Hi guys, about a month ago I was asking about a used Trek Singletrack which I didn't end up buying. I've been keeping my eyes open for a good used bike since then and nothing interesting has popped up until yesterday, when two appeared on my local Kijiji.

The first is a Venture "Mountain Tour" Trail Runner, which from what I understand is the same as the old Raleigh "Mountain Tour" line. I've found as much info as I can from Google, but wondered if anyone could provide any additional insight on these bikes. Would it make a good hybrid? Is $80 a decent price for an older bike such as this?

The second is a Trek 7300FX. The seller says they bought it new a year ago, but I can't find any evidence of that model being produced after 2005. On Bikepedia it looks like there might have been a 2012 7300 (without the FX). Does anyone have any guess on what model this most likely is? I do know that it has disc brakes. Pictures aren't great so unfortunately I can't provide much more info and won't get a chance to see it until at least tomorrow. Seller is asking $250 which seems like a decent price for a year-old Trek. If the Raleigh/Venture turns out to be a decent bike, do you think the Trek is worth the extra $200 or am I better off saving the money to buy a high end bike a few years down the road?

can you provide a pic or link to the Trek, as listed? If it is a 7300, it will have a front suspension fork. If a 7.3FX, it will be non suspended.

Looks like it is non-suspended. Can't quite tell but it does look like it might say 7300FX on the top bar of the frame?

It might be a Trek SU version, frame is exactly as my sons. But it would be much older than last year, and if I'm correct those are 26" wheels, which his has also.. Just guessing from the pic though.

Hopefully the guy takes care of his bikes better than he does his living space...

Trek has changed their FX/7000-series designations a couple times;I think that's an '04. Trek's archive doesn't show disc models for that year,but I know for a fact they exist because my friend has one. And I'm positive those are 700c wheels.

As to it being worth $200 more,yeah. The brakes and shifting are def going to be better than the older bike's,and it prolly has a wider gear range as well. The Trek's rear is going to be a freehub,which means changing your gearing(cassette) is going to be much easier due to parts availability,not to mention it can be changed from 8 to 9 to 10spd without rebuilding/replacing the wheel. Basically,the Trek is a modern bike with modern parts,plus it should have significantly less mileage. If it fits you,I'd go for that.

,,,,,,,,,,,,after you commented on living space i went back and looked closer looks like a upstairs terrece and thats his plastic recycables!!! thumbs up for that!!!!!!!save the planet!!!!!!!!

Looks like someone bought the Trek before I had a chance to go see it. A Trek 4 series just showed up though... disc brakes, front shocks. I'll be riding mostly on pavement so I think I'd prefer not to have shocks but I think they lockout on the 4 series. Would this be a decent commuter/hybrid?

Depends on the distance and how fast you want to cover that distance. If speed/efficiency isn't a top priority, it doesn't really matter if the fork locks out or not. Just make sure that the frame is undamaged and it is a proper fit- a size up or down can be tweaked, but any bigger differences in sizing would be unwise.

So, apparently the market here is terrible for used bikes. I've only seen a small handful of decent ones come up since I last posted, and they all have been gone pretty much within minutes. Thought I had a Kona Dew Plus earlier in the week but someone ended up beating me there. The Kona Dews do seem to come up more often than some of the other brands though, so I'm hoping one might come my way at some point.

Does anyone know anything about the Norco XFR1? Looks to be a decent bike. Only thing that has me a little concerned is that it seems to be a little less performance oriented than some of the other hybrids. Has front shocks, but they do lock out and I think it is a steel fork which I've heard makes for a nice ride. Not alot of info available online (I think because it is primarily sold in Canada only), but i thought I'd see if anyone here has any experience with them. Here is the link on the Kona website: https://www.norco.com/bikes/urban/urban-performance/xfr/

Finally picked up a bike tonight. Trek 7.2 FX. Too late to go for a ride tonight, but I'm looking forward to putting some miles on it.

Congratulations. Nice bike. Clean it up make it your! Mind saying how much you payed for it used?

Looks like the handlebars could use a inch or so taken off.

Paid $300 used. Its a 2009, seller said it hasn't been ridden in the last year. Came with the rack, lights, fenders (not mounted yet), and Easton handlebars with mini bar ends. I think you are right about the handlebars, although the seat will probably be raised a little bit as well. It also has rattrap pedals. Any tips on learning how to ride with those?

With the stuff you got, you got a good deal on a nice bike. By rat trap, do you mean pedals with clips built in? If so, you might need regular pedals from a bike shop. Decent ones are cheap.

There isn't really a clip. More of a plastic piece at the front that you slide your foot into at the front (see picture) and then there are cloth straps for it as well. I'm pretty sure they are usable with just regular shoes. They can be detached from the front of the pedal if I just want regular pedals, but I thought they might be worth trying out.

I ride clipless pedals and really can't stand flat pedals. Those look like nice toe clips: easy in, easy out but it will keep your foot from slipping on the pedal. A good choice for city streets.

good score, specially with the extras. recently got one for my son.

reg pedals that's what I prefer (clips w/o straps), but see how you like them. I actually cut mine down so they are 1/2 clips or mini clips.

I ended up taking the clips of the pedals for now because I felt like they were pushing my foot too far back on the pedal. I think it might be because the clips are too small for my foot and/or I need a slimmer pair of shoes to use them.

The seller wasn't 100% sure if the fenders he gave me were from this bike or not... turns out they are for 26" wheels so they don't fit. No big deal, I went out and bought some planet bike cascadia fenders instead. Haven't had time to install them yet though, and they would have been nice today as it was raining on the way to/from work. The rack has been nice. I don't have panniers, but I've found a fairly simple way to attach my backpack to it.

the clips do come in diff sizes, so a larger clip would allow you foot to go further forward. there are also other techniques to get that clip more forward like using a spacer or something like that. takes getting used to, but my feet slip off when I have nothing so I use them. wife and kids don't seem to have any issues so they are fine without anything.

take your time putting the fenders on. it looks quick but for mine at least, they took a little time to adjust so they were centered perfectly over the tires. I think I also had to run out to the hardware store fore a couple screws/bolts cuz what I got wasn't long enough for the mounting point down by the chain-stay

Finally got the fenders on today -just after the heaviest rain in years has ended and the forecast is sunny and dry for the next few weeks I was installing them earlier but discovered that someone had already opened the hardware bag and taken out the clip for the rear fender. Got it replaced for free, but had to wait for them to ship it to me.

To put the rear fender on I had to remove the rear wheel. Now that it is back on my gears don't seem to be shifting properly. There is a bit of a clicking sound from them as I ride. Shifting isn't as smooth and sometime I have to move two gears on the shifter in order to actually switch one, etc. Didn't have this problem before. Any idea what I might have done? Any tips on fixing it?

put this last reply in the mechanics forum. sounds easy enough to diagnose.

Thanks, I just did that.

Just try reseating the wheel , and the problem may go away..................

Thanks, tried that and didn't seem to make a difference.

Only thing I can think of is the shifter cable isn't tight all the way and it moved**********