more (because of the options) than we did when we only had one bike.