Newbie buying a bike need some help
 

Hello everyone
Im going to be getting a flat bar road bike and I wanted to spend between 500-700is give or take a little.Here are some of the ones I was thinking about.The Giant Escape city,or the specialized Sirrus sport,or the trek 7.2fx disc.Whats your guys thoughts on these? Im planning on putting racks and fenders on so I can ride in seattle weather as well for some fyi.

Thanks in advance to any help or insight.

Test ride and get the one that gits best. Also, if available in your area, look at Janis in this category. They have some nice bikes at often good price for components you get.

Why limit yourself with flatbars? Dropbars have a flatbar and hoods and different angled drops. Lots of hand positions on a dropbar. Maybe two on a flatbar.

I have a Trek 7.2, and it's a perfectly good bike -- I ride it to work in NYC most days, and it has held up through a lot of abuse. I've also taken it for some 50 mile rides -- it's not perfect for that, as your hands get numb after awhile, but it's certainly possible. I have the non-disk version, because I don't understand the need for the disk brakes in city riding -- I've never had any trouble stopping in any conditions. (And there's a lot of quick stopping in NYC traffic.) I tried out the Specialized as well, and liked it -- I ended up with the Trek just because I liked the color and size they had in stock.

That all being said, it's not so much a "flat bar road bike" as it is a "hybrid." If you're looking to commute, it can be a good option -- but it's not going to be as fast as a road bike. It's a commuter bike, first and foremost, and it does a great job at that task -- but that's all it is in my view.

By the way, we also have a hybrid forum -- if you haven't already posted this over there, it might be worthwhile. Those guys may know a bit more about the particular types out there.

Try riding a giant defy 5 first imo. Don't limit just to flat bars without trying.

thanks for the replies guys.yeah I will definitely look into drop bars too then.I was kind of looking into the crossrip by trek as well.just havent heard much about it yet.

I consider those bikes to be hybrids. There are very few bikes that look have same specs as drop bar road bikes except for the drop vs flat bars. I see quite a few people in the hybrid forum that are purchase a flat bar hybrid and six months later are upgrading to a drop bar road bike. I recommend test riding a drop bar bike. The Crossrip is new this year, which is why you haven't heard much about it, and that bike would be discussed in the Hybrid and/or Commuting forums, not the Road bike forum.

The bikes you mention are all pretty popular in Hybrid forum.