ride64

Hello All,

I am shopping for bikes for my wife and myself.
We have not owned bikes in quite a while but would like to start back riding. We will be riding Greenways, packed gravel trails, commute to local store on occasion.
I am looking at the above bikes and wanted to get input. Just looking at the specs looks like Giant gives you more for your money??
I have ridden all the above bikes except the Specialized but each in different stores so it is very difficult for me to judge.

I can say this one bike I rode Giant Escape 1 stood out but it is a different type of bike with fixed forks and much lighter so I know I will do some light trails.
95% paved 5% light unpaved so I dont think the Escape will be the correct choice for me. Did not ride any other brands of this style so do read too much into it.

Please advise

no1mad 

The Escape can handle light (non-technical) trails and grass. You'll probably want one of the Dual Sport types (the others on your list) if you're wanting to do any gravel grinding.

Jimi77

IMHO the Giants are a pretty good deal compared to most of their competitors.

Wanderer

Keep riding different models. It's worth the time to get the one that's best for you.

Tell the various dealers what models you are riding, so you can also test their offerings out.

When you ride it you will know.

deerfly

I am not real familiar with the Giant and Diamondback models, but I do know of the other two.
I currently own, amongst other bikes, a 2012 DS 8.3. My son has a 2013 Crosstrail Disc. Personally, I feel that the DS is a little better component wise. The forks on the crosstrail have no dampening adjustment and cannot be locked out. You can do both on the DS. Both bikes run the same Tektro disc brakes, which I ended up replacing with BB7’s due to an annoying squeal which wouldn’t go away. The DS also has a better rear derailleur, Acera vs Altus. There is about a $30 price difference between the two, and if it weren’t for Trek’s horrendous 2013 color schemes, I would consider the DS over the crosstrail.

deerfly

You might want to check out Nashbar.com, they have a really good price on the Diamondback Trace. Also, they have an “additional 20%” off sale on a fairly regular basis. I bought my daughter a Diamondback Insight through them for about half what I could have gotten it elsewhere. I went into the site once a day and when I saw the 20% off sale come up, I bought the bike.

ride64

How does the ride differ between the DS 8.3 and Crosstrail Disc, can you tell much of a difference?

ride64

[QUOTE=deerfly;15733367]I am not real familiar with the Giant and Diamondback models, but I do know of the other two.
I currently own, amongst other bikes, a 2012 DS 8.3. My son has a 2013 Crosstrail Disc. Personally, I feel that the DS is a little better component wise. The forks on the crosstrail have no dampening adjustment and cannot be locked out. You can do both on the DS. Both bikes run the same Tektro disc brakes, which I ended up replacing with BB7’s due to an annoying squeal which wouldn’t go away. The DS also has a better rear derailleur, Acera vs Altus. There is about a $30 price difference between the two, and if it weren’t for Trek’s horrendous 2013 color schemes, I would consider the DS over the crosstrail.

How does the ride differ between the DS 8.3 and Crosstrail Disc, can you tell much of a difference?

deerfly

Both the DS and Crosstrail have similar frame geometry but my DS is a 17.5" frame and my sons Crosstrail is a 19" frame. Obviously, his bikes feels a little big for me. But, both have a longer wheelbase and top tube length than a lot of other bikes in this catagory and both do have a similar ride feel. This works good for straight line stability, not so good for nimbleness. I had bought the DS to replace a Trek 7100 I had bought the year before. The 7100 felt unstable on fast downhills, especially on dirt. My wife, who also rides a Crosstrail would pass me on the downhills, not any more.