I'm just getting into riding and am purchasing my first bike. Why is the 2003 Trek 4900 $100 more expensive than the 2003 Raleigh M 60 and the 2003 Raleigh Tess when it has less quality derailleurs, shift lever, and crankset? What other components should I be comparing? Any ideas for another suitable beginner's bike? Thanks!

Kimberly

Fork, for obvious reasons.
Wheels, need a good set of wheels that won't go out of true after each ride.
Tires, got to be tires in which the knobs won't fall off on the first accidental skid.
Feel-which ever bike feels best to you, that is the bike to get, if it is the one that has the lower parts, get that one then use the money saved on upgrades as the parts break.

I may get in trouble for saying this, but all the Raleigh's I've test ridden, or worked on, are HEAVY! I think on their entry-level frames are built with some thick aluminum tubes.

Other than that, they're both good bikes. Raleigh is one of the oldest, if not the oldest manufactuer of bikes in the USA. Trek is currently the biggest. You do not get either of these accomplishments making an inferior product.

L8R

Raleigh makes excellent value bikes. They do tend to be slightly heavier than some other offerings, but not all. Weight is of course not the standard by which to judge all frames, either. That being said, Raleigh has made efforts to lighten their bikes up this year. Both bikes are made overseas so that's not an issue. Right now I don't have the exact specs in front of me but if I remember to do so tomorrow I'll compare them on Bike-a-log.

I've been doing some research on Raleigh for my GF and Trek for myself, and found the Raleighs are very nice this year. Like Waldo said, Raleigh has been lightening their MTBs, the M60 model and above (M80, Lahar, Tess, etc) are all built with what they call Atomic 13 985 Aluminum (which is prolly a butted 7005-T6 maybe). I've ridden the M20 and compared against the M60 and there is a difference of at least a pound (maybe less, maybe more). It may just be the components, but the frame is nice too. Only problem is the color: the M60 has a nasty gold color, a decent green option. The M80 comes with a black scheme, which is nice.

For value, I'd go with Raleigh. I'd only go with Trek because they have a lifetime warranty on their Al frames (Raleigh only has a 5 year plan). Treks are a little more expensive than the Raleighs, with matched components. I think it's there to cover the warranty.

Kimberly:

I dont know how big/small you are, but my girlfriend (5'2 105LBS) tried the trek "womens" spec bikes and they didn't fit her at all (hurt her knees when she pedaled even with it adjusted "properly" she just didn't like it)

Then we went to the bike store I deal exclusively with (they have kona and bianchi...what more do you need...ok colnago for road maybe but they are a store that has my price range and then some)


Anyway my point is I ended up getting her a Kona Blast. Now I know that bike is a little higher then the ones your mentioning but I think you might like the low end Konas


Just something to consider (PS I have a Kona as well and we both love our bikes!)


Chad

Raleigh seems to go out of its way to slip on a few higher name components (rear deraileurs are a good example, XT instead of Deore, or whatever) at the cost of a low quality fork. And, as was said, they weigh a TON. When I was shopping around for my bike I picked up a M80. I hadn't taken a good look at it yet, and assumed it was a full suspension. To my shagrin it was indeed a M80, hardtail as hardtails come. Like I said, it had impressive components for the price, but a squishy Judy on the front and a frame that just wieghed more than it needed to scared me away.

I don't know much about Treks, but I havn't heard many people complaining about them.

I thought that claim belonged to Giant?

Check out Marin's 03 Nail Trail, nice specs and disc brakes for under $1,000.

Trek!

Wow! Thanks for your comments! What's more important, a better fork or better deraillers and shifting components? Does a person's size matter with the fork? I'm 5'4" and 102 lbs. Can someone give me a run-down of the forks to avoid, a list of the Rock Shox in order of quality, and the minimum quality fork I need to have a "decent" beginner bike? Thanks !

Everyone has a different opinion on this but here is mine.


The two things your going to NOT change are the frame and fork (some will change the fork but those are expensive).


That said. I'd sooner take a Beatiful Titanium frame (extreme example here) with shimano altus (CRAP) and a 'rochi fork. Over say a bike from k-mart with XTR everything.


Why? Because I enjoy replacing parts on my bike with better ones, as they break. If you plan to just replace what you get now with the same stuff etc; and need a happy medium then I would say something like a Rock Shox Judy (any of the Judy forks) with Deore would be a great setup (if you can find anything like that in your price range) disc brakes dont really matter.

It all depdns on your budget do you have a total max you can spend in USD or CDN I'm sure we can point you in the direction of a couple of bikes spec'd out nicely. I wouldn't touch the raleigh and the trek is...just not my style.


CK

Kimberly, depending on where you are in IL you might want to check out the Tara we have in our shop. I don't recall the price off-hand but it could be had ridiculously cheap.

The rockshox line goes more or less like this

Judy / GPS: entry level forks, not for heavy riding. I wouldn't use one if I were planning on riding more than weekly.

Pilot, Duke, SID (in order of expense): RS' cross country forks. Never been on a pilot, couldn't say much about it. I suspect its pretty low quality. Dukes are nice and stiff, but I've heard people have trouble if they ride them hard. SID is the lightest XC fork commonly used. Its kind of wobbly, and costs a lot.


The only other forks are Psylo and Boxxer. Boxxer is meant for downlhill, while Psylo has models for Freeriding as well as XC. Both are out of your price range.

Ive had both a Trek 8000 and a Raliegh M80 and I liked the trek a lot better, just felt like it was more solidly built.